Six paddlers took a day off form work on Thursday, December
11 and headed to the
Salembier, Don Robertson, Jeff and David (last names unknown), and me—Mark
Holmberg. We put on at
Cartecay Road
broke through the clouds. The river was at a great level and rising.
Several of the rapids looked much different at the
relatively high water level today (3’+) compared to recent low level runs.
S-Turn had an intimidating wave in the normal line; however, an easy over the
ledge line on river right was open. There was a large hole on the upper right
side of Whirlpool along with a wave on river left. A large tree across the
river just above
There are openings on extreme river right and left just large enough to allow boats
to pass. The tree is visible from a distance; however be careful here. Finally,
a large wave—3’ to 4’—at the bottom of the falls filled my canoe to the gunwales.
It was great to see water in the Cartecay for a change. I
couldn’t help but imagine that Jay Srymanske’s spirit was with us on the river
today.
