Canoe north and south Thompson
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Canoe north and south Thompson
I am looking for information on Canoeing the North and South Thompson to Ashcroft or as far as I can get safely. Has anybody done or know where I can get info.
- Glacier
- The Pilgrim
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Re: Canoe north and south Thompson
I've canoed the 40 km section from Kamloops Lake down to Ashcroft. What an epic trip! A friend and I set out from Steelhead Provincial Park in Savona early in the morning in my 18.5 foot long Alumacraft aluminum canoe. 6 km in we sunk it as we tried to shoot the rapids, and the water splashed in, and down we went. Fortunately, all of our stuff was tied in, so we hauled the boat to shore, and dried off.
Then we moved on. We portaged several times because we were not familiar with the river. If I were to do it again, I would probably have a boat with a skirt. Still, I would portage the railway bridge near Walhachin because the water funnels through the narrow gaps between the pillars. Better safe than sorry, I'd say. There's one other section further down that looks really rough, but we managed to stay in the boat as we hugged the south shore where the water was calm.
The trip took us about 8 hours. The scenery is amazing as you are literally in the most arid climate in all of Canada. There are almost no trees the entire distance, but a lot of sage brush.
Then we moved on. We portaged several times because we were not familiar with the river. If I were to do it again, I would probably have a boat with a skirt. Still, I would portage the railway bridge near Walhachin because the water funnels through the narrow gaps between the pillars. Better safe than sorry, I'd say. There's one other section further down that looks really rough, but we managed to stay in the boat as we hugged the south shore where the water was calm.
The trip took us about 8 hours. The scenery is amazing as you are literally in the most arid climate in all of Canada. There are almost no trees the entire distance, but a lot of sage brush.
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- Douglas Murray
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Re: Canoe north and south Thompson
Thanks for that, what time of year did you do it? I was thinking of a multi day trip. Do you know of any guides or outfitters in the area.
- Glacier
- The Pilgrim
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Re: Canoe north and south Thompson
I don't know anyone in the area. We did it in September. The odd person we asked didn't know anything about doing it (we asked a few in Ashcroft and Savona).
What kind of canoe do you have? Are you looking for whitewater? Have you thought about starting on the Shuswap?
What kind of canoe do you have? Are you looking for whitewater? Have you thought about starting on the Shuswap?
"No one has the right to apologize for something they did not do, and no one has the right to accept an apology if the wrong was not done to them."
- Douglas Murray
- Douglas Murray
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Re: Canoe north and south Thompson
In September of 1973 the Outward Bound School in Keremeos took groups of young men down that route for a two day paddle. I remember starting in Kamloops Lake and getting some basic paddling instructions and off we went. Many people never had any experience. They tried to pair people with no experience with someone with at least a little. We didn't carry gear because they expected and wanted us to tip. They set up camp on a sandy beach that we reached after a good and fun day on the river. Myself and another paddler never tipped the first day so they made us take another canoe that leaked and even with that we stayed upright most of the day until we got in some pretty heavy water near the end. With the leak and heavy water coming in we lost control on one set of rapids.