: Well, I finally got the Night Heron on the river today for its
: first good run on the water. I have never paddled a lighter
: kayak on the river so I was interested in seeing how she would
: perform. The day started out foggy with light rain but with warm
: temperatures so I was eager to get out there and make a good go
: of the early morning. The army was in the area as well. Every
: year they hold a triathlon of sorts which involves running with
: an 80-lb pack, a canoeing section on the river and a
: horrendously long canoe portage. I caught them just as they were
: ending the long hard run and entering the river in the canoes.
: The launch went well. The river is lower now than it has been
: all summer. The water is finally clear after a very wet summer
: of heavy rain, the runoff of which adds heavy silt to the water.
: It started to rain lightly almost immediately after I started
: paddling. The new seat back I installed felt comfortable except
: for some pressure on my spine. I will alleviate that issue by
: trimming the wood such that the pressure point is removed. Kayak
: stability was good but she was turned fairly easily by many of
: the powerful eddies in the current so I had to use more caution
: while paddling. I figured that since the Night Heron produced
: slightly more of a wake than the VJ, she'd be slower on the
: upstream run so I wanted to go easy until I had to turn around
: and head back upstream.

: I was paddling fairly easily for most of the downstream run,
: enjoyed the view of the lush forest growing on the river banks
: because of all the rain we have had this year. The air was sweet
: and fresh, humid from the warm fog and rain. My spirits were
: high as I made easy strokes. The city was awake with the sounds
: of the morning rush hour traffic. I passed the first of 6
: bridges I would encounter and watched as our LRT train crossed
: over heading south to the University of Alberta, one of my
: favorite places to go to enjoy a good coffee and read my
: favorite stories. I was so intent on the view above the river
: banks that I did not see something that would have normally
: caught my attention in a hurry. More on that later, eh!

: As I rounded a curve of the river, I spotted one of the army
: canoeists catching me: I was impressed! I normally paddle a
: steady and strong pace and this guy was catching me slowly but
: surely. The game was on! I increased my tempo just a tweak to
: give him something to work for. I still did not want to work too
: hard because I had a long upstream paddle coming up soon. On
: this river, a half-hour downstream means a 1 1/2 hr upstream
: battle. I was also paddling that stretch of the river where to
: get to the put in point, I had to paddle my ass off as hard as I
: could because the river spills over a submerged slope and the
: current accelerates quite a bit. You cannot notice the increase
: in current speed unless you are on the water.

: As I arrived at my turn-around point and parked the kayak behind a
: bridge pylon to rest and drink some water, the first army
: paddler caught up to me. We greeted each other with cheery good
: mornings. He lamented that I was turning around because he was
: using me to keep a hard steady and strong pace. He was way ahead
: of all the other paddlers and needed a rabbit to chase. I told
: him that I had a long paddle to make upstream so he'd have to
: work it himself.

: I began my upstream run with slower easy strokes that increased in
: tempo as my muscles warmed to the task. I passed many other
: canoeists who appeared to be not so skilled or comfortable in
: the canoes. There was even one guy wallowing close to shore as
: he tried to control his canoe in the eddies that always exist
: close to shore. As I rounded the first corner on my way back, a
: friggin speed boater raced past me as I crossed paths with an
: army paddler. The damned speed boat thug did not slow down one
: whit and left a massive wake behind the boat. I immediately
: turned to face the wave as did the army guy. As we passed each
: other we each said hello then I cursed that idiot in the power
: boat. Grrr! The army guy smiled while he fought to control his
: canoe.

: Soon I was approaching the launch site for the Fire Department and
: spotted them lowering their rescue boat into the water. Normally
: these guys will greet me with friendly hellos but not this time.
: This time they were all business and ignored me other than to
: make certain that they did not run me over. They sped off
: upstream and I wondered what they were up to. As I rounded the
: bend I expected to see them speeding off way ahead of me.
: Instead, I saw nothing. I wondered where they could be. As I
: rounded the curve further, I spotted them beached ashore just
: ahead. I paddled toward them allowing about 25 meters between
: us. I thought that perhaps a car had left the road and was
: submerged in the river, except that the river is not deep where
: they were stopped. As I passed by, I spotted something on the
: shoreline...something that was the wrong color for this section
: of the river. That something eventually took shape...a back, two
: legs half in the water, a head face down in the mud, a pack sack
: on the shore a few feet from the body, some personal possessions
: strewn about nearby and several rescue personnel standing around
: talking, some looking at me and some not. I kept my distance but
: watched the scene. This was the first time I have seen a
: recognizable body while on the river. Some of you might recall
: my river adventure story from a few years ago when I found a
: body without legs, arms and possibly the head. This days makes
: the total body count two. I always knew that sooner or later I
: would see death on the river...many people died on or near the
: river every year for various reasons.

: I paddled past the scene of death and kept my eyes ahead. There
: were city workers using shovels and water to clear a bridge
: pylon of flood debris and another armada of army canoeists
: heading my way. I warned the lead paddler to stay left to avoid
: the death scene: he stayed right anyway, in fact, I think he
: paddled in closer to see what was up. I also passed two voyageur
: canoe loads of children out on the river for an adventure as
: their adult supervisor regaled them with stories of the river.

: From this point on, I had roughly 600 meters of grueling upstream
: paddling where the river current races downhill. I greeted all
: who passed by me, some ignoring me and others offering cheery
: retorts. One army guy complimented me on the fantastic looking
: kayak I was paddling...he identified himself as a fellow
: paddler. That made me smile as I grunted my way back to the car.
: Once I made it to shore, I lugged the kayak up the embankment
: and set it on the road beside the car. A truck load of army guys
: cruised by and shouted compliments regarding the kayak design
: and construction. I smiled as they drove by and thought about
: the unfortunate homeless person who died alone on the river
: back. My heart breaks thinking about how tough some of these
: people have it and yet I know this person is better off now.

: I never know what I will see and have to deal with when I am on the
: river. That is why I paddle it...to see what is around the next
: bend.

: Robert N Pruden

Nicely written Rob,

I too live on a river so understand the whole thing. We don't use it often too much powerboat traffic. Since we also have a small lake we use it much more often and it's wake limited.

So...how do you like the boat?

Bill H.