The Kettle at 2.5 m, photo by Tom O'Keefe

Clearwater River
Gauge: staff gauge viewed from upstream river right on the Old Thompson Highway bridge across the Clearwater. Readings posted by Interior Whitewater Expeditions. The range of runnable flows is 0.5-5 m on the gauge with 3.5 m considered ideal. Expect intermediate flows of approximately 350 cms (12,000 cfs).

Season: May through September (may be too high in early summer or after heavy rains)

Access: Head towards the town of Clearwater (Yahoo map) on Canada Highway 5 near where the Clearwater River enters the North Thompson River. Take Old Thomposon Highway (west of town) to the bridge across the Clearwater. From here follow Camp 2 Road north along river right for 0.4 miles (0.6 km). Take the hard right (there will be a sign with some information on Wells Gray Provincial Park). Although there is no road sign, this is River Road. Follow the road 4.5 miles (7.2 km) to the commericial put-in for the section below the Kettle (a gated road leads down toward the river), 4.7 miles (7.5 km) to the Kettle (a short fisherman's trail provides easy river access), 5.3 miles (8.5 km) to the take-out above the Kettle (a short drive just before a gate leads to the river and a raft ramp), 8.3 miles (13.3 km) to the put-in for the section just above the Kettle (the road passes close to the river here), and 13 miles (21.5 km) to the put-in above Sabertooth Canyon. The road will decline after the canyon (visible from km 21) and the river will become visible through some trees. Park up the road from the canyon approx. 1/4 mile and bushwhack to the river. Easy little jaunt. There's a great playspot and nice eddy at this point to warm up in. Proceed down river maybe 1/4 mile to the entrance of Sabertooth Canyon.

Camping: Available in Wells Gray Park on river left. There are a couple tent spots along the shuttle road on river right. A sign at the start of River Road indicates sites further up the valley.

Description: The Clearwater provides excellent class III and IV bigwater boating throughout the summer with one very challenging class V+ section at the Kettle. The incredible whitewater, impressive salmon runs, and beautiful scenery make this a wonderful place. The only downside is the whitewater sections are a little short, but it's still an awesome river.

You can start your run at Sabertooth Canyon which is a fairly deep canyon, visible from the road at kilometer 21 (13 miles up the road), so you can scout it out before committing. The Canyon itself is pretty short but VERY intense. The entrance is marked by several "tooth-like" rocks center-right and a rock-wall on river left. The rocks look very intimidating due to their sharp tooth-like nature, but the main flows keep you away very nicely. At levels around 2.0 there is a good line down the left side tongue. There's a HUGE wave-like hole that spans most of the center channel as you drop into the canyon. Most of the flow takes you into this hole, but it's not a keeper around 2.0. Just hold onto your paddle and take it on! It's like hitting a Mac truck head-on. There are some heavy hydraulics right after the hole to contend with. A flip is likely but recoveries are pretty simple as long as you hang on. After that the canyon begins to calm down but has some pushy water, BIG wave-trains, and a couple of nice "catch on the fly" waves. Below this point there are a couple class III+ rapids along the way with some nice waves, separated by some stretches of flat-water.

The section just above the Kettle provides impressive III+ whitewater and some put on just to run this short section. Intermediate boaters with little experience on big water might feel intimidated, but it's mostly a bunch of big wave trains and a few holes you might want to avoid. Just be prepared for the speed and power. The run starts out as easy class II, and just when you're wondering when the action will begin, things start to pick up fast near the Spahats Creek confluence with nearly continuous action to the take-out. Most of this section can be easily scouted from the road. If you don't catch any of the waves you can fly through in less than half an hour, but there are several fun surfing spots. Make sure you have carefully scouted the take-out. It's easy to spot, but you don't want to stumble into the Kettle which is just downstream.

Most portage the Kettle which means half a mile of hiking your boat along the road or a strategically placed shuttle car. It is a very serious section of class IV rapids that leads into a class V+ drop between the canyon walls containing a very meaty hole with a huge boil line at the bottom. If you are even considering running it then take a good look at it from the fisherman's trails. It's not something you want to boat scout.

You can put-in just below the Kettle for the class IV drops just downstream. The action starts immediately so be prepared for rapids that are a notch above those upstream. You start off with a choice of three routes around large mid-stream rocks so you might want to scout this before putting on. Within a couple hundred yards you'll reach the commericial put-in and then be faced with a large rock island.

The river left channel around the island is the prefered route as the river right channel drops over a river-wide ledge. The Wall is the big wave at the top of the left-hand channel which makes it difficult to see the line you need to follow. Once you are committed to the left-hand channel stay to the center-right side of it as you ride up over the wave and then aim to the left following the tongue that threads the holes. A gigantic whirlpool forms at the bottom end of the island at higher water levels so stay left to avoid it.

The river continues on at its class IV pace for a couple more rapids things begin to gradually calm down. The named rapids include Hole-in-the-Wall, M87, Osprey, and Pink Mountain. This last rapid is a great surf wave.

After a float on easy class II water with several fun little surf waves you'll reach the take-out at the Old Thompson Highway Bridge. For those who only want to boat the most challenging sections, and not the full 21 km, you can run Sabertooth Canyon and then drive down to run the section below the Kettle.

With contributions from Erik Schertzl and Claudia Schwab

GUIDEBOOKS WITH ADDITIONAL DESCRIPTIONS

World Whitewater

Whitewater in BC's Southwest

Whitewater Trips for Kayakers, Canoeists and Rafters in British Columbia