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| by Cody Howard Sep. 29th, 2008 |
"The Stikine". The name sends shivers down the spine of any white water veteran. The
accomplishment of completing the Grand Canyon of The Stikine has been compared to that
of hiking the world's tallest mountain, Everest, or surfing some of the ocean's largest waves,
Mavericks or Jaws. I don't want to compare it to either of those....I can't. On many rivers, I
have been mesmerized by the canyons and gorges that I had paddled my way into. Such as
the Crucible. It was less about the water, and more about the commitment and gorge. Or on
a first descent overseas, finding myself staring at the geology of perfectly shaped bedrock
teacups. On the Stikine, it was different....
I was completely committed in one of largest gorge's of my life, in one of the most
inhospitable areas in North America, yet those were just "factors". It was all about the water
in there. As I woke the morning before the drive, I turned my Quotes Calender and there it
read:
Pain is one of life's great gifts.
It requires me to be here - now
removing me from the past,
promising no future.
This is it. The place of magic.
_________________________________________________________________________
accomplishment of completing the Grand Canyon of The Stikine has been compared to that
of hiking the world's tallest mountain, Everest, or surfing some of the ocean's largest waves,
Mavericks or Jaws. I don't want to compare it to either of those....I can't. On many rivers, I
have been mesmerized by the canyons and gorges that I had paddled my way into. Such as
the Crucible. It was less about the water, and more about the commitment and gorge. Or on
a first descent overseas, finding myself staring at the geology of perfectly shaped bedrock
teacups. On the Stikine, it was different....
I was completely committed in one of largest gorge's of my life, in one of the most
inhospitable areas in North America, yet those were just "factors". It was all about the water
in there. As I woke the morning before the drive, I turned my Quotes Calender and there it
read:
Pain is one of life's great gifts.
It requires me to be here - now
removing me from the past,
promising no future.
This is it. The place of magic.
_________________________________________________________________________
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No future was promised. Pain was inevitable, suffering....optional. It stared with myself,
Corey Boux, Scott Feindel, Ben Hawthorne and Mark Basso sitting on Corey's couch in
Terrace, B.C. debating about the levels and weather. We all agreed that it was not going to
pretty up there, for the forecast called for 6 days of Rain/Snow and the gauge 100k
downstream was spiking. Sitting on it for a day, we paddled Williams Creek at flood to wash
away the anxiety. Waking up in the morning found Scott and Mark headed to the Clore River
to fly in and wait for better forecasts, and myself, Ben and Corey in the same argument about
the conditions. I really couldn't stand it much longer, I had reached a breaking point. To
quote Mark, "You guys are sitting at base camp and there is clouds on the summit. The least
you could do is attempt it.....go get 'er!" That was it. No more screwing around. No more talk
of other rivers and plans. Our team of three (Ben, Corey and myself) where off to The
Stikine. The predictions where pointed towards 'pain'!
Corey Boux, Scott Feindel, Ben Hawthorne and Mark Basso sitting on Corey's couch in
Terrace, B.C. debating about the levels and weather. We all agreed that it was not going to
pretty up there, for the forecast called for 6 days of Rain/Snow and the gauge 100k
downstream was spiking. Sitting on it for a day, we paddled Williams Creek at flood to wash
away the anxiety. Waking up in the morning found Scott and Mark headed to the Clore River
to fly in and wait for better forecasts, and myself, Ben and Corey in the same argument about
the conditions. I really couldn't stand it much longer, I had reached a breaking point. To
quote Mark, "You guys are sitting at base camp and there is clouds on the summit. The least
you could do is attempt it.....go get 'er!" That was it. No more screwing around. No more talk
of other rivers and plans. Our team of three (Ben, Corey and myself) where off to The
Stikine. The predictions where pointed towards 'pain'!
So there we where. The three of us, with no shuttle driver, gauges spiking and weather
calling for freaking snow! But 100% focused. I had opted to drive and turned up the radio,
passing rolling hill after rolling hill. Finally passing a hitchhiker in the middle of nowhere. I
thought out loud, "we could use some good hitchhiking karma, lets pick him up". Swung the
u-turn and slid open the door, offering him a folding picnic chair (the van doesn't have
second row). Turns out he is on a journey to experience every hot spring in BC/ North
America and knew our recent Stikine-Vet buddy Rush Sturges, from a trip to Patagonia. He
was stoked to drive our shuttle, and have the van for a couple of days. Six hours later we
drop over a hill and saw the Stikine bridge waiting in front of us. Blue-bird skies and a perfect
flow of 4.75 notches had us all whooping and hollering! We couldn't believe that everything
was coming together against all odds! With a "last meal" at Mama Z's (nice lady, pricey food
but well worth it!) we slept at the put in. The ghostly howls of trucks driving over the bridge
reminded us of where we were.
calling for freaking snow! But 100% focused. I had opted to drive and turned up the radio,
passing rolling hill after rolling hill. Finally passing a hitchhiker in the middle of nowhere. I
thought out loud, "we could use some good hitchhiking karma, lets pick him up". Swung the
u-turn and slid open the door, offering him a folding picnic chair (the van doesn't have
second row). Turns out he is on a journey to experience every hot spring in BC/ North
America and knew our recent Stikine-Vet buddy Rush Sturges, from a trip to Patagonia. He
was stoked to drive our shuttle, and have the van for a couple of days. Six hours later we
drop over a hill and saw the Stikine bridge waiting in front of us. Blue-bird skies and a perfect
flow of 4.75 notches had us all whooping and hollering! We couldn't believe that everything
was coming together against all odds! With a "last meal" at Mama Z's (nice lady, pricey food
but well worth it!) we slept at the put in. The ghostly howls of trucks driving over the bridge
reminded us of where we were.
Morning came, and the flows were identical to the previous evening's. The three of us
quietly geared up, took the mandatory "Warning" photo and slipped into the water around
9am. We paddled the 5 miles to a beach on river right and Corey hopped out and drew a
map on the sand of Entrance Falls. "Entrance Falls is a great rapid to run blind.....just check
out this and stay tight!" Corey says to me and Ben. Getting back in our boats and turning the
corner, seeing the gorge wall squeeze in was the moment I had been waiting for. Corey led,
with Ben in the middle and me bring up the rear. Corey dropped out over the horizon and
Ben sunk into a wirlpool at the lip. Screaming, he spun a 360 degree stern squirt while going
over the near entrance. Witnessing all of that was almost comical in my mind...but I tried to
stay focused. Trying not to laugh with excitement and the comical scene in front of me, I
turned the corner, drove right and plugged a massive hole. Going deep I felt my skirt
implode. Resurfacing upright, I then reattached my skirt and paddled out the bottom. "That
was awesome!" I thought to myself. And joined up with my cheering teammates. From there
its was Day One in 3.5 hours. With rapids like Wicked Wanda, Three Goats, Pass/Fail (most
consequential rapid at our flows) and Wasson's Hole we made it down with zero mishaps to
Site Zed by 1pm.
quietly geared up, took the mandatory "Warning" photo and slipped into the water around
9am. We paddled the 5 miles to a beach on river right and Corey hopped out and drew a
map on the sand of Entrance Falls. "Entrance Falls is a great rapid to run blind.....just check
out this and stay tight!" Corey says to me and Ben. Getting back in our boats and turning the
corner, seeing the gorge wall squeeze in was the moment I had been waiting for. Corey led,
with Ben in the middle and me bring up the rear. Corey dropped out over the horizon and
Ben sunk into a wirlpool at the lip. Screaming, he spun a 360 degree stern squirt while going
over the near entrance. Witnessing all of that was almost comical in my mind...but I tried to
stay focused. Trying not to laugh with excitement and the comical scene in front of me, I
turned the corner, drove right and plugged a massive hole. Going deep I felt my skirt
implode. Resurfacing upright, I then reattached my skirt and paddled out the bottom. "That
was awesome!" I thought to myself. And joined up with my cheering teammates. From there
its was Day One in 3.5 hours. With rapids like Wicked Wanda, Three Goats, Pass/Fail (most
consequential rapid at our flows) and Wasson's Hole we made it down with zero mishaps to
Site Zed by 1pm.
Site Zed was were our "Against-All-Odds" trip just about turned into an epic. While on the
portage, we cut high, low, back high and low again. I roped my boat down a shelf and waited
for Corey and Ben to rope theirs. After 10 mins of roping, I was the sole person tending the
three boats (and 150lbs of gear)....when I heard, "Rock.....FUCKING rocks!!!!" Ben had two
wheel-sized boulders slip out from underneath his feet and where headed directly for me. I
looked up and saw them tumbling straight down for me. I reacted to my right, but stalled
realizing they changed course, then dove to my left. The boulders collided with the three
un-attended boats, bounced high into the air, missing me and falling into the mighty Stikine. I
brushed myself off and proceeded to "voice my opinion" to the two above me. With a busted
up knee and all three boats in tact, we finished up the portage and ate a quick snack. All was
okay and we were ready to get off the crumbly hillside.
portage, we cut high, low, back high and low again. I roped my boat down a shelf and waited
for Corey and Ben to rope theirs. After 10 mins of roping, I was the sole person tending the
three boats (and 150lbs of gear)....when I heard, "Rock.....FUCKING rocks!!!!" Ben had two
wheel-sized boulders slip out from underneath his feet and where headed directly for me. I
looked up and saw them tumbling straight down for me. I reacted to my right, but stalled
realizing they changed course, then dove to my left. The boulders collided with the three
un-attended boats, bounced high into the air, missing me and falling into the mighty Stikine. I
brushed myself off and proceeded to "voice my opinion" to the two above me. With a busted
up knee and all three boats in tact, we finished up the portage and ate a quick snack. All was
okay and we were ready to get off the crumbly hillside.
We made the hairy ferry out of Site Zed and paddled the most quality section of whitewater
ever. Just rapids, Stikine Style with read and run. Entering the last gorge on the "Day Two"
section (still on our first day), Corey dropped into one of the biggest holes we crossed. A
river wide ledge that sent him into the River Left eddy / beat-down central. He flipped a total
of 6 to 7 times and was stuck in there for a good minute. It seemed like an eternity
meanwhile all Ben and I could do is sit downstream waiting for the "yard sale". Corey finally
shouted, "Stikine River.....please let me go!!!!" And he flipped and flushed out. It sent Corey
downstream and into the next eddy above "The Wall". Although we didn't know what rapid it
was (or any of the previous rapids for that sake)...we knew our only option was to run it. So
without much delay, we hopped in and routed down one of the bests rapid of the trip, The
Wall. It immediately opened up into The Garden of the Gods and we arrived to the Beach
Camp. Not tired and still stoked, I tried to convince the other two to continue downstream and
complete it in a day...but it was in the afternoon and passing up the opportunity to camp
there was to great. So we set up camp, found the chief and made the best dinner ever.
Day Two, the traditional Day Three, was short and sweet. Rolling out of bed and starting
late (11am) we made short work of the large rapids downstream. Portaging Scissors and
T.H.T.A.C. brought our excited trio to V-Drive. We climbed up and gazed over the River
Right wall. It revealed the massive rapid, and I didn't really want to sit there and stare at it too
long. So we raced back down the hill and "saddled up for the ride". It was sick. You peel out
and make that right hand bend, stare down the throat of the beast and give it your all. I was
fully expecting to roll, turn or do something funky in there, but cruised over the first MASSIVE
curler and then plugged the second. Upright, I wondered why the hell I still was! Driving
right, away from the wall, I then looked back to see Corey and Ben following. They both
disappeared and then popped up at the bottom shouting and pumping their fists! What a
sick rapid. A defining moment of the trip.
ever. Just rapids, Stikine Style with read and run. Entering the last gorge on the "Day Two"
section (still on our first day), Corey dropped into one of the biggest holes we crossed. A
river wide ledge that sent him into the River Left eddy / beat-down central. He flipped a total
of 6 to 7 times and was stuck in there for a good minute. It seemed like an eternity
meanwhile all Ben and I could do is sit downstream waiting for the "yard sale". Corey finally
shouted, "Stikine River.....please let me go!!!!" And he flipped and flushed out. It sent Corey
downstream and into the next eddy above "The Wall". Although we didn't know what rapid it
was (or any of the previous rapids for that sake)...we knew our only option was to run it. So
without much delay, we hopped in and routed down one of the bests rapid of the trip, The
Wall. It immediately opened up into The Garden of the Gods and we arrived to the Beach
Camp. Not tired and still stoked, I tried to convince the other two to continue downstream and
complete it in a day...but it was in the afternoon and passing up the opportunity to camp
there was to great. So we set up camp, found the chief and made the best dinner ever.
Day Two, the traditional Day Three, was short and sweet. Rolling out of bed and starting
late (11am) we made short work of the large rapids downstream. Portaging Scissors and
T.H.T.A.C. brought our excited trio to V-Drive. We climbed up and gazed over the River
Right wall. It revealed the massive rapid, and I didn't really want to sit there and stare at it too
long. So we raced back down the hill and "saddled up for the ride". It was sick. You peel out
and make that right hand bend, stare down the throat of the beast and give it your all. I was
fully expecting to roll, turn or do something funky in there, but cruised over the first MASSIVE
curler and then plugged the second. Upright, I wondered why the hell I still was! Driving
right, away from the wall, I then looked back to see Corey and Ben following. They both
disappeared and then popped up at the bottom shouting and pumping their fists! What a
sick rapid. A defining moment of the trip.
| The author (left) and Ben Hawthorne (right) catching a breath of air before the turn off. |
| The hitchhiker we picked up, Peter. The best damn Stikine River shuttle driver. |
| September 13th, 2008. Left to right: Corey Boux, Ben Hawthorne and Cody Howard. |
| The author paddling into day one. B Hizzle Photo |
| Corey and Cody in AFP. Gorgeous GCS. B Hizzle Photo |
| Cody and Corey getting off the river on Day One. Gods surrounding them. B Hizzle Photo |
| Our camp spot. The best one on the river. Over hanging rock with Treats inside. Cody H. Photo |
| Cody and Corey in The Tanzilla Slot. One of the coolest sights on the river. B Hizzle Photo |
| The author in the slot. Yes, that is the whole Stikine River flowing through there. B Hizzle Photo |
Paddling in complete bliss, we turned the corner and ran the unique "Tanzilla Slot". The
whole river squeezed through the final narrow gorge walls. Really impressive sight, and a
squirrly paddle through brought us to the last rapid. Throughout the trip we had no idea what
the rapids were called, so Corey just remember this one as "Kiss the Canyon Wall Goodbye".
It was a fitting end, marked with old gauge markers from the dam project. The mighty Stikine
won and her waters still run free. Our final miles were paddled in almost complete silence.
The sounds of the mountain goats crushing rocks around us was the only thing we tuned
into. Arriving to the take out was a great sight because it confirmed our successful descent
and our van was waiting for us!
whole river squeezed through the final narrow gorge walls. Really impressive sight, and a
squirrly paddle through brought us to the last rapid. Throughout the trip we had no idea what
the rapids were called, so Corey just remember this one as "Kiss the Canyon Wall Goodbye".
It was a fitting end, marked with old gauge markers from the dam project. The mighty Stikine
won and her waters still run free. Our final miles were paddled in almost complete silence.
The sounds of the mountain goats crushing rocks around us was the only thing we tuned
into. Arriving to the take out was a great sight because it confirmed our successful descent
and our van was waiting for us!
In all it was the trip of a lifetime. The Stikine truly is a magical place. I feel very
fortunate to have passed through with good friends and safely. Laughing and celebrating
Corey says, "The Stikine isn't a good representation of British Columbia kayaking.....roads at
the put in and take out....and not enough Devil's Club". Logistically, it is one of the easier
multi-days you could do in BC, but the timing and the seriousness of the place will always
keep paddlers at bay. The connection between body, boat and water in there is like none
other. Thanks Stikine!
fortunate to have passed through with good friends and safely. Laughing and celebrating
Corey says, "The Stikine isn't a good representation of British Columbia kayaking.....roads at
the put in and take out....and not enough Devil's Club". Logistically, it is one of the easier
multi-days you could do in BC, but the timing and the seriousness of the place will always
keep paddlers at bay. The connection between body, boat and water in there is like none
other. Thanks Stikine!
| Take out: beers, lawn chairs and the van. Corey and Ben, relaxing. Cody H. Photo |
| Till next time. Cody H. Photo Footage of this trip through the Grand Canyon of The Stikine will be feature in The Risen Sun. |