Over the years the development of logging roads has
opened the door for kayakers seeking new rivers; every year new roads and bridges are built, potentially opening up the next classic run. Most of the current put-ins and takeouts are at bridges, which makes things nice because bushwhacking in northern B.C can be hell. Over the past decade, paddlers from the region have
been gradually ticking numerous first descents. Local kayakers can testify that the only dilemma is not finding the virgin runs, but deciding which one to tackle first. And with a relatively small paddling community, the harder runs only see one or two descents a season. Always ready to get in a few days on the river with
strong boaters, I was pumped to show these guys around. Starting in Terrace we ticked the class V classics—Willams, Kelanze, Kalum, Kitnayakwa, and the second descent of Wesach Falls, a 63-foot waterfall 35 kilometres north of Terrace. Everyone ran it. It's the easiest falls ever—line it up and tuck. You’re more likely to get into trouble at the put-in.
I was 25 feet from the lip of the 63-foot drop, doing unintentional loops.
“I seal launched in and skipped across the river and
nailed the wall which bounced me into this hole,” Boux said. “There I was 25 feet from the lip of the 63-foot drop, doing unintentional loops. I finally broke free of the hole and gained my composure as I floated to the lip of the falls.” Later, we pushed on to some of the runs I have been
looking at for the past few years. I was impressed by the precision of these guys’ basic river moves, especially with Brandon. Not having to worry about them screwing up the line, the stress level was way lower for me even though we paddled some sick stuff. We rented an ocean boat and headed down the coast to
Kitimat, a small industrial port town 55 kilometres from Terrace. Our day on the ocean boat proved to be a good value with two first descents including Jesse Falls. The falls makes up the shortest river in the world. So a fisher- man told me—fishermen are a good resource in northern B.C. Jesse falls is an astounding coastal waterfall that cascades 50 feet out of an alpine lake, dumping you direct- ly into a deep-sea harbor. We ran the falls and stopped at a natural hot spring on the way home. Back at base camp, things settled down after awhile.
Suki calmed down and the guys were rad, cleaning and cooking every night! After their two-week stay they bought us a DVD player, helping us enter into the 21st century.
Shane & Suki Spencer own and operate Azad Adventures, an outdoor guiding, instruction and retail business in Terrace, B.C.
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The shortest river in the world: Brandon Knapp takes the first descent of Jesse Falls.
Meanwhile, in the land of the giant Smarties.
Hey, hot springs need sponsors too.
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