Peace River Canoe Trip Journal

Sunday, July 20, 2003

Trip Log 9:15 am: Started paddling 8:00 pm: Found campsite Today’s distance: 34.7 mi. Trip Total: 144.8 mi. GPS Readings (UTM) Lunch: 12V 358909 6515986 Camp: 12V 376459 6529017

Today was our hardest day paddling so far. We encountered some headwind, but it wasn’t too bad. The paddling backgrounds of Paul and Chris showed today. Chris is a former canoe racer, a strong paddler and knows how to read a fast-water river. This brings the mentality that the best place to paddle is close to the edge of the river on the side where the banks are highest which is normally on the outside of bends. One way the high banks are formed is by erosion from the faster water. Many times they protect you from the wind. Paul has a whitewater background, is a strong paddler and knows how to read white-water rivers and rapids. This brings the mentality that when going down the river (not in rapids or places where the situation dictates otherwise) the better place to be is near the center of the river. This lessens the chance of you being pulled into walls by the current and helps avoid unexpected strainers and eddies that form along the shores. Chris paddled the solo canoe and would switch sides of the river repeatedly. He was always in front of the tandem canoe with Paul in the stern and me in the bow. We tended to stay more in the middle of the river. Our water supply was running low and our filters were getting clogged. We watched for side streams that were clearer and had a good flow. We found such a stream and paddled 10 to 20 yards up it to fill our containers. While pumping we ate lunch. At the mouth of the stream we saw a huge northern pike that was about three feet long swimming in the water waiting for a ‘meal’ to swim down the river. By five o’clock we were ‘running out of fuel’ so we pulled up on shore to check a possible campsite. It was not useable so we decided to breakout the snacks and then float/sail down the river while looking for a suitable site. Jelly beans, power bars, crackers, etc., gave us the needed energy. We proceeded down the river for another three hours before we could find a campsite. It turned out to be one of the few campsites we had that was on the terrace above the river and off the mud flats. We did need to clear the willows to make a spot for the tent, but it was a good campsite. We again ate one of our lunches for dinner. Paul hit the sack after supper while Chris and I sat around and enjoyed the beautiful evening. Chris did some fishing.

Campsite

Journal Summary, July 8-13, July 14, July 15, July 16, July 17, July 18, July 19, July 20, July 21, July 22, July 23, July 24, July 25, July 26, July 27-28, July 29, July 30, July 31, August 1, August 2-3