BIG WATER - HOMATHKO - BIG BANG

…One has to ask questions like this when planning for an expedition, if you don’t ask the questions and you don’t spend the time?
Or maybe you don’t really want to know at all…

Preparing for an expedition down the Homathko can be as easy as calling the float plane, arranging a pick up time, Researching water levels, buying food, driving 8hours and putting on the river.
But even after this, one still questions, do I want to feel that exposed for 4 days? I know friends who have paddled the river and I know the rapids are manageable. so really I have no real reason to be scared. Right?
Planning for this trip was as much about guess work, trying to work out the weather and wondering what 300cubic meters of water might very quickly do to the river.

This season BC has experienced a high water year. The large amount of high alpine snowpack that still remains hangs over our heads as a reminder as we paddle the first day down some exceedingly difficult class 2.
We have been so lucky this trip to experience the perfect window, the snowpack allowing us passage down the reaches of its deepest gorge at a near perfect flow.

The Homathko allowed my 7 companions and I a glimpse at some of the most epic of its BC wilderness. Reminding us of its power with what felt like icy cold hands slapping our faces as every wave passed over our head.
It is a source to sea expedition in the truest of senses of the words.



Hear lies only your fear – towering mountains, deep canyons and grizzly bears.
Here lies the Homathko River – The true wilderness trip of a lifetime.

North Stein - Expedition Excellence

The north stein is somewhat of BC epic. With around 14km of bc bushwacking and high alpine portaging in some of the most remote BC backcountry.
However... The North Stein's 1.5km of whitewater is worth every step, delivering you into the upper raches of the normal Stein fly-in run, taking a total of 4 days to complete.

This has to be on of the best multi day trips ever and is definatly worth the work to get in. Although with the 14km of pain behind you, fully loaded boats make some of the bigger drops pretty scary.

so very sick

BC's Finest Creeks - Raft River

Raft River is situated very close to clearwater in the Interior of British Columbia.
This creeking jem has only a small window of around a week, but if you are lucky enough to time it right, you will come to appreciate all 16km of this run.

It begins a shallow braids for around 2-3km as it begins to enter the canyon. from here very continious class 3 rapids soon lead to boat-scoutable class 4. the last 2km of this run is fairly steep and walled in, however it becomes drop pool in character before falling around 25 ft off raft falls - The last drop and take out from the pool below

Lost River Gorge Overnighter - Washington

Lost River Gorge Lies in the Hear of washingtons Okanogan, just south of the BC Boarder.

This run is one of the only true wilderness multi day runs in washington. It requires a 10km hike, but the reward of kilometers and kilometers of class 4 read and run is %100 worth the effort.

Not to mention some of the most amazing scenery in the bottom of a 5000ft Deep Gorge!

Adrian Kiernan

Lost River Gorge WA - Trip report from Adrian Kiernan on Vimeo.

Full Flood - Murtle River BC

The Murtle river spills over Helmcken falls, before racing to the confluence of the Clearwater river just below Gattling gorge in the wells grey park wilderness of British Columbia

I have paddled this section regularly and during times of low water, it can include running a 30ish Ft waterfall at the base. This run however was around 3 times the water, so did not include the falls, however it turned the 3-4 boogie run into a freight train of huge standing waves!
Awsome!

Water level was between 8-9 on the clearwater bridge.

The Murtle Minute - Flood run from Adrian Kiernan on Vimeo.