100 Kilometres Of The Beautiful And Weir-d Bow River

This was a big weekend for Team Chinook, it marked the two week countdown to the inagural South Dakota Kayak Challenge and four weeks to the Texas Water Safari. It was also the second 100km (61 mile) trial run for Team Chinook and the first in temperatures exceeding 20C. It was also our first practice run where anybody with internet access could track our progress virtually live through our SPOT unit, as we paddled the world famous Bow River from Bowness Park in Calgary to Carseland Alberta.

Being mid-May, the water level in the Bow is still relatively low, as such the flow volume is low and the speed is slower than normal. This section of the Bow offers relatively little in the realm of dangers for paddlers and is very straigh forward, there are a few class 1+ rapids and numerous ripples. The only real dangers are the two weirs that are along the way, on in downtown Clagary and one just to the east as you enter Carseland. Each providing a mandatory portage due to their trecherous hydraulics. I've heard and read before that the weir in Calgary is responsible for a number of deaths, one of them not to long ago. As you approach both weirs, signs warn you of the danger ahead and a string of bouys delineates the safe zone from the danger zone.

The weirs were created for aeration and diversion of water to irrigation channels and produce an amazing hydaulic cycle that if you get caught it, it would be impossible to get out of. It also provides a habitat for pelicans as they wait in the wake of the water looking for fish that get swept over. Due to the construction of Harvie Passage in Calgary and the removal of the Weir, we ended up having an 800m portage, although I must admit that it was an easy one, along the Bow River Bike Path. We did run into an older gentleman who was familiar with the Texas Water Safari through readings and wished us luck.

Below the construction, the water level dropped dramatically not even allowing us to get the entire blade of the paddle into the water, after a few hundred metres the water deepened, then would shallow out again. This pretty much was the course for the rest of the urban paddle. As we approached south Calgary we finally found life in the river, people were out at the dog park and the fly fishers were out in full force. We managed to see some impressive trout being reeled in, one was easily in the range of 24 inches, which to me is a big fish.

Over the next 30km (18 miles) we passed easily two dozen fishing boats and easily twice as many fly fishermen/women than we did boats. It was our first time having to share the river with watercraft or person this year, and from our numerous and brief conversations, it was many of these people's first times out as well. Its amazing what happens once the temp hits the mid teens.

After running a few class 1+ we were greeted by a big white warning sign telling us to stay to the left channel to avoid the weir in Carseland and prepare for a mandatory portage. At this point our average speed fell from 10kph even to about 3 as we had to exit the boat numerous times to ferry it through shallows, rock gardens and wet gravel bars. Thankfully after 40 minutes we were at the portage and the end of our route. Total time was 9 hours and 32 minutes and total distance was 101km (61 miles) for an average moving speed of 9.9kph (6.1 mph), providing a food warm up to next weekends timed 360km (225 mi) practice run.