BC Part 3

Part 3 of our BC trip from last fall here following Part 1 and Part 2.

TK:
Ever since I first saw shots of Tatlow, its been on the list of runs to do in BC. But the first couple nights around the campfire at the Checkamus campground, we were hearing horror stories that made us re-think our Tatlow objectives. We were hearing things like, "We set a new record today on Tatlow, seven swims with nine guys!" and "This creek is only for the A-Team on their A-game" which made us reconsider if guys who knew the run were swimming and you can't scout most of the drops, are we in for it? After talking to Brian Smith and getting this super sweet hand drawn map of all the lines, we headed back up through Leadcore-distruction-ville taking place on the Ashlu dranage to the Tatlow. There we ran into Ben Hawthorn who was happy to show us the lines. It lived up to the hype in every way possible as one of the best creek runs anywhere.
Pool at the bottom of Tatlow



Chris on the hike in

Chris and Ben gearing up.


Just another random Tatlow Twenty + footer



Chris looking back at "Wall Check" and thinking "I can't believe that drop goes and it goes blind"


Wood pile portage at the bottom of Tatlow


We had looked at Fear Canyon of the Elaho the week before when it was around 220 CMS (7,500 cfs maybe?). We wanted the flow to drop a little before our first run down Fear Canyon. Knowing that there was a boxed must run section that would be hard to scout we would rather be on the lower than higher side without having a clue about the lines. It always takes a little while to go from steep creeks to pushy big water runs, especially those with a lot of gradient, and going from the Tatlow to the Elaho the was no different.

Chris on the 'sneak' line. When the sneak has over 1,000 cfs, you know your paddling big water.











As many of you are aware, the current demand for new energy sources is coming at the cost of many British Columbia rivers and creeks. The Rutherford and more recently, Tatlow creek are just a few examples. The BC Creek Protection Society plays an acting role in representing kayakers and other enthusiasts who enjoy many of the rivers and creeks in BC. I would highly encourage you to join the Facebook group, become a member, or even make a donation if you value keeping BC rivers and creeks free flowing and natural.