@Pigeonman That canoe of yours is quite the setup! I’m not sure if I have ever seen one so fancy . You must feel like the Queen of Sheba riding that thing!
Down in the badlands of Southern Alberta on the Milk River, if you want a fire to gather around at night, you grab every little stick you see along the way.
This is the Kootenay River. The name Kootenay derives from the indigenous peoples of the area, the Ktunaxa. It is a glacial-fed rip roaring of a time, with major elevation drops, and nice sets of Class II-III rapids.
Few bugs mean I was sleeping under the stars watching the Percier Meteor Shower.
I have paddled the Kootenay almost every year for 19 years and it never disappoints. My Dad has been doing it since 93’. Here are some trip notes and a throwback pic from the very first Kootenay trip my pops did.
I had some great times spearfishing in the Sea of Cortez from the back of an old catamaran I helped a friend fix up in Guaymas, Mexico. Lived in the boatyard for 2 months fixing it up and went sailing.
Only time I ended up spear fishing the guy I was with hit an octopus which then got fictitiously pissed off and kept grabbing at us. We called the snorkle-fishing short so he could get the darn thing back to land to then make calamari. Thankfully we had just waded in from a beach and were going along the waters edge along a pile of volcanic rocks piled up as a wave break (Pacific off the coast of Zihuatanejo).
Funny enough I don’t eat anything from the sea. I’m allergic to fish, don’t like shellfish or other bottom feeders, but WILL eat plant life if free of the other items.
The reason I partook in the adventure was the fact that it was there; and I freaking love snorkeling.
Part of the reason I love canoeing is all the ridiculous food we cook up out there. An average canoe can carry 1000lbs. That means a lot of beers, whiskey, propane, stoves, tables, chairs and everything needed to whip up gourmet meals way out in the bush. Its getting rather ridiculous as we tend to try to one up each other. Breakfast on the last day was brie stuffed french toast, peach blueberry, and nectarine salad,
hand-whipped cream, maple syrup, and a saskatoon berry compote made from wild bushes near a friend’s house. Oh I forgot the local farmer brekky sausage… like I say it’s getting a little ridiculous verging on opulent.
I sometimes feel sorry for the ultra light hiker types, eating freeze dried meals and rice…
Same here I love to snorkel! I just got back from snorkeling in Waikiki for the past week. FINALLY spotted a sea turtle after like 15-20 times snorkeling around Oahu. Had to swim out like 200 yards past the wave breaks and get slammed into some coral to spot it…but it was worth it!
Hell yea that sounds so good! I’m detoxing today and haven’t eating a thing all day so you’re making me hungry lol about to bbq my salmon dinner early now lol
I former colleague’s wife was a nutritionist & Girl Scouts leader; when he went camping he knew what he was going to eat and when down to the calorie for the entirety of the trip.
I was both horrified & equally impressed. That level takes both skill and tenacity to follow through.
@WeTokeChronic : It’s been years for me, I’m glad you got to go out in Waikiki! I miss the amount of coffee I drank when in Hawaii, that and the chocolate. Go out and buy a box of gift chocolates on the cheap, eat some, go snorkle! I was in Maui for those times but did end up in Honolulu for a bit. (kind of freaked me out tbh; it was SO bright in comparison to the rest of the place from memory.
Oh man that is not our group… every trip we tell ourselves that the last day will be leftover day. But somehow the idea of actually not planning 3 meals a day plus snack and booze seems sacrilege.
I feel like I brought home a cooler still full of food…
love to do both. used to have an old 17’ aluminum canoe that i sold a few years back and i got a 11’5" fishing kayak. planning on picking up another one in a week or so, so i can bring my dad out kayaking with me. mostly take it out on ponds and reservoirs around the area. few times a summer me and some buddies go and rent kayaks and do a float on the creek in the state park. they take you to the drop off and pick you up. its a lot of fun
Was it a Gruman canoe @indyfarmer ? Those old things got so many people out on the water. I think a lot of people did their first canoeing in those boats. They are stable as all hell on flat water but oh man are they a tub. Not exactly the speediest or lightest of boats There is actually one half of an aluminum Gruman Canoe that has been propped up on the side of the Kootenay. It’s always a good reminder to not get too complacent on that river despite me knowing it like the back of my hand. It is right as you enter a canyon full of rapids and I al ways mutter to myself " Abandon all hope, ye who enter here". When I used to guide on this river it was always inevitable that one of the client boats would dump here.
. You must feel like the Queen of Sheba riding that thing!
There is actually one half of an aluminum Gruman Canoe that has been propped up on the side of the Kootenay. It’s always a good reminder to not get too complacent on that river despite me knowing it like the back of my hand. It is right as you enter a canyon full of rapids and I al ways mutter to myself " Abandon all hope, ye who enter here". When I used to guide on this river it was always inevitable that one of the client boats would dump here.
