Comment on the Weekend Sea Kayaking Tragedy

As you might have heard in extensive national coverage, there was a tragic sea kayaking accident on Sunday. Eight"experienced" adventure racers encountered very bad weather conditions, resulting in two kayaks capsizing - resulting in two of them dying, likely from hypothermia.

Here's a good report from the CBC on what transpired:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/10/08/kayak-death.html

Although I wasn't there and thus cannot comment fully on their capabilities, I can glean enough from the extensive news reports to make some recommendations as to what sea kayakers should be doing as a matter of course:

• Check the weather forecast beforehand - if the forecast calls (as it did on sunday) for heavy rain and strong winds, reconsider your plans;
• Know the area you're paddling through - some areas are particularly well known for channeling and intensifying winds (in particular, the channel between Anvil Island and the mainland);
• Dress for the water (i.e. if you ended up in the water, how would you stay warm?). A wetsuit is necessary for most times of the year on the coast - dry suits are needed in the winter;
• Carry a waterproof marine radio and, in intense conditions, ensure it is clipped to your life jacket.

In addition, carrying flares is a good idea. Unfortunately, the group does not appear to have followed any of these recommendations.

The trip that these guys attempted is an excellent trip in good conditions. I did it on my own earlier this year.

Long Weekend With Gord

In advance of spending a couple of weeks in Red Deer to help my Mum recuperate from her (upcoming) hip surgery, I flew in early to Calgary and spent the long weekend with Gord.

We had a busy weekend - I caught up with Jenny & Gord Friday night. Saturday morning, Gord took Jenny off to the airport (off to Ontario to spend a week with her Mum). Gord and I then drove out into the Kananaskis area and cycled the Elbow Loop. It was a great ride, about 45km long with ~900m of climbing, along mostly old fire access roads - up along the Elbow River, then over a pass of about 2200m, then back along the Little Elbow River. Great ride, great scenery, and only one flat tire.

That night, we ate T-bone steaks and watched the movie "300" (suitably violent).

Sunday morning, we woke up at 5:00am, and drove out to Banff. Our objective was a mountaineering hike from Morraine Lake (near Lake Louise) and over a couple of high passes to the Lake O'Hara area. It was a fantastic hike - definitely a top one-day hike in the Rockies.

We started up the Larch Valley trail from Morraine Lake, hooking up (briefly) with a group of 6 senior citizens 'cause we were supposed to be in a party of no fewer than 4 (a regulation for the area requiring, I guess, large groups that make lots of noise to scare off the resident grizzly(s)). Of course, the seniors were too slow for us, so we took off, and made enough noise by ourselves. The hike up to Wenkchemna Pass was a spectacular, easy trail up through the alpine. From the pass, a tedious scramble down on loose scree brought us into the "Eagle Eyrie" - a wonderful high alpine valley. We headed north up the valley and up to the glacier below Opabin Pass - a very small glacier which we nonetheless roped up for and put on our crampons for the (somewhat steeper) climb up to the pass. On the climb up to the pass, Gord noticed footprints from a Grizzly heading straight up the pass (then down the other side)!

From the pass, we headed down some steeper snow, then onto the (rapidly shrinking) Opabin Glacier. We crossed it easily (a rope definitely being necessary). On the glacier, and just below it, we found some glaciology recording equipment, placed there by Shawn Marshall of the University of Calgary. Once off the glacier, we unroped, then hiked across the scree to Opabin Lake. From there, we hooked onto the great trails surrounding Lake O'Hara, and decided to finish off with the spectacular Yukness Ledges Alpine Route to Lake Oesa - great views along a really cool trail. We had a good view up to the north/east face of Mount Lefroy - there was no snow on the face - usually, there should be solid snow/ice on the face - another sign of warming temperatures. Finally, down to Lake O'Hara, and from there, the bus ride out to the parking lot (where we had left one of the cars). Supper at Boston Pizza, finally getting back to Calgary at around 11:00pm.

We were pretty tired the next day, but nonetheless got up, had a big breakfast of Eggs Benedict at Ricky's, then rented a canoe from the Calgary Campus Outdoor Center, and paddled down the Bow River from the Ghost Dam down to Cochrane. That was alot of fun - I was totally new to the river paddling experience, so had a bit of trepidation. But, got used to it quickly, and we managed to stay upright the entire paddle, with one "near flip" as we incorrectly negotiated an entry into an eddy. We took a break at that point - Gord breaking out his fly fishing rod to (unsuccessfully) hunt for trout.

We finished up, and Gord grabbed a ride back to the Ghost Dam (after I had inadvertently left the keys for Jenny's car in Gord's car!). Back to Calgary, drop off the canoe, then a supper of barbecued pork loin, beer, followed by "Thunderball" (an old James Bond movie from 1965!).

Great weekend!

Leading Peak on Anvil Island

I did something today I've wanted to do for some time - paddle out to Anvil Island in Howe Sound and hike up Leading Peak.

Here's a google map showing the location.

I was in the water at a little past 8:00am, and did the 7km or so crossing from Porteau Cove over to Anvil Island:


The view of Leading Peak from the cove on the south-east side of the island:

I landed at Pebble Beach, stowed the kayak, put on my hiking boots, and headed up the peak. The trail was in excellent condition making for pretty quick progress.

The peak, as it draws closer:


Finally, the view from the summit - it was a fantastic panoramic view of all of Howe Sound:


A token picture of me at the summit:


Then, after a quick lunch, quickly back down the trail to get back to the kayak. I wanted to get down and back in the water before the afternoon winds came up.


It was a little choppier going back, but conditions were still fine. I was back at Porteau Cove by a little past 2pm.

Now, I need to put in a few words here to help with others that might want to repeat this trip. All the trip reports that I've read (there aren't many out there) specify landing at the Bible Camp on the south tip of the island. However, during the summer months, they don't all people to land and cross their property - at other times, hikers are assessed a $25 fee for crossing. A much better alternative is to land at Pebble Beach - a small (75m or so wide) beach in the cove east of the southern point. UTM coordinates for this are 785851. From the middle of the beach, a trail leads a short distance onto a broad path (you'll know you're going the right way 'cause there's a sign pointing to "camp"). Going west along the broad path, take the right (uphill) fork at 783850. As you walk along this path, you'll cross a small creek with a small concrete dam, and a few water structures. Eventually, you'll pass a couple of concrete water structures 5 or 6 feet high - the trail to Leading Peak starts just on the other side of them - there is a sign pointing towards the Peak. From there, the trail is easy to follow!

Paddle out in Burrard Inlet

Killaine & I went for a paddle today out in Burrard Inlet. Killaine rented a kayak from Ecomarine at Jericho Beach, and I paddled over from Kits Beach:

Yes, I Suck

For fun tonight, Killaine & I entered one of the "Big Chop" paddle races. It's a fun, thursday night race for paddle boats of all types - surf skis, double kayaks, single kayaks, fast kayaks, slow kayaks and single and double outriggers. I took my kayak in the "long course" - about a 9 or so km course from False Creek through English Bay to Siwash Rock off of Stanley Park - and back.

Here's the rough route:

http://www.mapmyrun.com/route/canada/bc/north-vancouver/539557312

It was pretty hard paddling, though the water was pretty flat tonight.

At the very end of the race, I found that I had finished ... last.

Yup, there's always someone at the back of the pack, and I got to experience that tonight! In my defense, I'll definitely say that I had one of the bigger kayaks there. But, hey, I covered alot of kilometers by boat in a short amount of time (about an hour and a bit), so it was still fun.

Oh, and for the $8 entry fee, I got the race, followed by a sausage barbeque, and I won a draw prize - a waterproof case for my camera!

Perhaps Killaine will write something about her first paddle race too!

Paddle to UBC

Just back from a good paddle out to UBC. Being just two blocks from Kits beach, it makes kayaking very accessible:


Set up the kayak on the beach:


... and off to UBC:

An old gun emplacement (from WWII) near UBC:


By Wreck Beach ... a tug pulls a log boom into the big log boom storage area by UBC:


A couple of birds fly ahead of the rain:


A curious sign to see from any boat ... this is on Spanish Banks where, at low tide, this sign sits on the sand, telling dog owners to restrict their dogs (presumably to keep them away from wildlife at low tide, or possibly to stop people & dogs from going off the steep drop at the edge of the banks):


And, finally back past one of the large ships sitting in Burrard Inlet:


Details of the route can be found here.