Post your trips here.
I am planning a 3 or 4 day trip with Mike Mercier somewhere in the East Kootenays during the last weekend. While I am hoping to get on the Wigwam, Kootenai and Yaak, things most likely will be the Skook Bull, and if lucky a cleaning trip down the upper Wildhorse.
I should be around for quick local trips as well - cameron, lundbreck, etc.
-Chris
17 comments:
I might be able to sneak in a day trip or two during the break. Janson and I are planning for Pincher area on Saturday. We want to try the Canyon section of the Castle if the flows are up.
I wish I could do Skook again with you, Chris, but it will have to wait for a bit. Cameron sounds good. Are the flows up there?
I won't get out until perhaps the 15th or so.
I doubt Cameron is flowing at all. The Castle Canyon is a good section, but the take out is a pain. You either have to trespass on the property of a buy who hates kayakers, call for permission to access a quarry road down a ways (fun extra class II), or ...
The River Rendezvous is a good time to run it.
I am planning on hitting Ft. Steele area for 3 days or so (19-21 or therabouts). I am going to take a day to clean out the upper wildhorse. I may be hooking up with a guy from Kimberly for some nearby paddling. If anyone is interested in a Bull or Skook or Wigwam run I will arrange things to work out for that Saturday. Or if anyone is procrastinating studying for exams, they are welcome to join me.
Clay and I are thinking of hitting bear creak on the 27th. Quick short paddle if anyone is interested.
Janson and I are up for Bear Creek on the 27th (if it's worth the trip). Mark, are you headed up right after school?
Rather excellent skiing at Fernie this week - we'll close down the ski season and pull out boats soon.
The Castle Canyon take-out by the gravel pit is now OK for public access with a short (5 minute) walk out. To access it, take the Beaver Mines Road from Pincher and turn off the dirt road (right = north) just before the turn off south to Beauvais Lake. You drive along a ridge top and then drop down and there's a major sign providing permission to walk-in and walk-out. Chuck and I had communicated about it since the road down is mostly along a public right-of-way until the drop down so the prior closure probably wasn't legal. This seems like a compromise that was prompted by access concerns by anglers. This is good news for paddling the Canyon - it's a longer drive (maybe 10 minutes to the Canyon Bridge) than the short run and the old walk out through Zoratti's pasture but that's now closed to all.
Enjoy.
If you want to know flows for all rivers there is always my flow page at
http://kayak.definitionsystems.ca/
or for more rivers there is
http://kayak.definitionsystems.ca/moreRivers.php
there is even a mail list and RSS feed if you want. I just thought that I would remind you that it is still there.
Thnaks for that update mackenzie. The link was lost when the template was updated.
I have updated my more rivers file and it now will do all rivers that are on your page as well as just the local rivers. it is found at
http://kayak.definitionsystems.ca/moreRivers.php
Thanks for all your work, Mackenzie. Your page is a real asset.
On this and the other (Beginner) blog there was some question about suitable flows. Different features come in and go out and things change but this table represents the results of an analysis that Wilco and I did a few years ago in which we sorted through a decade of river trip reports. 'Minimal' would be OK but now worth a long drive, 'Preferred' would be good.
Minimal Preferred
River Reach Flow Flow
m3/s *
Upper Oldman 16 25
Lower Oldman 30 55
Willow Creek 6 10
Crowsnest 7 13
Castle 17 25
Upper Waterton 16 30
Lower Waterton 21 40
Belly River 10 15
Upper St. Mary 17 30
Lower St. Mary 19 35
Milk River 13 20
Janson and Nathan, have you decided if you are going to Bear Creek for sure or not? What would be the possibility of me chipping in and car pooling with you two?
Hey Jeff
we are cancelling the Bear creek trip because of low flows, but it looks like a few of us might hit up Castle River this weekend. This all depends if the flows keep rising... but we have our fingers crossed.
hey, when and what part of castle were you thinking about paddling? i have a new boat i'm still trying to get used to, so i don't think i'd want to push the intensity too much yet. a class 2 would be great.
IF flows are too low, I'm in for the Castle. It's at about 24 right now. As for you scott, the castle has some tuff sections, but the two most difficult can be walked.
People are meeting at my house around 9AM for the Castle trip.
222 Heritage Crt. W.
If we don't know that your coming, best to show up before 9AM.
If you miss meeting at Mark's place for the Castle trip tomorrow morning, or you are coming from a different area, we will be meeting again in Pincher Creek at the Shell gas station (the one by A&W at the north end of town) at 10:00 in the a.m. Good times... good times.
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