A High Water Week

The first taste of high water arrived June 7. We were expecting rain but who knew that the rain would be so heavy. And the water arrived in the statistical range of June 7 to June 11th. I didn’t expect it looking at the trends in the two prior weeks but the heavy rain changed the trend. If you are making plans for an outing and it involves the river you have to be ready for what the extreme case is. At Otter Rafting Adventures we are always watching the river for flow rates and rate of change. And another variable – the weather. This was quite interesting to watch as it unfolded during the week.

I have taken two photos of the river for comparison on June 3 and June 8. On June 8th, the river is just past it’s crest and debris has started to be dropped on the edge of the river. The photos on the left are from June 3 compared against June 8 on the right – big changes.

The volume of water has completely overpowered the rapids created by the rock ledge and created a recirculating wave that disrupts the flow. There are no neat wave trains behind this to ride. In a raft this would be a very fast , very dangerous, scary ride with little control. With the water so high it would be difficult to get to shore and land because of the trees at the waters edge that are flooded and the speed you are moving downstream. Not a good place to be. With the high water comes the floating hazards that you can see as well.

The chocolate milk color indicated the volume of materials being pushed downstream by the power of the water. There will be a lot of erosion of banks after this current as well as new gravel bars created and old ones washed away. 

First weekend in June

It has been a weekend on the river again. The snow in the mountains is very slow in melting this year. Usually the river is higher than this on this date. Statistically, the highest flow rates on the Red Deer River are between June 7 to June 11. That is very hard to imagine happening at this time this year at the rate the river is changing now. Still, people are having a good time out on their rafting trip.

Here are some photos comparing the last two weekends. You can see a small change. What is interesting is that as the river flow rate dropped you can see how the standing wave train after the ledge changes shape. The wave has increased in height but shortened up compared to the longer, lower wave at the higher volume. So, sometimes the rapids are rougher as the water volumes are lower like at the beginning and later in the season.

The plants are greening up as the season progresses but the river is not acting like we hope. The forecast for the week is mild with rain. Hopefully that brings it up. Maybe some more interesting photos then! As well, the guides are chomping at the bit for some big water – they know what is coming!

One Weekend for the Guys

This last weekend was dominated by guys bonding before the loss of one of their best buds to holy matrimony. Yes – Stags! 
We  often get guys and gals out for stag and stagette rafting trips. They are always a lot of fun and the star of the show ends up realizing that they are truly loved by their pals. Whether it be thrown in the river a multitude of times, wearing a dress (not their usual attire for most but some you might wonder) or wearing the tie dye panties, what better way to send someone off to marital bliss.

I’ve also included some river pictures comparing the last weekend to the previous weekend. The river is up a bit but nothing compared to what is coming. For completeness sake I’ve included these pictures since there is so little change.

The river has been running at this level for a while so it has gone clear. A standing wave is forming with this little bit of extra water. Sorry, the pictures are not exciting but we want to be able to have something to compare against once it really starts to flow.
Here is a photo from the past,  May 29,2009 to compare these pictures to.

There should be some interesting pictures coming up with the good weather we are having this week.