Trip down the Nimpkish
Lake close to the Nimpkish Valley
The Nimpkish river is one of my favourite parts of COLT. It signals the of the whitewater training and take great pride in the students accomplishments. Also it is a very beautiful place. The Nimpkish is the largest river system on Vancouver Island. Stretching from the mountains of Gold River to the Ocean it has a reach of over 100km’s.
At the put in for the Upper with Ben and Thomas in the Canoe
When we first arrive we check out the level from the bridge over looking Woss Falls. During the fall we can find very different levels as this is typically when Vancouver Island experiences a lot of rain. Fortuantely we find the river in good shape and we are good to go on the Upper.
We arrived at the put in and proceed to get the gear organized and pump up the raft. about tens minutes later after checking the pressure on the raft…”BOOM” as the zipper on the Aire tube blows out. The tube was still intact so we used some rope and threaded things back together. Twenty minutes later Laurel and myself were off to run the shuttle as the group prepared lunch.
Scouting on Day 1
There is lots of fun rapids and some good skill building on the upper section. The main rapid is Boulder Garden which is mid way into the run. Boulder garden is great… it is filled with little and big boulders. Provides good manoeuvring opportunities for the group and is over 500m long.
There were lots of smiles as we made it past each rapid heading down toward Woss Falls. With a nice and easy portage we were on our way to the first night camp. Good food and a camp fire brought an end to our day.
Coffee is important.
The Lower section of the Nimpkish river is a mellower with long sections in between the rapids. Though thoughts of the Notch and Iron Mine rapid will keep you on your toes. The weather stayed well throughout the trip with the rain coming when we were asleep or on the river. Perfect timing really.
Paddling below the Notch
There were a few swims and some good times had by all. If you get to the Island and looking for a fun adventure the Nimpkish river is lots of fun.
There is also rafting on the river in the spring and early summer through Destiny Adventures.
Fresh Snow on the Hills
Look forward to the next time. Enjoy the pictures below.
3 Responses
[…] the Gold River or the Campbell River over the first number of days. The students finish up on the Nimpkish river (sometimes) for their final WW trip during the COLT program. The Nimpkish is the longest river on […]
Just paddled the lower section yesterday and we weren’t sure about the rapids! Your tr helped us a bit! Reading these more closely after our trip we figured the Notch must be the first significant rapid where the river hits the big house-sized rock on left bank and pushes right before mellowing out into a deep pool? We definitely went it unprepared and swam it, luckily the eddy out downstream is mellow and safe. Thanks for the tr!
Hi,
Glad to hear you enjoyed the river. Such a beautiful place.