Trip Coordinator: Cindy Davies

Club Camp was held May 23-25, Friday was primarily a Meet & Greet event at the Pembina Provincial Park campground.  Cptn. Bob did an exploratory run down the Lobstick from the bridge just west of Evansburg back to campsite with the evaluation that while the Pembina was high, the Lobstick was low hence boney.

Trip Coordinators: Carrie Cherkawski, Bob Toronchuk

Participants: Carrie C, Bob T, Eric F, Janice Q, Kevin S, Arleen D

Boats: 6 kayaks

We met at the boat launch in Athabasca at 8 am Saturday morning.  Access to the boat launch is across from the Husky service station at the intersection of 50th Ave and 49th Street. Here, we unloaded and then, leaving Arleen with the boats, we shuttled 5 vehicles to the take-out point at Poachers Landing. We car pooled back to Athabasca in my SUV. Cap'n Bob, drove Arleen and myself back to Athabasca to our vehicles and helped transfer our kayaks from his trailer to our vehicles.

We had 9 people on this trip, 5 kayakers - Donna M, Stephanie J, Rob R, Eric F and Karyn M, plus 2 canoes with Don and Gene L and Isobel L and Gary D.

We had planned to meet at the Highway 11A bridge in Rocky Mountain House at 10:00 am on Saturday, but most of us ended up driving out Friday night and camping at Crimson Lake Provincial Park. We ended up with some of us in the actual park, and 5 of us down in the suburbs, the Twin Lakes Loop. It’s a very nice park and quite close to RMH.

Trip Coordinator: Bob Toronchuk

This trip was lead by the wonderful Cap’n Bob, who had not paddled this stretch of the river before, but was eager to try it. Eventually we ended up balancing the force, we had 3 canoes and 3 kayaks!

Participants were Cap’n Bob, Eric F., and Janice Q in the kayaks, and Cindy D and Donna M, Don and Gene Lewycky, and Frank G and Jim F in the three tandem canoes.

The original plan was to meet at the put in at 12 noon on the Friday, on Forestry Trunk Road 734 south of Nordegg.

Trip Coordinator: Paul Bird

After we had dropped off the boats and gear at Capilano Park and shuttled the vehicles to Fort Saskatchewan, we were back at the put in and ready to launch. The weather was forecast to be cloudy with the chance of showers (30%) and then sunny with clouds, but with wind 20 km/h gusting to 40 km/h from the northwest. There was no smoke in the air.

Trip Coordinator: Alan Stewart

Sorry, no pictures

The rain pounded down for a few kilometers and then it was over. Fortunately this was just after I, last but one, had left for home from the take out at Berrymoor.

We were Alan, Carrie, Eric, Jacquie, Janice & Karyn in kayaks and Don and Gene in a canoe. All day from our setting out from the boat launch at Willey West campground near Drayton Valley we seemed to be on the edge of small storm cells and squalls. We had periods of blue sky and sunshine mixed with near-rain and ominous clouds. As well there were periods of strong wind that, depending on river and wind directions, either slowed us or helped push us down the river.

Trip Coordinator: Cathy Compston

Ten NW Voyageurs gathered at the public boat launch at Battle Lake at 10 AM. We were: Doug and Leslie in a canoe and Paul B, Cathy C, Fiona M, Janice Q, Sergio D, Arleen D, Kathleen E, and Ben C, all in kayaks. It was good to note that there was no blue green algae on the lake. It is an easy put in at the muddy flat shallow shore.

Trip Coordinator: Frank G.
Photos: Alan S, Sid K, Frank G.

I joined Janice and Alan to form an advance party that arrived in Jasper on Tuesday, 18 June. Our mission was to secure campsites, check out the boat-washing situation in Jasper, try out a few lakes, and generally enjoy a camping experience. We went straight to Snaring campground, which is in a large stand of primarily white spruce trees along the right bank of Snaring River. As it was Tuesday and at least a week before school gets out for summer holidays, we had no trouble getting a couple of spots. In fact, I was able to get my favourite spot in the campground without too much argument or wrestling with grizzlies. (Next time, maybe not so lucky.)

Trip Coordinator: Donna McKenzie

This trip was published as Tolman Bridge to Drumheller on the Red Deer River. River flows were good (50 cms) so about half the group decided to leave Edmonton early on Friday and paddle from Dry Island Buffalo Jump to Tolman Bridge. This group was lead by Captain Bob and included Cindy D, Karyn M, Tim G, Dirk P, Reg B, Stephane C, Eric F, Jim F and Frank G. They paddled the 12 km in about 2 hours with the wind at their back a lot of the way. Meanwhile, those of us driving after work were battling big winds as we drove the highways to Starland Recreation Area Campground. By about 9 pm we had the whole crew of 18 in the campground where we sat around visiting for the evening.