View topic - Qu'Appelle River

Is it possible to get from Lake Diefenbaker to the Assiniboine River on the Qu'Appelle River? I can 'Google Earth' my way through and my Garmin can get me there (MapSource shows water from LD to AR). But can it be done for real? Anyone with any experience paddling the Qu'Appelle?

Marvin

Hi,
Sorry, no real experience but I read an interesting historical account of travel on the Qu'Appelle in a book called:
"Narrative of the Canadian Red River Exploring Expedition of 1857 and of the Assinniboine and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition of 1858" by Henry Youle Hind. The volume I borrowed from a friend was published by Hurtig in 1971.
The book has much more than the Qu'Appelle but it has a very good section on that river.
Ralph

Hi Marvin,
I think it should be possible in the right year at the right time of year, at least in theory. The Qu'Appelle would be fed from Lake Diefenbaker at the dam near Douglas Provincial Park. I expect you'd find some beaver dams along the way, but, in a wet spring there should be enough water to float a boat without much trouble and would probably paddle over such obstacles. Maybe lots of snow in the mountains to fill up Lake Diefenbaker would help too. I have no first-hand knowledge, but am quite happy to speculate.

Have you tried contacting paddlers in the southern part of the province? How about Geoff Horn at Fresh Air Experience in Regina?

Cheers,
Bryan

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