Cross Canada Canoe Expedition
Fraser River & the Giscome Portage to Summit Lake
Chris Koch for Joe O\'Blenis / 03.07.2004
Upriver paddling for 60 kilometers followed by the famous Giscome Portage, a 13.5 kilometre portage from the Fur Trade era than linked the Pacific and the Arctic watersheds by way of the Arctic Divide and Summit Lake.After a frantic morning of packing and re-organizing my gear, I was back on the water at 12:48 PM, at the same spot I took out two nights ago. Joining me for the first several hours would be Ian and Debbie, Faye, Phil and Chris Cupp (last years Canadian C1 marathon canoe champion), all paddling in solo racing canoes. Back in the \'80s, Faye and John Hallett canoed across Canada from Rocky Mountain House, Alberta to Montreal. I was in good company, no doubt about that.
The current on the Fraser started out fast but manageable. We hugged the riverbank, taking advantage of the slower water and jumping in every eddy we could see, an important aspect of upriver paddling. Jump in the eddies and get a free ride. Some of the bigger eddies were a couple of hundred metres long - it was a huge help. The Fraser is a big, powerful river and full of spectacular scenery, lots of varied wildlife, a mixed forest with some huge trees, certainly a very scenic river. My fellow paddlers turned back after about 3 hours and I continued on once again on my own, paddling on for another 4 hours or so and camping out on a nice little beach just about the native reserve of Shelley. The last few kilometres had considerably stronger current and I was certainly working hard to make any kind of real progress. The payoff was after setting up camp though, as I relaxed around a campfire and enjoyed a couple of refreshing beers along with some varied snacks picked up in Prince George. I stayed up until past midnight tonight, sitting by the fire, the campers TV, contemplating the trip and admiring the star-filled night sky.
The next day turned into a 12-hour push with very few breaks as I fought ever-stronger currents as I tried to reach the trailhead for the Giscome Portage at the Hubble Homestead. Some of my friends from yesterday would be meeting me there to accompany me on the portage and we were scheduled to begin the portage at 10:00 AM. Well, after extensive lining the canoe through fast water and some very tough paddling, I came up well short, setting up camp in the dark on a small beach where I had a quick supper by the light of my Petzl headlamp before falling into a deep sleep.
I figured I was only about 90 minutes from the portage so I left at 7:50 AM the next day. Well...not even close! It took another 4 hours of very hard work, combining paddling and lots of lining to make my way to our rendezvous. I arrived at noon with my friends, Debbie, Faye and John all patiently waiting for me beside the river.
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