Pepsi wrote:
Hello all!
I'm looking for canoe outfitting recommendations along the way. (All we need is the canoe)
I've been doing some research and it seems that the local outfitter (Beckers) at Bowron is...controversial, shall we say? I typically take Trip Advisor comments with a grain of salt, but given how remote we'd be, I don't want to get there and get stiffed.
Dev
I am pretty sure that Becker's is under new ownership/management in the last few years (less than 5?), but
not positive about that. Also doesn't mean the new management is any better than the "old," when that experience allegedly happened.
I've paddled the Bowron Circuit four times, twice long ago, before portage carts were even usable there ('71 and '83 I think), and then last year and the year before (2019 and 2018). Both of the latter were 10-night trips, so a little longer than most people take. The 2018 trip launched Sept 1 and the 2019 trip took out Aug 31. We stayed in a cabin at Becker's the night before launch on the '18 trip and had absolutely no problems whatsoever, though of course people differ and that doesn't mean someone else could have had an issue. We didn't stay with them in '19, but we did rent a canoe cart from them that year (just last year) and again did not have any problems. Contact with them in '18 for lodging was "cold call," meaning we just walked in that afternoon and they had a cabin available so we stayed with them (it was raining and we had gear to sort, didn't want to do it in a tent). We had a Bowron Park reservation paid for and just no-showed there in order to sort dry gear in the cabin.
My contact with them for the cart rental was over the internet, and then of course in person for pickup and drop off immediately before and after the trip. Both were very pleasant experiences for us. Other peoples' experiences might differ. I'm sure some have as not everyone gets along. I have not heard of bad experiences with them and other outfitters providing services but have not looked very hard. I'm sure it's happened. Other than price, I would not hesitate to rent a canoe from them for a trip. The canoes I remember available were a lot of Clippers, not Grummans, though they could have been there and I didn't see them. Again, didn't notice Hellmans but wasn't looking for them specifically either. (I own a couple Clippers and no Hellmans or Grummans.)
The park is quite remote and it's an outfitter's market, so prices are going to be high. I don't know of other rental agencies outside the area, though there could be some in Quesnel or even farther away. I have not looked. With all the outdoor sports around Calgary, I would think that a boat could be rented there, but I haven't been in that area in at least 40 years so don't know for sure.
Good luck with the trip.
JEH