Bailey's Chute 2

That's Laurie and Alison standing next to Bailey's Chute, a rapids on the Clearwater River, downstream of Clearwater Lake. We're done paddling now, and sight seeing some scenic attractions as we leave the park for home. There is a very good whitewater run for kayakers, canoeists, and rafters downstream of Clearwater Lake. Some rapids, like this one is not run very often. It's basically a waterfall, probably about 15 feet or so high, that drops at a slant, rather than sheer. The right side is a pounding reversal, the left side is a very shallow slide. I saw a runnable slot (I think!) when we were there, but it would not have been easy (for me) to hit. No landmarks to easily tell you where you are at the top. Glad I didn't have my whitewater boat along so I didn't have to run it!

By the way, the rock that Laurie and Alison are standing on is basalt. Volcanic lava. There was a large flow that erupted about 7,000 years ago that flowed down a river valley into the Clearwater River. It narrowed Clearwater lake at the south end and dammed it, making the existing lake somewhat deeper. The river flowing out of the lake is eroding the basalt dam. When its through (probabaly a few thousand years from now), the lake surface will drop about 10 feet (3 meters).

If you're interested in the volcanism of Wells Gray park, here's a Web page on it: http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/gsc/pacific/vancouver/volcanoes/catalogue/12_5_cata_e.php

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