find a pair of paddlers dressed to the hilt in purple PFDs, blaze-orange dry suits and metallic helmets. They stand high atop a rock, pointing and planning their route through the churning water below.
INTO THE FAST WATER Uneasy with an audience on our
first run, Scott and I push off and back ferry across to the opposite bank. We eddy in behind a boulder, twist around, shoot down a narrow channel and sideslip to the right, just missing the bottom ledge by half a paddle length. We shout urgent, terse commands as Scott pries with his paddle at the bow and I brace mine in to shift the canoe sideways. The teamwork pays off as we’re spit out the far end right side up. The two canoeists in the other
party aren’t as successful. They bounce down the centre of the run like a steel ball launched in a pinball machine. By the time they reach calmer water beyond the rapid, they’re in the drink and gripping the gunwales of their overturned canoe. Their weekend has officially begun. About five minutes downstream,
our foursome disembarks once again to survey Little Thompson
Rapids and carry our packs over the steep, 165-metre portage to the left. Since we walk alongside the larger rapids to scope out our route anyway, we take the packs with us and leave the canoes behind. It makes it easier if we do capsize because our equipment doesn’t need to be rescued. And an empty canoe has more buoyancy, which can help when the river is squeezed into a raging torrent. The low water level works against us at Little Thompson, too, so we attach lining ropes to the bow and stern and walk the canoe down the left bank like a dog on a leash. Below the Thompson Rapid series, the current slows down for about six kilometres, interrupted only by a small swift and the level one Grillade Rapids. Both areas are easily run, but they do have portages of 130 metres and 425 metres marked to the right. Soon, the Crooked Chute appears
to tear down the confidence we’ve slowly been building. It’s a dangerous piece of work regardless of the water level. There’s a boneyard of battered canoes scattered at its base that attests to its cranky character. Paddlers without a great deal of whitewater acumen should watch for the take-out marking the 1,580-metre
portage on the right bank. Skilled canoeists have the option to paddle through the upper stretch and use a second take-out 400 metres downstream, or even a third take-out at a campsite just prior to the chute itself. Don’t shoot the chute. Once you’re on the trail, the remaining 600 metres splits soon after the campsite. The main trail is to the right, and leads away from the river up a steep knoll. Our foursome is planning to stay
near the base of Crooked Chute at the old ranger’s cabin, built in the early 1920s and probably the oldest cabin left standing in the park. Somehow, the metallic helmet fanatics beat us to it. All the other campsites at Crooked Chute are occupied as well, so we head downstream and run a short swift
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