Alberta Foothills

After leaving Sask Crossing, we were faced with 5 days of rain and cold temperatures. We couldn’t even have fires to stay warm in the evenings after finding out the horrible news that wild fires had hit and were out of control across the province, and a fire ban was in force. Just as we all reached our last dry(ish) items of clothing, we saw the sun peek through the clouds, for the first time in what felt like forever. <Whitney>

Howse Passed!

Wow! It has been a while since we have been able to update our blog. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of logistics, adventure, hard work, good weather, bad weather, fast water, slow hiking, and a huge sense of achievement! As we look back through our journals of the past weeks, it begins to blend together, but a few big moments really stick out in our minds. 

The climb through HowsePass began with a great deal of trepidation. We prepped our gear for the big trek at a campsite with a beautiful view on the Blaeberry road. This might be the only portage we ever do where avalanche probes, beacons, shovels, and snowshoes are necessary. We were visited by a wonderful couple, Chris and Sue, who gave us a great deal of help when we realized we were missing a critical bolt for one of our expedition carts, a necessary tool on the upcoming portage. 

As we hiked toward the pass, we were confronted with washouts, avalanches, and rockslides across the road; making the once thought easy leg of the portage more challenging than expected. When we arrived at the David Thomson trail head which crosses the first pass over the Rocky Mountains near BanffNational Park, we were excited, but anxious about the days ahead. Progress was already slow, and was about to get much slower!

The first day on the trail, we hiked for 8 hours, with three canoes, and made a whopping 3 km. That night we discussed and planned the rationing of our food just in case our progress remained slow. We had planned to conquer 15 km that first day.

The snow on the trail became soft and almost impassable without injury and frustration in the afternoon sun, so we began the subsequent days before sunrise while the ground was still frozen. We decided to break up into two groups; one group carries packs and gear in two trips, and one group to carried the canoes. Our progress improved significantly, and we made it 8 km solo portaging the canoes. We found it was much easier to maneuver the canoes through the trees this way, and despite the hard work, our elation at the improved progress kept our spirits high! 

For me, the next day was tough. Until this point, the trail was only slightly inclined, following the river, so I were surprised when the trail seemed to go straight uphill, away from the river. I was hanging at the back of the group, feeling sluggish, and still unsure if we even had found the right trail. I always found it entertaining how a person’s brain acts in that situation. I found myself gaining resentment towards the group, sure we were going the wrong direction, pretty convinced that this could not possibly be the trail, and that if it was, there was no way I could carry a canoe up this steep mountain, so that canoe was going to live right there at that campsite forever, and I’d better find a tree to use to build a new canoe. All of a sudden the group stopped, me still in my sad state, and Ross announced, ever so calmly, that we were over the pass! I was in disbelief, and realized how silly I was being. We climbed back down for the canoes, and with a packed trail, knowing the length of the climb, round two was much easier! Once we made it over the pass with the canoes, the day got better and better! We slid the canoes downhill, crossed the border into Alberta, and found HowseRiver flowing east!!! It was a great feeling, lining the loaded canoe downstream, after 22 days of portaging, at a beautiful mountain river, surrounded by the gorgeous Conway mountain range. These moments quickly became trip highlights for the group. 

We carried on downstream until we met up with the North Saskatchewan River which brought a new color to our waterway! We celebrated our arrival and were greeted at Sask Crossing by the Ringhams with shrimp, steak and vegetables! At this point, our wonderful help over the pass, Kirby, Chelsey and Ben, left us, and it was sad to see that bit of our team go. We took a couple days of rest and also received a surprise visit from Whitney’s parents, who brought us souvlaki and steaks for lunch! We were eating like kings! 

So far, the North Sask has been very fun. Navigating the fast water was a little nerve racking the first few days, but as we got more comfortable in our boats and with our partners, we learned to enjoy the ride. Unfortunately, our last days in the mountains were fog and rained over, so we missed the foothills, and before you knew it we were in the prairies! <Steph>

At the base looking up

We have spent some time in Golden trimming down gear, getting clean, checking weather forecasts, and scouting snow properties in preparation for our trek over Howse Pass. Much of the trip thus far has gone swimmingly and according to plan, so in a way we are looking forward to the challenges and adventures that this leg will present. At this point, we have settled into a nice groove with camp chores, everyone is getting along well, and giggle fits remain frequent. However, our singable song repertoire is limited and we welcome song suggestions. We recently met an inspiring and adventurous couple who provided us with some sage advice: remember to have guts and pack plenty of chocolate. Our moms have informed us that sometimes the SPOT beacon fails to transmit or shows us following irregular and seemingly odd routes, we encourage those tracking us not to fret when such transmission hiccups occur; most often we simply forgot to turn the device off before crawling into our warm and cozy sleeping bags for the night. Wishing for a week of cold nights leading to hard snowpacks, next time you hear from us we will be on the other side of the continental divide! <Nathalie>

Around the big bend

Paddling north on Lake Revelstoke, we were encouraged by a subtle tail wind on the morning of our first day. As the day progressed the wind grew until the swells were over a meter high. When timed correctly, the boats were surging up to 13km/hr, almost double our normal cruising speed. However, steering the boats while surfing down the waves is taxing and we were very happy to see the wind die down in the early evening. The wind was replaced by heavy rain as we camped at the village of Downie Creek that evening. A low shroud of clouds impeded the view of the mountains that surrounded us as we paddled north to the end of Lake Revelstoke and climbed up around the impressive Mica Dam to Kinbasket Lake. The meltwater falling from the cliffs provided respite from the grueling climb. Rounding the bend to Kinbasket Lake was quite the site: Having been drawn down to maintain water levels in reservoirs downstream through the winter, and in wait for the spring freshet, Kinbasket Lake was well below its summer level. If I was to guess I would say it would be at least 30 m lower. The low water levels made finding campsites difficult as we were more or less confined to what would have otherwise been lake bed. The minor inconvenience of campsite selection was eclipsed by what we encountered on the Mcnaughton Arm near the south end of the lake. The water began to shallow until all we could see was a forest of stumps spanning the width of the valley. Navigating channels that got smaller and smaller, we were soon at a dead end surrounded by nothing but stumps and clay. After some quick scouting we managed to find an old channel that took us further south and within a few hundred meters of difficult portage to the Columbia River. We had not expected to see it for another 25 km but its length was extended by the low water and it was flowing fast. The lake bed made for unforgiving upstream paddling with small or non-existent eddies. After two hours of upstream paddling and lining, we were portaging the boats through the clay again, pushing and pulling the canoes supported by expedition carts we arrived at our campsite past sunset. We treated ourselves to a rest day at the the sunny Kinbasket Resort campground where we chatted with the owner, Rick Chartraw – a five time Stanley Cup champion! <Ross & Nathalie>

Through the gap

It was with some sadness that we left the Okanagan Valley behind. The beautiful scenery and kind people we encountered there were trully wonderful. We cycled along minor back roads as we made our way from Vernon to Armstrong. The beautiful scenery was shrouded by rain that remained present with a few exceptions until Revelstoke. With our boats and equipment in tow this section went quickly as we were able to cover between 70 and 80 km each day. Although gruelling, the climb over Revelstoke dam lasted little more than an hour. With the last major cycling lag complete, we returned to the water. <Ross>