View topic - Looking for a 2009 river trip

Friends and I are looking for a river for next summer. We had planned on the Nahanni but reality has raised its ugly head and we must find a less ambitious trip. We did the Dease two years ago and it was a perfect geriatric river, grade II water, great scenery and history, about 2 weeks long and mostly a wilderness setting. Can anyone recommend something similar.

Hi David,

How about the (upper) Stikine or Spatsizi? Both have good scenery and enough whitewater to keep most interested.

Cheers
Al

bump
common guys....pull up your bootstraps! Give David a few lookie looks
not my area of the country
what about the Clearwater?

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home of the opinionated old farts!

The upper Stikine is glorious, but be sure to start at Happy Lake. You will have a moderately nasty portage, but the hiking is spectacular and is easily accessible.
The lower Stikine is equally glorious, with incredible views of glaciers.
Caution: Both the upper and lower sections can be clouded in and you risk seeing nothing.
I have to 'fess up and say that I have no basis for comparing the Stikine to other BC rivers.
Allan

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A literal mind is a little mind. If it's not worth doing to excess, it's not worth doing at all. Good enough isn't.  None are so blind as those who choose not to see. (AJ)

More info please. Nahanni was too tough, too much$ ? Also you've posted on the B.C. forum do you only want to look at B.C. rivers or are you willing to go elsewhere?

Moderate WW: I'd go for the Wind R. CII water beautiful setting, wilderness, but big$$ in and out.

Next to no WW, great historic value try the Yukon R moderate wilderness

Hugh

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"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
M.T.

I assume you paddled all the way to the Liard and did the last two
drops, so you should have no problem doing similar rivers. Two weeks is a pretty leisurely pace on the Dease. It does depend on some parameters such as money, and time, and distance. Allan is right about the Stikine, though the Spatsizi is a bit easier, but the same weather issues. There is the Omineca which is similar to the Dease though not as mountainous. I'd favor the Teslin-Yukon over the Yukon...Lake Leberge is pretty but also pretty big, and Johnson's Crossing has good cinnamon rolls. The Pelly is decent, though still not as small as the Dease. The Wind is a fly-in trip, and an intimate river. There is also the Blackwater(West Road) River in central BC.
The difficulty might be a little bit higher than the Dease, but its a nice small river(a creek at some flows) and weather is usually pretty good. Give us some hints as to what your boundaries are and we'll come up with more ideas.

Thanks for all your suggestions. To answer some questions, we did the Nahanni from the Moose ponds and it was a wonderful trip and we were going to do it again had financial realities not raised their ugly head. We both paddle solo but due to arthritis I can no longer kneel in a canoe thus I am paddling a Clipper Solitude. Great boat but a grade II boat. I was under the impression the Stikine was a short trip, 4 - 5 days and also that it is pretty big water. We have considered the Clearwater but its a long haul for my friend from Victoria. We are considering the Athabasca if anyone knows anything about it.
Thanks again
Dave Bird

Hi David,

I can't tell you about the Athabasca, as I have not done it. As far as the Stikine goes, 4-5 days is very optimistic, especially given your pace on the Dease. I know folks who have done the Upper Stikine in 7 days, but they were not taking any time to enjoy themselves.

Hi David, when we paddled the upper Stikine (starting at Tuaton Lake), we took 12 days/11 nights which was a pretty relaxing pace. Depending on water levels, there can be some big waves. We had pretty high water, but had spray decks on the tandem boats. The one solo boat had no spray deck but did not take on any appreciable water. Most of the big waves are easy to avoid, but with the spray decks we could run through the biggest which added a lot of fun.


Which section are you considering? I have paddled some sections, but also have lots of info on the sections I haven't paddled.

Cheers
Al

David Bird-
You might consider doing the Gataga-Kechika in northeast B.C. We did it last summer. It is one of the shorter fly-in trips, so only cost about $500 per person for the bush plane. In terms of difficulty, I would say the hardest rapid is about a 3-. Mostly it is just fast smooth water. Great scenery and good wildlife viewing opportunities. I have posted a few pictures in the gallery section under British Columbia. There is about a half mile portage to get to the river, but on a good trail.

Consider the Spatsizi-Stikine. See my article in the latest issue of Kanawa.

Here is a cool link to a video showing a helicopter trip on the Stikine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwh1TqsvmNU&feature=related

and part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC4zmrwJUnk&NR=1

cheers
Dave

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Dave W
"Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing" - Henry David Thoreau

Hi David,

I think the Gataga-Kechika is a great choice given your parameters. Also, the Jennings or the Inklin/Taku come to mind. I am happy to say volume one of my new guidebook is now for sale and these trips among others are described in detail so you can choose from an array of lesser known routes. The publisher is Rocky Mountain Books and you can buy it from them online at [url]rmbooks.com[/url]. Also, I have finished a final draft of volume two and the routes from that book may be of interest too. You can email me for more information.

Cheers, Laurel