Last year by this time, Tyler and I had paddled over 300km in preparation for both the South Dakota Kayak Challenge and the Texas Water Safari, this year however, with winter being relentless and not allowing spring to actually move in, our training has been significantly truncated. However, this weekend would prove to hopefully be the weekend where spring has finally outmuscled the truculent Jack Frost and allow paddling to rev up. Until this weekend (April 22nd) Tyler had only paddled 25km whereas I had been limited to just over 100km. On Friday we were going to almost double my paddling distance and quadruple Tylers - atleast this is what we thought.
Tyler had managed to borrow a canoe from a work buddy saving us the rental costs of a boat, this would prove to be the first of several mishaps that would lead us to pulling out 48km (30 miles) sooner than we expected. After packing nearly two pairs of everything in a dry bag (the water is still only about 4C) we went off to pick up the canoe. As we picked up the canoe, the first thing I noticed was its dimensions, it was about 14' long and had a beam around the 37" area. In other words, this boat was not built for speed or for weight - I estimate this boat had a maximum capacity of about 600-700lbs.
As we loaded our gear and Shilo into the boat and then pushed off, we noticed that we had about 2 inches of freeboard (distance from water level to gunwale) on this boat, meaning that any wave crest of 3" or higher would come over the sides and we would take on water. This proved to be a major issues as we started paddling. About 20 minutes into paddling it became apparant the forecast was not going to live up to its reputation, but this time the temperature was skyrocketing above the 5C that was forecast (it would reach 13C before the day ended) and we needed to pull over to delayer from our warm-weather clothing - at which point Shilo decided to go exploring - what should have been a 3 minute delayering session ended up being a 12-15 minute break and dog chase before we were able to push off again.
After a few more pit stops and unscheduled dog runs (which cost us valuable time and ensured we would not make our goal), we knew we were running well behind schedule and were trying to make up the time in the little boat - but to anyone who has ever run this section knows, there is a little length of river filled with barely submerged rocks - we affectionately refer to this a mine-sweeper alley. With this boat being so laden with weight and not very mobile, we suddenly found ourselves heading straight for the a rock. We made a quick decision to avoid the higher waves in the middle of the river and squeeze between the rock and the shore - this was a bad decision in retrospect and would be the last of our mishaps - bt the biggest one. As Tyler plyed a hard pry (I only assume) the bow of the canoe slid right up a rock. Now with our bow on a rock and the stern of the boat in a decent strength current the boat spun like a top, pivoting around the rock - as the boat leaned into the current Shilo slipped down towards the lower gunwale and that was it. The first bit of water came in and the boat just tossed us out as it continued to capsize. Thankfully being in the bow, I grabbed the rope and hopped onto shore, Tyler and Shilo weren't so lucky, both ended up dunking and getting completely soaked.
Thankfully most things were clipped into the canoe, however the current did end up taking a backpack (complete with stove, food, and gear), the dog food container, a sports bottle and an ice breaker neck warmer. After pulling the boat up onto shore (I forgot how heavy a canoe full of water is), getting into dry clothes and finding Shilo as he went for another adventure somewhere (all which took about 25-30 minutes) we decided we had to get to atleast the David Thompson Bridge and see how the time was going, as we were now over an hour and a half behind our normal time. On the way, we did manage to get all gear back except for the Icebreaker Neckwarmer - which I hope some fish puts to good use. About two hours after dumping we pulled up onto the shore below the David Thompson highway and waited for my wife to pick us up.
Normally on this river, we can finish the 83km in about 9-10 hours (including stops) in a prospector style boat - this weekend it took us from 9:30pm to 2:15pm (4 and a 45 minutes) to paddle a mere 35km - extrapolate that to almost 11.5 hours to complete the entire 83km run - in terms fo racing, that would give us a SDKC finishing time of 16.5 hours, nearly 4.5 hours slower than last year - proving one thing, compared to last year - we need to practice more.
Unfortunately, due to conflicts in schedule, Tyler and I will be unable to practice together again before the South Dakota Kayak Challenge, so we will have to practice with others and do some solo paddles over the next month to better prepare for the challenge.
Next up, a 92km run from Calgary to Carseland Alberta - stay tuned.
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