Back to the water! Okanagan!

The last couple days have been filled with gorgeous and sometimes surprising scenery. We left Princeton on Tuesday morning, well rested and excited to ride some trails. The trails turned out to be more difficult than expected, and we struggled with our heavy carts through soft sand and loose rocks. We juggled between the Kettle Valley Railway and a quiet highway that ran alongside making our way up to Osprey Lake, BC. The lake was still frozen although it was no surprise: We were warned by locals who curiously watched us climb the hills with our canoes in tow. Greg Tellier of Fisherman's Cove at Osprey Lakes helped us get settled into our campsite by providing firewood and water. Thanks Greg!

Wednesday saw a gorgeous descent in to Summerland on the KVR, with the welcoming Okanagan awaiting us at the end. The day was not without event! About 15km from town, Ross "tapped" a post with his canoe cart, breaking the weld on the arm. As a result, he and Whitney had to run the rest of the way to town, making it to camp just as the sun was setting! The people of Summerland were amazing! Thanks to Gail at the end of the KVR for filling our water bottles, Greg with Parks BC for the extra hydrating water and help with the van, the kind gentleman who provided us with a delicious bottle of 2009 Red Rooster chardonnay, and for the encouraging words from Katie the friendly runner.

Thursday morning, Shane and Nathalie found a welder in town to fix the broken cart as the rest of us prepared gear to get back on the water. It felt amazing to be paddling again! We switched up the crews a little working Abby in to the paddling, partnering Abby and Whitney, myself with Shane, and Ross with Nathalie. We will soon be a well-oiled machine, as we get more and more comfortable riding wash in the bigger boats. After several hours of battling a nasty headwind, we found ourselves cozily at a camp with warm showers!

Today, we paddled past Kelowna on flat, glassy water. The clear lake made it possible to see all sorts of fish, which distracted Shane a little, so I has to give him an extra hard time about his boat posture. Tonight, we are camping at Bear Creek Provincial Park, and I'm excited for Derek and Thomas, our next helpers, to come join us. We will paddle one last day on the Okanagan tomorrow to Vernon, then portage to Revelstoke! We have enough homemade eatmores to power us the whole way...across Canada! <Steph>

First climb complete.... into the interior

After a three day trek through the mountains we have arrived in Princeton, BC. After some preliminary reconaissance on our drive out to the coast, we decided to avoid climbing the Coquihalla Summit by travelling South East on the Crowsnest Highway. The distance was approximately 120km including the ascent to the Allison Pass (4400ft) and Sunday Pass (4200ft). The climb was gruelling but the carts to haul the canoes behind the bicycle handled well and we were able to make good time on both the ascents and descents. On April 23 we made it 75km through the mountains and had our first extremely physically demanding day. It felt excellent to challenge ourselves physically and mentally. It was also a necessessity: the forecast was for heavy rain/snow on April 24 and we knew that lingering at high elevation in the coastal mountain ranges would be very risky. We pushed to get out of the mountains while we could. The weather has changed but at our present elevation in a rain shadow, we are only experiencing light drizzle. Our crossing was not without event: A slip sent Whitney over the handlebars of her bike. With the exception of a few scrapes and bruises, she is in good spirits and ready to keep on chugging. Tomorrow we will rest for a day and then continue on the Kettle Valley Railway to Summerland, BC. <Ross> 

First leg Complete, let the climbing begin

Yesterday, we arrived in Hope two days ahead of schedule after five wonderful days, introducing us to this beautiful lifestyle. Pushing off from Fraser River Park on Sunday, we were pleased to have the tide push us upstream with greater vigor than the current we were working against. After only three and a half hours of paddling, we covered 35 km our first day, setting camp in a forested island on the Fraser. Passing through the greater Vancouver area was strangely beautiful with its man made landscapes, although we were pleased to pass from urban to natural past Port Coquitlam.

On day two, we got a late start out of camp waiting for the tide, giving us time to organize camp and to let our bodies adjust to the work and weather.  Paddling past Fort Langley we met some friendly dragon boaters and voyageur canoers, and kind campers shared their fire with us as we stopped for water near the Port of Haney.

Day three, we awoke to sleet covered tents, and were confronted with rain, hail and wind. We stopped for lunch in Abbostford, meeting Lynn from Clipper who helped us organize some last minute gear. Thanks to Lynn and Shanes parents for the help and the treats! In the afternoon, the sun came out, as did the seals! We saw at least ten curious little guys! We made it as far as Chilliwack before the shallow water became too much for our loaded down boats. The mountains provided a beautiful backdrop for our campsite, and as I watched the colourful packs treck up to our site under the evening sun, I couldn't help but think that this is what life is about... pushing yourself physically and mentally, then capturing the simplicity of these beautiful moments.

Day four and five we got to test  out the bike carts! A big thanks to Steve at Quest Fabrication in Calgary. They work great! We took our first two bike days fairly easy, getting our legs ready for the big climbs ahead. Thanks Tiera and Derek for lending us your bikes! It feels good to be through our first leg to Hope! The next few days will be gruelling biking pulling the canoes up the mountains. We will also bid adieu to Derek Jenkins who has been filling in for abby since Vancouver! Thanks Derek! We are excited to meet Abby tomorrow. Over the last few days, we have met with a few other crews with similar intentions. Canoe Across Canada for Sick Kids started from Abbotsford about five days ahead of us and we ran into Pascal from Mountains to Montreal who are leaving from Rocky Mountain House next week.Hopefully we will see each other along the way!

I would like to say a HUGE thank you Karen and Gord Ringham for all thier help getting ready for this trip. Wish us luck as we attempt to cross Allison Pass! <Steph>

Packing, planning, and counting down

The past months have been a flurry of gear procurement, food packing, and fundraising. The majority of our personal gear (packs, head-to-toe merino outfits, sleeping bag, etc.) has arrived and I’ll be relieved when I confirm that it’ll all fit into the 115 L dry bags we’re each allocated. The trip schedule has been revised numerous times and we’ve now confirmed our contact people for re-supply locations and bike cart shuttling throughout British Columbia. Despite our current geographical dispersion, crew members have been busy contacting media, dehydrating sauces, and acquiring funds via Steak Night fundraisers, significant bottle returns, and much appreciated donations. We meet weekly via Skype to discuss progress and to assign a fresh set of tasks. Thanks to the much appreciated help of friends and loved ones, two full weekends have been successfully dedicated to preparing food for the re-supply boxes. We double bagged all of the dry ingredients for over 800 breakfasts, lunches, suppers, snacks, and treats! I’ve posted an outline of the menu on the website “gear” tab. We’re extremely grateful for the support and food donations provided by the amazingly kind people at Greenline Distributors, Nutter’s in Saskatoon, and Nature’s Best in Regina. We also thank our terrific friends for their help with our grocery fundraiser where we “faced” or organized products at a local grocery store. Steph and I have been familiarizing ourselves with the camera and camcorders and have been posting some of this material to our facebook page (be-friend Cross Canada Canoe Odyssey) and Flickr stream. With about a month to go before our departure date in Vancouver, I’ve been thinking about all the snow that still needs to melt in the mountains to allow us to pass, and hoping that these large snowpacks lead to a speedy crossing of the prairies. <Nathalie>

Maiden voyage from Pinehouse to Missinipe

Ross and I ventured out to the industrial outskirts of Saskatoon to pick up one of the brand new Clipper Whitewater II’s. The boat was carefully wrapped in seemingly endless layers of cardboard, bubble wrap, and tape. Sizing up the sleek boat on the floor of the shipping depot, I was eager to take it out for its maiden voyage. So, over the first week of September, Steph and I were joined by a pair of first-class people, who happen to be great paddlers, for a six day trip from Pinehouse to Missinipe Saskatchewan along the Churchill “River”. In reality, the Churchill is a convoluted series of lakes joined together by fast water. Paddling the boat was a true delight, and the warm, sunny weather and near-constant tail wind weren’t too bad either. The boat performed well in choppy water: tracking straight and keeping the bowman relatively dry. We were pleased with its performance in Class III rapids. The boat responded well and took on minimal amounts of water, even without a spray deck. The boat’s light weight and deep dish yoke made it easy to portage.  The wildlife provided unending entertainment: we were continuously blown away by the beautiful scenery and the abundance of bald and golden eagles. It seemed like a pair was waiting for us at the end of each crossing. We had an amusing encounter with a group of curious otters too. In the evening we settled into hospitably tiered campsites that offered beautiful views of the sunset. Other highlights included cranberry coated brie cheese, dried egg bagel sandwiches, big bear rock, and seeing a full-double rainbow! After I came back I had tan lines from my sunglasses and my smile lines. In all ways, this was a wonderful maiden voyage for the Clipper. <Nathalie>