Downriver: Chase to Pritchard
In 2016 we paddled from Chase to Kamloops in 3 stages, each downriver leg 21 km. We launched our boats from the beach in Chase in the morning. The lakefront was quiet and Little Shuswap Lake was calm. Our boats were pulled quickly down the river at the outlet. Pritchard was 3 hours away.
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Every section of the river is different. The main flow of the river follows the easiest course downstream. The fastest sections follow the deeper water as centrifugal force swings the river around the outside of each curve. The other side of the river on each curve runs slower and sometimes back eddies around points. The zone between the faster water and the slower water is turbulent and whirlpools sometimes form. Ripples rise over shallow water, usually gravel bars in the South Thompson. During freshet the river spreads out from bank to bank, and logs get stranded along the shoreline. Some of these are hazards to anyone in a boat so paddlers usually steer clear of them. A sweeper is a log sticking out into the river in a faster current, an unsafe situation for kayaks and canoes. We paddle out from the shoreline, but we try to leave the middle of the river for powerboats following the line of navigation buoys upstream. Most boaters are considerate of other boats on the river, but we still try to paddle downstream early before most of the motorized watercraft are out.
The 64 km of the South Thompson River from Chase to Kamloops is a long green corridor frequented by birds and small mammals. We often see geese, ducks, eagles, osprey, herons, and a variety of birds. On this last paddle downstream, we were entertained by the chittering kingfishers as they flew from branch to branch leading our boats along the shoreline.
We planned our paddle trip to include a stop on Banana Island. It was traditionally used by the First Nations people of the Neskonlith Band as a base for fishing. Birds nest on the island and in 2006 it was turned into a Provincial Park. In high water, the beaches are very small, but we managed to land on the grassy shores on the north side. The south side has a better beach right by the sign.
When the river’s volume decreases, there are numerous sand bars and gravel bars that can be used as a landing spots, but at freshet when the river is full, Banana Island is one of the only places for paddlers to stop on a downstream journey.
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From Banana Island, the final section of the downriver paddle is 6km to the Pritchard Bridge. The wooden bridge is one lane, except for a passing zone in the middle. It is safest to cross through the middle of the bridge in a boat since there are booms and trapped logs near the other uprights. The landing area is on the northwest side of the bridge, a local hand-launch spot. We will return to paddle the South Thompson River in next year.
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