| Class: | 4 - 5 |  | |
| Flow: | 0.80 - 1.2 m on gauge | ||
| Length: | 12.44km | ||
| Time: | 3 hours | ||
| Portages: | 1, so far | ||
| Gradient: | 12.86 meters/km (62 ft/mi) - 1.1% | ||
| Season: | Winter and spring | ||
| Put-In: | Entrance to Chemainus River Provincial Park | ||
| Take-Out: | The very end of Mt. Sicker Rd. | ||
| Link: | Online Gauge | ||
| Link: | Google Directions to Put-In | ||
| Link: | Map Quest | ||
| River Daddy/Mom: | StephenH |
Interactive map:
Map script: techrageo
Back to: Overview River Map
Run description:
This run is classic! It gets demanding very quick at levels above 1.0 m on the online gauge. Normal levels begin around 0.70. Anything below that makes the first couple of kilometres quite bony. The first good rapids don’t appear until about 4 km into the run. The first is a river-left slide/cascade followed shortly by a fun, twisty class III through sheer bedrock. After another km or two reprieve, things start to pick up. Just as you’re ‘gettin in the groove’, an impressive horizon line with a tight line to the left of a house-sized boulder (IV) really gets the adrenaline moving. The next drop is a boulder garden with some pin potential on river-right around a large mid-stream boulder. River left opens up at higher water. After a few more fun drops, boaters are treated to a 1 to 2 km rest before the spectacular second canyon. The second canyon starts with an intimidating double-drop that is usually scouted from river left. It’s here that one can first observe the 300 ft sheer cliffs of the Copper Canyon on river right downstream. Approximately half a kilometre into the second canyon, at the spot where the cliff wall is the most impressive, is the only portage left on the canyon (with the exception of the occasional post-flood tree). Admittedly, this drop is all kind of runnable. The line is right there. We just really need Corey or Tao or somebody to come over and show us what will happen in that bottom hole. ;-) Anyway, the last 4 drops after this pack in 70% of the excitement of the run (and that’s saying alot!). First, a long, pushy class IV with a rather sticky hole at the top awaits. Immediately afterwards is the pièce de résistance of the run: A virtually unportagable class IV+-V- drop that now sports a massive tree leaning up against the river center boulder. This one develops a nasty hole on the bottom right at higher water (which is exactly where you need to go to avoid the tree), and probably deserves class V status above 1.0. Did I mention the undercut wall on river right at the bottom that the hole flushes out into? No? Oh well, try not to think about it. Immediately after breathing your sigh of relief comes ‘the flume’ (IV+). Scout from river right. The flume is a tight channel on river left that has done its share of damage to boats (and helmets, and skulls, and paddles). Higher water makes for an easier ride. On the heels of flume, the final drop on this beautiful run is anticlimatic, but would be a major rapid on many other runs. Be aware that the big boulder in river center is thoroughly undercut. People and boats have washed cleanly underneath (though rarely together), but unless you can catch eddys like Lewis, that river-center eddy probably isn’t worth attempting. Two more kilometres of mild riffles lead to the river-right takeout directly across from the river-left Banon creek confluence.
Other runs on the Chemainus River: