Below find some links from our visit to Wenatchee and Yakima!
On a day off from paddling we decided to work our legs and climb up between the mountains to the West to Lake Colchuck, a glacier fed lake. A lot of elevation to go up but what a view. Took us about 8 hours round trip with a LOT of dawdling and adventures along the way. We even went in for a (COLD!!!) swim.   Andy makes a new beard from Old Man's Beard  Natalie looks up up up!    Lots of ice and snow up here!
We arrived in in the beautiful town of Wenatchee just a few days ago. Probably our biggest arrival to date with wonderful crowds to greet us, feed us, and share in our adventure. One couple even asked (without being prompted) if we had any pemmican that they could see! Dave arrived as David Thompson and gave an eloquent and moving speech in 1st person. Graham and Abe piped their hearts out.  A wonderful welcome  Michel Boulard and David Thompson GQ!  Ross addresses the crowd.
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We have now passed the 1/2 way mark and go down to 11 members. Sadly Science North has come calling and Robbie and Emily are back at work teaching the Children of Northern Ontario. In honour of our 1/2 way point we present some fun pictures of our adventures so far:)  Ponderosa Pincone Fight!  Our beautiful boat  Our trailer rig - Big Yellah  On the Columbia River  Sunny paddling on the big river
From Matt's pen:
I've felt very good, exhaustion-wise, so far. Since we only have one boat and 12 crew members we have mostly been all switching out at crew change with a few exceptions of those who are paddling in other boats on a given day. My feeling so far had always been that I wanted to paddle more, never less. A few days ago I drove in the morning and switched in for the afternoon crew in our boat. It was to be 29 km of paddling on the reservoir above Grand Coulee Dam (ie, very little current). We ended up having the wind against us but were still having a lovely afternoon. When we thought we should be getting close we asked another team with a GPS how far out we were and they told us "15.4 km". We thought that they were joking...... they weren't. It's certainly not that far (we'd gone those kind of distances many times before) but for some reason the canoes just dragged and we got in 3 hours later than scheduled. My shoulders and back had been screaming for hours and I just felt completely gassed. Times like this I'm really proud of our team. I was dragging hard but everyone kept a great attitude and picked me up when I really needed it. Getting in to camp to find the tents set up and food on the go with friends to welcome you makes those aching muscle days seem like a gift Hello friends! Matt here. One of our goals for this trip was to be in historic costume as much as possible. For the brigade the usual procedure is to make a stop with all canoes a few kilometres before arriving in a town and put on "regalia". For most people this includes our red brigade shirts and sashes, toques, etc. We are very fortunate to have a very extensive collection of our own stuff as well as a generous loan of costume items from Fort William Historical Park. The real question is, how often have we been dressing up? That seems to be as varied as our team. Some members have been dressing up almost every moment of every day (with a few rare laundry and swimming related exceptions). Dave, Abe, Graham, Isaac, and Leslie have been our standard bearers in this regard, being seen almost never out of costume. The rest of us fall into the spectrum somewhere between 'Costumed most of the time' to 'Only for town arrivals'. Personally (this is Matt speaking), I dress up for town stop and a few other evenings here and there but am in quick dry pants and crocks most of the rest of the time. Once I change into historic gear I tend to keep it on but haven't worn it as often in the canoe as I always seem to be getting wet (it is a water sport after all). I have tried to maintain the spirit of dressing like a voyageur, though, by ALWAYS wearing my gorget and my sash (finger woven by my grandmother) as well as a leg tie on my tilly hat. This way I at least look like a weirdo all of the time. The best reaction so far was one fellow telling me that "My gosh you're a gaudy feller" in regard to my big brass gorget. I guess the kids have been wearing things like this lately, and it certainly looks like it would fit in with Mr. T's wardrobe. Special kudos go out to Dave, Abe, and Graham who have been doing LOTS of sleeping out doors. They find themselves under the canoe, under Dave's canvas lean-to, or just under the sky. Dave seems to have promised himself that he wouldn't sleep under a modern roof on this trip and has learned how to swaddle himself in canvas and wool blankets to keep warm and comfy. I bought two blankets from ebay several months back and have promised myself that I will do some under canoe sleeping but have yet to make my first attempt. Better get on it! On the lighter side of costuming, it seems that several members of our group (five in total I think) have the miraculous ability to split voyageur pants on a very consistent basis. Andy got his trousers repaired in Fort Steele by the historic seamstress and got to be in a Fort promotional video in the process. Dave had his trousers temporarily held up with a jury rigged zip tie mechanism. We arrive in Wenatchee tomorrow (June 26th)! It promises to be an enormous celebration and I will certainly have my best voyageur duds on. Dave will be arriving in partner gear as David Thompson! So exciting!  Typical arrival regalia. Matt pictured here with Linda and John (all Queens' grads!)  Matt's 'on-the-water getup'. The grandma finger woven sash gives him the extra paddling boost that he needs.... and the gorget.... just looks cool I guess......  The lads sleeping under the canoe. Dave with his historic bed roll.... Abe and Graham with some modern touches (note: still much more hardcore than the rest of us).  The whole gang (just before being bough iced cream by the zetteks!)  A NWC partner on the go!
We have been practicing various canoe maneuvers for community arrivals. Our approach on lakes is usually a figure 8 and then a line up and charge for the shore. In rivers we have been moving in abreast then finding creative ways to land.  Here we are lined up backwards holding a line paddling into the current.  Canoes take turns falling back into the current then turning in towards shore.  Our team arrives!  Hauling out the boats  Happy voyageurs This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.
Waterfalls were enormously important to Thompson and other Fur Traders as they traveled through this land. Certainly they are beautiful but an enormous hazard and an impediment to trade. These pictures below are of Kootanae Falls. This is one of the only falls in the region that still looks today like it did in Thompson's Day. Soon we will arrive at Kettle Falls, one of the most influential meeting places for First Nations that Thompson met.   This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.
| Author12 ambitious young adventurers and historians set out on a journey overland to reach the pacific coast by canoe. ArchivesJuly 2011 Categories |
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