BRITISH COLUMBIA
Landing in Vancouver, three-quarters of Team Haggis waited for the fourth member, Neil, to wave goodbye to his other half and join the rest of us for two weeks of boating in B.C. The team was a motley crew: a ten-foot tall tea-swilling teacher, a fashion guru, an outdoor teacher and a microbiologist! I'd met Mark once, and paddled with Neil a dozen times, but been friends with Matt for ages and accompanied him on a trip to Kyrgyzstan, so wasn't sure what to expect!
Once we had collected Neil, we made our way out of Vancouver to a very noisy campsite. In the morning we found that our brand new "Passion Wagon" had a flat tyre and the hire company was consulted. After one broken roofrack (don't hire a Chevy!) and several negotiations we repaired the tyre and the convoy was on its way out of Vancouver towards Chilliwack. The Chilliwack gorge was a nice gentle grade 3-4 warm-up. A more peaceful campsite beckoned, and thoughts turned to the plan for the next two weeks. We decided that Canada wasn't THAT big, and embarked on a huge driving epic around B.C. Happily, included in the drive were some rivers!
The first we came across was the Nahatlach: a beautiful blue river eminating from a spectacular lake. The canyon didn't take long to scout, and looked fairly straightforward from the path. We decided to do both the upper and canyon sections, and got changed in the baking heat. Once down the Upper and into the canyon, it became obvious that it wasn't as small as from the bank! Big chunky water lead to the hardest rapid (below); the middle line seemed best. More classy grade 4 led to the takeout: brilliant!
Continuing on our mission to consume as much petrol as possible in two weeks, we headed north, to the Thompson, and to join a friend, Chris. It was too early in the season for the classic play waves to run, but the run was an eye-opener to Team Haggis: never again would we refer to the Orchy as big! It was here that we had our first swim: Mark decided it was all too much and sought refuge in a whirly. He was soon fished out, and the rest of the river passed without incident.
The next day saw us up early, and after a Subway breakfast and numerous tea-stops for Neil, made it to the Bridge River. The Bridge isn't the hardest river B.C. has to offer, but is one of the most spectacular. Be prepared: it is LONG! Approximately 30km of grade 3-4 water (separated by flat bits) flows through amazing natural amphitheatres, canyons and woods. It was here I got my first real taste of B.C. wildlife: a big furry rock which sat up as we were passing, and turned out to be a shy brown bear.
After the Bridge, we has the world's worst Chinese meal before heading north again, with a promise to try and boat with Chris on the return leg of our trek. We reached the Clearwater by late afternoon, just as two more local boaters jumped on. A quick look at the Kettle (5+) confirmed that it was gnarly, but it went. I decided to leave it until the next day and we all jumped on the rest of the river: a brilliant big bouncy run, flattening off towards the end. Unfortunately, the river dropped overnight and the Kettle went from being clean to being horrific. I ran away scared! After a dip in a scenic lake, a great steak and a sleep, we made tracks towards the Fraser Canyon and Mount Robson. On the way we happened across a great paddle: the Canoe river. This is a small river, but is continuous grade 4 all the way. It's also very atmospheric: fresh bear prints on the banks convinced us not to loiter about whilst getting changed!
The classic Fraser Canyon was next, and we were encouraged by the relative lack of water. The top few drops went fine for some, but I had a brief encounter with a nasty hole. We continued down: Matt and myself guiding Neil (we had seen most stuff from the bank whilst he sat in the car!) A continuous section with some wide holes led down to the hardest rapid, Terminator. After much debate Matt decided that the hole looked terminal and walked, and after a bit of deliberation I followed. Even the presence of photographer-extraordinaire Mark and a bit of "Kodak courage" wasn't enough to tempt me! The last rapid (below) was great: big grade 4+, holes to dodge and a great play hole at the bottom: enough to loop a Java!
The next two days saw us driving south down the Rockies, along the spectacular Icefield Parkway. A quick look at the creeks we passed and we realised that the unseasonal heat was making a big difference: everything was massive! Me and Mark still fancied a paddle, and jumped on the Toby Creek, above the Seven Canyons section. A big grade 5 was the highlight, and drew quite a crowd from the road. The Kicking Horse was huge, and we decided to leave the Rockies and head back to the Thompson. The classic Stein was beckoning. After hours of driving, we reached the Stein at about 5 o'clock and my hopes rose: it looked brilliant! However, one-by-one the rest of Team Haggis dropped out, and we realised that we'd just have to come back and do it again next year!
The next day we headed towards Whistler, and (we hoped) and break in the hot weather. Once ensconced in the campsite in Whistler, we started exploring the local rivers. The Cheakamus caught our eye as a classic: unfortunately the glacier had caught the sun and it was huge. The guides we had seen recommended a level of between 2.2 and 2.8: imagine the terror when the gauge read 3.1! Callaghan Creek was next on the list, and we invested some time persuading Neil that an early-morning mission would be fine. The next morning found us on the Callaghan, and we were happy to find that it was low enough to do. A great 8ft drop lead to the beginning of the "Waterfall" section, which lead to a long scout down the bank. A view of a 25ft drop leading into a 12-ft slide looked great, but the enthusiasm of some of the team waned and we decided to hike. A very hot walk-out ensued, involving lots of spiny bushes and (more scarily) fresh bear dung! We decided to sacrifice Neil in the case of bear attack; but happily we made it out alive.
Over our last two days we drove around in desperation: the temperature was still high and everything was huge. Even my light-hearted suggestion of the Stikine was considered (not very seriously!) We found a brilliant creek which we had seen on a friends website, and drove up to explore. Brittannia Creek was excellent, and pretty short. Two drops of about 20 and 30 feet were the only events, unless you fancied the sixty foot drop round the corner! Matt and I ran this without too many problems, although Matt managed to chip his teeth. Ouch! I had a look at the sixty footer, and then ran away again. But I vowed to go back: that drop HAS to be run.
Here are a few photos from the millions that we took. Enjoy!
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Summary: There are so many brilliant runs in B.C., and then you've got the Rockies too. They aren't all gnarly either, there are loads of easier runs. Instead of the Alps, save up a bit more and go. I'm definitely going back, and will try not to drive as much next time.
Team Haggis was: Mark Lyons, Matt Brook, Neil Farmer and myself. We'd like to thank everyone we met for being friendly, and to Chris Walker for guiding us about, and some invaluable advice. Thanks also to Esso for the fuel!
Thanks to these companies who continue to support me:
