June 29-July 7, 2007

On the Water - updates from the 2007 Columbia River Brigade

July 7, 2007 - Civic goodies!

The last leg of the trip from Castlegar to Trail was a real treat. Fast current and little in the way of complications. We arrived to the strains of the pipe music courtesy of the Trail Pipe band and to the cheers of a nice crowd. After a brief arrival ceremony where Winston again wowed everyone in Cree, we were hosted by the City of Trail at a Civic luncheon. Again, the temps were in the high 30s but the luncheon was in a nice cool, dark hall. A few meaningful speeches then ice cream for dessert. What a nice way to end the trip.

July 6, 2007 - Lock us up!

Today was the toughest day of the Brigade. We had to cover 90 km (54 miles for the US readers). To do this and arrive in Castlegar at 4 pm as scheduled, we were up at 0300 and paddling at 0500. We cut the number of canoes down by 2 and used two extra paddlers to change crews at Deer park after the 6 hour mark. Again, the weather was very warm but a good, strong tail wind came up just as we were finishing the first lap. The next crew had a straight run down to Keelyside Dam. Here they arrived at the lock that allows the sawmill on the lower side of the dam to move their log booms from one side to the other. We had phoned ahead and the lock was open for the 5 canoes to sail right in. When they were in, the big door closed and the water level started to drop. Looking in from above, the big canoes all of a sudden became smaller quite fast. Soon the water levels matched and the canoes paddled out and on to Castlegar. BC hydro operates the dam and almost without exception, the employees at the dam all came out in their work clothes complete with highly visible vests and hard hats and were all taking pictures. I don’t think they had seen this sight before.

Arriving at Castlegar, Winston McKay, our Cree paddler from Saskatchewan, stood up in the canoe and asked permission of the local First Nations folks if we could come ashore. I don’t think anyone understood Winston and he may very well have been ordering pizza and a beer. It all sounded very good though and we headed over to the camp ground and the last Stage Show.

July 5, 2007 - Whatshan Retreat

Today, the weather was even hotter than yesterday. The summer turn has been made. What a difference in just 4 days. July 1st in Nicholson in the east Kootenays, the 0600 temperature was a balmy 0 degrees C or 32 F. Today it is 38 C or 104 F. Definitely a sunscreen type of day! It is a good thing there is a cool layer of air just above the very cool water. At any rate, we arrived in Edgewood at 3 pm to a great welcome by just about everyone in the small village. A bagpiper piped us from the arrival area up onto the park above the water to a great reception. There was even a cake sculpture of a Voyageur Canoe with two paddlers in it. After nibblies and drinks, we drove 15 minutes to the Whatshan Retreat, a neat camp ground built by a Doukhabour Society out of Castlegar. Showers, toilets and great camping facilities made this a nice stop. The same hot weather prevailed but the fantastic pasta dinner by the local volunteers was well received. Our David Thompson Stage Show was put on right in front of the big sound stage planted right in the middle of a field. My rendition of Amazing Grace that ends the Stage show was augmented by Paul Munroe, the chap responsible for getting me started on the Great Highland Bagpipe. Our duet stopped the show, so to speak.

July 4, 2007 - Sprint Meister Gib!

Today we arrived in Nakusp, a neat village along the Columbia. The trip today took us from a small, intimate camground at Shelter Bay to Nakusp, a distance of about 40 km. The weather was in our favor as there was a bit of a north wind at our backs but now the river is feeling the braking power for the dam at Castlegar, 150 km downstream. The tough item now is the long stretches from point to point. It seems that when standing in the canoe, a person can see for the next three days! However, we did arrive in Nakusp at 3 pm and then had the one and only serious sprint. Right in front of the crowd at the beach, the canoes did a precision formation figure of eight passing through maneuver and I know you all can imagine what that looked like. Then, after a brief warm up paddle down beach, the canoes lined up and when the line was straight, they took off. The teams had been mixed and matched to balance out the 6 canoes in the event and don’t you know, big Gib McEachern, my regular paddling partner, along with Dick Vest and 4 ladies from Nakusp, were the winners by a whisker. It is a good thing Gib had not shaved!

July 2, 2007 - Smelly Running Shoes!

July 2 is a day off. Time to reflect, clean the body and clean the clothes. After morning coffee, most of the teams headed for the local laundromat. Paddling clothes definitely needed a go with the washer and dryer but what about those running shoes? Man, talk about air pollution! These things had to be tied in trees and the only good thing at this juncture was that they kept the ravens at bay. There is nothing like wet feet all day and then have the sun heating up the shoes to really get things cooking. Pity the stern paddler getting not only all the bad water at the back of the canoe but also, the bad air!

June 30 and July 1, 2007 - Canada Orders.

The 2007 Columbia River Brigade has attracted all kinds of interesting folks. On Saturday and Sunday, June 30 and July 1, Preston and Sandra Manning joined the Brigade. Mr Manning has always been a student of Canadian history and especially David Thompson. He has read some of the journals D.T. kept of his travels and was able to pass on some of his knowledge to the suitably impressed canoers. The morning of July 1 was a bit of a shock as it was cold enough for some of the cars and tents to have a layer of frost. Once on the water, though, life was better and we all landed in Golden in time to line up and help devour a load of community pancakes at the Town breakfast.

It was discovered that Mr. Preston Manning will receive the Order of Canada at the next ceremony. We beat them to it. We made he and Sandra Voyaguers of the 2007 Columbia River Brigade by putting a Metis sash on them and getting them to promise to always paddle in the same direction at the same time all the other team members do.

June 29, 2007 - Headwinds and Bust or no Bust!

Today we paddled from Edgewater to Parson, a distance of 65 km. This in itself is relatively unremarkable. We were able to change in a few new troops at the halfway point and shift two took over. The morning had been cool at the start but gradually warmed up as the sun rose higher. We were bracketed by the Rocky Mountains on one side and the Selkirks on the other. We saw moose, elk a, eagles, osprey and lots of other winged things the names of which no one knew. However, all went by the wayside as the day progressed into the afternoon. Up came a north wind against the northern bound river current. When this happens, an uncomfortable chop hits the water and bow paddlers catch most of the water that comes over the bow.

One team on the trip is the Robusters. This team is composed entirely of ladies having survived breast cancer. Their enthusiasm is something to behold and it really came to light when they hit the first big waves. They had not had a lot of experience in rough river conditions so this was a new adventure. There was a pause in chatter as the first waves broke over the bow and then we heard their laughter and then their chant' "Bust or no Bust-we are Robust"! And on they went.