Monday, June 18: (9 km paddling, 6 rapids, 0.2 km portaging, 5 hours driving)

Breakfast happenned, as usual, before I was around. But I did get 2 strips of bacon and a cup of coffee.

Does this look like a good day to get soaking wet?

The day was cool and gloomy. Too cool and gloomy for us to feel like running rapids. In the distance, we could see a small patch of clear sky coming our way. So we lounged around and packed up camp slowly just in case. Then the sun broke through. We are doing rapids! We loaded up the canoes and headed off down Donaldson Channel. Gillian and I were ready. Brent and Howard were ready. It really didn't matter how Jason felt about it, Mike and his spray cover were ready.

Donaldson channel consists of 4 main rapids, separated by about 50 to 100 meters of big eddies, small pools and swift moving water. The rapids escalate in difficulty, and are all quite different from one another. We call them, the Big "S", Needle Falls, the RollerCoaster and RightAngle. They are all about class 2 to class 3+. We run them with our canoes fully loaded, and it is rare to make it down the last 2 without the canoes being completely swamped. Our gear in waterproof bags acts as flotation, and with small bow and stern tanks, we are able to complete the rapid, even though the water level inside the canoe is 2 inches higher than the water level outside. In the old days, with less flotation, only the tip of the bow and stern protuded about the surface of the water. We still consider this a successful run.

Big "S"

This is an easy class 2 with big sweeping bends. There is an obvious path down the middle of the "S" with nice haystacks showing the way, but the different streams joining and leaving the main channel mean that the real challenge is predicting where the side currents are going to make you go and then compensate for them before it happens.

We do believe in the adage "Scout every rapid before you run it." But, we have run this channel a LOT of times, at every possible water level. So, we ran the it with only partial scouting: by standing up in the canoe and looking it over it first from the water only. It looked just as expected, and there was a huge eddy for us to exit into and scout the last little bit which is hidden around a bend.

Gillian and I ran this one smoothly, gently back paddling down the inside of the big "S" bends. Mike and Jason powered down the middle. Lots of energy, and only a little drama. Brent and Howard took a different channel halfway down. I think I saw Brent switching to plan "B" when he got swept to the outside of one big bend. Together again, we stood up in the eddy and looked over the final part of the big "S".

The best way to run it was to ferry across the current (always good to practice ferrying across current!) and then pick one of the two channels. So we did.

Needle Falls

The river is split by an island at this point. Needle Falls actually refers to a sharp rock in the river-left channel. We always run the tricky boulder garden down river right. There is a vague sort of channel where most of the water flows in a series of linked downstream vees. It makes a sharp bend to the left 80% of the way down. I call this one class 2+. It can be tricky to zig-zag down it at low water levels but at least you have time to pick your route. At the present medium wter level, it is all reflexes. There may be a nice channel to follow somewhere, but locating it as you whistle on down is not easy.

Halfway down, the is another "Needle" type rock that most of us have made contact with at some point in time or another. It hides in a haystack. Brent remembers it better than most of us because he got hung up on it in his aluminum Grumman canoe. The water level was a little lower than usual, and the canoe teetered back and forth but wouldn't come free. Having been in this situation before, Brent knew what to do: get out and shove the canoe off the rock. He got off on the right hand side but was unable to touch the bottom. No problem. He then stepped over the left hand side and again was also unable to touch the bottom. Okay, so that wasn't going to work. Note that in this situation, the downstream person should NOT get out of the canoe. The canoe acts a little bit like a weather vane, and if the bowman (usually they are the downstream person!) gets out, the stern digs in and and the current swings the canoe rapidly around 180 degrees. It may broadside other rocks, or crush the bowman, who is downstream of the canoe. So, Brent had no choice but the jump and wriggle and shake until the canoe came off the rock... with yet another big dent in it.

Mike and Jason ran this first. Then Gillian and I made it partway down before sliding sideways up onto a large rounded boulder. I had to get out (ala Brent) and shove the canoe off. Brent and Howard came down with no problems. I think everyone banged a rock somewhere.

Brent and Howard: Needle Falls. Rocks? What rocks?

RollerCoaster

The RollerCoaster is big water with big rocks in it. I call it class 3+. Most of the big rocks are underwater, but not very far under water. We have two options running this one. Option One is to go straight down the middle, have one of the first two rollers fill your canoe, then pray you can keep it upright through the rest of the haystacks. This is actually pretty safe because almost everything gets swept into the big eddy at the bottom, instead of down into the next rapid! Option Two is to sneak down one of the sides. Both sides tend to have little channels that you can bump down, abusing the canoe but not the occupants.

Everyone opted for the big ride down the middle, although I had to nudge Brent and Howard into it. Mike and Jason went first and had 2 exciting moments. They seemed to get swept much farther left than then intended, and scraped over some sharp drops. They did avoid the big water at the top which probably wasn't intentional. As they bumped down the far side of the main channel, I saw 2 gunwhale grabs, one by each participant. Once they made it back in the big water haystacks, life was easy for them. Canoes with spray covers don't fill with water. They waited for us at the bottom.

Brent and Howard went next, filled in the first few rollers, and successfully kept it upright all the way to the shore.

Brent and Howard: Down the middle of the RollerCoaster

Closeup: It doesn't take much of this to fill a canoe

I decided that I had better run this one solo, as my canoe would have filled very quickly, and Gillian had little to no experience keeping her hands off the gunwhales going through big water. I was too lazy to move my gear to the back of the canoe and relash it down, but figured I would have no problem guiding the canoe from the back. First few rollers were fun, and the lightly load front end of the canoe took on almost no water. Then I got spun about a bit by a curling diagonal wave... which left me vulnerable to the next one. The light front end of the canoe was easily pushed about by the waves, especially with me in the back making the front end extra light. So, the next one hit me and the canoe started to roll. The canoe was pushed up onto its side, my paddle got sucked down by something, and I got partially tossed out. My hips and lower shoulder were under water, and water was pouring into the canoe. I stubbornly continued sculling in this position, with the canoe on its side and the bow in the air, but was unable to force the canoe back upright. A surge of adrenaline, a reluctance to go swimming, and probably another curling wave that the high front end went clear over, popped me back into the canoe and rocked it upright again. I continued to bounce down the haystacks, and then paddled to shore, half full of water. Gillian on shore was meant to take pictures of this fiasco. But once it got interesting, she forgot all about pushing the little button...

Warren: Still feeling pretty cocky here...

Once all canoes were bailed and back in order, we were off the next rapid.

RightAngle

RightAngle is the toughest rapid on Donaldson channel. I rate it class 3+. It comes in 3 parts. The first consists of 2 small "S" bends. Easy, except they HAVE to be done right to avoid getting swept down into the next part.

Part 2 is where all of the current slams into the side of a huge granite block on river left and then drops 4 feet. River right is blocked by a ledge, which at high water levels might be possible to run, but then the hole below would swallow you and your canoe. So, river left is the only choice. The runnable channel is usually about 2 feet from the ganite slab. The runnable channel is made extra narrow by a sharp rock poking up through the water about 6 feet from the granite slab. The water is deep, fast and the surface waves large and curling.

I would not want to swim this one. The big granite block is the place to stand a scout the rapid. Today, the channel right beside the granite block was too dangerous. There was a lot of water coming in from the side, resulting a a large curling wave which would push the canoe into the rock face, then roll it. The water was coming from the second channel out. The second channel is the one on the other side of the sharp pointed rock. Normally, it doesn't have much water and is a serious drop. This time however, it was this channel that was making the first one really tough. It had lots of water, and looked to be a fun and safe. To get to it, we would have to ferry out behind a small ledge 30 feet upstream, then peel into the main current and go for it.

Part 3 is once you have made it past the granite slab. The current shoots you diagonally across the river, where it turns back 90 degrees again and goes down a series of large boulders, all just under water. There are about 4 channels, each of similar size. It is almost impossible to choose which one you are going to go down because the current is whooshing you sideways across the top of all of them at great speed. Getting the canoe down ANY one of the channels is satisfying. Then you just bounce down the haystacks and head to shore to bail out the canoe. The big lake below means you have lots of time to recover, but also means that it could be a long swim to the shore.

We all scouted this thoroughly from the granite slab.

Mike and Jason went first. The big drop went fine, and they screamed across the top of the channels. It looked like they finally turned sometime just after the last real channel. A little after the turn, they lost it and tipped. They both got out from inside the spray cover just fine (practice, practice, practice!) and were washed down and into the lake.

Mike and Jason: Looking good down the drop

Mike and Jason: Accelerating down the V's

Mike and Jason: "Uh Oh, looks bad"

Mike and Jason: "It is bad"

Brent and Howard went next. A nice run, and other than the expected panic and adrenline, nothing exciting. They went down one of the channels, filled, and again kept it upright as they paddled it to the shore where they joined Mike and Jason dumping water out of their canoe.

Brent and Howard: Looking good.

Brent and Howard: Turning about 20 feet before Mike did...

Brent and Howard: "We have filled, keep on paddling!"

Gillian and I went last. Once again, no photos (sigh). Once down the drop, I planned to get out of the fast water and into the foaming pool above the hole. Then, we might have time to actually select which channel we would go down. Everything went to plan (most unusual!), and we turned and went down a channel which looked as good as any of them. As predicted, we soon filled, and continued on down through the haystacks. We must have been heavily loaded, because we had almost no gunwhale above water. So we sat in water up above our waists and paddled carefully. The tricky part is getting out of the fast water and crossing the eddy line without tipping. Gillian was perfect, and never grabbed or leaned on either gunwhale. We made it to shore easily, and dumped out the canoe. 3 for 3 canoes were now in the shallows, dumping water. But those of us who hadn't been swimming were much warmer than those that had. We counted this a 2 out of 3 making it.

We had now finished Donaldson channel. The nameless lake we were on is drained by 3 separate channels: Corner, Center and FarSide. All are nice runnable rapids. Normally we go down Corner, but because of having the spray cover, Mike thought it would be fun to go down Farside. Also much safer being deep water. A spray cover is not a good thing for going down shallow boulder gardens.

Farside

Farside is just a big drop, with lots of water. Once you punch through the first few big waves, you then bounce through some squirrely haystacks which get very interesting when the haystacks from Center run into them broadside.

Gillian and I went first. At the top, I threw a few sticks into the water to make sure that I could put the canoe where the water would sweep me into the right place, rather than fighting for position in the last few seconds. No problems, no drama and we eddied out into the sharp little whirlpool on river right, and got swept back up towards the rapid, where we got out and watched the others come down.

Warren and Gillian: Gillian jumps as the wave hits her!

Brent and Howard were next. No drama until they were halfway down the haystacks. They got hit by some funny water, then after they were swept around the bend at the bottom, they were hit by more funny water. Both times they almost went over, but didn't. Funny water can move a canoe about in unexpected ways and you really have to watch out for it. They came back up the eddy on river left and bailed out their canoe.

Brent and Howard: The funny water is 10 feet in front of them.

Mike and Jason ran this one easily, but got swooshed down around the corner, so we all had to go follow him down. We ended up in a slightly different channel from the one we had originally intended to go down, but got back on track by ferrying across some current.

Mike and Jason: Down into the seething froth!

The Ledge

Next was the Ledge which drops down into Barker. This is an easy one, although bowmen invariably get soaked. We usually stop, scout the rapid and leave a photographer to capture the moment for posterity. This time we didn't... we should have.

Brent and Howard went over first. Then Gillian and I, with a shrill squeak from Gillian as the wall of water went over her shoulders and down into her clothes. We turned back upstream in an eddy to watch Mike and Jason. They appeared over the lip, about 5 feet closer to the shore than they should have been. And the canoe was quite sideways, at about 45 degrees, as if they were trying to get to the right place at the last moment. Slowly and gracefully the canoe went over the lip. The big, foaming wall of water at the bottom, stopped the bow cold, and the canoe went broadside to the current.

Now, if you really know what you are doing, you can surf sideways in a hole. I do it all the time in kayaks, but canoes are a lot tougher, especially when load with gear. You have to lean REALLY far downstream and dig a paddle in deep just to stay upright. Getting out of the hole is can be tough to do, because all the water on the surface is tumbling back into the hole. The easiest way out is to fall in and once you are in the deeper water, you get washed out. Mike and Jason were only upright in the hole for a tenth of a second. Then it spun them over. Both made it under the canoe, whereupon the current spat them out and zinged them downstream, away from their canoe. The canoe popped out a few seconds later. Gillian and I rescued the canoe, while Brent and Howard rescued the swimmers. A paddle seemed to be missing but no-one had seen it go by.

We took everyone to shore, where Mike and Jason wrung their clothes out and shivered. Brent and Howard took off in search of the missing paddle. No luck. It was soon found wedged under the canoe. Which is not something you would think of happenning under a canoe which a spray cover. We now had 2 paddlers who had spent more than their fair share of time in the water. And the weather had gone back to gloomy and the wind was coming up. We sent Brent and Howard off to Barker Island to build a fire and soon paddled off after them. Just before getting to the island, the rain started coming down.

If we had scouted this rapid, we would have had a photographer at hand to catch the moment. But, had Mike looked at the rapid more closely from the shore, he probably wouldn't have dumped. So I guess it is just one of those things you will never get a picture of.

We went and huddled by the fire. Gillian made a large pot of soup. throwing in all kinds of odds and ends (and of course, cheese!). We gratefully drank it and discussed our future. Mike had really been looking forward to running Murray Rapids with a spray cover. It would probably be the most fun rapid for a covered canoe of the whole trip. But, probably not a sensible thing to do now. The weather had gotten worse, and all of us were a little cold. Also, I had no doubt that at least one canoe would end up upside down, going round and round in the whirlpool below. We decide to do the sensible thing and portage Mosquito Rapids instead.

Standing In the rain, deciding "No more rapids"

We changed into our dry clothes and rain gear, and packed up.

Mike and Jason: Ready for big rain.

Of course, as soon as we started paddling, it stopped raining. I overheated and took off the rain jacket. We zoomed along the channel, hopped and skipped through the portage, then paddled across Devil Lake. Mike and Jason won the race across the lake. But, as we neared shore. I spotted a van about to leave... Jason had been volunteered to do the 6 km jog into Missinnipe to pick up the vehicle and there he was, just watching this potential ride get away. We yelled at him to go ask for a ride, which he did, and was in Missinnipe in record time. He didn't get out of Missinnipe in record time, but was back much sooner than he would have been otherwise.

Howard and Brent pose, while Gillian sleeps on dry bags and concrete.

The sun came out and the wind came up while we waited for Jason's return. We unloaded the canoes and talked with a small group of novices about their upcoming canoe/kayak trip. They were going in to where we had just come from. But they had so much gear, they thought it likely that they would need to make 2 trips! And they now had a vicious headwind. I didn't envy them in the least.

The drive was uneventful, most people snoring while I, the designated driver, kept the vehicle on the road. Most of us were home in bed by 1 am.

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