Re-live your memories

Come to the Premiere of the film Tracing the Columbia-- Saturday, November 19, 2011, in Abbotsford, BC.

It’s going to be a fun weekend. Arrive on Friday so you can paddle with us, and more.

Saturday is the BIG day

Day trip (3 hours) on the Fraser River, from Mission to Fort Langley, starts early (9am) in the morning (Pre-registration is required; lunch makings will be available)

Tour Western Canoeing & Kayaking - where CLIPPER canoes are made.

Guided tours will be available at 4:10 and 4:30.

Their large retail store will remain open late for those who would like to do some shopping; 1717 Salton Rd., Abbotsford, B.C.

(No host) Supper at Finnigan’s Pub & Grill,

33780 King Road, Abbotsford

Tracing the Columbia (the film premiere) is at 7 pm at the University of the Fraser Valley

33844 King Road.

With Reception afterwards

If you pre-ordered your copy, it will be available for pick-up.

Western Canoeing, Finnigan’s Pub and the University are all within easy walking distance of each other.

If you fly into Abbotsford (WestJet) , there is a very affordable shuttle service into Abbotsford. Rental cars are available too.

Accommodations

We have reserved a block of rooms at Best Western Bakerview Inn, 1821 Sumas Way, Abbotsford, BC V2S 4L5. Call them directly to book, 1-877-336-6156, or email bwbakerviewinn@shawcable.com. Tell them you are with the David Thompson Columbia Brigade to get the price $84 plus taxes. All rooms have a fridge & microwave. There’s a restaurant connected to the hotel—and many other choices for food and drink within walking distance. See http://www.roomstays.com/hotel/523555 for more details. You must book by November 1!

Please reserve your tickets for the film by emailing Katie Stein Sather, ksather@shaw.ca. Tickets are complimentary for Brigade members, $10 for others. They will also be available for purchase at the door.

Space on the Fraser River day trip, in voyageur canoes and a Pacific Dancer (The Dancer is a First Nations canoe, built by Clipper and patterned after those used on the south coast of BC) is limited. Please reserve your spot, and know that we will probably have the boats full. Please email Katie, ksather@shaw.ca. The cost will be $20 for non-members of the Fort Langley Canoe Club, $10 for members.

Please remember that November is BC’s rainy season; come prepared to be wet.

Tracing The Columbia - Trailer

How will we remember what happened? Some photos, for sure, on our favourite photo site, and on the 2011brigade.org website.

But also the video, now in production by a professional filmmaker, Jay MacMillan. He who produced an award-winning video about the 2008 David Thompson Brigade (Digging Water).

It's due out in November, to be premiered in Vancouver. Stay tuned for the details of the whole weekend. In the meantime, catch a glimpse of what he's thinking of with the trailer.

For the newsletter

How do you combine an interest in fur trade history, and geography, and paddling, all at one time?

You join a Brigade! Several members of FLCC paddled with the 2011 Thompson Columbia Brigade from Fort Spokane to Fort Astoria on the Columbia River: Katie Stein Sather, captain, Lee McGovern, Sue Tuttle, Susan Blank, Ian Bailey, Carol Woodworth, Al Sather, Eric Mast (Richland, WA), Tim Ahern (Spokane, WA), Margaret Wanlin (Thunder Bay) and Linda and Dennis Ethier (Lacombe, AB) . Some ten voyageur canoe teams from all across western Canada—from as far away as Thunder Bay, ON—celebrated the accomplishments of the cartographer and explorer David Thompson by arriving in Astoria, OR 200 years to the day after he did so.

Like Thompson, we fought the heat of the Upper Columbia Basin and the headwinds of the Columbia Gorge and the tide at the mouth. Unlike the river that Thompson paddled, the contemporary river is mostly a series of reservoirs. No rapids at all. Just dam after dam to trailer around.

The FLCC team joined the trip midway, west of Spokane, and two days’ paddle “upstream” of the Grand Coulee dam, on Lake Roosevelt. We paddled some 1000 km to the mouth of the Columbia, at Astoria. We newbies to the brigade had to learn to get up early, ie 4:30 am, for a 6:30 start on the water, and keep up to the folks already accustomed to paddling 40-60 strokes a minute for hours at a time. Our heavy boat gave us extra conditioning.

It was a great opportunity to celebrate paddling in general, and to renew and make paddling friends from across Canada. The next one? Maybe 2017 to celebrate Canada’s 150^th anniversary. This kind of trip is unique.

Descending the Columbia.mov

We finished!

Well, it's over and done. We, the Fort Langley Canoe Club team, paddled the Columbia River from the forks of the Spokane and Columbia Rivers to its mouth at Astoria. some 900 km (660 miles).

The long days, early risings, windy crossings of the lakes, and head winds made for some hard work. The last day was one of the hardest as we had to fight the incoming tide as well. (Someone underestimated the work of paddling against the tide, I'd say.) And, it being the wet coast, it rained much of the day too.

We've accomplished a lot, and hope to pass along our hard won skills to others in the club. And maybe share our river, the Fraser, with brigaders when they come to Vancouver for the premiere of the video.

Here's some news coverage of our trip, from Astoria:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JPzZF7SiuA&feature=player_embedded

Changing landscape

This trip has been an evolution--of landscape.

Where we joined the Brigade--on Lake Roosevelt at the confluence of the Spokane River and the Columbia, it was hot and dry. The upper Columbia Basin is a landscape utterly foreign to me. Not only hot and dry, but no vegetation I am familiar with. Sagebrush and other low growing shrubs. Much dry grass, with stickers that poke. The valley walls are basalt and sand. It’s very dramatic.

In the Hanford Reach, we saw some wetlands, and wild herds (thanks to the no hunting/no trespassing rules there!).

Just this morning, as we progressed through the Columbia Gorge, trees in the deep valley were more evident, ie there is more precipitation here. Again the geology is amazing.

My previous image of the Columbia Valley was too northern—all trees, just like the BC portion of it really is. But the Columbia Basin of Eastern Washington, and Oregon, is anything but treed. Spectacular and dramatic rock formations, high walls (perfect for dams and reservoirs).

It seems good to have my eyes opened.

Day Off Call

Well, guess what, it's windy in the Columbia River Gorge! So we called it a day, and took today off. Only two boats paddled, actually, out of the ten or so we have. The waves yesterday were BIG! bigger than I was comfortable with. Today's agenda called for crossing this BIG river, so many of the teams declined. See the pics of the two boats that did go--the highway follows the river, so we just stopped to take photos. It has finally cooled off some, only in the mid-seventies today, compared to 90-100. Yes, really, over 100 a couple of days ago in Irrigon, OR.

We are getting up at 4:30 am these days, to get on the water by 6 or earlier. We are often done by noon or so. Some of us are able to nap, some not.

Sometimes we have an arrival ceremony to stage, so we get in the boats again, in the hot, hot sun, and make our splashy entrance. Most often to a small crowd. Those who come appreciate us.

We now have a full team! Sue and Ian have joined us--but all too soon a couple of others will leave for home. It's amazing how fast this whole trip is going. All too soon, it will be over.

Hanford Reach

Yesterday we paddled one of the few stretches of the Columbia River that is not dammed, a real wild reach.

It flows past an area that is a de facto wildlife preserve, with no human interference.

It's all part of the Hanford Research operation--where the plutonium for the Manhattan nuclear project of WWII was produced. There's a huge buffer zone around it. It's the hottest and driest part of the Columbia Basin. The vegetation is sagebrush and perennial bunchgrass. A desert, plus a huge river, making for a variety of life.

And current, real current all the way. Added to a tail wind we made excellent progress: 80 km in about 7 hours. that includes crew change stops.

We have now reached Richland, where there is a bit more shelter from the wind. And it's Canada Day, so we are making our own celebration--party and more.

Eric, our newest team member has joined us--he lives in Richland, so is a font of information. Carol joins us tomorrow.

More people make for less work. Yeah!

Group retracing explorer's path down Columbia River | Yakima Herald-Republic

Group retracing explorer's path down Columbia River | Yakima Herald-Republic

We've made the news again. be sure to look for the video of the Brigade arriving. It's pretty good--shows the spectacular scenery we are paddling through.

windy days

We are at the intersection of the Columbia River and highway I-90, in the middle of Washington state.

It's very windy. So windy that after the first 10 kilometers of paddling, at a dam portage, some paddlers opted to quit for the day, including our team.

It's hot as well as windy. Did I say that it was windy? Our very large tent is having a hard time--it's such a big sail, and it wears on you.

The country here is spectacular--the river valley is large, and heavily eroded by prehistoric floods. It is very dry, so there is much sagebrush and little grass of any kind. The trees are lopsided thanks to the wind, too. Paddling alongside the high basalt cliffs provide more than respite from the wind--gorgeous to look at, and we saw a herd of mountain sheep. Who needs a foothold? they don't seem to!

This is such open country--big sky, the ribbon of green along the river, and the occasional coulee with water. Very big sky, actually.

This is quite the change from the rainy Lower Mainland.

In the news

Our exploits on the Columbia River have really made the local news. Local communities in the Entiat and Wenatchee area are really showing up wonderful hospitality. Last night here in Wenatchee, they laid on supper of pulled pork (yum!), chicken, potato, salad, etc AND a old time string band concert, and swag for the brigaders.

AND we have made the local newspaper, the Wenatchee World. see http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2011/jun/25/brigade-travels-in-explorers-wake/ for the article--and look for more on the side bar.

We've been very busy with 5 am wakeups, on the water by 7 or so. Arrival ceremonies and canoe maneuvers, then parade up to the stage, accompanied by our own bagpipers. Lots of pagentry.

Today is a day off, so we are doing laundry, and going to the local museum with its new exhibit on David Thompson. They are opening it for an hour, on their usual day off.

We've started--at the Grand Coulee Dam

Well, Katie, Lee, Susan, Sylvia and Margaret plus land crew Al arrived safely at the Columbia River--where the Spokane River enters the Columbia-- on Monday--and now we have paddled for two days.

It has been hot and mostly sunny, quite the switch for us Lower Mainlanders. and for the Brigade too, it appears. They have had much wet and cold weather, like two weeks of it.

Speaking of switches, we have not had a hard time getting the fast and frequent switches of paddling sides down pat. Any wobbles have been fleeting and minor. It's easier when you realize--in your body--that it's actually easier to switch more frequently.

This style of paddling is so very different from the voyageur paddling the Fort Langley Canoe Club does. It's very serious! Efficiency is ultra important. We are offered much coaching and help, from paddle strokes to moving our heavy boat to spare people to help paddle and drive.

Tomorrow we trailer around the Grand Coulee Dam, and enjoy some wild water for a few kilometers before another resevoir comes our way.

Kettle Falls

The photo shows fishing at Kettle Falls, before Grand Coulee Dam was built (1940) and Roosevelt Lake filled up. Kettle Falls fell over 50 feet in a series of rapids and cascades. Salmon had to pause. There is no longer a salmon run past the dam.

Thanks to the fishing, it was a gathering spot, a place sacred to the natives for whom it provided food for body and soul.

What makes a place sacred for you?

I need a place that is both beautiful in some way, and infused with memory and history. It doesn't all have to be my history, but I need to know some of the story.

I need to get to know the place over the seasons. Such a designation for me doesn't come easily or quickly. It has to become so over time.

Maybe it's like the clearing in the Quebec forest where I collected my wits after the group I was guiding was difficult. Maybe it's like the cabin in the Newfoundland boreal forest where we lived full time for 14 months. Our story of that place makes it memorable. How many of us these days can tell the story of living in a place accessible only by cross country ski or snowmobile for months at a time? Where the moose regularly came through the yard, or would have if it weren't for the dog guarding the area. Where the cats stalked the "bunnies" (snowshoe hares)--and were successful occasionally.

What does make a place sacred for you?

Lake Roosevelt and the drawdown

In a few days, the Brigade will trailer across the Colville National Forest--from Ione to Kettle Falls and Lake Roosevelt, the reservoir behind the Grand Coulee Dam. Fear of huge run-off from the huge snow pack has led to a dramatic drawdown of the lake. See http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/apr/24/spring-drawdown-bares-shores-of-lake-roosevelt/ for more details. The low point of the drawdown was at the end of April, at a level of 1225 ft.

And see http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=otx&gage=gcdw1&view=1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1%22 for the latest levels, and forecast. On Sunday, June 12, the level was at 1246 ft, forecast to rise to 1267 feet on June 21, just the day before the Brigade arrives at the dam on June 22.

Apparently Kettle Falls reappears only at 1160 ft. Still, the views available this year are not the usual ones. I can't wait to see them!

The photo is from http://gatheringaroundthetable.blogspot.com/2011/05/i-live-by-this-water-drawdown-on-lake.html, worth reading for another view of the drawdown--and the impact of the reservoir on the land, and its people.

Kootenai Falls

Kootenai Falls

Just downstream of Libby, Montana--where the brigade is this morning, June 9, is Kootenai Falls. The river falls over 300 feet in a few hundred yards, according to the Travel Montana website.

It was, and is, sacred to the Kootenai Indians, the centre of the world. For David Thompson, it was a significant barrier to navigation, necessitating in his journey down the Kootenay River in 1808 much scouting--not for the paddling line, but for the portaging. No wonder the Brigade isn't paddling it! They carefully walked 300 feet above the river, and did not recommend this way as a trade route. Too hard to portage, too hard to travel upstream.

In 1809, Thompson established Saleesh House near the present day town of Thompson Falls on what we know now as the Thompson River.. When Thompson paddled through in 1812, he damaged his canoes in the rapids nearby. It was March, and stormy. Their tent was blown down.

I wonder how much of those rapids are now under a resevoir.

They've started!

Darn! I can't be there at the start, once again. It's happening without me.

Having paddled Columbia and Windemere Lakes last summer, I can visualize what's happening. They drove down the lake (south) to a put in, then paddled back to the campground at the north end, in the town of Inveremere. There's a beautiful marshy creek between the two big lakes--lots of big lake and small river practice for these new teams.

Tomorrow they will embark on the Kootenay River, headed south. When I last saw the Kootenay, it was just barely deep enough to float a voyageur boat. If the heavy snow load has started to melt, the problem will be too much water, not too little!

From the Spot program, I see they paddled yesterday too. I can see they were on the water at 7am, just as they said they wanted to be. Do you realize how early you have to get up to be down the road and on the water by 7? Try 5 am, maybe earlier!

We will join them down the river... we're not ready yet, but we will be.

Why, oh, why?

Why DO we do this?

Who would want to take off for a month long canoe trip--not a wilderness sojourn with a few friends, but the travelling circus that is a Voyageur Brigade? I expect something like 100 people, more or less, in the ten teams participating in this grand expedition. We will not experience solitude, especially in camp. Maybe momentarily on the river.

The stretch of the Columbia River that we will do is not completely wilderness, although I do expect some parts of it to be less travelled. Much of it is resevoir, water trapped behind one dam or another dam. We will have to portage several of them. Hopefully by trailer or a set of wheels under the canoe.

We will join the larger brigade about half way through, near the small town of Miles, WA, west of Spokane where the Spokane River joins the Columbia. From what I can see on Google Earth, it looks like desert, dry and nearly stark naked of trees.

It will be hot and dry, not terribly comfortable. So we will paddle in the early parts of the day.

That might be the best part of the day, anyway. It's the best time to see animals, the coolest part of the day. There's something special about dawn--it's the beginning of a new day, a new opportunity for life. Who knows what will happen!

Getting Ready

Yes, we're getting ready for a Brigade.

What's a Brigade? it's a canoe trip using Voyaguer Canoes, 26' in our case. There will be some 10 teams of us travelling from Canal Flats, BC to Astoria, OR. All to commemorate David Thompson, the inveterate explorer and mapmaker, who made this trip 200 years ago.

So, we are practicing on the Fraser River, 2 or 3 times a week, depending on our available time. Sometimes in voyageur canoes, sometimes in other boats, like outriggers or dragonboats. We are a diverse lot.

Who are "we"? We are members of the Fort Langley Canoe Club (www.fortlangleycanoeclub.ca). Most of us have been members for some time; a few have joined just for this trip. The Columbia River Voyageur Brigade (www.2011brigade.org)

so, now, what else do I need to think about...

a first aid kit maybe...
a repair kit? yeah.

food? got to get that south of the border.