Big Water
The Middle run on the Elk last Saturday was definitely the highlight of a great weekend of paddling around Fernie, BC this May long. The Middle is a class IV-V paddle in a deep committing canyon typically run between 30 and 50 cms. At a juicy 110 cms it looked like like one hell of a ride and one I couldn't pass up. This was only the second time I had ever passed on the falls but at this much water they were downright scary. Bryce and I agreed, this is perfect Stikine training, canyoned in and intimidating as hell, but with a road waiting at the lip of the canyon and a staircase lurking only two burly rapids away the consequences of this run are not the same. One member of our group had an out of boat adventure that could have been disastrous but with a strong patient crew we pulled off a cross river rescue. It's near impossible to rescue a boat in that water so we were lucky when a festival group on the Lower run picked up the stray boat and herded it to the take out. For me this is what paddling is all about, getting in your boat and making a number of big money moves. I can't wait to get on it again.
