Cheakamus – Saturday September 9, 2017
Per usual I dumped, unusually it was below Fergies (Sea Wolf ). So ipso facto I write the report ill stop the Latin.
Carey send out a last minute call for the Cheakamus. Alain and Anne answered the call as did I and Beranrd who wanted to bring Jen! Anyway we were to meet at Starbucks in Squamish at 9 a.m. you heard me 9 a.m!
Saturday arrived it was raining I prepared the night before it was so early. At 7:30 I decided to take Lions Gate Bridge; only to arrive at 7:45 to find the bridge closed. Have you ever heard of the Grandfondo, neither had I nor Carey apparently? Anyway it’s a gigantic bike race of thousands of bicyclists. I turned around at Lions Gate raced back east and over the 2nd Narrow bridge only to find when I got to Horseshoe bay the road to Squamish was closed more or less for the Grandfondo and there was a detour.
Panicking, it was passed 8 a.m. , I took the detour. I was taken onto a single lane on the wrong side of the highway to Squamish by a flagger. The car were in an endless line crawling along. Sometimes Squamish bound traffic was stopped for fifteen minutes to let the people coming from Squamish through.
It was 9 am I was in Lions Bay. Frantically I called Alain who answered and said he was behind me a mile or so and Carey behind him. Anyway we persevered and by 10:15 we were all in Squamish and it was raining. Bernard didn’t come so we 4 continued. Carey wanted to take out on the Squamish River at Brackendale so we left his Van and preceded to the Cheakamus put in.
We began with me regaling them about the last disaster I had with Leigh and Trish- see past posts. Everything went smoothly, we went through Culliton creek, no problem. We went past the disaster channel were Trish and I ended capsizing last time no problem. We continued to Bailey bridge and had lunch under it. The salmon were running and jumping in the air and life was good -it was raining.
I hadn’t paddled to Fergies for years the last time I did it was with Dan Burnett decades ago. The river is flattish, till Fergies fish were jumping one practically into Carey’s boat.
Then there is a nice drop above Fergies, we all made it. Below Fergies there are several good rapids. So good I dumped. Anne and Alain to the rescue. I managed to swim myself to shore and rejoin the boat. We ended on the rather large Squamish river and uneventfully onto Brackendale by 3 p.m. The Granfondo race was on until 4:30 so we commiserated in a pub called something like the Shady lady till 4:30. Altogether a nice paddle and but for me a clean run.