Activities:2005-Sept-5

From Craig

September 5, 2005 : Bow River Canoe Trip

A couple of weeks ago, my neighbour suggested that I join him for a trip down the Bow River in his Canoe. I had never canoed before and wasn't terribly keen on the idea. At first, I was going to go with him and another neighbour, but it turned out that they only had 2 life jackets so I was unable to go. He suggested that we go on Labour Day. So... from between 1:30 and 3:30, I was in a canoe paddling down the mighty Bow River.

So, here's the canoe. If you look closely at the side of the Canoe it says "Mad River Canoe". I didn't notice this 'til after the trip. Perhaps I might have thought differently about the trip had I noticed it. After all, only bad things can happen in a "Mad" canoe!

Missing image River1.JPG The Canoe

Missing image River2.JPG We are now afloat on the river

So, we paddled out to the middle of the river and then we started heading East. At this point, the sun is brightly shining and the picture sky is nice and blue.

Missing image River3.JPG North Shore Cliffs

Missing image River4.JPG North Shore Cliffs

To the north was a nice cliff. Got a couple of shots of that one. At the top of the cliff there is a bike path which runs the about 10 miles along the river. The path sometimes runs in the valley along side the river.

There were some rapid areas so I put the camera away for a while. At the point of this shot, the downtown skyline of Calgary is starting to come in to view.
Missing image River5.JPG Getting closer to downtown Calgary	Missing image River6.JPG Getting closer to downtown Calgary	Missing image River7.JPG Getting closer to downtown Calgary

Missing image River9.JPG Downtown Calgary

Missing image River10.JPG Downtown Calgary

I got a couple of shots of the skyline of Calgary from the West. At this point, the sun has gone behind a rather large cloud so the colours are a little washed out. I tried to do some post-processing on the pictures... this was the best I could get.

Here's a shot as we were passing Prince's Island. Through the trees, you can see the pavilion where all of the outdoor concerts are played. There are a lot of great events on Prince's Island. One of the biggest draws is the Calgary Folk Fest which runs every summer.

Missing image River11.JPG Prince's Island Pavilion.

Amusingly enough, just before we got to Prince's Island, the Calgary Fire Department Search and Rescue jet boat sped by us. We had to paddle like mad through the wake! Martin thinks they do that on purpose! I have to think that I agree with him :-)

At this point, the sun disappeared again. We were heading north of Prince's Island.
Missing image River12.JPG North of Prince's Island	Missing image River13.JPG North of Prince's Island	Missing image River14.JPG North of Prince's Island

So, on the last couple of shots, my camera screams out "Feed Me". So, I told Martin that I'd change my batteries once we got past the Centre Street bridge. He said that we wouldn't have the chance after the bridge so we would have to pull off to the shore here for me to make the switch. So we start heading towards the shore, and with a resounding "thump" we hit some rocks. Some parts of the river were very shallow and we happened to find a particularly shallow area. So, that gave me the opportunity to change my batteries AND get a couple of good shots of the Centre Street Bridge. For those of you who suffered through that awful Steven Segal movie, Exit Wounds might recognise the bridge as the location for the opening sequence. However, as no one besides people from Calgary ever watched that movie (and the only reason they did was to see parts of Calgary in the Theatre), I can't imagine anyone will know this bit of trivia!!

Missing image River15.JPG Centre Street Bridge

Missing image River16.JPG Centre Street Bridge

All in all, I had a wonderful time (Thanks, Martin!!!). I learned a lot today. Having never paddled a canoe before, I had a nice chance to experiment with different kinds of paddling techniques. Martin told me that he's read many books on canoeing and the different paddling techniques. He also mentions that the books are so confusing he just ignores them and does what comes naturally. I was in the front of the boat so I didn't do much of the steering; Martin did that. Oh yeah... I should probably mention that every time we ran aground, Martin got out and pushed. Isn't he wonderful?

One of the things I found really interesting was trying to figure out what the river was going to do with us. If you aren't paying attention, you can get in to a lot of trouble very quickly. If you hit a rock, you're likely to capsize. For those of you who are wondering, why would I take my digital camera on a boat where I was likely to capsize, it's because I packed the camera into a ziplock bags between shots. I typically had a small window of opportunity to take pictures so I was constantly unpacking and packing the camera. This is the reason I didn't get as many shots as I usually do.

The trip took 2 hours and I was paddling for most of it. My workout was scheduled for today, but I sure didn't need it. I'm already starting to feel that lactic acid burn between my shoulder blades. I'm really going to feel it tomorrow! Regardless of how bad I feel tomorrow, though, I can't help shaking the feeling that tomorrow is going to be a wonderful day! A day to remember!