Fun in the sun, Birkenhead and Cayoosh creek
After a high start to the BC season, levels have finally started to drop away a little in the coastal mountain range. This means that some of bigger runs are finally dropping down to a paddle able level.
The Birkenhead river runs south towards Pemberton and offers continuous boulder garden style paddling. Access is reasonably simple via the logging road to Birkenhead Lake. Take out is located by following the power lines down to the river at the start of the logging road. The Birkenhead is a steady class 4 creek at the kind of water levels we encountered. Higher flows are still navigable but rapids begin to join up as eddies become few and far between.
We enjoyed 3 to 4 hours of continuous boat scout able paddling encountering a deep gorge with some amazing log jam features. The run is obviously very susceptible to tree blockages so caution is advised.
With temperatures soaring we made the journey over to Lillooet to paddle the Cayoosh creek, which is just dropping to a what felt like a steady flow. Cayoosh creek run flows through an amazingly deep canyon just 10km outside of the town of Lillooet. The put on is the first bridge that crosses the river on the way to Pemberton from Lillooet.
We enjoyed a super hot day on the river passing through some amazing scenery. The river itself is a continuous class 4/5 boulder run with lots of pleasant lines and a mini canyon towards the bottom. A great day was had by all, with the general consensus being that the Cayoosh was a definite classic of the area.
Ricky Lambert, Simon Tapley, Daniel Nobblet, Tom Emerson, Steve Edmonson, Richard Evans and Steve Rogers paddled the Birkenhead and Cayoosh creek runs.
All images copyright Bread and Butter 2006
