AN AWESOME TRIP: Rafting Chilco Lake to Yale, BC Part Two

November 15, 2015 by jcreore

Shane

When I think back on our trip down the Fraser, one image stands out: Shane. With his long white hair and piercing gaze, he looks like a larger-than-life, stereotypical river guide. After we set off in the powered rafts the first morning, he talked non-stop for 30 minutes, and I wondered if he was going to talk all the way to Yale. Later, when I mentioned this to Sue, owner of Fraser River Raft Expeditions, she laughed and said, “And he did, didn’t he?” Yes, Shane talked a lot, because he has an encyclopedic knowledge of the river and its history. It’s worth taking the trip just to learn from him, especially about the mining operations that seemingly transformed almost the entire river valley.

Our new rafts were loaded with an unbelievable amount of gear (loading them each morning was like trying to assemble a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle), but they still provided plenty of room to spread out in comfort and enjoy the view.

At ease in the sun. Shane at the helm.

Most of the time, we floated with the current, reserving the surprisingly quiet motor for rapids or when we needed to make up time. Some of the guides who were with us on the first part of the trip continued with us for a while, enjoying a break from rowing. Lisa was the working guide on the second raft; she’s at left below, eating an apple.

All play and no work? Lazy day on the river, or a river guide’s dream job.

The big rafts easily rode waves that would have tossed our smaller crafts about. Not that we didn’t get wet; the Fraser has big, big rapids in keeping with its size, and we soon got to experience them. Unfortunately for my blog, big, big rapids require hanging on to the raft with both hands, and since I couldn’t work my little Lumix with my teeth, I didn’t get any photos of them. There probably is a GoPro in my future.

Sailing through troubled waters. NH

The Fraser does not disappoint in scenery, which is as majestic and beautiful as the river.

Wondrous rock formations. White lines show earlier water levels. Water was low when we went through.

Terraces, showing earlier river beds.

Sand, sage brush, rock and a bit of greenery.

Shane shows us some petroglyphs. NH

Dwarfed.

Just resting my eyes. Well, this is supposed to be a holiday, isn’t it? NH

We always went ashore for lunch, and the Fraser offered no shortage of scenic, sandy beaches.

Coming ashore. NH

Sue, Shane, and Lisa, as well as the guides who were on holiday, all saw to our comforts, even at the lunch stops. On some days, the sun was so hot that protective tarps and umbrellas had to be set up. From the lunch spot below, we could see hoodoos and the strangely flat ridge tops that revealed former river beds. Coming from the Rocky Mountains, I am more used to rounded hilltops like those in the background. Our rivers cut through rock and leave a different footprint on the landscape.

Lunch on a sandy beach. NH

The haunting beauty of sand, water and rock remains one of my most precious memories of the trip.

Beautiful shoreline.

Most of our campsites were on sand, which was wonderfully comfortable when dry, miserable after it rained.

Torch light at supper? I never expected that. NH

On a clear night, the sky provided all the entertainment we could ask for.

Starlight and campfire. NH

We didn’t have time for a lot of hiking on this trip, but on one layover day, several people walked up to a place called the Cathedral, an impressive rock formation that also provided a fine view.

The Cathedral. NH

A fine view. NH

Have I mentioned the food? Locally supplied fruit and vegetables were better than anything one can buy in a supermarket. And Sue and Lisa should open a restaurant.

Sue (right) and Lisa and some of their handiwork.

Breakfast. Or why you should not expect to lose weight on this trip.

Most of the wildlife we saw was of the avian variety, but the occasional black bear put in an appearance and we also saw some sheep.

Sheep. NH

Ferries, abandoned mining buildings, roads and railroads tell a story of human imprint on the land, an imprint that is missing from the northern rivers I have travelled. I find no beauty in them, but Shane made them fascinating.

Remnants of gold mining. The rocks on the bottom were purposely washed down the canyon in the search for gold.

Ferry. The lands on either side of the river are sparsely populated.

Ferry. The lands on both sides of the river are sparsely populated, so a ferry makes more sense than a bridge.

In places, the roads had to be buttressed by retaining walls of stone. I can only marvel at the intense labour involved.

Support structure.

The river became ever more impressive and the rapids fiercer. At one point, we had to walk while the guides took the rafts through a dangerous passage.

With waves towering over his head, Shane holds to his course.

The final days were quite different. We enjoyed a community dinner put on by the First Nations people of one town, took a group of elders down the river, slept in teepees our final night, joined a very scholarly group on the last day, and (at last!) rafted through Hell’s Gate.

The vacationing guides had left us, and a group of elders filled the second raft.

Teepee lodging. Slept on the grass. By now, I was tired of my tent.

Last day on the river. Joined by a group taking a very educational tour. When there’s no baggage, the rafts hold quite a few people.

Hell’s Gate wasn’t the most exciting rapid we experienced, as it lasted only a few seconds, but it was certainly the most famous. With a bridge, cable car and restaurant above the rapid, we were sure to have an audience, and we circled around in quiet water for a few minutes, hoping that someone would notice. A few people came onto the bridge, probably thinking that we were crazy.

Shane preparing to run a rapid.

Without a GoPro or similar camera, this is about all you can photograph at Hell’s Gate. You can see the bridge and the cable car, and the narrow passage that gives the rapid its name.

To quote from the FRRE brochure, “The grand finale is the roller-coaster action of Sailors Bar rapids, a chain of huge standing waves that we rerun several times.” I think it was in these rapids that I almost went flying out of the raft. We ran them three times, and I doubt that I could have held on for a fourth. But they were indeed, a grand finale.

My heartfelt thanks to Neil, Tyler and Sue for making this trip possible. For someone who is addicted to Canada’s north, it was an eye-opening experience and one of the best trips I taken in the course of a long life.

End of the line. Do Neil and Ester look happy?

An Awesome Trip: Rafting Chilco Lake to Yale, BC Part One

November 12, 2015 by jcreore

The water hits my back and shoulder with such force that I am pushed from my seat, and if I had not been holding on to the rope that ran behind my calves, I would have been catapulted out of the raft. After an initial “Aaarrrrr!” as the water cascades over me, I laugh for joy. That was the best one yet. I find my self half sitting, half squatting, with my arms between my legs, and one foot braced against the opposite side of the raft. No way to get back on the seat; we’re not out of the rapids yet, and the water keeps coming. It’s just another day on the Chilco, Chilcotin and Fraser Rivers. I’m not even sure which rapids these are because, aside from the unforgettable names of White Mile and Hell’s Gate, they are all part of a succession of drenching episodes.

The trip is called “Best of BC,” and thanks to Neil Hartling, owner of Canadian River Expeditions (CRE)–Nahanni River Adventures, it ran this September after a hiatus of several years. Chilko Lake to Yale, BC is one heck of a lot of river to travel, and you can’t do it all in the same raft. The small, oared rafts that CRE uses elsewhere can’t cope with the monster rapids of the Fraser, so we had to switch halfway to large powered rafts. Three companies came together to provide the trip (CRE, Fraser River Raft Expeditions and Big Canyon Rafting), and two sets of guides took us on an eleven-day journey where thrills flowed hand in hand with fascinating history, cultural contact and beautiful scenery.

In addition to the working guides, plus Neil and his partner Ester, there were four guests and four extra guides who were simply enjoying a chance to do part of the trip. In all, we had four rafts and two tiny kayaks, which in my innocence, I assumed would be used only in calm water. In fact, the only reason a kayaker would ride a raft is a prolonged lack of white water; these two headed into every turbulence they could find. One kayaker was a professional photographer who would race ahead, go on shore and clamber up to a convenient perch to capture our little rafts being tossed about in the rapids.

A day-to-day account would make this post into a book. I can give only a sampling of what we saw, did and experienced.

(Some photos were supplied by Neil Hartling and are marked NH)

PRELIMINARIES

Before the big day: Neil tells us what to expect

I hope we gave the bellhop a good tip

Neil on the plane.

Our Twin Otter lands.

Organizing the gear.

Is this a typical lunch? Oh yes!

Launched! Head guide Tyler Dinsdale (owner of Big Canyon Rafting) at the oars.

THE NITTY GRITTY: RAPIDS IN A SMALL RAFT

The River NH

My raft. That’s me in the front, Tyler at the oars. NH

Here we go! NH

No turning back. NH

Who cares if we get wet? NH

We’re not through yet. NH

Where are the kayaks? NH

Who’s having more fun?

THE CALMER SIDE OF RAFTING

Although it did seem at times as if our world consisted entirely of rapids, that certainly was not the case. Quiet water, friendly weather and beautiful scenery predominated.

Rafts and kayak NH

Enjoying life. That’s me on the right. NH

Time for a nap

Or a swim!

SCENERY ON THE CHILCO AND CHILCOTIN

It would be hard to match the variety of scenery we passed through, from the narrow confines of the Chilco to the majesty of the Fraser. Blessed with mostly sunny skies, we discovered aspects of British Columbia that we never knew existed, all of it interesting, much of it beautiful.

Blue waters of the Chilco, so clear that one day we saw red salmon swimming under out rafts.

We were witness to the damage wrought by the pine bark beetle and wildfires throughout out trip, but many trees still survive, and despite the sadness we felt on seeing the dead and blackened snags, infestations and fires are part of a self-correcting natural process, at least in the long term.

Devastation. NH

Pity the poor Chilco. It’s a big, crystal-clear river that turns all grey and loses its name when invaded by the smaller Chilcotin.

The cloudy water of the Chilcotin, where it joins the Chilco.

In contrast to the northern rivers I have rafted, these rivers pass through inhabited lands, so we sometimes saw bridges, buildings and roads, although we remained in the wilderness.

Signs of civilization.

We passed through a number of lands belonging to First Nations people and were able to watch men and women using nets to catch fish from platforms that were often suspended in perilous places.

Fishing platform NH

On the first days of the trip we saw bald eagles and other raptors at almost every turn. Since they were either soaring overhead or perched high in a tree, they resisted efforts to photograph them from a moving raft, but because it was September, other birds were gathering in flocks prior to migrating. We were treated to two groups of American white pelicans, enormous birds with a nine-foot wing span.

American white pelicans. NH

Symphony of wings. NH

The sheer variety of scenery was amazing. We went from forests to deserts to deep, rocky canyons, constantly told by the guides to take a good look at what we’re passing through because we wouldn’t see it again.

Hoodoos in the interior of BC? There’s sage brush too.

And deep, dark canyons.

And some things just too weird to explain.

Smiley face?

LIFE ON LAND

I like to say that I sleep as well in a tent as in a five-star hotel, maybe better. CRE provides tents, but I prefer to bring my own.

My green palace.

When we ran the White Mile, everything got wet. I also learned that a wet suit is great when you are in the water, but not remotely warm when you’re sitting in a raft, in the wind, after being dumped on.

Drying out.

Neil has a thing about food: it has to be good. The weather may be foul, the river may not cooperate, you may hate your fellow travellers, but YOU WILL EAT WELL!