Bloodvein River, Canada
Day 6: Rapid 37 – Kautunigan Lake (24km)
by Nikki Aldridge
After our usual breakfast and de-camp, we had an easy start to the day’s paddling. Before long we reached our first rapid of the day, which was an easy grade 2.
That was followed by another divergence in the river. The South route would take us via Island Rapids, a Grade 4/5, or in other words, a lengthy portage. The North route offered a far more inviting option, starting with a Grade 2 leading to an island with a Grade 4 to the right. Approach to the island was blocked by a couple of dead trees down across the river and we had to weave between them.
Once safely landed on the island, we bushwacked our way to get a view of the rapid. It was not paddle-able so we returned to our boats and floated/lifted them down the shallow, rocky left side of the island. A very easy portage. It also provided the perfect opportunity for the obligatory elevenses stop.
This was quickly followed by a Grade 2 ledge drop and eddy out avoiding the rocks. Mike and Ruth had a minor collision with the rock side of the rapid and for a split second we thought they were going to conduct a riverbed inspection but no such luck! This was immediately followed by another Grade 2 flushing us out of the narrows into a pool.
We were then on the look-out for a Grade 1 which signalled the approach to a Grade 5. The Grade 1 was at the convergence of the North and South channels of the river and we were not 100% sure whether it was the Grade 1 or not until we heard the noise and saw the horizon line in front of us that was not looking or sounding very Grade 1 like at all! This was a relatively straight forward 180 metre portage. Graham was quickly done with his bag and sat with a hot drink and biscuits while the team helped each other with the rest of the kit.
The next rapid of note followed soon after, Shangri-La, a Grade 3. The river is funnelled through a narrow gorge here and the rapid is a straight forward but fairly steep wave leading into a big and bouncy wave train. Martin and I ran it first while the rest watched. We then quickly bailed our boat and got in position for photos of the others. I got a throw line ready, just in case, but obviously the camera took priority! Ian and Graham came next and flew over the waves, ensuring the camera was put to good use, the throw line not so much. Mike and Ruth didn’t fancy bailing their boat and chose to portage this one.