Callaghan Creek Update // IPP Threat

Some beta updates for Callaghan Creek:

1. In late 2012 the old put in road was closed so now you have to access the river from the Olympic Park side.
2. In early 2013 a staff gauge was installed at the take out by Greg Dashper.

See this link for more info.

* * * *

And now something of much greater importance. It was recently brought to the attention of the local paddling community that Innergex (the power company that owns the lions share of run-of-river hydro projects in SW BC, including Ashlu, Rutherford, Big Silver, upper Lillooet etc) have begun preliminary surveying for the construction of an IPP on Callaghan Creek.

While it is early days, and we are a long ways out from something being built, this is particularly worrying because this river is perhaps the most valuable and highly used creek in BC - it's a true local staple (it was and is used far more than the Ashlu) and it is one of key rivers that people specifically come to paddle when they visit BC on holiday.

Whether their interest has been rekindled because of recent changes to the Navigable Waters Act and they think kayakers will not have the same rights when it comes to mitigation of loss of recreation potential, whether they are just seeing what they actually own with the water license they have, or if it's the next-most-lucrative project in the string of projects that they are building is unknown. Let's hope it has nothing to do with the first point.

IPPs when developed in the right place and for the right reasons are not the end of the world. However, an IPP that would dewater such a valuable resource is not an acceptable outcome. In the past the local community has ultimately settled with the decisions that Navigable Waters have made concerning recreational releases on our streams, even when disagreeing that the decision made adequately mitigates the loss. In this case, the local community and others will vigorously and actively fight to make sure that the Callaghan does not go the way of the Rutherford or Skookum Creek, both of which are now not usable whitewater resources. Callaghan Creek will remain a free flowing river.

The fight starts with trying to actively/accurately document usage of the creek. It would be a fantastic help if you log your use of this river on the Save the Callaghan Facebook page, found at the link below. This is also a way to keep up to date on any new info that surfaces about the project. Making the general public aware of the value of this resource is also a priority item. Keep your eyes on the local news for more info!

Save The Callaghan on Facebook.

This is what we stand to lose should this river be dewatered. One of the most valuable stretches of whitewater in BC.


Despite the random factor this rapid offers, the Old Dirty Bastard would be sorely missed if it was a dry channel.

2012 Year End Photo Session

This might be the first year end post LL has ever done. It's been a while since I've posted anything, so this is in part to let you know (if anyone even reads the blog) that LL is still alive. 2012 was a great year - here's hoping it will be even better in 2013. Here are a selection of my favorite snaps from the last year.

March. After a winter of skiing, thoughts turned back to kayaking as the days got longer. One of the early trip of the year was to Vancouver Island. This is the final canyon of Harris Creek, a nice run down south near Port Renfrew.


April. The Seymour in North Vancouver is a real bread and butter run for Vancouver paddlers. Some of the local die hards (me included) get 50+ laps a year on this thing - it's short enough to lap before work in the winter, and to bang out laps during long early summer evenings. This past spring was one of the better seasons on record, with water levels running over 3 for nearly 6 weeks. This is the last rapid of the canyon at high water.


May. The Ashlu needs no introduction. The spring release season is perhaps my favorite time of the year up there. There are no crowds, unlike in the fall when there have been a few days with what seems like 20 people on the river. This is the second rapid in the canyon - Will is aiming for the fantastic boof in the middle of the river on the 1st day of releases of 2012.


May. While attending a conference for work in Calgary, I was able to sneak off for a day and paddle one of the local runs. This is Dave Crerar running Titan on Cataract Creek. It wouldn't have been possible without the help of the Calgary crew - thanks!


June. In June and July I was able to realize a long term goal to go to Norway on a kayaking trip. It was a good time making new friends, seeing old friends and doing some good kayaking. This is the Brandseth River, above the time trial section of the Extremsportveko.


June. The Brandseth again, during the time trial race. This is a section well suited for racing with easy spectator access and a short, action-packed course.


July. The highlight of my Norway trip (and probably the year) was getting to paddle the Teigdalselva near Voss. Here's Mark Basso, our gracious host, paddling off the 3rd or 4th waterfall on the run. While the drops are spectacular, I was most surprised by the difficulty of the 'inbetween' stuff on this run.


July. The double drop at the take out of the Teigdalselva. It's a big rapid, but readily runnable!


July. This was a busy month with Norway at the start and the Callaghan Race at the end. I was lucky enough to squeeze in a weekend, late season trip to the Island between these things where Maxi and I were lucky enough to run Little Qualicum Falls. This is something I've wanted to hit for a while and it was good to get it done, even if the flow was a bit on the low side.


July. The Vancouver Island weekend was a busy one - we paddled 5 or 6 runs in 2 days. This is the Monkey Canyon on the Gold River - still at a reasonable flow in mid July!


July. The ever-classic Callaghan Creek falls. This is the day before the 2012 race. This was the third iteration of the race, and it was the first race that had a nice medium flow instead of a near-unreasonable high water (for racing).


September. I didn't spend a lot of time kayaking in the fall this year. Our crew did spend a fair bit of time scouting out new runs. This photo is from a day scouting a section of river in the upper Lillooet zone called Salal Creek that is at the bleeding edge of what might be runnable. Notice how close, yet how much lower the valley bottom is.


December. The Callaghan in December. Definitley a season closer, and I think the last time I paddled. Here's hoping the snow piles deep to give us another long season with many months of snowmelt!

Cataract Creek, Alberta

Cataract Creek is a nice creek on the eastern slope of the Rockies south of Calgary. Here's some info about the run.

Amusingly, some of the big rapids on this run are named after creatures/things of legend and myth; Hercules, Titan and Leviathan for example. Pretty cool actually. This is the only run I've done in Alberta - I had the chance to sneak away for a day while in Calgary for work, and this is what I got to paddle. It was a fun day, and it was great to meet and hang out with the Calgary crew. I will definitely be back.

Here's a few photos from this trip.

The put in on a fridig late May afternoon. It was as cold as it looks.


Mikkel St. Jean-Duncan rolling over the lip of Titan. Check out the Rocky Mountain bedrock!


The Hercules/Titan stack up.


Zig Zag Falls, a really fun rapid.


Dave Crerar paddling through the Leviathan. This manky drop reminded me a lot of paddling in New York.

Currents v2.6 Creek Racing - Callaghan 2012

Currents v2_6: The Creek Race from Five2Nine on Vimeo.

North Stein

Semi-photo dump from the North Stein. Check out this link for the beta you need to stage a trip.

The North Stein is one of SW BC's gnarly whitewater multiday runs. You've probably heard of it before. If hike in gnar runs with a ton of log portages is your thing, then this is the run for you. Despite the hardship, it's a worthwhile trip, at least once.

Check out the few photos we have and a good video from White Box Mag to get a feel for what it's like in there.

Getting ready to hike.


This makes the hike 4km longer than it used to be.


Battle on the moraine, headed towards the pass.


Even after the moraine there is still a lot of up.


Heading towards the North Stein.


The first really nice rapid.