Hi all.
Thanks Jean-Nicholas and CJ for suggesting this run and for being great guides. You were right: no reason to drive far away, there's this gem right here in our backyard!
The photos posted by J-N and the movies posted by Jaclin should give a good idea of the rapids. It's all pool-drop, with lots of flats to catch your breath and catch on on the latest gossips. There are two mandatory portages (til someone else decides to try those drops again). The portage trail for the second one is almost non-existent, but after the twelve paddlers who walked it yesterday, we can hope that it will start to look like a trail. Let's say that next time, I may not wear a dry suit with fleece
under it: almost got heat stroke pulling my heavy boat.
As I say, all pool-drop. It might look strange the first time as there is a long flat after the put-in, to a drop that has to be portaged. Well, the first half only, the second half is a nice narrow steep creek drop. After that there is a mix of Class II to Class IV, with a beautiful (read: magazine cover beautiful) waterfall, but beautiful like a venus flytrap to a fly. That's where Adam Chapell almost bought it. There the portage trail is bad, as this a very narrow and steep canyon.
There is a dam to portage, but it has a fun seal launch. The river ends with a great double drop, the first part Class IV in my opinion, followed by a Class III slide.
Well worth doing, despite the flats and the hard portage (only one is hard, the others are easy). We should go back!
--C.