Coquitlam River & Tree Island

Ok... I've got a thing about islands. A weakness. I see one and I've just got to circumnavigate it in my kayak. More on that in a bit. Today the sun broke out a bit and I had the time so off I went in search of a new waterway conquest. I loaded up my kayak- it's a 14 foot Azul Zenon made of polypropalene- a bit heavy but durable and it has fore and aft hatches for my future overnight trips. I have a mini van with roof racks so it's an easy matter for me to 'toss' it on the roof (read heave awkwardly) and strap down. I elected to go with generic racket tie-downs since my van is older and I didn't want to fork out money for special kayak carriers. But I digress...



Coquitlam River Trip (Numbers are km markers)



Over the Port Mann bridge and east a few minutes on Lougheed highway (Maryhill Bypass) is the mouth of the Coquitlam river. I was fortunate to stumble upon a riverside parking lot that services a hiking trail parallel to the Fraser river, not even a kilometer east of the mouth of the Coquitlam river. I launched from here- only had to carry my kayak 30 feet or so to the shore. I was a bit pressed for time since I had to meet someone in a couple hours so I hurried over and made my way up the Coquitlam. There's a bridge for the Lougheed highway to cross the river not far inland and then I found myself in a very peaceful calm waterway with negligible flow. I made easy progress north paddling past a few people walking on the dike alongside the river in Colony Farms. The river makes a few bends and then turns northwest directly toward the old Riverview mental hospital on the stretch of Lougheed that takes you to Coquitlam center mall. I travelled parallel to the highway for awhile before the river took me east away from the road. This was where the river started to narrow and I noticed a marked increase in current which slowed my progress. I was less than a kilometer from the Kingsway overpass that leads to PoCo when I ran out of time and had to turn around. Frustrating! I hate it when my exploration of a new area is cut short- especially when I have to retrace my path on now-familiar waters back to my vehicle.

I hadn't counted on the effect that current had in slowing me down to this point as well as speeding me along on my return trip. What had taken about 45 minutes up only needed about 30-35 back. Here's where the island comes in. Tree island is a very small island in the Fraser river immediately east of the Port Mann bridge. It's been created by the sediment that the Coquitlam river makes when it 'collides' with the much larger and slow moving Fraser river. Islands are too tempting to pass up so off I went to kayak around it with my newfound bonus time. The island is so close to the Port Mann bridge that I actually paddled up and touched one of the huge concrete pilings on the north side of the river. It was during this time that the sun came out in force and I actually felt warm- nice bonus. Though really- can you complain about the weather when it's possible to kayak in early January?

Total trip distance was 5km up river and back plus island for total of 11km. Paddling time about 90 minutes.
Difficulty level: easy. Fun factor: decent to good.

Winter Kayaking

The dark days of winter- lose a few minutes of daylight on each of the day, everday, throw in a major holiday season, and there go the kayak outings I'd grown accustomed to. Today, January 16 2011 I finally got back out there. Nothing too flashy- just the Barnston island channel of the Fraser river, north to the main channel, downstream a bit, and back. It felt so good to be back in the cockpit I was actually giddy and laughed out loud as I started paddling. This euphoric sensation I get must be a substitution for something I'm missing in my life. Or maybe I've just truly found an activity that brings me almost unspeakable joy. I guess I can speak though since I've started a blog about my experiences.

It was a grey afternoon. I didn't start until after 3pm and sunset was 4:45pm so I knew I didn't have lots of flexiblity about route. Temperature's been unseasonably warm and there was even some blue sky earlier in the afternoon which got blocked out by more clouds by the time I arrived to paddle. The Barnston island ferry terminal is where I typically launch when I kayak the Fraser river. It's about a 2 minute drive from home. I'm so fortunate to have such close access.

Interesting 'wildlife' observation today: a flock of some kind of dark mid-sized birds were circling high above the river in a roughly oval pattern, occassionally mixing it up into a figure 8. It got me thinking- what are they doing exactly? Why that behaviour? Are they feeding on something in the air? Hunting something on the ground? Socializing or determining pecking order in the flock? Or maybe just flying because they can- for the fun of it? I like the last idea best.

I was surprised to find that my kayaking muscles- shoulders particularly, were sore, and my cardio is not where it was last time I went out. The return trip proved tough- a headwind kicked up making small waves and making things cold, then the rain started up again; all this while fighting the strongest current I've felt in the river yet. I'll be feeling this trip for a day or two but can't wait to get out again now that i got in the water. You know you've hit on something good when you're thinking about the next time while you're still involved in the activity. Next trip I need to do something new and interesting if possible. On the list I've targeted the Nicomekl river in south Surrey- upstream from Mud bay and see how far I can get, Coquitlam river, Pitt river, and an epic one day one way trip from Abbotsford to Richmond. Need to build up to that one though.

Until the next trip, that's the kayaking news for now. Thanks for reading.