Out Practising What I Preach

Last Saturday we had gorgeous weather for the last day of March. Sunny, calm and warm with a high of 14°C. It was a great day for a paddle and with the kids at the grandparents my wife & I donned our paddling gear and got out in the kayaks for a couple of hours on the South Saskatchewan River. The river is still mostly frozen, but through the city it is open and most of it is available to paddlers.

I mention that we donned our paddling gear and that is a large aspect of what I wanted to write about. We dressed not just for the weather conditions, but for the water conditions. We dressed for immersion.

I was wearing my dry suit (Barrier suit from Level 6) with long underwear (wool top, polypro bottoms) and a fleece vest underneath. On my hands I wore neoprene gloves (2mm), and on my head I wore a thin neoprene (1mm?) cap. On my feet I wore my new (used) Chota mukluks for the second time but the first time where I was in the water.

K wore a wetsuit with long underwear underneath, and a fleece sweater and softshell jacket over top. Although K declined to test her immersion gear, if she had ended up in the water she would absolutely have been cold, but likely would have been able to function well for a period of time. She had neoprene paddling gloves at hand, but chose not to wear them.

I'll add my observations and lessons learned at the end. In the meantime here are some pictures from the outing, and a couple of videos of me in action (and getting rather wet).

Us.

Me.

K paddling the cedarstrip guillemot I built for her (and documented in detail in this blog).

Heading south, away from the boathouse and downtown Saskatoon.

The west side of the river was clear of ice but a strip ranging from a few feet wide to half the width of the river was present on the east side. 

Some of the marathon paddlers from the Saskatoon Canoe Club were also out taking advantage of the fine weather. 

We saw their sterns mostly. 

They are building a new freeway bridge south of the city. 

The geese don't mind the ice. 

Heading back toward the boathouse. 

Paddling among the drifting ice.

With the neoprene cap on, I'm ready to practice my rolls and rescues. 

A video of one of my rolls in this ccccooooolllllddd water. I only did a few! (Note that at 5 seconds in my head is high, my head reaching away from the water. That is why I needed to finish the roll with a forward scull to get a little extra lift.)


A short segment of me practising my scramble rescue in conditions that were less ideal than the pool I had practised in a few weeks earlier. Things were much harder this time.


So, after getting into that cold water and practising, I can say I learned a few things (good, because that was the whole point).

• Things are harder in cold water.
• Things are harder when you are wearing a bunch of stuff.
• Water that is at or just above freezing is really, really cold. (Shocking news, I know.)
• The dry suit works well. I was mostly comfortable in the water except for those parts not inside the suit (hands and head). 
• There was a cold spot at my lower back and that would quickly sap heat if you were in the water for a prolonged period. Perhaps my vest & long underwear top rode up?
• A one-piece insulation suit (such as this or this) would prevent that from happening. 
• 2mm neoprene gloves make it very difficult to grab deck lines even if they are not overly tight. The bulk of the neoprene made grabbing a 4mm rope from the smooth surface of the hull very difficult.
• My fingertips quickly became numb when I was in the water.This made the dexterity issue mentioned above worse and it happened in only a couple of minutes. Had I been in the water for more than a few minutes, my hands would have been like using 2x4s.
• The thin neoprene cap did not help much. Rather, it seemed to trap and hold the cold water against my skull and after rolling I had to loosen the strap to drain the water away. I think in a real world situation where the head is mostly out of the water (though with waves crashing over) it would be a net benefit.
• Holy hell that water was cold.
• The bulk of the suit and what I was wearing under it made the scramble rescue much more difficult. 
• I need to calm down and slow down my roll. Also need to calm down and think about what I am doing for the rescues. This may have been the real reason my scramble rescue failed, it wasn't only the bulk of the suit. 
• My new Chota Mukluks do not stay on when swimming. Anyone want to buy a pair of gently used paddling muks? I think they are a little large for me, which can't help. 
• The filtrate discharged from the water treatment plant just upriver of the boathouse is a muck that looks like and has the consistency of baby sh!t. 

So, in conclusion I need to:

• Keep practising.
• Consider a different neoprene cap (like this or these).
• Get pogies.
• Calm down in the water.
• Add beads to the deck lines to make them easier to grab. 
• Sell the Chota Mukluks and go back to something that I'm sure will stay on when swimming.
• Ask my wife to stop laughing at me on video.

The take home lesson of the day: Find a safe way to practice your rescues in less optimal conditions because that's where you'll need them. 

Tough Decisions

Rather than write a blog post, I'm supposed to be packing for a winter camping trip at the moment. A group of us from the Saskatoon Snowshoe Club are to be leaving Saskatoon for Prince Albert National Park in the morning. However, I've had a cold for the last few days and things are not currently getting any better. Late this morning, about 19 hours before Bob & Jeff were to meet at my house to pick me up, I finally concluded that I could not go and made the decision to back out of the snowshoe trip.

It really sucks to back out of a trip like this. It's not just that I really want to go (despite the -34°C overnight low that is forecast), but the feeling of letting others down. In a group like this some of the gear is shared. My pulling out now means that Mike no longer has a place to sleep. Of course he can borrow my tent and stove, but it's really too much for one person to haul in (3 is ideal, 4 will fit and for 2 it's a palace). So, I called one of the other people on the trip and suggested that he and his tent partner join Mike in my hot tent. However, I hardly had the words out of my mouth that I was pulling out before he was telling me that his tent partner was sick and if I was pulling out, she would be too and therefore he wouldn't go either. So, our group of 7 quickly diminished to 4. A phone call to Mark later and now he's out too. That leaves 3, maybe.

So, now I feel responsible for starting the cascade that has essentially killed this trip. But, the more I think about it, the more I know it was a decision I had to make and the correct decision was made.

Had I gone, I might have been on the upswing by then and could have had a great time. However, it seems just as likely that my energy would be low and I'd be dragging my ass to keep up with the group and pull my own weight (not to mention that 100+ pounds on the sled behind me). It also becomes a safety issue. When you are fatigued you are prone to bad decisions. When fatigued due to sickness that effect is likely worse. Also, because I am with a group, my bad decisions may not only affect myself, but also the rest of the group. Another concern I had was the cold weather (did I mention -34°C was forecast?) and the potential effect my sickness might have on my ability to thermoregulate and combat the cold. I don't presently have a fever or the chills, but if that were to set in, I'd rather be at home than in a tent.

Anyway, I could go on listing various scenarios and discussing the repercussions of a decision to go despite a head full of mucus, but I think I'll go make myself a hot toddie instead.

National Life Jacket Day

May 20th last week was Red Cross National Lifejacket Day. I didn't hear anything about this occasion until late that night. Coincidentally, on the same day there was an unfortunate accident on Echo Lake in south eastern Saskatchewan. A group of school students was out on the lake when two of the canoes capsized due to sudden winds. One of the students that ended up in the cold water was not wearing a life jacket or PFD and apparently needed to be resuscitated by the RCMP. Thankfully, everyone was eventually OK though 4 students were treated at hospital for hypothermia (they were in the water for an hour).

So, with that event calling to attention the importance of PFDs, I received a phone call from CBC television the following morning, asking to talk to me about life jackets. I am the "Publicity Director" for the Saskatoon Canoe Club and I guess based on that they figured I was the guy to talk to. Coincidentally, I was home with nothing better to do than to build a deck (my daughter was in daycare for the day). After discussing the issue of paddlers and life jackets on the phone for a few minutes, they asked if I would be willing to do an on-camera interview. I agreed and 90 minutes later I was down at the boathouse.

The reporter and cameraman chatted for a bit, asking general questions about the SCC, it's policies, and it's equipment. The cameraman recorded a ton of video throughout, then they did a 3 or 4 minute interview. The questions were pretty straight-forward, and I answered as best as I could. One question threw me off a bit though - they asked if there was a story I could share relating to when I was thankful to be wearing a PFD. Of course, there are several things I could have mentioned (wiping out in Farside with Rob, wiping out in Corner Rapids with Rob photographing, wiping out with Rob....), but the only thing I could think of immediately was some lame story about the first time I went down Otter Rapids - I was so excited to be running the rapids that I had completely forgotten to zip up & buckle my life jacket. At the end of the interview she asked if there was anything else I would like to add. Of course, I couldn't think of a single thing to say.

It was only later while I was out for a paddle on the river that a whole host of ideas came to mind. I should have talked about proper PFD care (keep it out of sunlight, treat it with a protectant such as 303, clean it, dry it, check for damage, check it's buoyancy, check for breakdown of the fabric, and replace it when it's old), getting proper paddling skills, having the right equipment on board, wearing the right clothing, dressing for immersion, being aware of the weather and your surroundings, and not over-estimating one's skills. They were still at the boathouse filming extra footage so I stopped back in and talked to the reporter about my concerns. They were willing to re-shoot the interview, but advised me that they thought what they had was good enough, that it was PFD's specifically they were most interested in, and that the segment was going to be severely edited anyway.

So, I got back into the kayak and continued my paddle. The cameraman was in the area shooting for about an hour, shooting film inside the boathouse of the equipment, taking close-ups of the PFDs, shooting film of me paddling off into the high winds and chop on the river, etc.

When I later saw the video, I was rather surprised to have seen my interview cut down to that one lame story. You can find the video at http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Local_News/Saskatchewan/ID=1500771460. Early in the piece are several kayakers shown out on the water without PFDs. One of them is Jimmy. It looks like he might even be teaching some lessons, something I would hope he would have better sense than to be doing without a PFD, especially on such a windy day on the river (perhaps that footage was shot some other time).

The news video also shows a fellow who talks about mandatory wearing of PFDs, something that has been coming up recently. I certainly hope the lawmakers in Canada do not decide to go that route. Although I am a strong advocate of proper PFD use, I believe people should be able to use their own judgement based on the conditions in which they are paddling. Perhaps it should be mandatory for school groups or situations involving groups of kids, but there are situations where I do not feel it necessary to have mine on at all times (calm waters, warm water, no kids on board, etc.)

Surfing on the Churchill

With winter weather knocking at the door, I thought I'd post this video of canoe surfing on the Churchill River from summer of '08. The video is of and taken by some friends of mine during a Saskatoon Canoe Club trip. Russell is in the blue canoe and Mark is in the red. The first portion with the small ledge is Carla's Rapid and the bigger wave train is Surf City. I've paddled through, over and past both these spots, and swim there too (purposely of course!) whenever we get the chance. It's great fun!

Hit the Road With James Raffan

It's only a few more days until canoe guru James Raffan comes to Saskatoon! A blog is being posted of Raffan's travelling adventures on the Canadian Canoe Museum website. Click the top tab that says "Hit the Road With Raffan". And don't miss the presentation on Wednesday!

James Raffan in Saskatoon

The Saskatoon Canoe Club, Recreation Division, will be hosting Dr. James Raffan, author and Executive Director of the Canadian Canoe Museum (http://www.canoemuseum.ca/), as part of his National Treasure tour. Dr. Raffan will be presenting an entertaining multi-media event celebrating canoes, Canada, and the wonders of the Canadian Canoe Museum. The presentation is all about canoes in popular culture, canoes in Canada (voted in 2007 as one of Canada's Seven Wonders), and will feature just a few of the many amazing stories attached to craft in the museum's collection of canoes and kayaks.

One of the newest acquisitions that Dr. Raffan is excited to talk about is a canoe that once belonged to Farley Mowat's family. Raffan writes "one of the newest canoes in our collection is one that was purchased and paddled in and around Saskatoon by Angus Mowat, Farley's father, when he was the Chief bookminder at the Saskatoon Public Library back in the 1930s. Farley claims that this canoe (a 1921 Peterborough sailing canoe) was the vessel that first took him into nature on the mighty South Saskatchewan and in the sloughs around Saskatoon--he also claims that this canoe is actually the reincarnation of the original canoe in which he was conceived on the Bay of Quinte ... and therein lies a bit of a tale."

This event is open to everyone. Admission is by donation with all money collected going to the Canadian Canoe Museum.

What: James Raffan, "National Treasure" Presentation
When: Wednesday, October 28th, 7:00 pm
Where: Castle Theatre at Aden Bowman Collegiate, 1904 Clarence Ave South, Saskatoon

Castle Theatre is a large venue so pass along this information to anyone who you think may be interested! Word of mouth/e-mail is the best advertising.

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Trip Archives: 2003

Part Three in the ongoing saga of moving things off of my soon-to-be-deleted Geocities site.

Red Deer River - May 3rd, 2003 - Day trip near Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan. We drove to Hudson Bay on Friday evening, arriving at the regional park campgrounds just prior to the gates being locked up at 10 pm. Camp was set up in the dark which went reasonably well, especially since it was the first time for setting up our new "family-size" tent, a MEC Wanderer 4 (purchased used through OutdoorGearSwap.com). After the tent was set up, we visited around the fire with some of the other trip participants (Adrian, Robin, Arlene, Gerry, and later Steve, Andrew and Bruce). It rained briefly during the night but there was no evidence of any dampness by morning. I awoke early on Saturday morning and took the opportunity to walk with the dog along the Fir River to it's confluence with the Red Deer, then on to the confluence with the Etomami River, a distance of perhaps 2 km. Several vehicles were shuttled to the end point of the trip while the rest of us got the boats ready.

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There were 19 participants on the trip, including Dave Bober, a Hudson Bay area farmer who was accompanying us. Dave was practicing his characteristic paddling style with a double-bladed paddle and a large tree trunk in the bow for ballast. When he wanted to get a better view of the rapids ahead, or wanted to move at a quicker pace, Dave would paddle from the standing position.

This stretch of river is 18 miles and ends near Erwood, a small town East of Hudson Bay. It is a spring runoff trip, i.e. it must be done when meltwater is running off. It was fairly fast, shallow and rocky with lots of class 1 whitewater. According to the water metering station near Erwood, the water level was recorded as 1.6 while we were on the river. There were lots of rock gardens that had to be negotiated through. The avoidance of rocks was complicated by the murky tea coloured water. It was about 9:15 am by the time we set off from the regional park just upriver of the highway bridge. It soon became evident that several in the group were quite inexperienced and I was a bit concerned that some would end up swimming (though none did). There were lots of opportunities on this stretch of river to scratch up the bottom of my canoe but as bad as things seemed on the river, little damage was done to the boat (what's a few scratches). In the future, I'd probably recommend a Royalex plastic canoe which is more suited to sliding over the unavoidable rocks.

The weather can best be described as variable. For the most part, it was partly cloudy with blustery winds, though the river valley largely protected us from the winds. The temperatures were not bad, probably ranging from 10C in the morning to 17C in the afternoon. After lunch a thunder storm brewed and as the river changed directions, we either were paddling directly into it, or away from it. At one point near the end of the trip the storm was quite close with lightning about 1 mile away. We were no longer dawdling at that point. At about this time it started to rain, though it was warm enough that I was comfortable in just a t-shirt, shorts and PFD even when wet. Upon arriving at the egress point (about 3 pm), the storm set in in earnest. We were loading up the canoes and equipment into the vehicles in the midst of a downpour! Fortunately this weather came at the end of the trip and failed to dampen our spirits (though it did preclude us from extending the route downstream).

All told, this proved to be a very enjoyable and fairly easy river trip. It's not a bad introduction to moving water for those with good flatwater skills. There is a sense of wilderness on this river, though I expect there were many farms close by. Although there is a high moose population in the area, we were not lucky enough to see any. I did see an osprey, a cormorant, lots of kingfishers, and a few beavers.

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Churchill River. September 2003. Four of us (Jay, Rod, Rob and Bryan) went up to Corner Rapids on the Churchill River for 4 days on the weekend of September 4-7 as the third annual NorthStar Expeditions trip. The weather was fantastic, the fishing periodically very good, the water very warm, the northern lights briefly amazing. For Rob's pictures, follow the link.

The adventures started on Thursday morning while driving North on the gravel. We crested the top of a hill to see a blazer overturned in the ditch, a semi stopped on the side of the road, and a guy named Joe lying at the side of the road looking dead. We stopped and the semi had already radioed for help and one other vehicle had started the drive back to La Ronge looking for help (the semi couldn't reach La Ronge directly but was trying to relay the message by radioing other trucks). Joe was in fairly rough shape and crawled to the side of the road after having been thrown from the vehicle (we think). He was conscious though and of course I decided to put to use the remnant of 1st aid I could remember and felt him up looking for sore spots and protruding things. Only later did I figure out that the other guy on the scene had already done that. It turned out that the other guy was a fire fighter from La Ronge. It didn't take too long after that before we figured out that we were just going to be in the way when the ambulance arrived.

We eventually got to Devil Lake and underway without further mishap. We portaged around Mosquito Rapids, paddled across Barker Lake, then paddled, dragged, carried, lined and portaged our way up the Rapid City channel towards Corner Rapids. While the 4 of us were trying to line Rod's loaded canoe up one short but large rapid, the canoe got swung out into the current and yanked downstream after having filled 1/2 full with water. This was not entirely unexpected and wouldn't have been much of a problem except that Jay had the rope wrapped around his hand so got yanked off the rock and unceremoniously launched into the water. The canoe by that point was completely swamped but stayed upright so kept most of the gear contained. Rod and I ran to my canoe, hopped in and started the recovery process (abandoning Rob on the other side of the river). A couple of 'merican fishermen watching the whole misadventure went around picking up the few loose items that had floated off (the jug of golf balls, a food pail). All told the only thing lost was Jay's sunglasses (free from the Air Ronge Mohawk with a fishing licence), which we suspect are on the rock near where Rob picked up Jay's hat - he was yanked off the rock so fast that his hat fell where he once was standing.

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Having decided to portage around that rapid, we were able to line/paddle the rest of the way to Corner without further mishap. We camped at the bottom of Corner Rapids which turned out to be a very nice spot and the day was topped off by a steak supper with Rod's special marinade (a can of coke, mustard, garlic, and various other spices). That night we were sitting around the campfire when Rob pointed up to the northern lights and said "holy shit, look at that". As a result I was stumbling around in a circle looking up at the sky when I stubbed my toe. I didn't think much of it at the time but after it still hurt about 15 minutes later I checked my toe and it was bright blue. It only got worse as the weekend went on and by Saturday morning it was very swollen. I eventually decided to take Rod's advice and release the pressure. I took a fish hook, bent it straight and cut off the point, then heated it over the stove until it was red hot. I then used it to melt a hole through my toenail. I was rather apprehensive but it didn't hurt at all and it did feel at least somewhat better afterwards.*

Friday we spent the day touring around the area below Sluice Falls and fishing. After a few small pike in the morning we were skunked for the rest of the day. We were starting to wish we had kept those first pike since it was looking like a supper of fish batter patties fried in butter. That's about when I caught a 10 lb pike. None of us had a net so I had to wrestle it into the boat. 10 lbs might not sound like much but that was a big fish. It fed the 4 of us quite well and we did not have to go hungry.

Saturday we decided to play in the whitewater and decided Farside Rapid was the best one to start on. Farside is on the far side from Corner (i.e. river right) and is a big rapid that we played on when we were up there on previous trips. The water level was fairly high so the waves were nice and big. Rob and I went first while Jay and Rod watched from above. The first wave we hit sent Rob way up in the air, then hit the canoe at an angle, knocking us a bit and causing us to take in some water. We then rode out a few more of the waves but started to get knocked around a lot and took on more and more water. We eventually capsized and went for a swim. The current does some funny things there and Rob says he was pulled under for a bit. After floating in the current for a while the eddy nicely deposited us on the rocks on the right side. The canoe continued upriver in the eddy back-current before coming back for another loop. I jumped in after it and grabbed the rope and once I was standing on shore I was able to pull the canoe onto the rocks as it passed us for the second time. This time the only thing lost was Rob's hat (he also lost a sandal and a paddle but we picked those up in the bay around the corner thanks to Jay's swimming efforts and in spite of my efforts) and the canoe suffered not a scratch. After watching us, Jay and Rod quickly and wisely decided to carry over the rocks rather than suffer our fate in the water. After that episode Rob was somewhat nervous and I was less anxious to continue running rapids that afternoon. While paddling back across the current near where the Farside current and the Ric's Falls current come together, a big swirling hole opened up right in front of Rob and I. It was probably 20 feet across and 2 or 3 feet deep and seemed like it was about to swallow us whole though we were able to skirt it's edge. One second the water was fairly flat and moving in a straight, predictable manner; the next this giant swirling chasm was opening immediately in front of us. I had never seen anything quite like it before, at least not from so close up and it was pretty freaky especially given what Rob and I had just gone through.** Instead of playing in more rapids we fished from the point off our campsite and found a whole bunch of tasty pickerel (figures, we spent the previous day touring all over the place trying to find fish only to have them on our doorstep). It was beautiful fishing, standing up to our knees in the warm water and casting into the current with the sun shining.

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From a previous trip, here is my brother and I on the wave where Rob and I wiped out:

Thankfully, Sunday was free of misadventures. We packed up and ran the rapids all the way back to Devil Lake. Jay even introduced me to the Three Sisters Rapids and Staircase Falls, none of which I had seen before. This side channel allowed us to bypass Mosquito Rapids to the South and instead do just a short carry around Staircase Falls to get back to Devil Lake. Once back at the campgrounds we loaded all the gear into the van and paddled over to Otter Rapids to run through. Rob, still a bit gun shy from the previous day, chose instead to record the event on film. When I went through with my canoe and Rod in the bow, Jay insisted on kneeling in the center and bailing for us. He said it's the only way to get down without swamping. I'm still not convinced. The boat was much more tippy with the extra weight and higher center of gravity. We took on a lot of water and Jay bailed a lot out, but I'm not sure we would've taken on so much without him there in the first place. I guess we'll just have to set up a whole series of randomized, replicated trials next year to figure it out for certain.***

The table below summarizes the weather as recorded in LaRonge, about 80km away to the South. It was pretty great.
The chart below shows the water levels for '03. Levels were pretty low, that's probably the lowest water I've seen on the Churchill (the last several years have had predominantly high water with records being set in '09 and a few years ago).

Things I haven't mentioned: 1.) Butter, not enough about the butter. 2.) Bear poop: No mention of the mountain of relatively fresh bear poop in the middle of our camp site. 3.) No mention of the road grading schedule that we confirmed (but have since forgotten the answer to). 4.) No mention of the longest drive competition that I won.

*Footnote: (pun intended) Once I was back home the swelling in my toe returned and I went to a doctor to have a professional look at it this time. He confirmed that what we did in the bush was the right thing to do, and he repeated it in his office, this time using a fine electric soldering iron instead of a fish hook heated over a camp stove. The toenail fell off two weeks later and took over 6 months to fully re-grow.

** Here's what Laurel Archer has to say about Farside Rapids in her excellent book, Northern Saskatchewan Canoe Trips, A Guide to Fifteen Wilderness Rivers: "The [river right] rapids are the Far Side.... This class 2+/3 chute is fast with a long, large wave train to follow. There is a violent current, making boils and whirlpools. Again, good walleye fishing from the island." We could've drowned but at least the walleye would've picked our bones clean.

*** Jay's response "You didn't see the water in the canoe when Rod and I went down, I'm convinced that we need about 20 trials next year to confirm."

Trip Archives: 2001

Yahoo Geocities is shutting down in less than a month and my site there will be deleted. Therefore, I've got to move some of my trip reports before they are deleted. Over the coming days & weeks you'll see them show up here at pawistik.blogspot.com.


Prince Albert National Park, Fish Lake, May, 2001. Four of us (K., Mike, Laurie, Bryan) hiked into Fish Lake in the South end of PANP.

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The weather was cool and it rained early in the weekend which chased everyone else away after the first night in the campground. After everyone left, the sky clear

ed and it ended up being a pretty nice weekend. If I'm not mistaken, this was our first time that we met Mike, or perhaps it was merely the first time we really got to evaluate him!

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Churchill River - Stanley Mission to Nistowiak Falls. June, 2001. Easy 4 day trip. Bryan, Rob, Rod & Jay, The inaugural NorthStar Expeditions trip! We were hit by a squall just after reaching our campsite on "Camp Island". We took shelter from the hail and downpour sitting underneath a tarp draped over a large log. Camp Island is a convenient, if rather small, camp spot several kilometers from Nistowiak Falls. A few meters away was "Shit Island", which is where you had to go to take a crap since there was very little room for that on Camp Island. You won't find these neames on anybody elese's map by the way. Nistowiak Falls was amazing, I highly recommend paddling there at least once. I think this would make an excellent destination on skis too.


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Churchill River - Devil Lake, Barker Lake, Rapid City. July 2001. Tandem Whitewater Course, Level I (3 days). Course was offered through the Saskatoon Canoe Club and instruction was provided by Horizon's Unlimited.


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Kingsmere Lake, Prince Albert National Park. September 2001. K., Bryan, Laurie & Mike. We went back to PANP, canoed into Kingsmere Lake and paddled the "Bagwa route". I think this might have been the time we saw a moose in the channel between Pease Point and Bagwa Lake.

Open House Time Again

It's time once again for the Saskatoon Canoe Club's annual Open House at the Boathouse. This coming Sunday, May 3rd, from 12:00 to 4:00 pm we will be hosting an open house and barbecue in Victoria Park along the river near the docks. Come and see what membership in the Saskatoon Canoe Club can bring to you and your family. Whether you are interested in quiet paddles down the river, marathon racing, kayaking, solo trekking, improving your skill level, or just want to have fun on the water… our club may be the one for you. Meet a few club members and our sponsors. See what we have to offer on May 3rd at the boathouse along the river in Victoria park near Riversdale.

That, more or less, is the blurb that has gone out to various local media announcing our upcoming open house. This is usually a pretty busy day for us and fair weather will likely mean we have hundreds of people visit our boathouse bay. At least I hope so, since I'll be picking up 200 hamburgers on Friday. By the way, we'll only be serving burgers until they're gone so don't show up at 3:45 and be disappointed if we can't feed you!

Mark In The News

Mark's now well underway on his journey from La Ronge to Hudson Bay, paddling 1400 km in his solo canoe. He is about 9 days into the trip and should now be nearing the eastern border of the province.

Mark has gotten a fair bit of media coverage this time around. Over the course of his trip, Mark will be phoning in to CBC Radio every two weeks for an interview with the local Saskatchewan program, Blue Sky. The week before leaving, Mark did a radio interview with Blue Sky. That interview was aired last Tuesday (June 17th) and you can listen to the interview here (Real Audio file). His next interview will air tomorrow, Tuesday, June 24th between 12 and 1 pm. If I'm lucky, I'll remember to turn on CBC radio and listen this time. If not, hopefully it shows up in their archive. You can hear the interview for yourself at 540 am anywhere within about 500 km of Watrous, 94.1 FM in Saskatoon, and many other local frequencies. For those of you outside of Saskatchewan, or for those who, like me, don't have a functioning radio, you can listen online.

Here is a schedule of his CBC radio interviews as pasted from his blog:

Tuesday June 24th	Between 12 - 1 pm
Tuesday July 8th	Between 12 - 1 pm
Tuesday July 24th	Between 12 - 1 pm
Tuesday August 5th	Between 12 - 1 pm
Tuesday August 19th	Between 12 - 1 pm

His June 24th interview is now available online. Find it here.

Mark also did an interview with the Saskatoon Sun which appeared in my mailbox this weekend. It was a full page article with a picture of Mark in his canoe sitting alongside the boathouse dock. I'd like to provide a link to an online version but it doesn't appear to be available anywhere. Mark also did an interview with the PA Herald which appeared a week and a half ago. You can read it here. He was also planning on doing an interview with the La Ronge Northerner prior to launching.

You can learn more about Mark Lafontaine and his epic journey from his website (www.wildpaddler.com), including a map of the route. Mark has also been keeping a blog where he detailed some of the construction of his custom-designed expedition canoe and other aspects of preparation for the trip (wildpaddler.blogspot.com).

By the way, I got a chance to paddle his new canoe for a couple of minutes two weeks ago. Although I was only in it briefly, it felt very nice. I had just come out of the canoe club's Swift Osprey (mentioned in a previous post), so Mark's canoe felt rock solid in terms of stability. It was tougher to turn, but not bad. The narrow beam at the gunwales made paddling very easy. Of course, it had no load in it so it wasn't a real good test. I expect that upon Mark's return he'll have a clearly defined set of goals to achieve in the next canoe he builds, characteristics he likes and others he wants to improve upon.

Update: Mark ended up suffering physical and equipment problems. These issues (I'm not clear on what problems he encountered), forced him to turn around when he was well into Manitoba and retrace part of his route in order to get himself out. I believe area forest fires were also a concern and could have prevented rapid egress had he proceeded farther.

Torch River 2008

My wife, our eldest daughter, & I went up to the Torch River again for the third year in a row, this time with a group from the Saskatoon Canoe Club. Last year we had snow the day before, highs of about 10C and muddy roads, impassable for our Honda Accord. This year things were looking better. The forecast for this weekend was excellent with highs of 22C and nothing but sunshine for the foreseeable future. With lots of hats and sun protection packed, we were prepared for a beautiful two days of paddling this small river. In the morning before leaving PA we woke to gray skies and an altered forecast.

The gravel and dirt roads in to the river were quite the contrast to last year's mud. Clouds of dust billowed behind the train of vehicles. As we neared the put-in just a few small drops were falling from the sky. We were on the water a few minutes after noon and within a couple of minutes the rain began. The rain was light but steady through the entire paddle and the temperatures dropped throughout the afternoon.
Nonetheless, the paddle was good. The "North Loop" of the Torch River is scenic, though we perhaps didn't revel in it the same way we might have had it been a bit warmer and drier. There are a few sections of riffles and class 1 rapids, and one good section of rapids right where a creek flows in from the north. It was at this section of rapids that I was unable to avoid one large wave. Knowing we were going to hit it, I decided to hit it straight and punch through. My wife, on the other hand, had her own ideas and did her best to counteract my efforts. Unfortunately, our daughter was sitting on the floor at the bow with an umbrella over her. The umbrella did not protect her from the wave as it poured over the bow, but it did compromise my wife's ability to paddle through the rapid. The added weight of having the girl in the bow would certainly have made matters worse, causing the bow to plunge deeper into the standing wave. She was not too happy about that particular bit of excitement. Once safely below the set of rapids we went to shore and our daughter donned a dry set of clothing (special thanks to Sheri for her help).

We finished the afternoon without further mishap, though the drizzle continued. Just as we arrived at the day's take-out, the drizzle tapered off to a mist, perhaps even stopping and the sun nearly peaked through the thinned clouds. However, this was just a tease and the drizzle returned. My wife & I decided to head back to PA that evening as we were running out of dry clothes for our daughter and the lining of her rain jacket was wet. If we had good weather for the next day, we would have been OK, but we didn't trust the forecast (which predicted better weather). We also had some concern about getting out on the muddy roads after any further rainfall, especially after Jay had already gotten his van stuck about 12 feet after leaving the take-out. As it turned out, our decision was good. Last night it rained all night in Prince Albert (about 100 km from the Torch River) and today was wet and cool (10-11C through most of the afternoon). I suspect that a couple of those that did stay might have had similar troubles on the road, though each of the vehicles that remained (a Toyota 4-Runner, a Dodge 3/4-ton 4x4, a full-size chev van) was much more capable than our small station wagon.

The participants in this year's excursion to the Torch River include Mark, Robin, Arlene, Jimmy, Ellen, Jay, Sheri, Larry and family, Steve, Martin, Heather, and a few others.

Check Mark's blog for a story and photos.

Some photos from the day, taken by my wife:

Our daughter takes a break from fishing and finds a spot to rest in the bow. Unfortunately, it proved to be a rather wet spot.

Jay & Sheri loving the rain.

Wet dog, wet Bryan.

Northern Saskatchewan Canoe Country

Robin and Arlene Karpan's new book, Northern Saskatchewan Canoe Country, is due out in just a few weeks. Quoted from the press release:

Northern Saskatchewan Canoe Country, a new book by writers and photographers Robin and Arlene Karpan, takes you on a visual journey along the north’s most spectacular rivers and lakes. The hardcover coffee-table book features 230 stunning images of the northern wilderness, complemented by stories on the rich history, the tremendous diversity of landscapes, and the Karpans’ personal experiences in canoeing and travelling the north.

I'm looking forward to seeing this one, and not just because my wife & I are in some of the photos! Robin and Arlene are friends of ours that we first came to know through serving on the executive of the Saskatoon Canoe Club. In addition to paddling some day trips, my wife and I did a fly-in canoe trip a few years ago with Robin and Arlene, Dave and John Bober, Ralph Zaffran, and Lloyd Beazely. We flew in to Hickson Lake then made our way to the Paull River and on down to the Churchill River and finished at Missinipe. A map of the whole route can be seen here at this link and a partial write-up can be seen here at my other site for the time being (eventually, I will move that stuff either here to pawistik.blogspot.com, or over to pawistik.net). I gather that this trip was the source of some of the material used for the book chapter "Rock Art to Rock Trout: Hickson Lake & Paull River."

The Karpan's own Parkland Publishing and have published numerous books of local interest, often featuring their remarkable photography. A book launch is currently being planned for May, possibly in conjunction with a Saskatoon Canoe Club event (once details have been established, and announcement will likely be made on the SCC web site).

Membership Renewal Time!

It's membership drive time at CFCR 90.5 FM, Saskatoon's Community radio station. CFCR plays a highly varied and often eclectic mixture of music and cultural programming. My favourite shows include the weekday morning roots program, So Many Roads, the Monday evening blues program, Rollin' & Tumblin', and the Thursday evening awesome music program, Pirate Radio. Fantastic boatbuilding music!

The Community Radio Society of Saskatoon runs the radio station, and membership yields discounts at various local retailers, entry in the membership drive draw, as well as monthly random member draws. Members are also eligible to call in to win frequent on-air giveaways. I have gotten my money's worth over the years. Just last month I won two free tickets to see the incredible Harry Manx at the Broadway Theatre. It was an awesome show and it only cost us the babysitter fee.

p.s. I'm now member #0051.

Click Here to Listen Live!

A Good Friday

The Good Friday holiday turned out to be a pretty good one. Among other things, I stopped in to Kisseynew Canoe Company to see what was happening there. Mark was working on his new canoe and it was looking pretty good. When I arrived, he had been shaping a yoke of ash & walnut using a power carving wheel on a disc grinder.

I then headed down to the river for a paddle, my first paddle of 2008. I used the Saskatoon Canoe Club's relatively new Swift Osprey. This solo canoe is one I've been wanting to try for some time now, particularly since it is a canoe I think might be a good one to build someday (although probably I need something with greater capacity for tripping use). The first thing I noticed is that it is light, certainly the lightest canoe I have paddled (my experience in actual solo canoes is limited to 2, and the other one is Royalex). I found that for me it paddled the most comfortably in a heeled over position using my voyageur paddle and a "canadian" paddling style which has the paddle slicing forward through the water. The canoe felt a bit "tender" at first, particularly in the heeled over position which kept it interesting whenever the dog would move around. This instability was quite manageable as the dog & I both became accustomed to it. At first I had Kaya in the stern because there is more room but I realised later that the bow would keep her closer to the centerline and not give her room to roam. The sliding seat made adjusting trim a pretty simple matter. There is a foot brace as well and I did try paddling with my bent shaft paddle but it just did not seem quite right.

The weather was cool and overcast but not bad at -3C with a light north wind (9-13 kph according to Environment Canada). The river was mostly frozen but for a span of 15 - 100 m along the east shore. The current in the open channel of water was swift, making me work for my upriver progress. I first headed upriver with no particular goal in mind. As I warmed up and my muscles got used to the task I kept picking points farther upriver to head to. Eventually I came to the end of the open water at the Queen Elizabeth II power plant. The power plant is the source of thermal pollution which keeps this stretch of river open much of the winter.

After a brief rest I turned back downriver and into the cool wind to return to the boathouse (note to self, don't let you wet gloves cool down to ambient during a rest stop then put them back on and expect warmth any time soon!). The total distance was about 6.6 km according to the Google MapsPedometer. SCC Marathon Division members Trevor & Viki were there and heading out on the water, Trevor for his 11th paddle of 2008.

The Wildlife seen was restricted to birds: mallards that have been there all winter, geese that have recently returned though they may only have come from the Diefenbaker Lake outflow (80 km), some gulls and magpies.

A software-generated version of one of my snapshots:

Busy, Busy, Busy

The last 4 evenings have been spent working into the wee hours of the night on the website for the Saskatoon Canoe Club, as well as putting together a poster for some upcoming events.

The SCC has just switched hosts in advance of the demise of the Saskatoon FreeNet. I spent an inordinate amount of time worrying over the decision of what host to move to, mentally debating such issues as whether to support local companies or go with cheaper but non-local hosts, and how much disk space and bandwidth we might need. In the end I went with what will probably be more than enough space from a local company, for what seems like a reasonable price (though cheaper hosting can be obtained).

Moving everything over to the new host, I took the opportunity to clean up the files and update some of the pages and it was this process that has kept me up at nights. In particular, the coming events page needed major work to update and generally improve. Now tonight I was going to bed early (~10:30 or so) and here I still am after midnight. In the past I used NVU html editor. I have recently started using an older version of DreamWeaver and am finding it much better. I think now I'll be able to do a better job of cleaning up and maintaining the pages; I think it was the tables in the original set-up that have been causing me fits.

I'll try to paste in the info from the poster (which will shortly be seen in some local libraries, Eb's Boomtown, Outter Limits, etc.) in case you're interested.

Saskatoon Canoe Club

2008 Winter Events

January 18^th, 6pm – 9pm: Potluck Supper & Larry Easton Presentation. St. Paul’s United Church, 454 Egbert Ave. Professional photographer, Larry Easton, has paddled and photographed many places in North America. Larry will give a multimedia presentation and discuss some of his favourite trips including Baja, Nahanni, Broken Group Islands and Cree River.

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February 28^th, 7pm – 9pm: Annual General Meeting & Thelon River Presentation. J.S. Wood Library, 1801 Lansdowne Ave. Join us for a short AGM, have your input into the club’s activities, and view a presentation from Bill Bishopp’s trip on the Thelon River.

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March 28^th, 7pm – 9pm: Trip Presentations. St. Paul’s United Church, 454 Egbert Ave. Mark Holmstrom will discuss his Churchill River trip and Adrian Johnston will discuss his Cree River trip.

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April 24^th & 25^th, 5:30 – 8:30 pm: Paddle Building Workshop. Lee Valley Tools, 820A 51^st St. E. Cost: $85 with tax. Space is limited; to sign up call Mark @ 955-4587. Participants will complete a straight-shaft paddle to take home.

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May 4^th: Boathouse Open House and 35th Anniversary Festivities. We are planning a party so watch for details!

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For more information visit our website: www.saskatooncanoeclub.org