tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137454652011-07-31T06:59:40.940-02:30This blog is dedicated to the sport of whitewater kayaking in Newfoundland and Labrador; the eastern most bit of Canada and North America. The blog chronicles the exploration of the provinces rivers by a small population of intrepid and isolated paddlers. If you've paddled in the province and want to share your knowledge send an email.Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.comBlogger281100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-63852371098091326472010-04-04T20:56:00.011-02:302010-04-05T16:42:06.801-02:30

I know it's April, and this trip took place in April, but the creek is called March Brook and it does have 15 rapids. This post is a quick update on this steep creek and a small crew that went for a mini-epic on Sunday. A new, easy access route was confirmed and three new rapids at the top of the river were added to the inventory of known waterfalls on the brook.The first waterfall on March

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-12319219210508516142010-03-08T16:20:00.018-03:302010-03-11T10:22:09.280-03:30

Last week more than 100 mm of rain fell on St. John's, NL. I didn't want the ski season to end, but that much rain, combined with snow melt, means the creek boating on the Avalon Peninsula is phenomenal. For a few brief weeks every March or April multiple class IV and V creeks run within a 20 min drive of the province's capital city.Cody Neal stomping the line on the first waterfall.This spring

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-66999614641691635082010-01-15T11:23:00.005-03:302010-01-15T11:43:28.645-03:30

Wow, two posts in a week, let alone a year. This is just a brief note about improved access to rivers in southern Labrador. Over the holidays I saw a news article that was about the first two vehicles to travel over the recently completed trans-Labrador highway. This is great news for paddlers. It is now possible to drive from Blanc Sablon on the south coast of Labrador to, well, anywhere on

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-7225007036828533502010-01-03T20:42:00.027-03:302010-01-13T17:04:16.920-03:30

My New Year's resolution this year, well there is two, write a post about a White's River trip in September and finish my thesis this year. Here is the first one done and let’s hope the second is as easy. This post describes a road trip in September, 2009 to paddle the White’s River in western Newfoundland. I was using a new camera on this trip and I’m not pleased with a lot of the river

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-70624004522321164512008-04-20T16:07:00.011-02:302008-04-20T16:24:05.108-02:30

The paddling season has finally begun in NL, actually it started in St. John's last weekend. Rivers on the Avalon have been booming and it sounds like people have been taking advantage of the high water. We’ve done a couple of runs on Bay Bulls River and yesterday Cody and I got on Seal Cove River for a very high-water run. I saw a post on the KNL newsgroup for a trip to Salmonier River for a

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-9992347057184284972008-03-18T08:10:00.008-02:302008-03-18T08:53:33.674-02:30

As Dave Mac mentioned in his email the other day, it has been a strange boating winter this year. Snow, rain, more snow. It certainly bodes well for some epic creeking across the island this spring. I have just a couple of housekeeping notes for the website today. I've included a picture of the shuttle rig Steve and I used on our last trip to the Northwest River to demonstrate how our winter

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-61969607952434801302007-12-01T15:11:00.000-03:302007-12-05T10:55:35.744-03:30

I'm sure everyone who reads this site knows that a crew of Jackson Kayak paddlers were poking around on the west coast of the island this fall. The expedition team consisted of Ben Stookesberry, Eric Jackson and his son Dane, Jesse Coombs, Darin McQuoid, Chris Korbulic, Nick Troutman, and Joel Kowalski. These intrepid paddlers made great inroads on a list of rivers that needed to be explored on

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-13153978860509935102007-10-25T13:55:00.000-02:302007-10-25T15:49:34.220-02:30

I first saw Little Harbour Falls in a photograph book by Brian Bursey. It took a while, but eventually Steve Arns and I got around to hiking into the falls and checking them out. We didn't chose the best day, -6 and frozen sprayskirts discouraged us from running the drop, but, it always stuck in the back of our minds as being possible.This week Dave MacDonald and I took the opportunity to show

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-1977165936020123832007-07-23T16:09:00.000-02:302007-07-23T21:49:28.326-02:30

After four weeks of doing battle with zillions of stouts in Labrador it was nice to come home and find a few local rivers running. The best part was being able to paddle in our shirt sleeves, an experience so rare in this province that I felt positively naked floating down the river.On Saturday, July 21, Darren, Cody, and I were able to get on Bay Bulls River. Cody assures us it was higher on

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-958836164336032232007-05-14T12:16:00.000-02:302007-05-14T12:43:36.217-02:30

Last Friday a group of four paddlers took on the Northwest River for the first time this spring. We caught the river at 18.8 cms, which is a nice medium - low flow for this run. Apart from some confusion on meeting times, which was my fault, it was an awesome day. Sunshine, sorta warm water, and lots of good lines.Last fall the rapid known as "Right to Left," in the first canyon, was blocked

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-975388113858075102007-05-14T12:07:00.000-02:302007-05-14T12:15:58.682-02:30

Hi folks,The Pipers Hole River Festival took place on April 28, 2007. Seven brave souls turned up to take on the low flows on Pipers. The river hasn't been above 1.4 m this spring. The rodeo was held as a river running play event due to the lack of distinct features. Paul Rose was definitely styling the river. He managed to find several small cartwheel seams and was hitting multi-point

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-14770747359219046402007-04-12T06:27:00.001-02:302007-04-12T06:27:54.662-02:30

Alright,I've had a "luck of the Irish" type day. Essentially my vehicle isout of commission until sometime next week. Which leaves me in apickle about the festival this weekend. My executive decision is todelay the festival to Saturday, April 28, 2007. I'm terribly sorryabout the short notice of this schedule change, but unfortunately wecan't choose when our cars are going to break down.I was

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-69406854102201025322007-04-08T16:45:00.000-02:302007-04-08T17:05:44.285-02:30

I've noticed that the NL government gauge is not being updated at the moment. It has been this way for a while and I'm not sure when it will get fixed. However, the environment Canada gauge is still working fine and can be found at http://scitech.pyr.ec.gc.ca/waterweb/formnav.asp?lang=0Unfortunately this data is given as the head of the gauge (m), as opposed to the NL graph, which is converted

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-12526952697809990092007-04-06T14:54:00.000-02:302007-04-06T16:14:36.533-02:30

I think I have the final touches on the Pipers Hole Festival. Here are all of the pertinent details.Date: Saturday, April 14, 2007Time: 10:00 am in the parking lot. The rodeo will likely start around 12:30 pm.Location: Pipers Hole River is located just south of Swift Current, NL. Follow the TCH west from St. John's. Just past the Iriving station in Goobies there is a left hand turn onto

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-35998235848594135952007-04-01T17:23:00.000-02:302007-04-01T17:40:12.059-02:30

This the third and final installment on trio of awesome creeks in and around Gros Morne National Park. These three runs alone are worth traveling to the west coast of Newfoundland. Add an amazing National Park, lobster (in season) and Moose to the mixture for a great spring holiday.Whites River, Upper Lomond River, and Bakers Brook make a perfect long weekend trip. If you have a longer trip

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-42784693722635825392007-03-16T20:52:00.000-02:302007-03-16T21:48:52.587-02:30

Alright,After a hiatus the Pipers Hole River Festival will be back in 2007. On Saturday, April 14, 2007 to be specific. So, mark this off on your calendar and come out to play on the waves with a group of paddling enthusiasts. Following the day of paddling an apres paddle party will be held Saturday evening. The details for the party are still coming together, but I'll be able to announce

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-1171824997128203132007-02-18T15:23:00.000-03:302007-04-01T17:37:31.900-02:30

I just posted a new trip report for Bakers Brook in Gros Morne National Park. There are several pictures of these great waterfalls included in the report.Enjoy.

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-1170355274836021502007-02-01T15:09:00.000-03:302007-04-01T17:37:51.277-02:30

Just a quick note to let you know that there is now an updated trip report for Whites River online. It is from May, 2006 and contains a few photos of this elusive river.Enjoy.

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-1169841108399692372007-01-26T16:11:00.000-03:302007-01-27T12:53:56.263-03:30

Hi folks,I have a new toy to pass along to you. I've been playing with Google Earth for a couple of years, but more recently have found it to be quite useful for work type stuff. In the past I've used the software to assess a few rivers in Labrador and refine some of my UTM locations on the island. New software lets me now transfer data between Google Earth and MapInfo, which means I can get

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-1163088956119052952006-11-09T11:54:00.001-03:302006-11-09T12:45:56.133-03:30

There are three safety items on Northwest River that I would like to highlight to the general paddling community.Wood - there is a tree that completely blocks the river right channel of the rapid called Flushbox. This is the second rapid in the first canyon. It is noticeable from an upstream eddy, but still represents a siginificant hazard. It is wedged across two boulders and will probably

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-1163088821030892582006-11-09T11:54:00.000-03:302006-11-09T12:43:51.536-03:30

There are three safety items on Northwest River that I would like to highlight to the general paddling community.Wood - there is a tree that completely blocks the river right channel of the rapid called Flushbox. This is the second rapid in the first canyon. It is noticeable from an upstream eddy, but still represents a siginificant hazard. It is wedged across two boulders and will probably

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-1163012984949318302006-11-08T14:56:00.000-03:302007-03-16T21:44:50.663-02:30

A lot has happened on the island since my last post in April. Unfortunately I missed the vast majority of this paddling season because of work commitments in Labrador. Some of the whitewater highlights on the island this summer include the following trips:Dave MacDonald and Darren McDonald led a single day descent of Sandy Harbour River. This was a third descent of the river, but only the

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-1145301151828199632006-04-17T16:10:00.000-02:302006-04-18T21:28:05.476-02:30

The 2006 whitewater season has been a bit slow to get going, but it all started last weekend with a high-water run of the Paradise River. This was great fun for everyone on the trip. The excitement continued into Easter weekend with local runs on the Avalon and an inaugral trip to Pipers Hole River.On a personal note it has been a rough spring. I'm batting 1000 with swims on each of the three

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-1132600698330909632005-11-21T15:20:00.000-03:302005-11-21T16:02:27.583-03:30

Long Arm RiverI'm finally cleaning my desk and making a few minor updates to the website. Gary Davies, Dave MacDonald, Darren McDonald, Geoff Minielly, and Jim Price flew into the Long Harbour River and paddled it to the sea. The Long Harbour River begins at Meta Pond and flows south into Long Harbour, east of Terrenceville on the Burin Penninsula. Everyone tells me the trip was excellent;

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-1126033558715497272005-09-06T13:40:00.000-02:302005-09-09T09:47:15.843-02:30

The second annual Virgin Wave Rodeo came and went this past long weekend. This year the weather in central Newfoundland behaved and we had a nice sunny and warm day to play in the canyon of the Exploits River.Rodeo day saw a paddlers congregate at the put-in for the Upper Salmon Ladder section; a short and beautiful stretch of whitewater, which is seldom run. The initial rapid is a series of

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-1125429501943898272005-08-30T16:47:00.000-02:302005-08-30T16:50:11.276-02:30

Alright,After very busy summers for Paul and I, with the help of Tina Thoden, have put together the final bits of the Virgin Wave Rodeo. As previously advertised on the whitewater website(www.kayakers.nf.ca/riversnl/Guide/Virgin%20Rodeo.html)the rodeo is this coming Sunday, September 4, 2005. It is being held at two different venues within the Canyon section of the Exploits River. The two main

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-1119031138421124302005-06-17T15:26:00.000-02:302005-06-17T15:28:58.420-02:30

I don't have any content changes this time around, but I have changed this page to a blog. I'll try this out for a while. It will allow me to keep track of these little blurbs over time. I have a new river to add to the files and will try and get it up in the next week or so.

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13745465.post-1119030960390385882005-06-01T15:22:00.000-02:302005-06-17T15:26:00.393-02:30

Since I last had a chance to update the site a lot has happened in the province. Our condolences go out to the family and friends of Fraz Champion. Fraser passed away on the Whites River near Cormack on the west coast of the island. I've updated the data page for the river and it includes links to several memorial pages that have been created to celebrate Fraz's life. There is also an update for

Chris Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09987966035108770541noreply@blogger.com0