Whitewater Canoe Trip Livre River, Quebec

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Whitewater Canoe TripLièvre River, Quebec

• 1st Merrickville Venturers
• July 5-10, 2009

Adults Venturers Robert Sargent Ben Catton Allan
Yates Jennifer Gale Alex McKay Bruce
Moodie Adam Szalai Max Taylor
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River Location
Put-In
Take-Out
5 hour drive from Merrickville to the ZEC office
(Accueil MacLean), and an additional 1 ½ hours to
the put-in. 4 ½ hours from the take-out back to
Merrickville.
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Route Overview
Sun
Put In
Mon
Tue
ZEC Normandie Accueil Chutes MacLean
Take Out
Wed
Approximate planned campsite locations shown for
each night.
Thu
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Lièvre River Statistics

• Total river length 74 km (km 334 to km 260)
• Total rapid length 20 km (27 of the river)
• Total mandatory portage length 700 m
• Number of mandatory portages 2
• Rapids
• Class Number Total Length Noire Comparison
• I 30 3,529m 26 - 1,852m
• II 34 6,824m 20 - 2,375m
• III 22 7,353m 4 - 345m
• IV 9 1,941m
• Portages
• km 325 650m Mandatory, LIV x 2
• km 306 50m Mandatory, LIV
• km 268 850m Optional, CIV Canyon
• Lining
• Two mandatory (in addition to rapids which must
  be portaged).
• Several optional depending on water level and
  participant skill level.
• Longest rapid is 1.5km CIII just before the
  take-out.

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General Notes

• Put-in points
• Lac à la Culotte Duration 6-7 days our choice,
  adds several CIII sections and a 650m portage.
• Lac Orthès Duration 5-6 days.
• Take-out
• Km 260 is the standard take out. Nice parking
  area.
• River is flat water after this point.
• Four wheel drive truck recommended for 500m from
  parking area to river or portage equipment up.
• Campsites
• Mostly sandy at the top end, more earth at the
  lower end.
• Lots of trees and deadfall for firewood.
• Tent pegs designed for sand are very beneficial
  on some sites.
• Other than the large site at km 321, the sites
  tended to be long and narrow.
• Maps
• Utilise the map from Charles Leduc,
  www.cartespleinair.com
• All rapids and campsites are accurately marked.
• Road map available from the ZEC Normandie office
  for 10 they will mail it.
• The ZEC Normandie river map is out of print.
  However, the same information is on the Charles
  Leduc map.
• Access
• The ZEC Normandie offers shuttle service using
  your vehicle.

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Fun Stuff

• Fishing
• Student fishing license available from the ZEC
  office.
• No good jumping rocks found.
• One bridge found for jumping not that high
  though.
• No campsites located right beside a play rapid.
• We took a whitewater kayak playboat along.
• Well enjoyed.
• A lot of the time, somebody had to solo a canoe
  down a rapid so somebody else could take the
  kayak down.
• Other times, scrambling back up the side of the
  river allowed a separate run in the kayak.
• We were going to have an odd number of people, so
  we had planned on bringing a creek kayak along as
  well (sourced through Paddle Shack).
• We did bring along an inflatable dolphin and an
  inflatable dinghy, but they werent used No
  camping beside play rapids, few portages around
  rapids, late campsite arrival each day (due to
  late starts).
• Campmade cookies and baking (Outback oven) always
  go over well.

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Finances

• Total cost for the trip was 1,252 for two adults
  and six Venturers. Major items
• Food 408
• Transportation (mileage) 473 Two trucks (0.25
  0.30/km)
• ZEC fishing license 33 One student for three
  days
• ZEC shuttle 200 100/vehicle
• ZEC camping fee 102 28.25/tent/week
• ZEC vehicle access fee 17 8.45/vehicle
• 861km round trip from Merrickville.
• Truck pulling canoe trailer gets the higher
  mileage allowance rate.
• No equipment rented (would have been 1,100 for
  canoes).
• Cost per Venturer was 225.
• Leaders didnt pay they gave up a weeks holiday.
• Fundraising will go towards canoe repairs and
  lost paddles.
• No standard commercial tour packages for this
  river (e.g. Black Feather / Paddlefoot /
  Sunrise). A custom package would cost 1,000 -
  1,500 per person.
• We like to boast to the parents.

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Water Level
A level of 100 is ideal, it starts to get
scratchy below 60. Also see www.myosis.ca/tableau
.htm
www.cehq.gouv.qc.ca/suivihydro/graphique.asp?NoSta
tion040624
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Example Map w/Markup
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Safety Considerations

• This is a more advanced river than the Noire.
• The rapids are more numerous, longer, and of
  higher class.
• This is not a pool and drop river.
• Do not underestimate the impact of long rapids on
  novice paddles.
• Novice paddlers may flip or swamp and may not be
  able to make take-outs before CIV rapids and
  ledges.
• Paddlers need to be able to find and make eddies
  during long runs for bailing.
• Flipped boats can easily result in paddlers being
  in the water and out of sight.
• Radio communication to each paddler is highly
  desirable for when they swim out of sight.
• Novice paddlers need to line their boats in
  longer, harder rapids. Leaders need to be willing
  to make this decision.
• Few portages available for easy shuttling of
  canoes by experienced paddlers.
• Independence and skill in river reading and
  judgment is valuable.

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Repair Kit
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Put-In
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Carrying the kayak
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Sunday Campsite
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Sunday Supper
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He Brought a Chair!
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Surfing Sunday Evening
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Surfing Sunday Evening Movie
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Kayak Flip Movie
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Slightly Pinned Kayak Movie
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Screened Shelteras a Bedroom
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Fixing a Drysack
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Sunday Campsite Beach
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The Gang
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CII Rapid
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Scouting
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Canoe Wrap Video
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Wrapped!
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Wrapped Canoe
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Wrap Rapids
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Ferrying in the Rescuer
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Slinging the Canoe
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Retrieving the Canoe
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The Damage
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Recovery Canoe Flip Movie
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Get that Tent!
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End of the 650m Portage
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Mediocre Jumping Rock
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Thwart Bag
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Monday Campsite
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Monday Campsite
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Burritos for Dinner
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Canoe Repair
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Campmade Toffee Cookies
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Dining Fly
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Relaxing in the Evening
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Nice Pillow
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Hammock Accommodation
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A Teenagers Bedroom
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Lashing the Gear In
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Soloing
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Our Other Kayaker
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Waiting for the others to catch up
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Bailing. A lot of this...
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Short Carryover Around an LIV
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The LIV
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A Little Chilly
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Kayak Roll Movie
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Tuesday Campsite
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TuesdayCampsite
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Fettuccini Alfredo
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A Hammock Giving Birth!
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Switching Boats
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Getting on the Bridge...
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Bridge Jumping Movie
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Trying to Sail
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Rafted for Lunch
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CIII Rapid
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Kayak Run
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Canoe Ferrying Movie
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Wednesday Campsite
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Finally, some Sun
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VenturerFirelighting
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Preparations for Pizza
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Pizza Supper
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Peaceful
77
Laundry Time
78
Downstream Safety
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Thursday Lunch
80
Nice Little Ledge
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Lining
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More Lining
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Nice Run
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Happy Paddler
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Quick Portage
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Swamped!
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Another Pin!
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One, Two, Three, Pull!
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Canoe Sneak Movie
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Kayak Ledge Movie
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CIV Canyon
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CIV Canyon Movie
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End of Canyon Portage
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Thursday Campsite
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Cooking Salmon Croquettes
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Baking Brownies
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Brownies
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Last Night Meditation
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Not Wanting too Get Up
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EatingaBreakfastof Pop tartsat 645am
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CIV Run
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Lining the CIV
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Kayak CIV Movie
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Pinned in the last CIII
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Running the last CIII (after bailing)
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Found the Unpinned Canoe
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Kayak Super Sea Launch
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Take-Out
109
Packing for Home
110
Show and Tell

• Laminated maps
• Repair kit
• ZEC river map
• ZEC road map