Both being from Wandering River, it’s a bit ironic we have never paddled the Wandering River. It’s been on our bucket list for many years; we usually pass because water levels are way too high from spring run-off. Then, when the canoeing season is just about to wind down, the thought crosses our minds again; and the river level has dropped. (We really enjoy paddling, not dragging our canoe over rocks).
But, this week the stars aligned for our first, and most likely only, attempt at paddling the Wandering River.
Coincidently, two of our cousins, Trevor and Jodi, had just purchased kayaks this year and have been testing out the local lakes and streams. They did the exact portion we were thinking of. I inquired about their first-hand experience. They said it will take about 3 to 4 hours, and there were a few obstacles. I made a joke about an old Sesame Street skit starring Grover and a set of swinging old west doors. See video here http://(69) Classic Sesame Street Over Under Around And Through Grover – YouTube. I joked about going around, around, around, around, over, and under and through. Jodi and Trevor laughed pretty hard. Hindsight tells me I should have paid more attention to this part.
A plan was hatched!
Stacey and I gathered at the Breynat Hall Grounds at 11:30 am, with an addition to our paddling party! Our sister-in-law, Shelby, was out this weekend! Our brother came out to take part in the local annual slo-pitch tournament and since Shelby does not play ball, she had asked us about taking part in a paddle. YAY!
So…we dropped off one pick up at the green bridge on TWP 704 (Out Put); piled into the other truck and headed to the blue bridge, a half mile north of Breynat on RR 171 (In Put). It is 4 ¼ miles as the crow flies between these two locations.
The trusty old Greenbean was offloaded with Shelby’s kayak on the west side of the road. We decided to take our old faithful canoe on this trip as there are so many unknowns to us. The Greenbean is a heavy beast, but her hull is very sturdy and thick plastic. This is one time her weight will be appreciated if we start bashing rocks. Marvin, our new fiberglass “god” of a canoe, will have to stay put for this adventure.
There is a well-worn path down the bank. We sun-screened up, hydrated and hit the water. It is fairly deep here, as we could not touch the bottom of the river with our paddles. The river flows south with a nice gentle current here.
The next few hours were quite enjoyable. The river lives up to its name; the river twists and turns and creeps back up on itself many, many times. We got lots of practice maneuvering around corners, dealing with currents. The Wandering River really does wander.
There were some small rapids with the odd rock popping out. One section gets a bit dicey, as our pilot in the front did not notice a larger rock just under the surface; we hit it. Nothing major but words were exchanged. We all took a deep breath and decided to make an effort to enjoy the scenery.
We have now reviewed classes of rapids. An excellent description of types of rapids can be found at https://www.watersportswhiz.com/classes-of-rapids/. Nothing we experienced on this stretch of the river would be classed above Class One.
As we know most of the landowners on both sides, I point out where I think we are. There is very little development and clearing along either side.
About two hours in, we find cows. Their pasture comes down to the river. One sweet calf got separated from its mom. They were calling back and forth. It was kind of sad. But we had been at it for a bit, and it made me think of steak. It was time to pull over and have a snack.
One major difference between flat lake water and river water is the snack and hydration breaks. On a lake, you can stop any time you want to drink or munch. On a river, you need to pull over, or you would get into trouble pretty fast otherwise. So, we go shore; stretch, nibble and take a bathroom break. Since we had just passed an old barn (that was the Breynat Catholic Church at one time) we are about at our halfway point.
Local legend indicated that there was a half mile long log jam on a portion of this river. With the extreme high waters two years ago, it had blown out the jam. But, we can see where the jam must have been. It is unbelievable the size and numbers of trees pushed up high on the banks. Hard to fathom the force behind all that water pushing the debris up this high. (Darn no pictures.)
So until this point, our canoe/kayak trip was fairly smooth. We saw a deer, quite a few cows, an eagle, lots of ducks. We encountered a few small rapids, the odd rock.
And then we find obstacle number one.
A fairly newish looking spruce tree had fallen across the river. Unfortunately, all the way across. It is also semi-submerged. Darn. We will need to push our crafts over the log, no other way.
Stacey and I get to the spruce tree first, while Shelby held back. Stacey gets out onto the log; balancing to not fall into the water, and I join her. We pull our canoe back out of the way and Shelby maneuvers her kayak over to us. Shelby climbs out onto the log with us. (Oh what a site to see!) We tug her kayak over, she gets back in and paddles away. Smooth. We pull our green beast over, I get in, Stacey gets in and off we go. That was fun. High 5’s (air ones) all around.
The paddle down the river continues for only a short while, around a few more bends, when we find another obstacle; #2!! This is multiple older trees all crisscrossed, blocking the river. Large, big old one on the left. A big pile looking like a beaver house on the right, with a small channel up the middle. Shelby wisely hangs back.
So, we line our canoe up parallel with the old log. There is too much debris and junk in the way for us to pull the canoe over, but we might be able to clear some debris to make a chute to go through. I am in the middle of the river, with Stacey on the side closest to the bank. I start pulling branches out of the small channel. I yank, tug and toss them downstream. Some are fresh as beavers are active around here. I make some headway, and we indicate for Shelby to make a run at it. She pops back into the stream, paddles over, but the current pushes her back end out of line, and she ends up sideways right against us.
Fr frt sakes. What now?
With the current being blocked by our canoe and now Shelby’s kayak, each time Shelby moves, her kayak is almost swamped. We decide Shelby needs to get out of the kayak, but she has to get into the canoe, as the banks are too steep here. With a bit of balancing, she transfers over. Ok. Now what? All three of us are in the canoe, still on the same side of the log. Still the wrong side!
We decide that the kayak is the easiest to get over, so I tug and we manage to pull the kayak over the canoe in front of me onto the other side of the log. (If you have ever heard of canoe over canoe rescue; this is the move.) There’s part of the problem solved.
Stacey gets out of the canoe on the big log and shimmies up it. There are no hand holds, no branches. Nothing to grip onto. Brave girl. She gets to the bank, but it’s 7 or 8 feet up. She walks down about 30 feet where there is another log leaning into the river. It is wedged in well.
A plan begins to form.
We know there is no way we can pull the canoe over the jam by one person, and we can’t go under the log with anyone in the canoe. Someone has to get wet. As I am in the middle of the river, I volunteer. I take off my canoeing fanny pack. I usually put my keys, fishing license, a baby first aid kit and bear spray in it. No need getting all that stuff wet.
The water is about three feet deep here, but the current is strong from all the debris blocking the stream and funneling it into the one area where we need to move the canoe. I slowly transfer my weight to the log and into the cool water on the other side. Well, isn’t that refreshing.
The current is so strong here that I have to fully plant my foot into the river bed before trying to transfer my weight. I am so glad I wore old sneakers today instead of flip-flops. I need all the security I can get. I grab the kayak rope and start to pull it downstream to make room for the canoe. The rope from the other end gets caught in some branches, and it won’t untangle no matter how much I pull. I ask, “Is this rope sacred?” Shelby responds that it is not, and outcomes my trusty pocket knife. I cut the rope and continue on my mission, and tie the kayak up with extra security on the second log further down the bank.
I head back. Stacey helps Shelby get out of the canoe onto the log. Yikes. She does really well. Stacey was going to pass me the canoe rope, but I just reached under both of them and started. I pull the canoe through the gap, and now both vessels are on the side we need them on. The water is mid-calf where I have them parked.
Stacey and Shelby come down the second steep log. We sponge out Shebly’s kayak, as she did take on a bit of water. We breathe in and out a bit. A couple of pictures to commemorate that hurdle, high 5’s (real ones this time) all around. We check our map, and we still have a quarter of the trek to go.
The river switches back and forth quite steeply here. The current really gets some force around those corners.
Our next obstacle turns out to not be one. The channel has moved itself to the east, going around a spruce tree. Debris is caught up on the right bank, the river winds around the tree, but a small channel is still passable on the left. Shelby sneaks up and finds out it is clear. She goes through easily. We go through and there are some rocks on the other side. We clear that and say a small gratitude, hoping this is our last challenge. (No pictures of Obstacle #3).
We spoke too soon.
A short ways further downstream, we come upon an old forestry cutblock on the west bank. The designer trees have been harvested with a buffer along the water edge as required. Winds have taken many of these down, and they are laying in the river. We pass several easily, but one almost goes all the way across. The top of it almost touching one bank and the butt-end of it about 4ft off the water on the other side.
We decided to try to go around the top of the tree on the left, but as we get closer decide it’s too narrow and quickly try to turn and go under the tree on the right. Our flat bottom lake canoe does us no favors here. We head that way, but the current grabs our back end as we turn right, and we are being pushed sideways into the tree branches sticking out all over. Stacey reaches out to grab the branch, so we don’t hit it too hard. This causes us to lean a bit sideways and in an instant we’re taking on water. And then…we are in the water.
Kinda slo-mo at the moment, but it happened so quickly.
I stand up fast and it is only three feet deep. Anything not tied down is floating away. I grab my fanny pack and lunch kit and hang on to the canoe with all I have. I see Stacey grabbing her stuff and the paddles; trhowing it on shore. The current pushes us and the canoe under the tree. If our only goal was getting under that tree, well then I guess we were successful.
So, Stacey is on the bank. I am hanging on to the canoe with my bags. I toss her my fanny pack and lunch kit. I look downstream. My denim shirt, a bright orange collapsible pail and Stacey’s lunch kit lid floating away. And ironically, our bail bucket.
Oh, well. No pictures of Obstacle #4.
Stacey starts pulling on the front end of the canoe from the bank. I tell her she has to get back in with me. The canoe is sideways and full of water. I need her right next to me, so we can slowly lift it and empty it at the same time. I have the gun rail resting on my left thigh with my right leg pushing with all I have to keep the canoe on the bank.
She gets into the river, and together we manhandle the beast. We had to slowly lift her sideways, so the water could drain out. And then we tip her over. Now the green bean is upright. And most importantly, we are safe. We are not hurt. I realized at that moment, if I had not grabbed my fanny pack, that we would not have truck keys and would have another challenge ahead of us. This causes me to give a huge sigh of relief.
Shelby sees we are good, so she comes around the top of the obstacle tree safely. Hindsight tells us this is the route we should have taken.
We take a moment here. Stacey had scrambled back on the bank. I joined her.
It is pretty surreal how fast that happened. Stacey rechecks her gear. Her phone is slightly damp but is still operational. Her camera, which was in her backpack, seems unscathed.
We got back into the canoe after checking our progress. We round another corner and see the new house not far from the bridge. A bit of a turn to the right and there it is. Phew! Our outpoint is in sight.
Stacey and I hit the bank. We climbed out. Shelby comes up, too. I head towards the road, through a patch of brush; we pulled to shore too soon. There is a five-foot high barbed wire fence in front of us. With page wire on the bottom. This is just yet one more obstacle. I tell the other ladies about the fence. Shebly gets back in her kayak and heads further downstream, pulling up on to the bank about 100 feet further. It is a bit muddy and steeper, but she decides to bring her kayak up this way.
Stacey and I check out the brush and I find a bit of a draw that leaves a gap under the fence. We decide to drag the canoe up to that point and pass it underneath.
Right now, we are not happy that we brought our heavy green beast.
We grab and drag that canoe along until we get to the fence. I hold up the fence for Stacey to scoot under. I go through. We grab the rope and drag the canoe through the gap. It is just deep enough. Now we are all on the roadside of the fence. I head to the truck to turn it around. Before I climb in, I change into my dry clothes I left in the truck; shirt, pants, flip-flops. Note to self: next time, bring underwear and a towel.
We load up and take a moment to take a good photo with the bridge in the background. It should be noted that we are all smiling, jubilant, really; to be finished. And then we have a group hug.
This is such a great moment for us. Stacey and I do a lot together, but I think this is the first time just the two of us hang out with Shelby, without our brother, her husband. Simon was the brother we always wanted growing up. He came along just when I was almost nineteen and Stacey was 16. We are almost more like aunties than sisters. So our first activity with just us three girls has to be a crazy paddling adventure. Even with all the stress and obstacles, it was perfect.
Each outing always gives us some learnings, takeaways to improve on the next trip. We all agree that now that we have paddled the Wandering River, we can cross it off the bucket list and maybe stick to flatter water moving forwards.
The biggest takeaway is that we have gotten complacent. We have numerous uneventful paddles under our belt. We have never tipped over or have been swamped. I had taken my fanny belt off and, almost to our detriment, not put it back on. All our belongings in the canoe were not in dry-bags. Dry bags that were in fact behind the seat in Stacey’s truck in Breynat.
Our material losses really add up to not much: a water bottle, sunglasses, a 25-year-old denim shirt that held more sentimental value than warming value, and a lunch kit lid with an equal amount of sentimental value.
The shirt I had won as a prize when I went away for two weeks of training with Famous Players.
The lid could be seen floating away for a while. We almost caught up to it a few times, but not enough. That lid was on the handled cooler Stacey used as a lunch kit when she started completing regen surveys after she graduated with her Forest Tech diploma. She used to tie her lunch kit up in a tree. One time a bear caught wind of her lunch and tore it apart (obviously not high enough). It had chewed on the lid. The bear ate her entire lunch, including her ice pack and Diet Dr-Pepper. Bears have no taste. So the lid had these cool bear puncture marks in it.
The thigh I had rested the canoe on is bright purple. I have a scattering of other bruises. I resemble a sunset from the waist down. Most of these were probably from being bumped around when we tipped. I have a cut on one thumb and a sliver in a pinky that is so deep I can’t dig it out. If this is as serious as our injuries and losses are, then we are really lucky.
Please note, we really contemplated not including our dunking in this retelling of the events. We fancy ourselves as seasoned paddlers. But if we can get into trouble in a blink of an eye, I can’t imagine how fast a new paddler would be in serious poop.
We always, always wear our life jackets. We personally used to work with a guy who died canoeing. He and his stepdad were canoeing when the stepdad had a heart attack and fell into the water. Our friend jumped in to help and he drowned. Both were not wearing their life jackets.
I know boaters in Canada are only required to have a flotation device for each person in the boat. But regulations should be changed to make it required that each person wear them. Because what they do is in their freaking name: “LIFE” jacket. They save your life. Now, say that either Stacey or I got hit in the head when our canoe flipped. We would be floating and unconscious. Guess what, saving our life.
So for the reader contemplating paddling this section of the Wandering River, be aware that your situation can change superfast. Do not go alone. Bring lots of rope. Wear your life jacket. Have a small knife. Wear sturdy shoes.
Happy and safe paddling. Thank you and farewell, Wandering River. That was quite the venture.
