Rob S wrote:
The upper Red Deer river from YaHa Tinda to Sundre may be of interest. I was able to do this trip immediately after the Brazeau in 2011. I used Mountain Aire Lodge for my shuttle ($50) and spent 4 days on the river. Some of the rapids were too big for my skills with a fully loaded tandom canoe and no backup. Portages were basically a lift over the feature and we were back on our way. The Red Deer was overall more difficult than the Brazeau, but lacked a sense of remoteness. Given the choice, I would prefer to do the Brazeau again due to the amazing canyon run and the remoteness of the trip. Only cons were the cost of the shuttle and the flatwater finish on the reservoir.
For past several years, I have paddled the Upper Red Deer River between Mountain Air Lodge and Cache Hill (?) as day trips, usually camping either at Wysenchuks or Cache Hill and then working shuttles from there. Although this has always been a blast and worth a few unexpected swims, it may be just a little too much WW for a couple of my buddies. If Brazeau has a lower level of difficulty compared to Upper RDR, that is another point in favor of that trip.
Rob, I believe that you provided me with a guide to the Kootenay R and White R a couple years ago before we paddled the Kootenay. How would you rate the Brazeau River in difficulty relative to the Kootenay River?
Edit: Hey, this is post #400
