Last fall Brenda and I paddled two different sections of the Shushwap River between Mabel Lake and Mara Lake. At the time the river was teaming with big red sockeye salmon.
We really enjoyed ourselves and resolved to do more paddling in the area. Unfortunately renting a canoe and then returning it during business hours was a major hassle. So on Saturday we bought a used canoe. Nothing fancy -- a 16' frontier and a bit of a monster really -- but I've always wanted a canoe and this'll do for now.
The world was our oyster! Where to go canoing? Mission Creek seemed the obvious choice. Mission Creek flows out of the hills east of Kelowna and winds through the city and into Okanagan Lake. Brenda was a little dubious about the idea but she was a good sport and we went for it. We left one car at the lake and then drove about 12km upstream and put the canoe in.
Um...the river was really flowing. I mean it was seriously moving. To make a long story short by the time we were 500 meters downstream (which was pretty damn quick) we'd taken on a good amount of water and were soaked to the skin. The water is anything but warm this time of year let me tell 'ya.
A return to shore was promptly arranged and we came to a crunching halt on some shallow rocks, somewhat chastened. Our poor canoe must have wondered just what kind of a future life was in store for it.
We'll go back in a few weeks after the spring run-off.
Wimps
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