Scott McCrindle, Web Designer

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We pondered whether to stay for the evening as the next two kilometres were an open stretch of water to the west and we were tired of paddling in the wind. In order to complete the trip, however, we needed to get at least to the Free Flow Channel by the end of the day, so we put in and kept on going.

Thirty minutes of hard paddling in the golden glare of the sun and a steady headwind rewarded us with a narrow and protected stretch of river that wound around to the south and then to the southeast. We could hear the sound of rushing water just ahead of us to the right.

We paddled wide and left of the opening to the rapids and pulled up at the portage to take a look. The Free Flow Channel was no more than four metres wide and about thirty metres in length. The water roared as it funnelled through the small canyon with intimidating force.

I had decided immediately that paddling the rapids were not an option as I didn’t have a crash helmet with me or an inflatable whitewater raft. Moving water and I have a special relationship – it threatens me with death and I don’t call its bluff.

Dan and Steve, however, had other ideas and thought that they might be able to negotiate the chute in a canoe without any gear. Wishing them the best of luck, the rest of us set up positions along the rocky crevasse with throw lines, PFDs and cameras.

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Posted on Friday, August 4th, 2006 at 15:08 under Adventure. Responses can be followed through the RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback from your site.