Kayaking the Pembina River

I was 16 years old when I first got into a kayak. My mom had met some friends who were avid canoeists and somehow that led to a group of us ladies kayaking on the Pembina River.

The feeling was exhilarating. After that day we were hooked. My mom purchased two kayaks, a bunch of camping gear and our adventures on the river began. The five years between 16 and 21 were my fondest and most cherished memories with my mom. On the river we talked about everything: relationships, friends, family history, the future. In those five years we often kayaked the Pembina and the North Saskatchewan, camping on the banks.

Following her death I continued to spend some time on the river, I took some friends out and had some close encounters with wildlife. When my husband and I bought our home I asked dad if I could have the kayaks and the equipment. He obliged and they have been stored with me making a mockery of my kayaking efforts for the past 12 years. I think I had them out once or twice and lent them to a friend once.

It has been 20 years since I was first kayaking the Pembina River and it was high time I got at it again.

My daughter, soon to be 6, was home for a PD day. The forecast was promising a plus 24 day, and I had some newly acquired J hooks. I have been mulling around in my head for some time how I was going to work my kids into this hobby and it has been a road block for… oh about five almost six years.

The Plan

Do I tow? Do I place her in the cockpit? How do I manage this without a pick up vehicle?

After some pondering I made up my mind. We would take off from the Cynthia bridge on Hwy 624, paddle upstream and stop at some sand bars. I knew she would sit in the cockpit with me. Also note I chose the Pembina because flow is slow and there are frequent shallow areas. This is not a trip I would consider on an unfamiliar or faster bigger river.

We parked on the south east side of the bridge in the parking lot, and we discovered a small path along the bridge shore going directly down to the river so no highway crossing required…whew. We got our equipment sorted, I got in and got stabilized then I got my daughter in.

A Problem

About five minutes into the voyage we struck the first problem. The current was faster than I expected, I couldn’t get a good enough stroke in with Ruth sitting in front of me. So we headed to a bank, opened the empty wide hatch and after some testing we found that with my chair she fit in the hatch comfortably, and the opening was wide enough to easily exit.

In reading different forums online there is a difference of opinion on using the hatch for a kid passenger. I find the fishing community does it often but the paddling community frowns upon it.

For us and her size it worked really well. She paddled some, and she ruddered too, but mostly she played in the water and I killed my arms paddling upstream to get to our first of many stops.

Stop frequently

When paddling with a kid, make frequent stops. In a stretch of maybe two kilometres we stopped three times: gravel bar to find clam shells, shallow sand bar to swim, wet sand bar for castle making.

We got on the river at about 10:30 and at 1 pm we were back at the bridge. It took 30-45 minutes to get to our first stop, and the rest of the time we played heading downstream.

We brought: snacks, sand toys, towels and clothes along with our safety equipment.

The paddle was a success because it was about spending time and having fun, with no destination or goal in mind.

This was the first time I paddled this stretch since my mom died and man can a place hold memories. This paddle hit me in my heart. I felt old feelings of loss and kindled new ideas on how I can share the river with my daughter.

In 20 years I have come full circle and the next chapter looks promising.

Points to consider

When paddling up stream even in the Pembina River, there are some strong current areas.
In the spring parts of the river between the City Service Bridge and the Easy Ford Park are nesting grounds for waterfowl such as geese. A whole family came squawking at us when we banked up at one of the sand bars.
Pack out what you pack in
You are on a river but you are also in people’s backyard so mind the noise machines, as noise carries up stream.