Up for the challenge

From the Winter 2010 issue of Wavelength Magazine. Read the entire magazine online.

Bowron Lakes prove ideal for standup paddleboarding

Ever since Laura Demers saw the first boards come into the store where she works, she was fascinated by the concept.

“I tried out some demo boards from the store and I was hooked,” she says. Standup paddling still takes a back seat to her love of whitewater kayaking, but it has definitely added another dimension to her paddling passion.

“After spending some time on a standup board, along with some encouragement from my employer, Marlin at Western Canoeing and Kayaking, I decided to tackle the Bowron Lakes on a standup board. My boyfriend Dave and I decided September would be the best time to avoid the crowds.”

Bowron Lakes is a 116-km circuit located in a provincial park northeast of Quesnel, BC, that starts and ends in the same place to create the perfect circuit. It is a series or portages, lakes and rivers.

The most frequent question Laura got was, “Where are you going to put all your gear?” Dave acted as the sherpa and carried most of the gear in a Tripper S Clipper canoe set up for solo canoeing.

“I chose the Starboard Free Race because it’s a fast touring board and my paddle was a Werner Spanker that was really light,” she says. “Dave and I did time trials to make sure the two craft were of comparable speed and the board easily kept up to the canoe.”

The gear for the trip weighed in at 180 pounds, with Laura stowing two 20-litre packs on her board.

“We had originally planned on taking seven days to complete the circuit and thought even that might be pushing it for time and energy. In the end, it only took us six days. We paddled an average of 20 km a day, which took us about six to seven hours. As luck would have it, it rained four days out of seven and we had a headwind most of the time.”

Her Kokatat drysuit helped to keep warm and comfortable the whole way.

“By the second day, my abs were feeling the core workout. I was surprised that my legs never got tired,” she says.

Setting up a paddle sail wasn’t an option because of the unfortunate wind direction. Plus any break from paddling meant drifting backwards.

“People we met along the way called me crazy and snapped pictures like the paparazzi. The German tourists we met had never seen nor heard of an SUP and they took pictures to verify their stories about the crazy Canadian when they got back home.”

Her run of the “chute” on Isaac River caught everyone’s attention.

“They were all expecting me to fall off, and I didn’t disappoint them. I made it past the first couple of big waves and then came crashing to the water. I managed to rescue myself and hop back on the board for the rest of the river. Thank goodness for that helmet and board tether I brought.

“The trip was a lot of fun, and yes, I stood up the whole way!”