Head of Deadman’s Valley

Cool morning. We slept well and were grateful for the sleeping bags. It rained off and on during the night but there was a bit of blue sky by 7 am and we hoped for a warmer day. Everything in the tent was a bit damp, and we needed some sun to dry things off.

Breakfast was porridge with chopped almonds and brown sugar, delicious! (Are you seeing the trend here?!)  Helped by the sun coming out, what a relief. Then cinnamon buns baked in the Dutch oven with Baileys, absolutely the best cinnamon buns ever tasted! 

Gradually the clouds cleared and by the time we set off (at about 11:30) the sky was blue and the clouds were clearing fast. It was a beautiful for the rest of the day, a bit cooler than it has been but a wonderful clear blue sky. What a relief after yesterday!

We were told to wear wet suits by Luke in anticipation of George’s Riffle.

Sam was in the back, we were worried about being front heavy but it seemed to be reasonably balanced, and off we went. Down Deadman Valley, the views were spectacular in the sunshine. The river flattened out and more channels appeared. We saw what we thought were probably black duck.

We stopped beyond Sheaf Creek and walked up to the Forestry Cabin which was filled with old and hand-made paddles with names and dates on (none burnt on like ours…) hanging from the rafters and all over, quite a history, apparently Justin Trudeau left his there but we didn’t find it, and left our two paddles tied together and looking great! 

With strict instructions from Luke to stay in the middle of the river and avoid the rocks on the right, we set off for George’s Riffle which is class 2/3 rapids. The entrance to the canyon is spectacular!  The cliffs rise about 1200 ft either side and as we entered the canyon the water dropped away in front of us, and we knew we were in for a ride.  However these rapids were just a warmup - the main rapids themselves were just beyond and were spectacular and very exhilarating with choppy waves in all directions. We powered through, one anxious moment when we found ourselves heading straight for the rock on the right side but we managed to avoid it.

We stopped further downstream at a beach on the right side and agreed to spend the night there. A spectacular place, surrounded by 1200 ft cliffs with a good beach and a little creek running into the main river. The sun was shining, there was no wind or insect life and it was idyllic.  Lunch was a salad with bread, peanut butter and jam followed by the remains of the cinnamon buns.

After lunch we unpacked the boats, prepared the camp and tents, then Sam and I had a wash in the river (freezing) and washed our hair and some clothes, and laid everything out to dry.

We walked up the creek which in fact was a flood channel of the main river with some creeks running in from above. Saw some old bear prints which surprised me a little as the place was difficult to get to because of the surrounding cliffs. We heard a rock fall above us and on looking up saw three sheep scrambling up the mountain way above us. Fun! 

As the sun set it cooled right down. Dinner was a coleslaw (very good) followed by Luke’s version of cottage pie which was delicious, and ended with very tasty Nanaimo bars!