Magnetawan River
Saturday, April 24, 2004
route:
length: 19.0km, 1 day
difficulty: intermediate
participants: Allan Kostyniuk, Glenn Meinzer, Keith Nunn, Diane (Duck) Pringle, Dave, Dave and four yakkers whose names I don't know
offsite report: http://vvcc.canoeontario.ca/gallery/maps/magnetawan031e12
OR try the Wayback Machine
report:
Water level info: This past weekend the level on the Magnetawan was 8.10
metres or so at Emsdale (upstream of Ahmic Lake, which is dam-controlled). It
was 26.3 metres at Britt, downstream of that section, which is also controlled
by dams.
Ostensibly organized by Allan, the Magnetawan was Glenn's suggestion. We met at the dam at 11:30 -- Glenn, Dianne, Dave, Dave, Allan, four yakkers whose names I can't recall, and me.
After the shuttle run, we made it onto the river just before 1pm. The open boaters all elected to skip the set right at the dam and put in below. The yakkers all ran the last bit below the holes.
Once the yakkers made it to the bottom, there was about a 45 minute paddle to Poverty Bay chutes. The chutes may be runnable by hotshots like Ryan Moore, but not by the likes of us. We carried around the meat and waited while the yakkers scouted for what seemed an eternity (at least 1/2 hr.) before portaging anyway.
There was a sweet wave on the left at the bottom of the chute and I wish we'd spent the waiting time there rather than hanging out on the rocks. Oh well. We didn't know it was there. Next time.
I'm having trouble remembering sequence, but there was at least one big, bouncy, straight set before the set that was the highlight of the day for me.
I'm not certain, but guessing from the map later I'd say it was Sellers. It consisted of a series of drops with significant holes. Any one drop would have been no big deal, but the sequence and angles made for a class IV rating and a great challenge.
I was the only open boater to run it and almost didn't. (It's amazing how peer pressure can work both ways.) The more I looked at it while we ate, the more sure I was that I could do it.
A link to my recollection of the rapid follows:
http://vvcc.canoeontario.ca/gallery/maps/sellers_rapid
I made all the moves but the last one. Close, but not quite. That failure meant a sideways ride through the last hole and forcible removal from the boat. Ah well. It was a great challenge and I was pretty pleased with myself overall.
There were five more good big, bouncy sets on the way down from this set and much fun was had by most. Unfortunately, there were a few swims, one nearly nasty. Such is life.
The main swimming Dave only had a wetsuit and so was starting to get cold. We didn't cut short, but we definitely needed to keep the show on the road. It was getting pretty late anyway.
The long flat stretches at the beginning and end were kind of a drag (especially for Dave in his Quake), but it was a great run in some reasonably big water. Good fun! Thanks Glenn, Diane, and Allan.
So what were other folk up to on the weekend?
kapn |
