Paddlefoot
Trip Log
Lower Noire July 11-14th
Laurel Atkinson & Bex Bates
Day 1 July 11th
Jamie, Rebecca, and I all had leisurely breakfasts at the Point while
seemingly waiting for the grey skies to dissolve into blue. I ran around
sorting out extra gear, and the four of us were in the truck driven
by Dave at 9:29 --- Dave wanted to wait until 9:30 because it seemed
weird to be leaving for a canoe trip on time! We had more than an hour's
drive to the put-in, with a quick stop at ZEC St. Patrice to ask about
permits and fire hazard levels. Dave had said earlier that the drop-off
point was at kilometre 62 on the road, and when we passed kilometre
64 I was kind of wondering….Anyhow, we found a path to the water,
unloaded out gear, and said our goodbyes to Dave. I decided that it
would be best to start out with a river morphology talk, so that Jamie
and Rebecca could learn a bit about moving water before they were actually
subjected to it. I had found out the night before that they were already
pro-star flatwater paddlers, which made my job automatically easier!
So we paddled upstream for a few hundred meters and did a bit of a creek
walk to the end of a set to look at the river, then had a sandwich lunch
on an island close by. After lunch, I did a bit more of river morphology
stuff in the sand --- my chalk was rendered useless as the rain finally
started. We had just enough time on the water to go over forward strokes
when we heard the far-away sound of the approaching Rapide de L'Ours,
a beautiful waterfall. We hauled the boats and gear up a steep embankment
to have a look at the CIV rapid --- even in the cold rain, we were all
amazed at how beautiful it was, and were happy that Dave had let us
off on the Noire just in time for a portage! We portaged the waterfall
(Jamie and I BOTH managed to hit a tree when walking with our canoes!),
and then lined the bottom CII set. Of course, I'd love to have run the
set, but there were just too many rocks --- I'm not sure that a canoe
could've found a path down the set that was big enough for it, anyways!
A bit of a flatwater paddle, just listening to the birds singing in
the rain. Our first rapid was classified as a CI Tech by Mr. Hap Wilson
(my favourite whitewater author). It was a short run, but there was
a strainer on RL at the top of the set, a small hole on RR, and big
fun waves to go through. The funny thing was that that Bex and I hit
a pillow rock while eddying out, and Jamie and Rebecca did so well!
I felt a little embarrassed that the guide goofed up on the first rapid,
but my elation at how good Jamie and Rebecca were already more than
made up for that. We had an hour or so more of flatwater paddling, then
camped around 4:30 at a beautiful sandy beach. Almost instantly, everything
we owned was covered in sand and destined never to come out! Our program
for the evening was Fire Starting, and lasted well into the early evening.
But hopefully Jamie and Rebecca were impressed that a fire did indeed
get going even though EVERYTHING was wet around us! Teriyaki stir-fry
(with tofu --- Jamie's favourite, apparently) tasted SO GOOD that evening,
and Rebecca for the first time looked dry! We all hit the sack early,
but not before Jamie and Rebecca could enjoy some "Vin de Maison".
Day 2 July 12th
It rained through the night, and the thought of getting out of bed to
start another fire made me groan. Apparently, Jamie and Rebecca felt
that way too because we all stayed in our tents for a while! But the
wood under the tarp had dried out somewhat, and Jamie seemed more than
willing to start up a whittling party. Rebecca helped to break up wood
while Bex dealt with breakfast. Her usual exotic blend of spices (salt
and pepper) was added to the eggs, but her scrambled omelettes were
absolutely fantastic! The rain tapered off a bit, so it only seemed
to be misting, but still no blue sky in sight. I kept saying that the
clouds would "burn off", and Jamie and I came to the conclusion
that it would either keep raining for a long time, or get sunny (obviously,
we need to work on our weather-reading skills). We paddled on the meandering
flatwater part for about 5 km, and then took a break on (surprise!)
a sandy beach. I really love this part of the Noire --- narrow enough
to be able to see both sides of the shore, but big enough that you know
some wicked rapids are coming up soon! We did a lesson of Pivots under
Power, which Jamie and Rebecca seemed to already know so much about.
They really made my life as a whitewater guide easy! We paddled another
5 km, and the rain eased off just in time for lunch. We had my (patented)
Ploughman's Lunch: ripe avocado, fresh sourdough bread, mango chutney,
and imperial cheese: YUM! I even felt warm and dry enough to go for
a short swim. We paddled for another 2km or so more, then hit Hunt Club
Rapids, a CII of almost 200 meters long. We hiked the portage trail
to the bottom, and scouted the rapid from the bottom up. We decided
to hit an eddy near the top on RL (Jamie and Rebecca had no problems
getting there --- except for a bit of boat wobbling in the eddy) and
then ran the rest duckie. Both boats were dry and everyone seemed really
happy with the rapid --- it was fun! There were enough rocks, ledges,
and holes to keep us alert, but no crazy big water to fill your boat.
We worked on some manoeuvres at the bottom of the set, and then paddled
to our next set - a CI that went underneath a bridge. We went duckie
down the tongue, and in-between a hole on RR and a wave on RL. It was
the perfect place to practise more manoeuvres, so we did for another
half hour --- Jamie and Rebecca were still impressing me with how easily
they pick up the whitewater skills. Just when we finished, it (of course)
rained. Another less-than-courteous group passed us on the river, but
we made it into camp at a good time. The rain let up, so Jamie and Rebecca
went for a swim across the river to Jump Rock. Neither one went off
the diving platform (I don't blame them --- too scary for me! Bex just
couldn't be bothered). Jamie swung off of the rope swing, but managed
to get it hooked in a tree! Rebecca tried to get it down by throwing
sticks at it, but to no avail. The fire starting was a little easier
because Jamie found (I don't know how) some great dry wood. We even
saw a muskrat swimming in the water! Looks like a beaver, but smaller
and with the tail of a rat…and I don't think I'd want to smell
it. For dinner was spaghetti and homemade sauce, which we were able
to eat without our raingear on because it stopped raining. However,
I always had to wonder in the flecks of darkness were pepper or sand
because we were (again) camped on a sandy beach. We washed that down
with hot chocolate and Am…mmm…arula.
Day 3 July 13th
Today we woke up to an unbelievable sight --- sunshine! There was a
cool breeze, but it was such a beautiful morning, and everyone was pretty
cheerful. We all took turns trying to make the best crepes --- but somehow
they all turned into scrambled pancakes. The apple-cinnamon sauce, however,
more than made up for the presentation. In the morning, we had a little
bit of a flatwater paddle, and after 5 km had a nutri-grain break ---
Bex and Rebecca were too full from breakfast for that, though. We ran
a CI duckie. We started RL, and then ended in the middle. Lots of rocks,
a little current --- I think everyone in the group likes the "choose
your own adventure" rapids the best. Next was the infamous "50-50"
rapid, 100 meters of CIII. We portaged the gear, then all scouted together.
The plan was for Bex and I to run first, with Rebecca and Jamie set
up with throwbags for safety. We were going to hit the big rooster tail
at the top with a bit of an angle to RR to avoid the big hole and waves
on RL. However, we hit it straight on and ran the tongue to the left
of the hole no problem --- full of water by the end, though! Jamie seemed
to think that that route would be more fun than the other we planned….and
Rebecca seemed to be a little whiter than usual. Well, the end result
was some great low bracing from Jamie and wonderful balance from Rebecca
as they entered the hole side-ways, but the jolt of hitting the rock
on RL was finally enough to topple them! (There was, perhaps, a teeny
bit of gunnel massaging!). A few bumps and bruises later, and Jamie
eager for more whitewater, and we were feasting on tuna salad wraps
on (you guessed it) a sandy beach. After lunch, we played at the set
for an hour or so, practising our manoeuvres. The waves were pretty
big, but Jamie and Rebecca had mastered the front ferry in no time.
The S-turn, however, threw some water in their boat --- but their balance
was so good that they kept paddling…even when Jamie was completely
under water and Rebecca was the only one left in the boat! We decided
to head down the river at about 3:30, and made it to a rapid called
"Tight Right". We ran it duckie and, well, stayed to the right.
I can tell that Jamie loves running rapids duckie. The last rapid of
the day was a 250 meter CII. We scouted it, and decided to run one boat
at a time. Rebecca seemed to think that portaging the packs would be
a good idea, but they showed themselves wrong --- they had less water
in their boat at the end than Bex and I! The last bit of the rapid was
choose your own adventure through a rocky section, then home sweet home
for the night (sandy campsite). It was so warm and sunny still, and
FIREWOOD HEAVEN! Bex was positively beaming every time she came back
with a fresh load. While the gang was chopping veggies for dinner, I
came across a dead snapping turtle. The shell was so beautiful, but
we reckoned that I shouldn't bring it to show everyone at the risk of
grossing people out (after polite coaxing from the group). We listened
to the ravens call to each other from the trees, and watched them fly
back and forth. A beaver swam right in front of us, too. We had awesome
burritos for dinner, and fudge brownies turned into a chocolate fondue
(note to self: brownies don't need very much water) that seemed to make
everyone a little bit silly. The sunset painted the sky with orange,
pink, and red --- not just in the west, but all around. I think that
today tired out Jamie and Rebecca the most --- they asked me how it
is I have so much energy. As our campsite was right between two sets
of rapids, we all got to fall asleep listening to the rush of running
water.
Day 4 July 14th
Once again we had the treat of waking up to sunshine, but also the burning
heat that came with it. Jamie was up and starting the fire by the time
my tent was packed up --- what a treat for a guide to have! We feasted
on oatmeal with chocolate chips, brown sugar, and dried apricots. The
coffee, however, had the distinct taste of cumin (I still have no idea
why!). I went to have a look at the rapid right below us. Jamie and
Rebecca had already seen it the night before (too bad, I was hoping
for a surprise!). There were a few reasons why we didn't run it: 1)
the line to hit was very precise, 2) there was a big hole/ledge I didn't
want anyone to swim in, 3) there was a CII right after it, 4) we only
had two boats (which could make rescues potentially difficult), 5) it
was the first rapid of the day (always be wary, because you automatically
WANT to run it), and 6) Jamie and Rebecca had already seen it, and decided
that there was no way on God's green earth they wanted to. I knew for
sure that they had the skills (if not the confidence) to run it, but
in the end we had a really fun lining exercise on RR, with Rebecca and
I on boat-swapping duty. We ran the next rapid duckie through the rocks.
The rest of the day is so difficult to put into words because it was
ABSOLUTELY GLORIOUS!!! Beautiful sunshine, fun sections of river, and
always continuous current in what is called Boulder Alley. Sometimes
we paddled, sometimes we didn't, sometimes we paddled down backwards,
and sometimes we just drifted alongside each other. This seemed to be
the best part of the whole trip for everyone --- enough excitement as
to where the rocks were going to be, but enough swifts to make everyone
relax and smile. We stopped for a break at a campsite that was feathered
in beautiful cedar trees, offering up much-welcomed shade. We watched
butterflies on a rock, and Jamie told me that they were drying their
wings out. The rock games started (that was the day's "programming")
---- who could skip the most, who could skip the highest, who didn't
look like a fool throwing a rock with their left hand, who could hit
the rock thrown up in the air, who could hit the rock on the other side
of the river. Bex had an amazing arm, Jamie was awesome at skipping,
and Rebecca and I, well, seemed to be the team cheerleaders. We continued
down, learning back ferries, and actually found a neat little wave to
surf on! Beautiful hills/canyons rose on either side of us, and the
odd raven or osprey would flit in and out of the canopy. What a day!
Nobody wanted to leave. We ate lunch on a beautiful rock island ---
for once, NO SAND --- and chowed down on potato salad. Jamie and I played
with our stick-boats in a little piece of current, but they ALWAYS ended
up in the mini-hole. I missioned to the shore in desperate need of bowel
relief --- I'm not sure what Jamie and Rebecca thought of that! We only
had a short paddle to the take out at Black River Inn, but we all attempted
not to paddle to spend as much time on the river. Small cottages and
houses appeared on the banks. I tipped Bex and I in a shallow part that
ended up being a less-than-good idea because it smelled like yucky swamp
water and methane everywhere…..oh well. At the take-out Bex pointed
out a banded snake that disappeared into the water below some rocks.
No sooner had we brought all the gear up and undid the painters than
Dave arrived, and greeted us all cheerily (just like Dave!). We had
talked about all the tricks we had wanted to play on him, but in the
end nobody wanted to give such a nice guy a hard time. We all seemed
pretty tired on the ride back. Jamie bought us all beers at the bar
in Esprit when we got back --- a wonderful treat that made everyone
sleepy because we were sun-exhausted. We had a farewell picture on the
deck, and said goodbye.
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