Kayaking on the Boyer River

I mentioned before that I randomly came across a situation where I was able to try kayaking up here in Fort Vermilion. GT also offered his kayaks to me any time in the future, which was great. So I took him up on his offer. I took SK, a first year teacher from High Level out with me. The first thing I noticed was how much the water level dropped in the past couple of weeks. This made the current much faster, whereas the previous time I was out, it felt more like kayaking on a lake. What a workout it was! Kayaking fifteen minutes upstream, we could still look back and see where we launched from.

We got to our first set of rapids. The last time was a cinch going through here. This time, there was no way we could get through. So we landed on the island and walked our kayaks through the rapids. We were on our way again! After a total of two hours of kayaking, we reached another set of rapids. Knowing better this time around, we went straight for the island. This was a nice little peaceful spot for us to turn around.

The kayak downstream was calm and very relaxing. It was great to lay back, have a drink and just enjoy being in the middle of nowhere surrounded by water, trees and wildlife. Going through the second set of rapids was fun, especially knowing how hard it was trying to get through them. As soon as we got through them, I was drawn to a certain side of the river, and I wasn't quite sure why. I just kept staring at the treeline, almost expecting something to happen. Then I saw it, a black bear! It was a young one, probably three years old give or take a year. I got SK's attention and we waited. The black bear then stood on its hind legs above the bush line, spotted us and then hightailed it. We could hear it crashing through the forest. What an experience coming close to a bear while kayaking.

It was a great kayak. I can't wait to get back on the water somewhere. Buying my own kayaks is now on my agenda. We'll see whether or not I'll get it by September or if I'll have to wait til next summer.

Here's The Video!