Homathko River

Vitals

Locale: Central Coast Mountains, British Columbia
What It's Like: Big water wilderness multiday trip - world class.
Class: V (V+)
Scouting/Portaging: Moderate to difficult, but almost always possible. There is some must-run whitewater on day 2.
Level: Online gauge: Homathko River near the mouth.
Time: 4 days.
When To Go: Early to late fall. Spring windows are rare.
Info From: May 2010.
Other Beta: None.
Map: Click here for a map of the river.

Description

Words can't do justice to the trip that is the Homathko River. This 4 day trip traverses the breadth of the Coast Mountains from the Chilcotin Plateau to the Pacific Ocean at Bute Inlet. While the whitewater is truly outstanding it is the journey through the huge canyons of the Homathko valley beneath the biggest mountains in BC from source to sea that solidify it as a trip with few peers. With that in mind here are the essential details to plan a trip - if you want the full story you'll need to go see it for yourself - it has my highest recommendation.

Because of the huge icefields that feed the Homathko it's necessary to paddle the run when the majority of the water is locked down by cool temperatures from early to late fall. Look at this gauge found at the mouth of the river for an accurate flow report. The consensus is that flows of 150-350 cms are optimal, although trips have been run lower. Flows above 400 cms are consistently described as huge portage-fests. Spring windows are possible however one day of hot sun or a warm rain could be disastrous. This is a class V wilderness trip with some V+ that can be walked with various degrees of difficulty.

The Homathko River flows out of Tatlayoko Lake on the Chilcotin Plateau due west of Williams Lake. You can drive to the put in on the lake - it takes 10-12 hours to get there from Vancouver. The river ends at Bute Inlet, about 200 km as the crow flies northwest of Vancouver. It is remote - you can fly out with Tweedsmuir Air from the inlet or with White Saddle Air from somewhere in the canyon back up the valley to your car.

This trip is typically done as a four day trip. The first day consists of paddling across the lake and down the start of the river that rarely gets harder than class II. Expect 5-6 hours to reach Nude Creek, an obvious landmark above the first hard whitewater. The second day is the Great Canyon and Birthday Canyon. Doran Creek enters on the left late in the day (immediately after Birthday Canyon) marking the start of a mandatory canyon portage - with scouting for an egress the first rapids are runnable. Despite the rugged terrain the river left portage has little elevation change and takes about 2 hours. Camp at the trifluence.

The third day is the big water day. Among other things you will encounter The Bet - the Homathko's biggest rapid - the Three Acts of Tragedy Canyons and Waddington Canyon. You can scout and portage everything except Waddington Canyon - luckily there is virtually no whitewater in Waddington Canyon. This will be a 6-8 hour day if you have to scout everything. The fourth day is the paddle out to Bute Inlet - expect 5 hours from Waddington Canyon to Homathko Camp. There is a dock at Homathko Camp where the plane will pick you up - don't paddle out to the ocean.

And there you have the essential beta - here are a few photos to get you excited about this fantastic trip. You'll find some additional photos on the LL blog.