Close (camp) encounters of the canoe-kayak kind
There’s nothing like a full weekend of outdoor recreation, or a multi-day trip, to really get to know your fellow adventurers. Last weekend’s camp-out at Fintry Provincial Park for members of the Kelowna Canoe and Kayak Club was a great example.
Unlike previous June camp-outs at Bear Creek Provincial Park, where everyone had individual campsites, KCKC organizer Shirley Regan booked a group site so we were all together — whether we wanted to be that close or not!
There were group paddles Saturday morning and afternoon, plus a group paddle on Sunday morning. Everyone gathered around a campfire on Friday and Saturday nights; the club provided a Saturday lunch and everyone contributed to a potluck on Saturday night. You can see what the Sheriff meant by close contact.
However, we learned a lot about each other, from the helicopter pilot who fought forest fires to . . . well, no one actually had better stories than that. There was also a lot of questions for the Sheriff about upcoming trips, such as the multi-day Clearwater-Azure outing planned by members for the end of August.
Some were also curious about the Sheriff’s Greenland paddle, aka the carved two-byfour, and its advantages over the standard two-blade paddles.
We headed south along the shoreline once and north twice, making it all the way to Killiney Beach Park maintained by the Regional District of Central Okanagan. Along the way, both sides, we checked out the extensive damage to docks and even a small homebuilt houseboat from the high water level, wind and waves.
After all was said and done, many felt only two KCKC camp-outs a year are not enough. The mosquitoes felt the same way.
********
On Wednesday, the Sheriff was reminded of the unpredictability of scattered showers, especially if they come from a Nor’wester (northwest weather pattern).
The Sheriff was scheduled to lead a Kelowna Canoe and Kayak Club evening paddle at Bear Creek Provincial Park, but dark clouds came rolling in that afternoon and spitting rain turned into steady rain with wind. So the Sheriff sent an email at 3:30 p.m. advising of the cancellation so everyone would have adequate notification before they started loading their kayaks onto vehicles. Of course, by 6:30 p.m., the sun came out — at least in North Glenmore — exactly at the time we would have been getting our hulls wet.
It reminded the Sheriff of a motorcycle trip to Calgary more than a few years ago.
Scattered showers meant getting wet and cold, then the turbulence drying him out. Then the rain started pelting him again. When that cycle continued all the way to Calgary, the Sheriff thought: “Nothing could be worse than this.”
He was wrong. There was steady rain all the way from Calgary to Vernon with the Sheriff curled up, almost fetus-like, behind his plastic windshield. There’s nothing quite like passing a large highway truck at high speed when the moisture billows around you. At times, you could hear the engine’s poofpoof-poof as one of the four sparkplugs briefly stopped firing.
So a little spitting rain is nothing. Should have gone kayaking on Wednesday.
******** There is a special treat this Canada Day long weekend. The Sheriff is organizing a Kelowna Canoe and Kayak Club group paddle with the crew from the Hudson’s Bay Grand Portage. The tentative plan is to hit the water at 9 a.m. on Sunday (July 2) at Sutherland Park in Kelowna’s North End and either paddle south along the downtown waterfront or north to Paul’s Tomb. That is if we can get over the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sandbags and water bladders and then the shoreline debris.
Contrary to the name, the Grand Portage isn’t just carrying 16-foot Langford canoes from one side of the country to the other from June 22 to Aug. 26.
“We are paddling, portaging, hiking (and driving) across Canada for 66 days this summer,” explains Jemima Twist of Torque Strategies who is working on behalf of Hudson’s Bay to deliver its 150th celebration program. “Using the Hudson’s Bay iconic striped canoe as a symbol of Canadian pride and adventure, our team will set off on June 22, traveling west to east from Victoria on Vancouver Island to Nova Scotia. This grand paddling adventure will culminate in Ottawa on Aug. 26, where Hudson’s Bay and Trans Canada Trail will celebrate the 100 per cent Connection of The Great Trail with a commemorative event.”
Along its journey, the Grand Portage team will engage with communities, special guests and Canadian icons, and will share their stories with Canadians on social media using #HBGrandPortage.
In addition, Hudson’s Bay, in partnership with Cadillac Fairview, has launched the Grand Portage Celebration Tour coming to 10 flagship locations across Canada. The Celebration Tour features a pop-up retail experience, inspired by Hudson’s Bay’s iconic trading posts of the past, where Canadians will be able to purchase commemorative merchandise from Hudson’s Bay’s Grand Portage collection. Proceeds from the sale of all Grand Portage merchandise will go towards completing the remaining 2,200 kilometres of The Great Trail to celebrate Canada’s 150th.
Paddling organizations can join the crew on their favourite section of water “so that we can profile paddlers and locations showcasing the wonders that this great land has to offer,” said Twist. “Or if we aren’t able to join you, we are looking for advice on the best local spots for paddling in your area, along with any paddling events or meet-ups that maybe taking place whilst we are in the area. The public is certainly invited to come and meet the team. The lead audience on social platforms like Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook will be Canadians from 25 to 35 as well as a large following of people 65-plus.”
The Sheriff put the crew in touch with Festivals Kelowna so there could be a meetand-greet in downtown Kelowna on Canada Day. The crew will do a photo op at the Columbia River Skywalk (pedestrian bridge) in Trail and then head to Castlegar.
For more information about the program, you can go to the website: hbgrandportage.ca.
******** While we’re on the subject of Canada Day, the Central Okanagan Naturalists’ Club will have a booth at the 150th Canada Celebration Day today (July 1) in the Community Booths area of City Park.
“Please come and support CONC if you are in Kelowna and are joining in all the events that are planned for our city. We will be at our booth from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.,” said spokeswoman Sherrell Davidson.
J.P. Squire, aka the Hiking, Biking, Kayaking and Horseback Riding Sheriff, is an Okanagan Saturday/Sunday reporter and an avid outdoors enthusiast. His column appears every weekend. Email him at: jp.squire@telus.net.