Fall Paddling in Beautiful BC

Fall can be a stunning time of year to be on the water in Southwestern BC and this past Thanksgiving weekend did not disappoint.

Friends of 20+ years drove out all the way from Edmonton, Alberta to join us on a float down the Fraser River after their eldest daughter agreed to take all her younger siblings for the weekend.  Yay H!!!

Special shout out also goes to the folks at Hyundai who help get our friends out here in there awesome #SantaFe #hyundaidrive2013.

The weather forecast was originally sketchy for Friday and Saturday but the weather was gorgeous at the put in.

One of my favourite things about this trip is how close it is to our home and how easy it is to modify it by changing the put-ins or take-outs.

At the put in marveling at the amazing weather we had

Our friends, @mommyknows and Mr. MK did not have a ton of paddling experience but lots of backpacking, skiing, climbing, camping and outdoor trips under their belts.  They did great.  Mr. MK was in the stern as @mommyknows was in the bow as our official trip photographer.  She's a star in the social media world.  You can follow her on twitter and instagram

@mommyknows and Mr. MK

We wanted to share this trip with them as we do with lots of friends and family because its a gem, a classic and close to a city of 1 million people yet we have NEVER seen other paddlers on the river with us.  (maybe I should not be letting that cat out of the bag).

The camping is awesome, sandy beaches, incredible views and wildlife too.  On this trip we had a young bear visit us at one of our camps, saw tons of bald eagles, great blue heron, a couple of prehistoric sturgeon and more.

It's super important to me that Mark and I introduce as many people as we can to the experience of paddling, it changed our lives...it's one of the main things that brought us together and it's our livelihood.  

@mommyknows and ME - friends for 20+ years!! (who knew!?!?)

We hope you got out on the water this Thanksgiving and celebrated friends and family too.  We loved spending time with life-long friends on their first river trip and plans for the Green River (in Utah) are in the works for this time next year.  We can't wait and this time their kids will be in tow and nothing beats experiencing the outdoors through the eyes of kids!

Mark and I

Of course all of us are decked out in +Kokatat Watersports Wear PFDs and raingear, paddling +Esquif canoes and Mark and are are paddling with our custom +Werner Paddles canoe paddles.