Canoe trip on the McLeod River. Put-in at the Hwy 32 bridge near Peers, and paddled about 100 km to Whitecourt, Alberta. Flow was low at 30-35 cms. May 20-22, 2023. Hope you enjoy.
Good day to you as well!! Thanks... it has been a good summer so far. Hopefully more trips in the second half of summer. Safe travels to you my friend, take care.
Always enjoy your videos Nick! That smoke is crazy man. Had to affect your visibility of obstructions at times. Well done once again Nick! Thanks for sharing.
Yeah it has been a bad spring this year, in regards to smoke and fire. It definitely affected my visibility on the river. The dull flat light, and the smoke itself, made it difficult to see many of the rocks. The hull of my canoe scraped bottom more than a few times. Thanks for taking the time, take care.
really appreciate you posting and sharing your trips on these rivers - as someone that is learning to appreciate paddling glacial rivers (as opposed to lake / loop routes where I used to live) one of the hardest parts is having to be shuttled to or from somewhere - your videos help me plan out possibilities so thank you!
Yeah some really nice rivers in western Alberta. It's always a pleasure to paddle them. Glad to help in any way. Thanks Brian for taking the time. Happy paddling.
Thank you for another super relaxing awesome episode. When I watch your paddles through our awesome Alberta, my blood pressure lowers and I relax. Thank you!!
Yeah the smoke was quite bad at first. It definitely irritated my eyes. Thankfully the smoke lessened on the second and third days. We've had some good rain since then, not nearly as much smoke right now. Thanks for checking it out.
that is quite the trip, (lots of what I call S turns on that river) as it meanders , Mcleod covers a lot of miles from the foothills over and would never have realized that until you shared your trip, like those quiet pools that you camped at, lots of accomplishments.
The McLeod is a nice river. More exciting trips are further upstream, but still enjoyable to paddle here. Unfortunately low water levels and very smoky on this trip. Thanks for watching.
Nice trip with the type of water I love to canoe. This is my corner of Alberta and whenever I cross the river atWhitecourt I always yearn for my paddle. I have canoed the Wuskahegan and Little Smokey and the good old Wapiti but never the McLeod. Did you try and wet a line?
Hey thanks for watching. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed. It sounds like you have been on some great trips. I have done 4 or 5 multi-day trips on the McLeod, and usually fish a bit each time. I have only ever caught one fish, a small walleye south of Edson. With the smoke, I did not feel much like fishing on this particular trip.
Long time no see ! Glad to see you back on the water. That smoke travelled quite a bit, we had it here in Québec a couple weeks ago . Thanks for sharing
This looks like a nice trip! You say the flow was at 30-35cms. Do you mean cubic metres or the height? Those numbers don't seem to make sense for either of them from what I can tell judging by the water sensor data found online.
It seemed like a nice trip. I may try it again some other time when conditions are better. This was last year (2023) and fires were burning all around the area. I really could not see any of the surrounding landscape. That, and the water was very low, 30-35 cubic meters per second. I was scraping bottom constantly. The McLeod is a nice river to paddle.
Hi Nick Like you videos. I am planning on paddling the McLeod next weekend with my daughter. Would like to paddle north of Edson somewhere. Any recommendation for a good overnight run. Start Saturday morning and get of the river on Sunday afternoon. Thank you Mark
According to my guide book, there is access along Township Rd. 541 (541A) near Wolf Creek. From there to Hwy 32 would be a trip of 34 km. There is also access at Hwy 16, east bound lane on west side of river. Not the easiest access, but doable. From Hwy 16 to the Rosevear Ferry site is 31 km. Both would be very similar trips in terms of river characteristics, and camping opportunities. There are probably other options east of Hwy 32 as well, but I am not familiar with all the range roads in that area. Thanks Mark, I hope you two have a great trip.
Love your videos. I watch them because I riverboat a lot of them. The macleoad is my river. Just be nice if you described the country you were in, markers, historical sites and where you are during the trip. I will continue to watch thanks!
Fair point. I usually try to point out things like you mention. On this trip, the map on my phone was not working. Aside from the put-in, and arriving in Whitecourt, I never knew exactly where I was. I didn't notice any landmarks or sites of interest on this stretch. The smoke was possibly a distraction. Thanks for watching Jay, take care.
Yeah it was roughly 30 cubic meters/second when I paddled it. This past Wednesday it peaked at 2200 cm/s, now it is about 700. I hope all is well, take care.
Sorry for the late reply, I've had no internet for the last 2 weeks. Yeah the water was low when I went, and then went full flood a few weeks later. I'm assuming you had decent water levels. I hope you had a great trip.
Great way to wake up and eat my breakfast and drink my coffee, a relaxing (for me at least) trip down river. I'd heard about the fires over there, hope they get under control soon.
The smoke was pretty thick, but still a nice trip to start the year. We've had some rain, most of the fires are contained at this time. We definitely need more rain though. Thanks for watching, take care.
It was nice to get out. Not the most exciting part of the McLeod though. I'm happy to have done it, and check it off the list... but likely wouldn't do it again. Thanks for watching.
Nick, I hope you and family are safe and ok during the firestorm up there. Very devastating to go through. I tried to post last week but I must not have sent it. Great trip on the McLeod, must have been difficult to keep your river-eyes intact.
Thanks BD. Everything is fine here. We've had some rain, and the fires have been contained for the most part. There is much less smoke as of late. The smoke during this canoe trip made it difficult to see while paddling. With the dull flat light, and the smoke itself, more than a few rocks surprised me :) Nonetheless, it was nice to get out for a few days. Thanks for watching, take care.
He is Back !!! Thanks for sharing, I still have to catch up on some of your older vids and trips and looking forward to find the time to do that. Happy days ahead and nice sunny weather for you and your travels this summer :-)
This May in Alberta has been the best weather I can remember in my 40 years. Took the kids canoing/kayaking on Hanmore this friday and it was gorgeous. Going on a two day trip down the north sask next. Glad to see new videos up already.
Thanks Luke. Yeah trips on the North Saskatchewan are always a good time. I think Whitemud Creek would be too low this year. The North Sask has pretty reliable flows. Thanks for watching, take care.
It's been a strange spring. Snow all melted before the ice broke on the river, and no rain. Hopefully big rains in June will raise levels. The levels are usually good late May thru late June. Thanks for watching Douglas.
I did not feel the need to wear a mask. It was thickest on the first day, then got slightly better. Got some much needed rain at the end of the trip. Thanks for watching Jim.
Only once, on a trip in B.C. a few years ago. On this trip, I saw a black bear walk to the river and get a drink. Too far away to capture on the Go-Pro though.
