Ryan Stuart, explore's gear editor
Ryan Stuart's tell all blog spot on his gear addiction and life and times as explore magazine's gear editor
Pitching in
zoomThe Puntledge River runs right past my house on its way through Courtenay and into the Comox Harbour. As a dam controlled river with strict salmon spawning requirements, for most of the year it's a class 2 trickle worthy of little more than a tube. But during spring run off, fall and winter rain storms or when BC Hydro decides to be nice to paddlers the Puntledge becomes one of the best play rivers on Vancouver Island. It also has some serious class 5 rapids on it's upper section. The attached photo is from one such area known as Nymph Falls.
In late May or early June every year BC Hydro stores enough water to run the river at an ideal paddling level specifically for paddlers. The Vancouver Island Whitewater Paddling Society negotiated the release and holds a paddling festival over the weekend. Hundreds of kayakers come to town and run the Puntledge and other nearby rivers for the weekend. There are clinics, parties, slide shows and more. Normally the Puntledge is pretty quiet, but on the festival weekend line ups form at some of the better play spots.
One of the put ins – a series of switchbacks down to the best play hole – has suffered from neglect, natural erosion and increased paddler traffic. It was original built by the local anglers accessing the salmon and steelhead fishing, but the fish are almost all gone now and paddlers have taken over as the primary travelers of this section of trail. It's in rough shape. So a friend and I have decided to fix it up in time for this year's festival, May 31 and June 1, click here to go to the festival's home page off surfkayak.org
The switchbacks have eroded away in ever increasing gullies in several spots. We went to check out the path and make an estimate of how much it will cost to make the repairs yesterday. (We're getting some BC lottery money to help pay for the trail repairs.) But neither of us are trail building experts. We have a plan, but are looking for suggestions of how to go about building/repairing an eroding trail. Do you have any words of wisdom or tried and tested techniques? If you want to come out and help drop me a note and I'll give you the details.
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