Last Few Days in Vancouver

The lake we drank beer on LakeWithSam

The last few days in Vancouver have been awesome time. I got to skate Capital Hill, skate a bowl park in New West and chill on a lake with a few friends.

Sam, James and I headed up towards Capital Hill to do some longboarding. I was pretty nervous as these guys are amazing skaters and I am just a guy that has a longboard in Ontario! It is a little steeper out here. The hill was sweet though through suburbia and really long. It was not that fast so it was pretty fun. Sliding and messing around. After we went back to Jame's place for a BBQ. He made a sweet salad made from everything out of his garden. At the BBQ Sam help me make a new board. We cut an old street deck into a sweet Dingy style board. It is going be awesome to rip to the bar on! And we made it our selves which makes it pretty rad!

The next day we skated a bowl park in New West. The park was awesome. They made the bowls backwards so it was pretty chill and really flowy. I had a few pretty hard falls. Sam even called one when he said "I feel going around that corner before" right as I go flying off and the board soared into the air 30 feet.

Yesterday Sam, Courtney and I headed to a lake with a 4 man raft to chill in the sun and drink beer and do some swimming. And we did that. We drank all day and baked in the sun. It was a great time. After Sam and I headed to the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE). It was awesome. We got to ride a super old wooden roller coaster. The thing was so shaky but fun. We cruised around the PNE for the rest of the night riding rides and checking out the sites.

Johnny

Courtney Chillin LakeWithSam

Sam LakeWithSam

Tree (photo by Sam Walsh) LakeWithSam

Sam drinking beer LakeWithSam

Qwwwaaaaackkkk! LakeWithSam

Trying to get the raft back to the car LakeWithSam

From PNE

Mermaid on the ride PNE

Sam on the log ride PNE

Ashlu Creek

Sol huckin' the last drop AshluRiverBC

Well I just checked off another BC creek in the books with out smashing my face in. Sol and I met up with a dude named Steve and Squamish and we headed for the Ashlu Mini-Mine section. It was a short run. Really continuous and really cold water! The run was pretty tight. We got to run through the start of a dam. On the way back Sol and I picked black berrys. They were so tasty!

Heres some pictures of Sol running the last drop a few times! She ran it infront of me the first time and got stopped in the hole. I almost landed on her. Sol's shirt imploded and she was mad. So she ran it again and again until she stomped the line perfect! It made for some good photo's!

Johnny

Hangin' with Sol's beaver "Skook" AshluRiverBC

From AshluRiverBC

Setting up safty to make us look more hardcore! AshluRiverBC

Sol going down AshluRiverBC

From AshluRiverBC

From AshluRiverBC

Skookumchuck!

Skooks in all her beauty Skooks

Righty on Skooks on the way up VanAndSkooks

Well I just got off paddling in salt water for the first time in the world class tidal wave called Skookumchuck in Egmont BC on the Sunshine Coast. The wave is amazing.

The trip started off with just Rain and I heading north from Vancouver to catch the ferry. After the 45 minute ferry ride we drove north along the ocean to Egmont. When I got to Egmont I met up with a few paddlers from Calgary that I met on the Slave River. We camped that night at Cline Lake.

The morning brought the 45 minute paddle in from the Marina in Egmont to the wave. When I got to the wave there was no wave. This is because the wave is created from the ocean tides rising and the water flowing into the inlet. As time passed the water started flowing faster and faster until finely a small wave appeared. We went out and surfed it and every surf the wave got bigger and bigger until finely Skook was in her full glory of a massive wave with a huge foam pile.

The surfs where amazing. After the season that only last for about 4 or less hours a day because of the tides we had to hike out for an hour. The next day a few more paddlers I met on the Slave where at Skooks. It was a great time

Later a dude named Dan from Portland and a girl named Sol from Argentina came up. There were great people.

After a great week at Skooks in the small town of Egmont (with no easy to find internet) Sol and I headed back to Vancouver as she is headed to the Ottawa River soon!

Johnny

From VanAndSkooks

The Dangerious Dock at the camp ground VanAndSkooks

Our Ferry VanAndSkooks

Skooks on the way up Skooks

From Skooks

From Skooks

Rain and I chilling during the green out Skooks

From Skooks

Sol throwing down her new trick! Skooks

Sol and I waiting for Skooks to come up! Skooks

Sol going backwards! Skooks

Vancouver

Well sorry about the lack of post lately....I have found my self in Vancouver for the last few days with my cousin Brandon and his roommates. It have been good fun. We have seen some nice things in Vancouver such as Lynn Canyon suspension bridge and Granville Island markets. Rain, Easton (my cousins dog) and I have strolled up and down the Fraser River. Here are some pictures of the Vancouver adventures so far.

Johnny

Easton And Rain VanAndSkooks

From VanAndSkooks

From VanAndSkooks

Lynn Canyon VanAndSkooks

Lynn Canyon VanAndSkooks

Jasper to Vancouver

Mount Robinson JasperABtoVancouverBC

The drive and journey from Jasper to Vancouver was another very memorable trip with people and places I will not forget. It started off saying bye to mom and Pat in Jasper as they headed down what I would say is the most beautiful drive in Canada...the Glacier Highway towards Banff.

I headed towards Vancouver with not much of a plan. I stopped at the Fraser River Upper Canyon and walked into Overlander Falls with Rain. It is a nice 15 footer. After we stopped at Mount Robinson. It peaks at just under 4000m in elevation. I could not see the top for the clouds but still it was beautiful.

I Stopping in Clearwater BC for a paddle with a guy named Mike from Riverside Adventures Rafting. The Clearwater River is BC's big water play river. It was a great river but after coming off the Slave which reached flows of 6000 cm/s the Clearwater River at 500 cm/s did not seem very big. It had a couple desent play waves but no eddy access. I played in a hole most people that hit the line right don't play in. Had a solid little beat down in the rapid called The Wall. Clear sailing after that though. It was a fun river and thanks to Mike for taking me down and letting me stay in his yoga studio/appartment for the night!

The morning took me just down the road to a town called Lytton BC. The landscape became very desert looking through the valleys. Dry dusty rolling hills filled my front windshield as I drove. When I got into Lytton I headed for a rafing company called Hyak to find paddlers. I ran into a lad from New Zealand named Hamish who was keen to go creeking. There are several rivers in the Lytton area including The Thompson, Stein, Nahatluch and many more. We desided on the Nahatluch. We had to walk the shuttle but it was not bad. The creek was sweet. The put in was so narrow I could almost reach accross the river. A real shock after a month on the 3km wide Slave River. But getting back in the creek boat on some technical pushy creek felt good. A little rusty at first when I hit a sneaky rock and got caught up in the hole behind it brefly. I started to feel good in my creek boat again when we got to a rapid called the Nossil. The only one worth looking at Hamish told me. We looked at it from ontop the canyon walls for half a second and then just went for it. The intro was easy with a few slides with green tongues before having to make an S bend turn and get back to the river right side to boof the hole. I didn't make that move. I went straight into the hole and came to a complete stop with a big back loop. The hole let me go after and we laughed about it and continued on our way. The creek was a ton of run. Thanks for going with me Hamish!

I spent that night hanging with all the rad people back at the Hyak Rafting base before heading towards Vancouver the next morning. I ran into bad traffic and got lost but I finely got to Brandon's house (my cousin) to chill and relax for the night!

Johnny

Overlander Falls Fraser River JasperABtoVancouverBC

Clearwater River BC JasperABtoVancouverBC

Road towards Lytton BC JasperABtoVancouverBC

Lytton BC JasperABtoVancouverBC

Nahatluch Creek BC JasperABtoVancouverBC

Back on the Road

Rain co-piloting FortSmithToEdmontonJasper

Well here we are. Rain and I are back on the road again. I met up with mom and her friend Pat in Edmonton at the West Edmonton Mall (hardest place ever to get free wifi!) the other day and we did some shopping and such around the city. We also went to Old Strathicona Area of Edmonton which is the Arts District. It was pretty nice.

Today we made the trip from Edmonton to Jasper where we are staying the night. We stopped at the hot springs on the way. They were so nice. Hot with one heck of a view!

And for those asking about Rain. She is doing great. She likes traveling and getting attention from everyone we meet. But things Rain has done so far are;

- go to the dog pound in Fort Smith
-run class 3 rapids (both swimming and on a kayak)
-stick her head off 107 foot Alexandera Falls and slip and scare the crap out of me
-free loaded the entire trip so far and not gave me any gas money!
-chased deer, mountain goats, horse flies and everyone else that moves
-lost all 8 tennis balls she had
-ate a garden hose
-had a 3 some...really....Solo (male) and Silver (female) both humped her!

Next stop for us is Kamloops! Can't wait!

Johnny

West Edmonton MallFortSmithToEdmontonJasper

Rain saying "You just made a wrong turn" FortSmithToEdmontonJasper

Mom and Pat in the hot springs in Jasper FortSmithToEdmontonJasper

Mom and Pat standing in the middle of a river in Jasper FortSmithToEdmontonJasper

Slave River Paddle Fest!

Donkey Flipping...Photo by Leif Anderson PaddleFest

Paddle Fest on the Slave River was one of the best festivals I have ever been too. It was put on by the Fort Smith Paddling Club over the August long weekend. It was great. There was food, parties and awesome events all weekend.

Some of the great events included a beach ball race where a team had to get there beach ball from one eddy to the one below. The only rules where no pulling skirts and no use of river knives. It was super fun. My team with Theo, Sonny, Christina and I and we got first place! We all won a flip flop. I got one that says "Surfer Girl" on it. It is sweet.

The other big event was the home town throw down rodeo. It was a close one. Two people from each heat made the finals making a final of 4 people with one ride to show off what you got. Shane from Golden BC finished 4th, Sean from Jasper AB finished 3rd, I finished 2nd and Leif from Colorado finish 1st with a sweet ride.

I am now continuing my journey heading to Edmonton then working towards Vancouver. I am going meet my mom in Edmonton for a visit.

I would like to thank John, Gen, Adam and Hillary for letting me stay at there place for a month and be a bum in Fort Smith. It is a great town with awesome people and one of my favorite rivers ever. Everyone should go and paddle the Slave! It is really not as far away as you think it is! You could make it in 3 and a half days of driving from Ontario.

Here are some photos from Paddle Fest and the last few days on the Slave River!

Johnny

Check out more photos from the Slave River Journal

Photo by Theo van Zyl PaddleFest

Photo by Slave River Journal PaddleFest

Photo by Slave River Journal PaddleFest

Leif going big and clean! Photo by Theo Van Zyl PaddleFest

Gen ensuring everyones safty. Photo by Leif Anderson PaddleFest

Opening Ceremony PaddleFest

Playing aroundo on the raft at Paddle Fest PaddleFest

Boaters at Paddle Fest PaddleFest

Having fun at Paddle Fest PaddleFest

Chillin' on the rocks at Paddle Fest PaddleFest

Playing at Roller Coaster PaddleFest

Leif doing a big old Helix PaddleFest