24-hour World Record attempt on Wetdawg.com

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On Wednesday night, at 9:00 PM August 27th, I eased my Necky Looksha II kayak into the waters of the Peace River from the old ferry launch in the town of Hudson Hope as darkness approached, with the water level falling off fast as the BC Hydro Dam upriver cut back on its outflow a couple of hours earlier than expected. From the flow charts I'd been checking several times a day, it looked like the water flow would stay high for at least another 2 or 3 hours. The plan had been to launch at around 1:00 AM and quickly catch back up to the faster water ahead. As it turned out, I found myself scrambling to get on the water as soon as possible! Setback #1!

Russ helped me get the gear ready and wished me luck as I made a hasty launch just before dusk. Also on hand to see me off was town administrator, William Lindsay.

My speed was good for the 1st hour in the fading light, about 1 kph over record pace! Shortly after dark however, a heavy fog rolled in, reducing visibility to near zero! With my night light system on, I could barely see the end of the kayak! With it off, I could actually see a few feet further (the light was merely causing a glare in the heavy fog). This lack of vision forced me to hug the riverbank in the slow water to use the bank as a visual reference in the heavy fog. Setback #2!

Having been forced to paddle conservatively due to poor visibility, I came into the 1st checkpoint full of energy but well behind pace after paddling for several hours in the slow water along the riverbank. Not good! After picking up a fresh supply of energy drinks and food, I continued down-river in complete darkness, absolutely desperate for the sun to start coming over the horizon and provide much needed light!

Despite repeatedly ending up in slow water for substantial stretches several times by choosing the wrong channel around many of the numerous islands along the river( Setback # 3), I was still making up for time lost and watching my average speed inch upwards as I hammered hard to the 2nd checkpoint at the 138 kilometer mark. There I loaded up on supplies from Russ including a hot meal which I ate from inside the kayak as I drifted down with the current while heading into the next section of river - 140 kilometers with no road access - meaning zero support until the town of Dunvegan 140 km away!

"Near the end of the 24 hours I again hit very low water, scraping bottom repeatedly and even coming to a complete halt as I ran aground..."

Feeling the chance of success slipping away, I cranked it up another notch, trying to maximize my speed whenever I could. As luck would have it, a serious shoulder injury started to take over and the severe pain in my left shoulder started taking its toll. SERIOUS Setback #4!

Soon my injured shoulder forced to take a long break, sitting on the riverbank for the better part of two hours while hoping for the pain to subside as my paddling had now deteriorated to pretty much just floating with the current!

By now I knew that the combination of low water levels, heavy fog during the seven and a half hour night paddle, long stretches of flatwater with little current and my now badly injured shoulder that the goal of 350+ kilometers and a new world record was not going to be a success this year!

From this point on, once back on the river, I was merely focused on getting to the next checkpoint in Dunvegan before dark and finishing up with a respectable distance to build on for next year. The break seemed to have helped as the next several hours I was paddling somewhat stronger again although still in considerable pain. Near the end of the 24 hours I again hit very low water, scraping bottom repeatedly and even coming to a complete halt as I ran aground and had to negotiate around several shallow rocky sections of river as I pushed for the finish.

As the 24 hours wound down, I checked the distance on my GPS and ended up with 275 kilometers for the day despite all the setbacks encountered. From then on, I paddled SLOWLY along the riverbank as darkness took hold once again.

The last few kilometers to Dunvegan I took my time, resting my body as I enjoyed the star-filled night sky and the peacefulness of floating down the river.

At the take-out beside the bridge in Dunvegan, Russ had to literally help me out of the kayak as I could not use my left arm at all to raise myself out of the kayak due the pain in my shoulder. Together we lifted the kayak out of the water and carried it up the bank to the grassy hilltop beside the truck. After changing into warm clothes, we talked about what went wrong as we set up camp. Russ even had to help me insert the tent poles on my Kelty tent as I had no strength in my left arm for even that simplest of tasks! After a meal of cold pasta and one beer, I was zipping the door of my tent and climbing into my nice warm sleeping bag for the night - I don't even remember closing my eyes at this point!

All in all, considering the lower water flow rates than anticipated, the near zero night vision and the injured shoulder, I guess I should feel good about 275 kilometers! I do feel "good" about it but certainly not "satisfied"! I know that with a bit of luck and a strong shoulder, I could have gone far beyond 275 kilometers on this river!

Next year, if I make a 2nd attempt, I'd likely do it in late June either on the Yukon with 24-hour daylight, or possibly back on the Peace again during the high water flows of the spring run-off.

Just one week before my attempt, I knew Ian was on the Yukon River for another shot at the 24-Hour Record, making an attempt to better his own record - it seems that I'd lit a fire in Ian and he wanted to try and make sure the record would stay with him!

Upon arriving home and my checking emails, I found out from Ian that he too encountered numerous setbacks and difficulties and also came up short this time around, paddling 235 kilometers before withdrawing due to a series of problems. So as it turned out, Ian still holds the World Record but I managed to beat him this time by a solid 40 kilometers! Next year, if things go as planned, Ian and I as well as a few other interested paddlers may well meet on the Yukon River to compete head to head in a 24-Hour race! The carrot on the end of the stick would be a new World Record for the winner!

As for the trip down the river itself, performance aside, it was a beautiful river with very impressive and rugged scenery. Throughout the 275+ kilometers I paddled, I saw only one motor boat on the entire river! During the final 140-kilometer section, there were no houses, no roads, and no people! During the night paddle just before the fog rolled in, I was treated to a nice display of the northern lights - very nice! I had a good look at the planet Mars during it's closest approach to the Earth in 60,000 years!

I paddled pass literally hundreds of beavers. I passed within a couple boat lengths of a rather large moose! Passed by dozens of deer, saw two foxes, one wolf, one bear, bald eagles and had an abundant number if good sized fish jumping all around me! All of this while having the pleasure of paddling a section of Canada's old Voyageur Fur Trade Canoe Routes! This section is part of the route I'm considering paddling during a seven month solo expedition across Canada from Prince Rupert to Halifax Nova Scotia. The river trip ended in darkness under one of the most beautiful star filled skies I have even seen - especially from the seat of a kayak! As I paddled into the take-out at Dunvegan Alberta, I was taking in the star-filled sky and reflecting on the past 24 hours, realizing that although I did not break the world record (this time), I still had a very unique experience and one that I will never forget!