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Published: August 7th 2015
The start
The Start, Canoe and Kayak Loaded.With canoe and kayak loaded, food and gear in the back we headed out for an early start. None is us slept well with the excitement and were up early anyhow, no alarm clocks needed. Our travels were from Calgary through Banff, Jasper, Mount Robson and onto Blue River where we took a rough logging road into the east side of Wells Gray--the real start of the trip. If you have never travelled the Banff-Jasper corridor, do it! It is a wonderful road trip, and the scenery is remarkable!
The kayak and canoe weight 50 and 40 lbs respectively, glad these boats were light for our first leg of the trip a short 2.5 km portage. We decided not to put a lot of gear into them for the trek to the lagoon, so Mark kindly brought some portage packs and a barrel that we loaded up. Mark took the heaviest at 77 lbs (the food), Matthew took the next heaviest load and, I the lightest. Note: I was also pushing the canoe which ended up having a good load. (Okay, I am trying not to be portrayed as the wimp of the group…) We made good time to the
lagoon, locked up the wheels for the boats, and packed our water crafts for the next six days. Our first destination was a group camp called Strait Creek about 10 km north.
One of my first learnings on this trip was regarding our fast canoe. They are fast because they reduce excess water contact area, which makes them nice and streamlined, but also means they feel quite unstable. They are nice when you are in calm waters, but as the swells come, you really feel the movement of the water. It took a few days to get used to that feeling and the constant correcting and watching the waves. I'm sure Matthew, my front seat partner, was wondering what was up with Dad and this rocking back and forth thing--too much rum already?
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