Becaguimec (April 10, 2010)

[mitchell]

A group of nine paddled the Becaguimec this saturday. Water level was quite high. The level at Coldstream was 1.3m. We put in off the Pole Hill Rd at 10:30 am and off the river by 3:30 pm in Hartland for a total of 24 kms. The shuttle is very quick and the roads are great.

The first half of the trip to Coldstream was flat but quick. We spoke with a local walking dogs just above Coldstream. He told us a rapid called Hells Eddy could not be run and may be too steep to be portaged. I always wonder when locals say this....did they run it once drunk in a coleman? We proceeded cautiously after the bridge. There were some sharp turns with some drops that could easily be avoided on the opposite side because of the high water. The stream was moving very quickly with some nice wavetrains. We never did quite figure out where Hells Gate is but everything is completely runnable. I would be interested in trying in lower water as I think it would be much more technical. Glad I finally got to run it. Pics are below.

mitchellamos.spaces.live.com

[Jamie]

Where's our weekly shot of someone going for a swim?

[sodbuster]

I seen you guys at the take out theres been many upsets in Hells eddy some people have been in real trouble there its nothing to laugh at maybe the water was just right its a nice run but the water gets to low in the summer

[Ken Corbett]

Thanks for the trip report, Mitchell. I'm impressed that you checked the gauge, as I added this information to the water level reference guide. Now anyone wishing to run the Bec has some data to infer runnability based on the guage reading.

Good gang on the water, wish I could have been there. I'll get out as soon as my foot heals.

Ken

[mitchell]

Jamie, Unfortunately Hugh and Mike were unable to attend this paddle.

Sodbuster, Yes I agree the eddy is probably one of the most powerful I have seen. The water appears to be moving upriver as fast as downriver and I certainly would not want to swim in it. That being said at this water level it was quite easy to run through the center of it. I think the river would be more challenging at lower water. I think even if the guage was at 1m or even a bit lower it could still be run.

[ryanward10]

Drunk in a Coleman ;D love it! This is after all a dangerous sport. There are several spots on most runs i've done where if you got caught in an eddy or keeper at the wrong spot you could quickly drown with or without your boat under you. While I haven't seen the feature in question, I have heard of people coming to terrible grief in spots that have been traversed easily by many others before and after. I have been taught the lesson many times that the difference between easily running a feature and flipping can be 1 foot and or 1 second. That's why we don't take our children on the rough stuff.