Canoeing The Athabasca River - Jasper Lake To Hinton
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ธ.ค. 2024
- Canoeing the Athabasca River. Put-in at Jasper Lake in Jasper National Park, and took-out at Willow Creek Rd. in Hinton. This trip is 59 km, not 42 km as stated at the start of the video. Flow was at 240 cms in Hinton. Sept 10, 2020. Hope you enjoy.
I am glad to be back home but I really miss the Canadian Rockies and those beautiful Alberta Skies.
Yes there are some nice skies up here, just as I'm sure there are down in Texas. Always a great time visiting the Rockies, it never gets old!! Thanks for taking the time, take care.
I did that run many, many years ago. Your video jogged a few memories, though I now remember best the wind and rain as we traversed Brule Lake. Many thanks for that, Nick.
You're very welcome. A nice slow scenic run overall... but even with a tailwind, Brule Lake was a bit tedious. Thanks for taking the time, take care.
Nick I am always prone to jealousy regarding how much free time you have to do these trips. I only hope I can do a few of these over my lifetime. Right now watching is keeping me sane. Thanks for posting these, and know how blessed you are to be able to have paddled so many beautiful rivers. Cheers
Hey thanks, I have been lucky and canoed some beautiful rivers. Not as much free time these days, but hope to get out as much as I can this summer. I definitely have some trip ideas I would like to get done. I hope you get lots of canoeing in this summer too, cheers!!
New subbie from Edmonton, can't wait to watch all your videos! Someone mentioned you on Foresty Forest's channel so had to pop over, now to catch up. 😀💕🇨🇦✌️🏞️
Hey thanks very much. I'm glad to hear that, and hope you enjoy. Take care.
Hinton is an alright town
Yeah it seems alright to me. Thanks for watching.
great way to spend the day. nicely done 👍
Thanks Darrell. Yes it was a very nice way to spend the day. Good weather, and calm waters.
One of my dreams it's to have a kayak! Your videos revived that flame! 🔥❤️
That is great to hear. Thanks.
Hello, beautiful paddling trip and awesome nature!
Hey thanks very much, glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for watching, take care.
pure enjoyment watching your video, fond memories of Jasper national park.
And water that I could navigate myself, as your other videos are beyond my skill set 😀
I wish all canoeing TH-cam channels would use something as beautiful as your clipper, there are some ugly boats out there...
Thanks very much Udo. Yes Jasper is a very nice place, and has some great canoeing. You would have an easy time here, as you have paddled some challenging looking rivers in Europe. Yeah I think the Prospector has some nice lines, a very classy look, but obviously I'm biased:) Appreciate you taking the time, take care.
Wow... what a great video! It's really beautiful! The video is really clean
feel free and the surroundings are so pretty..Thanks to you, I've traveled to a new place.
I think I came across found a really good channel while surfing TH-cam!
Thanks to you! From your new Korean friend
Thanks very much. I'm glad you enjoyed. Yes there are some very pretty surroundings in that area. Thank you for taking the time, take care. Cheers from Canada.
What A Day For A Paddle, Nick ! Great Views As Always, Thanks Friend ! ATB T God Bless
Thanks very much Terry. Glad you enjoyed my friend. Take care, and stay safe. All the best, Nick
Hey nick, great to see you back on the water .... Another great run... Cheers
Hey thanks Jim. Yeah it was nice to be back on a river. Hope you are doing well and getting in the canoe. Take care.
That bridge you ended at in Hinton is right by Lindsay's parents place. We head across that bridge for our annual may long camping trip with the family every year.
Looks like a beauty day on the river!
Yeah it was a beauty day on the river for sure. It's a real nice area of Alberta. Definitely a great place for an annual family camping trip.
Wow beautiful, so cool that i found your channel!
Thanks very much. Very kind of you, take care.
Amazing scenery in this video! Absolutely stunning man! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks very much. Yeah it is a nice area where the river leaves the Rocky Mountains. Always a pleasure to visit. Thanks for taking the time.
Just found your stuff man diggin it big time. Seems like a couple trips had some serious and fast moving waters and I dig your style with the tunes and grub and beers. Keep goin man! Subbed!
Hey thanks very much, I'm glad to hear you are enjoying. Yep, a canoe trip isn't complete without some good music, charbroiled meat, and a few beers. Appreciate you taking the time, take care man.
Epic hike Nick great seeing you in the bush on the trails
Nice camps and beautiful land. That last waterfall shoot was cool. Hope all is well and thanks for sharing
Atb john
Thanks very much John. Yes definitely some beautiful land in there, always a pleasure to visit. Thanks for taking the time, take care my friend. All the best, Nick.
Just a leisurely 42 kilometer day trip down a wild Canadian river, alone and miles from civilization, in water that's probably 33 Fahrenheit. Heck Nick, I do trips like this before breakfast everyday. 😊 On a serious note, I was looking at the Clipper canoe you use and thought "He should replace that yellow sticker on the front flotation chamber with a sign that reads either "Nick Harland - TH-cam" or possibly even "Watch Canoeing The Edge Of The World with the amazing and handsome Roy of Florida." I'd tend to favor the former suggestion simply because of space. 😊😊 Might be a good way to advertise your channel and remind viewers of the channel name. Nice video.
Hey thanks Roy. It is a slow, scenic paddle, and a good way to spend the day. The water is cold, but not glacial cold like 20 miles upriver from here. Cold enough that I would not want to go for a swim without a wet or drysuit:) Haha, I will have to think about that in regards to the flotation sticker. Thank you for taking the time to watch, take care in sunny Florida.
Thanks for that Nick. Nice of you to put my neck of the woods on TH-cam .....
Hey my pleasure Ian. Thank you for watching. Take care.
Have you ever paddled downstream from Edmonton on the North Saskatchewan River? What would you recommend as a good first Alberta overnight paddle? We are strong paddlers but not very experienced with moving water...do mostly lake paddling so far. We kayak with our kids. Your bighorn dam to Rocky Mountain House looked like a great trip. We went out on the river for the first time last weekend. Planning again for this weekend coming up. We have used the Elk Point, AB bridge as a start and end point for these two trips doing about 30 km each day. Love your channel, please keep recording and uploading...its awesome to see.
I have paddled to Fort Saskatchewan (mouth of Sturgeon River), but no further. I hope to paddle to the Saskatchewan border someday. I did my first trips on the North Sasakatchewan River from Genesee to Edmonton, then Drayton Valley to Genesee, etc. Anything downstream of Drayton Valley is good and generally safe for new river paddlers. Lots of good overnight opportunities with nice camping everywhere. Downstream of Edmonton I would think there is plenty of good camping along the shoreline and islands. Thanks very much, I appreciate the nice comment. I have a few trips in mind that I hope to film. Take care.
Not as wild a ride as some of your trips but quite scenic. Rekindled memories of Jasper NP. Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure Larry, thank you for watching. Yeah definitely some nice paddling in Jasper National Park.
Incredible scenery
Yeah some nice views as the river exits the Rocky Mountains. A slow and relaxing paddle. Thanks again.
Another great video. Hope you’re doing well, Nick.
Thanks very much Jamie. Yeah I'm doing good, hope you are as well. Maybe see you on the river this year... take care man.
@@nickharland3795 Glad to hear. If you’re on the N. Saskatchewan this year, you just might see me. Stay safe out there, Nick.
right near the start that rock river coming in- wow. so cool to see that, really interesting confluence. Love that you get a nice freight along the river for a bit there too, and so many amazing views !! is that a new camera/ 1080/60p i like it
Thanks Thorn. Yeah I love checking out river confluences, they always fascinate me. There were probably 6 or 7 trains that passed by that day, definitely no shortage of trains there. I enjoyed their company on this trip, haha. Same camera that I've had for a few years now, yeah I really like the 1080. Thanks for taking the time, take care.
@@nickharland3795 ah .. i see the difference is some of your recent vids are 1080/60p where most of your stuff has been straight 1080p
That has to be a new camera, this was a stunningly beautiful journey. Jealous as hell :)
It was a nice long scenic paddle. Very slow in some spots, but great all the same. Same camera I've had for a few years now, Go-Pro Hero 5 Session. Thanks, take care.
We did Brule lake down to the Emerson bridge three weeks ago. Some good sized waves but no real white water. The Athabasca does move along well. I'm guessing 40k took him just under four hours paddling time.
Yeah no whitewater in this stretch, the current is pretty slow in some spots. A few riffles and faster sections help out. It was about 4.5 hrs of actual paddling, and had a couple nice breaks along the way. Thanks for watching, take care.
How do you access Brule lake? Do you leave a car at Emerson bridge? Could you do that stretch on a paddlebaord?
@@Thomas-rq4um You can access the lake pretty much anywhere, we did so from crown land right after the lake. Yep left a car at the Emerson bridge. Not sure about a paddle board, it's three nights from the lake to Emerson (comfortably).
Hey Nick great videos, hope your doing well this is Terry from hockey years ago 😃
Hey thanks Terry. Right on man, hope you're doing good too. Yeah some good years playing hockey for sure!!
Not as wild n wooly as many of your trips but every bit as beautiful !!!...thanks Nick!...woods...oh, if you don't mind my asking, what is the weight of your canoe?
Hey Woods, my pleasure my friend. Yeah it was a pretty slow paddle overall, I was hoping for a bit more current. But nice scenery for the most part. This canoe weighs about 60 lbs. Thanks for taking the time , take er' easy Woods.
Hi Nick. Great video. Do you think it would be possible to do this river trip on a paddleboard? Thanks.
Hello Thomas. Thanks very much. Yes, you could paddleboard this section of river. It is quite slow and mellow current for most of it. Brule Lake can be slow going too. The fastest currents in this stretch are shortly after Brule Lake near the Hwy 40 bridge.
Nick love the videos! I was wondering where you find your info/maps on the rivers ?
Hey thanks Jeremy. Most of my info comes from "Mark's Guide For Alberta Paddlers", an excellent guidebook by Mark Lund. You can find it in most outdoor/sport stores. Google Earth also comes in handy sometimes. Thanks again, take care.
Have you ever done a gear video for what you bring on overnight trips?
Hi Jim, sorry I have not done a gear video.
@@nickharland3795 I'm in Spruce and plan to do a couple of river trips this summer. If you do a gear video, I'd be interested for sure.
Just found your page awesome videos man and looks like you find some wicked rivers to run. Are you running a 16 ft prospector in the Kevlar duraflex? Alot of these rivers are on my list to run in my boat.
Hey thanks very much. Yes I've been lucky to canoe some beautiful rivers here in Alberta. Yep, 16 ft prospector in kevlar duraflex. Absolutely love that canoe!! Thanks for taking the time.
@@nickharland3795 awesome I just picked up the same boat a few weeks back. Going to run a few bigger rivers at home in the Yukon over the next few months I'm excited. Definitely was my dream boat for a long time.
Just happened across your channel - love the videos! I lived in Calgary for a few years and paddled a lot with the Bow River club. Do you ever cross paths with those folks? It’s been some time since I moved away but I sure do miss paddling those rivers!
Thanks very much Chris. I do not believe I know any members of the Bow River Club. I have not paddled many southern Alberta rivers, but hope to canoe the Bow River at some point.
@@nickharland3795 well, it’s been about 20 years since I moved back to Ontario. The whitewater here just isn’t the same... The Bow Waters Canoe Club were a great bunch of people. They’d put together a paddling schedule often with 2 or 3 different options each weekend and sometimes even midweek. They’d be out paddling already by now. Then in the winter they’d have a schedule for cross-country and backcountry skiing. As for rivers north of a Calgary I’ve paddled sections of the N Saskatchewan and Red Deer Rivers. I remember there was at least one fellow from Edmonton in the Club. I have no idea what they’re up to these days but you should check them out!
I have been watching several of your videos (and enjoying them) for the last few nights. Good old TH-cam algorithms brought me here. I am curious about the logistics of your canoe trips. You mentioned driving back to get your bike in a couple of your videos. How do you canoe down steam for two or three days and get back to where your ride is? I am also in Edmonton.
Thanks very much, I'm glad you are enjoying the videos. For day trips and some overnight trips, I drive to the put-in and stash my canoe/gear. Then I drive to the take-out and park my truck. Then I ride my bike back to my canoe at the put-in and stash it. Then I canoe downriver back to my truck. After that, I have to drive back to pick up my bike. For other trips, I will get help from family or friends for shuttling my vehicle to the take-out. Logistics can be tricky sometimes. Thanks again, take care.
@@nickharland3795 Thanks for the reply. It's a long time since, but I recall the road into Rock Lake was hellish for driving, would be a brutal trip on a bicycle. Beautiful country in there though. My wife and I were fishing at the mouth of the Wild Hay one evening, where you put in, and a herd of elk crossed the water probably within a hundred feet from where we were sitting in a canoe.
hey Nick...another great vid....just wondering what you think of your clipper canoe vs mad river canoe?? Any preferences?? thnx
Thanks very much Alex. I love both of my canoes, and couldn't be happier with them. The yellow Prospector is better suited for river tripping with gear, and milder rivers... say easy class III and lower. The red canoe is a whitewater canoe, and much more maneuverable. Better suited for the rapids. Not suited for carrying as much gear as the yellow canoe.
Stunning scenery! We don't get this views in Ontario.
How long it took you?
Thanks very much. Yes there are some nice views as the river exits the Rocky Mountains. I think it took around five hours of paddling.
Hey Nick, I'm curious how long your canoe is? I did North Sask last year, 2 people and gear for 3 days and we had a 17 ft canoe. We also did the Red Deer in a 15.8 ft canoe but it felt much less stable given we were riding much closer to the edge of the water. Any thoughts on length of canoe for the Athabasca? That would be the next big trip I'd like to plan and I'll admit I'm a bit intimidated to read there is a class 3 rapid :P
Hi Elizabeth. This canoe is 16' long. A 16' or 17' canoe is perfectly fine for the Athabasca River. If you are going for multiple days, a 17' is nice for the extra room. The class III rapids are all upstream of Old Fort Point, near the town of Jasper. Downstream from there, it is 500-600 kms of class I, with possible class II. Any trips between the town of Jasper and the town of Athabasca is relatively flat, safe paddling. Further down river, closer to Ft. MacMurray, there are many rapids, some class III, IV, V(VI). Definitely not to be taken lightly, especially Grand Rapids. What reach of the Athabasca River were you thinking of paddling?
Great stuff, Nick! Looks and a nice leisure float, although 40km...that's still got to be a good workout. So is this canoe lighter and made of fiberglass? Sounds different than your other one.
Yeah it was definitely calm and relaxing, pretty slow in some spots. It was a good workout, I was quite tired by the end, and a bit sun burnt:) This canoe is made of kevlar, and weighs 60 lbs... about 10 lbs more than the red canoe. Thanks Eric, appreciate you taking the time. Take care.
@@nickharland3795 cool...I had no idea they used kevlar for this sort of thing, but that makes complete sense. Fiberglass or Kevlarv, similar looking materials in cloth form both impregnated with resin must look and sound similar in canoe form. Id imagine that Kevlar is considerably stronger. Super cool...Thanks for sharing!
Nice video not a bunch of yada yada relaxing to watch
Thanks very much Darryl. I'm glad you enjoyed. Thanks for taking the time.
What do you use to plan and analyze maps for your trips? Do you know of a website or software where the rivers are visible? How do you check that a river has no rapids and is safe?
I rely mostly on printed guide books. They provide the best info for known, navigable rivers. There are a couple great books for my area in Alberta, and I assume for most others places where people paddle. Short of that, I search the internet for trip reports, maps, pictures, videos... anything I can find when planning a trip. I also use google earth quite a bit, to zoom-in and look at rivers. Local paddling clubs and outfitters could also be helpful.
@@nickharland3795 I'm actually in alberta aswell. Do you have a preferred book?
"Mark's Guide For Alberta Paddlers - 2nd Edition", by Mark Lund. I think I paid about $25 for it. You can find it in most sports/camping stores, or order on-line.
Great video - thank you. Approximately how long did it take to travel the ~42 kms? It looks like there was no real white water - is that true throughout the season? From looking at the river from the Hwy 40 bridge it looks like the river is 'cooking along' at a good rate.
Michael
Thanks very much Michael. Actual paddling time was probably around 4.5 hrs. It took a while to get off Jasper Lake and onto moving water, and overall the current was slower than I expected. Indeed no whitewater on this stretch, just a few riffles. I think that would be true all season. The part by the bridge was about as fast as it got, and came in small doses. Not the most exciting paddle, but nice scenery most of the way. Thanks for taking the time, take care.
We did this yesterday in kayaks (cheap ones) and we’re experienced paddlers. It took us 7 hours and it was 59km according to my Adidas app.
I used my guidebooks for the distance. Looking at it now, I can't believe I had 42 km as the distance. Some bad math on my part. Sorry about that, and thanks for pointing it out. It is indeed a long day for this one!!
Lol, all good! We didn’t mind. It’s such a beautiful trip!
Very nice sky♡ i love the watch this video♡
I will come to your channel again soon:) i hope we keep in touch:)
Thank you very much, that is very kind of you. Take care.
Great footage Nick, reminds me of when my daughter and I did this stretch a few years ago. We started before the town of Jasper, camped two nights on the way to Hinton. See it here: th-cam.com/video/QyANWlDexm8/w-d-xo.html&
Thanks very much. It is a very scenic, but slow section of the Athabasca. Yeah I remember you guys had a very nice trip down the river.