Pitt River Float

The Vitals

Date: February 3, 2024

Location: Lower Pitt River

Distance: ~16 km

Time: 4.5 hours

Resources: Fenton Gauge – Pitt River

The Summary

It’s a bad winter for snow sports but a relatively warm and high-overcast day in February spurred a last-minute plan to paddle the lower Pitt River from Grant Narrows Park at the Pitt-Addington Marsh to the Pitt River Bridge. I have only used my DIY packraft for one other fun trip (rather than tests), so I was glad for the excuse for another.

The Pitt River is tidally influenced so the first thing to do was to try and research when would be the best time to go. I didn’t find any conclusive information but I did find a river level gauge on this section of the river which is linked above. I looked back over the past few days to guess what time the river would peak and after that there should be a current in my favour. There might be some lag because the gauge is downriver of the start point but I figured around 12:30 would be a good start time.

Brittany drove me to the start and helped me gear up before heading off for a walk and some bird watching. It was sunny at the beginning with no wind and it seemed to be slack water. The last time I was here I had seen a healthy current from shore but at the beginning it was all muscle power.

I made decent progress for an hour but still couldn’t discern any current. I started to wonder how long it would take to paddle 16 km or if I would need to bail out to a dyke road earlier on. In the second hour, a headwind picked up and fought me while also spraying me with the water that drips off the paddle. I was starting to get pretty wet and cold when I decided to take a break on a small island just after the quarry on the right bank.

I had a snack and put on my only extra layer when I noticed that there was definitely a current now flowing out to sea. I got back in the boat and the wind had died down so the next hour was jubilant as I warmed up and started to make better progress. I committed to the full paddle but it was going to be a dusk when I would finish.

It took another two hours of paddling and floating until I reached the bridge, finishing 4.5 hours after I started and not a moment too soon as it was getting dark quickly. I hadn’t seen much boat traffic during the afternoon, perhaps 5 boats and one floatplane, but I still didn’t want to be on the river and invisible. By the end, the current was over 3 km/h, judged by looking at my speed profile when I took my last break.

Brittany had found things to occupy her time and had just got to the bank when I paddled in. I had been working hard and was pretty warm right up until the time I landed. I was soaking wet with no extra clothes and I began to shiver complete with chattering teeth. We had to walk about 500 meters to get to the car where Brittany loaned me some dry clothes and put the seat heaters on high.

When I got home I had a warm bath but it took a while to get the blood into my feet again.

I learned two main lessons on this trip which will help on future paddling trips. The first is that I can paddle around 3.5 km/h for 40 minutes to an hour at a time but then I need a break. Another is that you get properly wet in the boat and it would have been a good idea to bring some warmer clothes. All in all, a pretty good trip close to home made logistically easy with a patient partner.