The Columbia Wetlands for Dessert

June 6, Columbia River

We wrapped up our trip with a satisfyingly, sweet experience. Our launch site was the public marina, under the bridge, at the bottom of the hill coming into Invermere. The sun was bright, the sky a cloudless, cobalt blue. No wind! The Columbia River looked like an endless strip of butterscotch, silky smooth and glistening. I couldn’t wait to search out its many layers of flavour.

However, my eagerness was tempered with some hesitance. Paddling the piece from Invermere to Radium would add a notch to our belt, but I hesitated for several reasons. We had reconnoitred the take out at Radium the evening before. It meant squeezing under a low bridge, in fast running water, and landing on a muddy slope approximate three kilometres west of Radium. The water was high, and we’d been warned we might have trouble fitting under the bridge. From a vantage point, above Radium, we viewed the swollen river. It spread out forming many subsidiary channels, between rows of trees, and looked like a complicated maze. Sitting low in the water, it would be difficult to identify the main channel; which promised a lot of dead ends and paddling upstream against a strong current, if you picked the wrong route. Finally, we had talked with both the owners of the public marina, and Pete’s Kayaking, who had mentioned both these problems, and shared that a woman had overturned the day before.

They informed us that the first stretch of the river from the bridge at Invermere, north was quiet, with little current. Several kilometres downstream Toby Creek joins the river. Here the Columbia narrows and increases in speed and power. As we drifted, deciding what to do, a young woman on a paddleboard, informed us we could easily paddle back against the minimal current.

I know Barb wanted the adventure of making our way to Radium, but due to my trepidation, and the fact we had only a half day before heading back to Calgary, we settled on exploring the wetlands up to the Toby. We would finish off the trip with a serene float.

Although the main migration of birds was over, the high sandstone cliffs, soaring osprey, blue cranes and hidden songsters made this a true melding with nature – a melt in your mouth sensation that left me mellow.

Lush borders of reeds enclosed small lakes, throughout the wetlands. We wove amongst them on the way back, reluctant to leave the water.

Throughout the day, a sundog framed the sun; a portent of the pleasure ahead.

As we paddled past the rotting supports of an old railroad bridge, and pulled out at the marina, I felt the way one wants to feel after ingesting a gourmet meal – replete.