Author: Warren Currie

It’s October, and in Edmonton that means the weather can be +30 one week and -6 and snowing the next.
This is exactly what happened this week.
Our “Thursday Night River Paddle”  turned out to be a bit chilly this week.  Myself and John were the only two brave (silly) souls to show up.
We still made it from Emily Murphy Park to the walking bridge and back, going through a whole range of conditions.
Thank you Quiksilver for making good wetsuits.

Thankfully it is supposed to warm up a bit next week – all the way back to +12!

(click on the pictures for full size)

Wanting to prove the versatility of Stand Up Paddle boards, my son and I went SUP Camping on the September long weekend.
A 3 km paddle to an uninhabited island in Lac La Biche was our destination.
The paddle over was beautiful – absolute glass.
Once our camp was set up we went exploring on the island, seeing a Bald Eagle  and two White Tail Deer.
Then it was time for a fire on the beach and a dinner of hot dogs and marsh mellows.

We awoke the next morning to rain and wind.
Packing up quickly and heading for home we ran straight into a 25 knot head wind.
I ended up passing my leash to my son – and towed him back for the worst part.
Our easy paddle of 20 minutes over the day before was now a struggle to make it home and ended up taking over an hour and a half.
The hot chocolate back at the cabin tasted real good!

(click on the pictures to see them in full size)

SUP on the North Sask. River!
From now until the ice comes – meet at 6:30 PM at Emily Murphy Park in Edmonton right by the south end of the Groat Road Bridge.
We generally paddle upstream to the foot bridge and then coast back to the Park.

Approximately 50 to 60 minutes upstream and maximum 20 minutes back.

Bring your Board and Paddle  - AND a Leash and come out for a fun / social  paddle on the river.