Leaving Ft. Saskatchewan

Today was the sixth day of our journey; we were up at 5 and away at 6:30. It is also the first day when the six people who will paddle the full distance were paddling together. The photo of us on shore shows, from stern to bow: Chris, Richard, Michel, Daryl, Steve and me.



The shores of the North Saskatchewan River from Rocky Mountain House were lined with four feet thick ice but before long we were dwarfed by tall sandstone cliffs. The fur traders of two hundred years ago might have stopped to take some of the beavers we saw along the way.



Yesterday we paddled through Edmonton - Google David Thompson Brigade and Edmonton and you will likely see a newspaper article - we made the front cover. We ended the day with yet another community celebration at Ft. Saskatchewan.



This morning we passed a few large industrial processing plants and at least four gas pipelines. The river lost some of it's character from further south but the wind was strong enough to allow the crew to sale the last few hours today.



The photo where we are stopped mid-river for a snack shows, from back to front: Chris, Richard, Michel, Daryl & Steve.



By the end of tomorrow we will have covered 500 km in just seven days.

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