Boucher River
Paddler Billy Thibault and Emrick Blanchette
Having atvs for this run we'll save you a lot of work
There’s 3km of flatwater before the first class 3 drop. Then you’ll encounter three small rapids over 3.5km before you get to the first class 5 of the run. The river makes a sharp left turn and you can easily see that it’s getting steeper. This drop is called the “Chaloupe” drop. It has a technical lead-in with a small drop into a hole. It’s not very sticky but the lead-in makes it hard to get a clean boof. Point your nose down. After this rapid, there’s a bit of flat to recover before the canyon begins. Scout from the left and be ready for an hour-long scout if it’s your first time. There’s no easy way out of this canyon and if you drop in, you MUST run everything. The first rapid is sketchy but not hard to run. It’s a boof followed by an S-turn in which you have to avoid two undercut rocks. The first waterfall follows right after a short pool. It’s possible to walk the S-turn and the first waterfall. Lower the boats down in a steep landslide on river-left. The first waterfall is 20 foot tall. Carry some speed and break through the top diagonal with some left to right momentum and get a good lefty boof stroke close to the right wall. The right part of the drop is vertical and clean. Don’t get pushed to the left as there are ugly rocks and a cave that looks deadly. You can’t set safety. The first kayaker to run it might be able to help the others in case of a swim but he wouldn’t be able to reach the cave. The walls of the canyon open up a bit and there’s a pool where you can watch those who decided to walk struggle on their way down the landslide
Emrick on the first mandatory rapid of the canyon
From this point on, the anxiety level will rise up. The next rapid is a 20-foot wide mandatory cascade with tall canyon walls on both sides. It looks sketchy, but it goes well. You can get out on river right to see the top and the exit, but you won’t be able to see the line from there. You really needed to scout from above the canyon walls before you got into the canyon. Enter left and charge right at the last second, be sure not to get sideways. It goes better than it looks. After that, the walls of the canyon open up a bit and you’ll meet some boogie in between boulders.
King and Emrick exiting the first canyon
Next you’ll get to a small double drop. Boof twice on the right side and avoid the pile of rocks in the middle at the bottom. Then the canyon narrows down and the river gets steeper. Make your way down carefully and get out on a rock shelf on river right to scout if needed. There is no way to get out and scout the next big drop. You’ll have to wait anxiously for your turn in an eddy in the middle of the river right above the drop. After running a class 4 rapid that splits into two channels at the end, be sure to catch the middle eddy. From there you can scout the next double drop from your boat. But again you should have scouted this one from above the canyon walls before you dropped in. Enter center-left with a lot of speed and a left-to-right momentum. Be prepared to react and pull a stroke on the second drop, it goes fast and it’s bumpy if the water is low. The walls of the canyon are really tall, it feels like you are in a crack. There’s a pool at the bottom.
Andrew in the blind one (you can only scout this one from the rim of the canyon) SCOUT BEFORE GETTING IN
Then the river disappears and the canyon is completely blocked by a huge boulder followed by a 100m long logjam. You can paddle to the boulder and squeeze into the tight opening. Get out of your boat and walk on the logjam until you see water again. You will feel great as the scenery inside the canyon is surreal, the logjam is a unique feature and this is the exit of the canyon. Don’t lower your guard yet as the next rapid is a big class 5 that you can scout from river-right. It has many possible lines and a hole that can be sticky depending on water levels. Be sure to catch the eddy on river-left right before the bend. The river makes a sharp right turn and leads right into a series of boofs followed by an 80-foot waterfall. It has a line but it’s not clean and, as of 2021, it has never been run. Portage on the left side
The river found a way to keep her warm here in northern Quebec
From this point, the upper section gets pretty chill. You’ll get through a series of class 2-3-4 rapids until a tributary on the right. Then it gets flat for a while with a bit of flow. Then you’ll get to a horizon line. It’s a labyrinth of class 4 slides that you can boat scout or get out easily to look at. Then the river eases up for good. The boogie water will soon end and you’ll get to a flat section with no flow for 5km. Even if the day is getting late, it’s worth it to carry on and get it over on the first day. When you get to a small class 3 drop, it means that you still have 1.5km of flowy flatwater until you get to the put-in of the lower section. Find a good spot to camp and be respectful with the owners of the cabin.
Big waterfalls marking the end of the upper canyon. still a first D
The lower section has a very different style than the upper. It feels pushier, it is more stacked and the banks are wide-open, which makes it easy to scout or walk most of the rapids. After a 4km paddle-in in which you’ll encounter a few easy rapids, you’ll get to the first horizon line. The river splits into two channels. Run the left side as it is easier to boat scout. Enter center-right of the left channel and make your way towards the center. After, there is a bit of flat water until you reach a fun boof. Run it middle-left or anywhere that looks good depending on the flow. Then you’ll meet the first big rapid of the lower Boucher
Andrew Somewhere on the Boucher
Next you’ll get to a small double drop. Boof twice on the right side and avoid the pile of rocks in the middle at the bottom. Then the canyon narrows down and the river gets steeper. Make your way down carefully and get out on a rock shelf on river right to scout if needed. There is no way to get out and scout the next big drop. You’ll have to wait anxiously for your turn in an eddy in the middle of the river right above the drop. After running a class 4 rapid that splits into two channels at the end, be sure to catch the middle eddy. From there you can scout the next double drop from your boat. But again you should have scouted this one from above the canyon walls before you dropped in. Enter center-left with a lot of speed and a left-to-right momentum. Be prepared to react and pull a stroke on the second drop, it goes fast and it’s bumpy if the water is low. The walls of the canyon are really tall, it feels like you are in a crack. There’s a pool at the bottom.
Andrew on the first rapid of the Lower Boucher
Get out on river right and scout. Enter center-right and charge right into an eddy. You can catch the eddy and then paddle upstream to have a better momentum for the boof (but no speed), or glide through the eddy and hit the boof with the wrong momentum. Don’t catch the eddy at higher flows. A series of very fun class 4 ledges follow. Be careful as the holes at the bottom of these ledges become huge at higher flows. If the water is low, run them in the middle and you’ll love boofing over the holes. If the water is high, sneak far left or you will certainly swim. There’s a big pool at the end of this stretch. The next part begins with a bit of boogie until you reach a 10-foot drop. Get a crew member out on the right bank so he can point everybody else the best spot to boof on river right. If the water is low, there’s a better line on middle-left as the right side gets rocky. Then comes another series of big ledges. It starts easy and gets sportier pretty quickly. If the water is high, you’ll have to walk most of this section as the hole at the bottom of the last ledge becomes huge and everything is stacked. There’s a small pool after and then you’ll get to a horizon line. The next rapid is called “Cap Canaveral”. It’s basically a launch pad followed by a series of offset holes
Emrick Blanchette on Cap Canaveral
The next rapid is sketchy and choked out by boulders. Walk the first part on the rocks on river right if the water is low. At higher flows, get out on the left to scout, you can then run a small bumpy slide and charge right into a slot and lean forward to sneak under an ugly undercut. Be careful as there is a sieve on the left after the slot, so be ready to point your bow upstream and paddle all the way to river right. Run a little drop with your bow pointing left to avoid a piton rock in the middle and then cruise down. After a bit of boogie you’ll get to the next set. It’s a big slide that leads into another wider slide. Run the first one on the right, punch the hole and line up for the second slide. Be sure to get a stroke at the bottom of the second slide to get over the hole. From this point, make your way down slowly until the river splits into two channels. The next rapid is insanely long and it is by far the biggest stretch of the run.If the water is above medium, don’t even bother scouting this one, you’re gonna have to walk. If you want to run it, get out early on river left. It’s easier to portage on the island in between the two channels. Access it by running the top part of the right channel, but be careful not to go too far as the eddies are scarce and this smaller channel merges into the main flow, which leads into a huge hole. The entrance of the left channel is a portage. The entrance slot looks like your boat could go through with the flow but your head would get stuck in the crack. It’s easy to walk on the bedrock. Make sure you scout the whole rapid, it’s about 200m long. This rapid is called the “Headless duck” because during the first descent, a duck ran the whole thing right after we did. It consists of a series of 5 or 6 big slides that end up in a huge hole with an undercut wall on the left. You have to run everything at once, but it is possible to put in after the first two slides. You might want to set safety on river right at the bottom of the second slide as there is a sticky hole and a pool just long enough to get one good throwbag shot. Also set some safety at the final hole in case of a swim there, the next rapid is close and the right eddy feeds the hole
Frank Lala exiting the big slide
. After that, there’s 1km of mostly flat water. You’ll get to a steeper part where it is very hard to scout and walk. It’s a continuous class 4 gorge in which you should be careful and catch eddies. There is one bigger drop that can be scouted from river right. If the water is high, after getting around a boulder in the entrance, boof on the right. If you feel comfortable with the size of the hole, enjoy the boof close to the left wall. Towards the end of the gorge, after running a few smaller drops, you’ll get to a manky class 5 boulder garden. Get out on the left to scout. This rapid looks like nothing but claimed its fair share of beatering because it’s not clean and most paddlers are tired at this point. The last rapid of the run is very big. It’s called “La cabosse à Kanapé”. It’s named after a native hunting guide who runs a camp close to the take out. Scout this one from river left. It looks big, but it goes. Slide down the right side where the water is shallow and aim for the right-most curler. You will land at a 45 degree angle on a rock slab. It is surprisingly smooth and the water will launch your boat forward upon landing. Be ready to brace and aim for the right side of the hole with an active boof stroke.
Bill on the Cabosse à Kanapé
There is a 4km paddle out which is pretty scenic. It is typical Quebec north coast landscape with mountains that look like tall rounded domes of rock. Bonus points if you can spot the turtle-shaped mountain. Get out of the water right under the power lines and start climbing the steep mud hill on river right. Follow the power lines until you come across the quad trail. The trail goes through the woods but it follows the power lines all the way to where you parked the car above the landslide.
