Trip Coordinator: Frank Geddes
Photos: Alan Stewart, Eric Fabro, Stephanie Jansen

True to tradition, we made our mid-May day trip to Islet Lake. As it was just a bit earlier than in previous years, the leaves were barely opening in the warm spring temperatures. Although Thursday and Friday had temperatures in the mid to high 20s, Saturday was forecast to be only 19 with mostly sunny skies, which would still be pleasant.

Trip Coordinator: Alan Stewart

Trip Report by: Donna McKenzie

We ended up with a rather large flotilla, 17 kayaks and 2 tandem canoes for a total of 21 paddlers! With memberships at 55 cards issued, we had nearly one third of the club on the water!

It was a cool start to the morning, 2 degrees, but the sky was clear and the sun was shining, so off we went! Our trip coordinator Alan Stewart met with several people at our take out point at 8:30 am, and they switched over some boats, leaving a few cars at the takeout point, and then they convened with the rest of us at Mewassin United Church at 9:30 am. The church is a lovely old building and very easy to find at the corner of Highway 627 and RR 30. This was a wonderful plan as the convoy down Range Road 33 to the rivers edge would not have been fun alone, and would have had me seriously questioning where on earth I was going!

Trip Coordinator: Paul Bird

We assembled at Red Willow Park in St Albert, unloaded the boats and gear, then made our way to the Sturgeon River, down a slope of long grass and reeds. The group consisted of Alice, Ben, Cathy, Denise, Donna, Eric, Frank, Peter, Ted and Paul, all in kayaks. The weather was cloudy and cool, with the river running very low. The flow was not reported, but the depth was about 0.61 m.

Trip Coordinator: Stephanie Jansen

It all started the previous year when we were on my overnight trip from Genessee Bridge to Edmonton. We were enjoying our fall paddle and camping on a small island before Devon. The trip went by way too quickly. I asked Frank, “How could we make this a two-night trip?” and he said, “You can put in up river at Berrymoor.” From that exact moment in time, it became my mission to make it happen.

Trip Coordinator - Brenda Noble

6 People went on the trip - Arlene, Brenda, Frank, Janina, Leila, Paul

We pulled into the parking lot and we were surprised to see Frank there. He is a valuable person in the group. We all watched as Janina unfolded her canoe and assembled it.

At the start of our trip as luck would have it we had to go to the lake to get the carts.  This delayed our starting by 3 hours. After finally loading our gear, we proceeded down the channel to Jackson Lake. Going under the bridge to get to a campsite on Kinnaird Lake was more difficult because of the lower water level. Base on the cart situation, we figured there were lots of campers out there so we took the first campsite that would accommodate 5 tents. We used this as our base camp.

Trip Coordinator: Mike Eaton

We can attest that the adage of you never set foot in the same water twice. Donna M, Kaye Y, Janice Q, and Mike E launched their kayaks at Ghost Lake Launch at 10:30 am and started up the north arm.

Trip Coordinator: Mike Eaton

For being only 3 hours south of Edmonton, it was interesting to see how few people in the club had paddled on the Bow River through Calgary. Challenge accepted Huzzah!

Trip Coordinator: Paul Bird

We assembled at the 50^th Street Boat Launch in Capilano Park, after shuttling the vehicles to Fort Saskatchewan. A powerboat drifted down the river from the launch ramp; the owner waded into the water to catch the boat and with the help of Garth managed to get on board and get it under control. The weather was a mix of sun and cloud and it stayed that way all day.

Trip Coordinator - Donna McKenzie

We departed Edmonton early August 1st, agreeing to meet in Lloydminster for lunch. With only 2 tandem canoes on the trip, we had 2 cars, Cindy D and Donna M in one, and Alan S and Yuri D in the other. La Ronge is about 8 hours drive from Edmonton, and we were booked in the Churchill East campground which is beside Otter Rapids, which is another couple of hours drive north of La Ronge.