Hudson's Hope Patrol

Thought I'd share this little tidbit with you all. This past fall I was setting up an orienteering course for the JCRs when I noticed my compass readings just didn't seem to make sense with what I knew about the local terrain. I was stumped until I moved to wipe the snow from my compass and saw the needle jump away from my hand. I was totally puzzled by this and completed the rest of the course without the mitts but with very cold hands. I couldn't make sense of it. There was no metal anywhere on my hands, or so I thought. It occurred to me later that they're hunting mitts where the the finger portion flips back to reveal gloved fingers inside allowing one to have easier access to the trigger on one's rifle. Some of these mitts use velcro to hold the forward portion of the mitt back out of the way. Not mine. They are held back by magnets. I had totally forgotten this as it was the first time I had had need to wear them.
Something to keep in mind when using a compass.

From June 11 to the 13th Hudson's Hope Patrol conducted a canoe recce of the South Moberly River which flows from Moberly Lake to the Peace River.

The total length of this river is approximately 120 Km. Realizing there was a good chance we would not be able to canoe the entire route in the two days available, an alternate pull out and pick up site was chosen should it be needed.

Five Rangers and our RI set out Friday afternoon in three canoes from Moberly Lake about a kilometre up from the head of the river. The wind was up and the waves on the lake provided some early entertainment. Once we were on the river and sheltered by the forest we found ourselves paddling on calm flat, meandering, slow moving water, intersperse with the occasional faster water and some small currents. After several hours of flushing ducks and geese we set up camp and enjoyed the long June evening.

Think Dan'll want to chew through this one?

Wake up was easy, enhanced by our camp ungulate alarm, (moose coming through the camp) "Hey Dan! Grab the camera. Take a picture. No Dan! That's the rifle. I said camera." (What's he worried about?) The day brought a variety of paddling experiences from smooth flat water to some faster water traveling around tight bends that had both paddlers actively involved in manouvering the canoe. While nothing posed any serious challenge there was a definite increasing trend in the speed of the water flow. A log jam on a tight bend in the river provided us with the opportunity to fit a little portage into our trip as well. After 40 plus Km of paddling and wildlife viewing we picked our campsite and settled in for the evening, glad to stretch our legs and get off our butts.

If you don't put your back into it.....!

Sunday was to be a fairly relaxed day as we had decided to pull out at the previously arrange alternative take out. This meant we only had another 20 KM and the water was running faster as we descended. While the paddling was easier we had to be more alert for gravel bars, shoals and sweepers (We call them McDan's around here). One does not wish to be forced to chew one's way through a forty foot spruce tree lying across the river. "Does one, Dan?"

Don't try and chew your way through the sweepers!

The final stretch of our journey was especially fun as my partner and I experienced the benefits of Kevlar when we hit a sharp, submerged rock that slowed us quickly but left only a scrape on the hull. Out pull out could not have been better chosen as it turned out to be on the slowest portion of the river for some time but immediately followed by a very fast narrow s-turn under a bridge with sharp boulders placed for cribbing. I was glad not to have had to navigate that particular stretch.
I short order our transport arrived, assisted in loading our boats and gear and brought us home.

You don't get this in the city.

We learned a lot in planning and carrying out the exercise. The importance of planning was made clear as we had to prepare for the possibility of an alternate pick up location for our transport. Maps and Google earth provided some preliminary information but as anyone can imagine a river fed mainly by mountain snow melt can be a different creature during different times of the year. This was a major factor in choosing the date for our trip. The importance of a pre-trip gear session was also made clear as we found there was more duplication of equipment than needed for a group our our size.

In the end the lesson that was most reinforced is that you learn a lot more by doing.