A day paddle in Widgeon Slough – a beautiful, calm waterway in Pitt Meadows near Vancouver.
I was eager for a long day of paddling so I packed a lunch, snacks, and bear spray (!) and was on my way. I’ve paddled at this spot many times, it’s a great option when it’s too windy in Vancouver. Ever since I kayaked by a bear cub along the waters edge, I’ve brought bear spray for this route just in case. In all my times kayaking there, I’ve only had that brief encounter. Little did I know that would change today.
When I got on the water it was calm enough that I could explore Pitt Lake so I ventured out that way for a bit before heading into Widgeon Slough – it’s about 5km to the campsite, with lots of “arms” you can explore along the way. It can be incredibly shallow at times depending on the rainfall and tide – you read that right! There is a tide! Pitt Lake is actually the only tidal lake in Western Canada. During my paddle in, I saw two seals which was surprising!
As I made my way through, a group canoeing out gave me the heads up that there was a lot of bear activity today – “as soon as you see the salmon, you’ll see the bears”. I didn’t expect the salmon run in this area so I was really excited. I pulled out at the next opportunity and got my bear spray out just in case. As I paddled further in, evidence of bears lined both sides of the waterway – flatten grasses, half eaten salmon everywhere. It was a bit unnerving as I turned each corner, keeping my eyes peeled and being overly aware of how narrow the channel was. Paddling through the salmon run was really cool, the salmon were huge!
I made it to the campsite with no encounters and had a quick stop for lunch. (I wasn’t camping as this campsite is nothing special and doesn’t allow fires, which at this time of year, would make for one chilly of a night). I took a few photos of the amazing clouds rolling through the mountains with the beautiful fall colours, and then started to make my way back.
Almost immediately upon heading back, I turned a corner to find a beautiful black bear at the waters edge. It looked so incredibly healthy and it was such a joy to have this encounter. The bear definitely saw me and we hung out peacefully for a few minutes before we both decided to move along. I paddled by, in hindsight, I probably should have tried to scare it off before passing and getting that close, but I was fine. I felt safe in the kayak and figured if it decided to swim towards me I would just paddle away – a quick google search when I got home revealed that bears can swim faster than I can kayak LOL
It was a great day – the rain held off, I was cozy in my gear, I saw that beautiful bear, and a ton of eagles and other birds of prey. All of the wildlife looked healthy, well fed and ready for winter. I was on the water about 5 hours, which I definitely felt the following days as I was a bit sore. But I absolutely love being on the water and it was great to spend a whole day getting back into what I love.
