Preamble
When I first introduced the idea of paddle camping to my kids 3 years ago, Big Bro was instantly fascinated and wanted to join me right away. I set out 3 prerequisites before he can join me:
- Comfortable swimming with a life jacket on.
- Comfortable getting into the water and reboarding a paddleboard without assistance.
- Able to follow instructions and sit through 2 hours of paddling without complaining.
After his breakthrough with paddling on his own paddleboard, he successfully passed all three requirements. An impromptu idea for a paddle camping trip came up when we were invited to visit Widgeon Creek. Our new friends Andy, Annie and their 2 kids were planning on a day trip there, and instead of coming back with them, it wouldn’t take much effort to pack our camping stuff and stay the night.
Thus, the proposal to take Big Bro on his first paddle camping trip was formed and approved by mission command within 12 hours of departure.
We briefly considered bending our 3-prerequisite rule and taking the whole Outdoor Fam out on this adventure. The setup would be for me to carry the bulk of the equipment and one of the 2 younger kids, and tow Big Bro on his paddleboard, and Tina will carry the other kid and another one or two dry bags. But a few things held us back: Middle Bro is going through a phase where he doesn’t even want to sit on a paddleboard on a calm lake, Baby Bro is toilet training and hasn’t spent a long stretch of time on a paddleboard yet, and Tina isn’t super confident in carrying a kid for a long paddle yet. It would be an uncomfortable stretch of our current capabilities.
So the stage was set for Big Bro’s first paddle camping adventure with me.
The Paddle Plan to Widgeon Creek Campground
Parking: Grant Narrows parking lot. Day parking $5. Overnight parking $15/night. Cash, debit, and credit card were accepted at the canoe rental office.
Weather:
- 18 to 28oC, overnight low of 17oC, wind 9-14km/h
Tides at Pitt Meadows:
| Sun Aug 4 | 2:02 am ▼ 3.4 m | 4:16 am ▲ 3.5 m | 12:17 pm ▼ 0.8 m | 8:28 pm ▲ 4.2 m |
| Mon Aug 5 | 2:11 am ▼ 3.3 m | 5:13 am ▲ 3.4 m | 12:51 pm ▼ 0.9 m | 8:48 pm ▲ 4.1 m |
August 4
- 0630 am wake up
- 0700 am start driving
- 0800 am arrive at Grant Narrows parking lot and meet up with Andy’s family
- 0900 am launch. *Pitt River likely outflowing quickly due to falling tide.
- 1030 am arrive at Widgeon Creek Campground
- 1100 am set up camp
- 1140 pm hike up to Widgeon Falls
- 0230 pm Andy’s family leaves Widgeon
- 0500 pm cook dinner
- 0900 pm sleep
August 5
- 0600 am wake up
- 0700 am cook breakfast
- 0900 am launch
- 1100 am arrive at Grand Narrows parking lot *Pitt River likely outflowing quickly due to falling tide.
- 1200 pm drive home
- 0100 pm arrive home
Packing List
I upgraded from my duffle bag to 2 water resistant (not waterproof) 60L bags from London Drugs, on sale for an insane $15 each. One bag was for food-related items, and the other was for everything else that can still function/can dry very quickly if they are a little wet such as the tent and sleep pads. For things that really need to stay dry such as sleeping bags, electronics, and clothes, I put them in separate small dry bags first, then store those in a proper 55L waterproof dry bag. I can write a detailed post on my paddle camping load out separately as I think I’m starting to get my system down tight.
Widgeon Creek Campground has bear caches and pit toilet (no toilet paper). No running water. I only brought two 1L water bottles and a water filter with two 1L water pouches, which turned out to be a mistake as the water in the creek at the campsite was too gross to take, so we almost ran out of water on the second day even though we topped up all 4L of water carrying capacity with the much cleaner water at Widgeon Falls.
The Journey
We were remarkably on schedule and arrived to the parking lot promptly at 8am. We were stunned to see the crowds that are already gathering. We snatched one of the last parking spots, and it so happened to be right next to Andy’s car.
It took a few trips to get everything to the launch site, but launching was smooth from a small muddy beach.
Andy’s family had a very cool set up: a 15-feet tandem SUP carried Andy, Annie and their younger daughter, and a sit-on-top kayak carried their older son. A tow rope was attached to the back of the SUP, for towing the kayak as needed.
With a hot and sunny weather on a long weekend, the crowd was out in full force. Dozens of kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards flocked to Widgeon Creek.
Cross Pitt River was a lot calmer than I expected. The current in the river was negligible, and there were hardly any boats. I think it had to do with reopening of the boat launch at Grant Narrows. When I visited Widgeon Creek in 2021, the boat launch was closed so all the boaters had to launch downstream in Pitt Meadows and run the river to visit Pitt Lake.
After we got to the calm Widgeon Creek, the kids paddled a little bit on their own. After we got to the calm Widgeon Creek, the kids paddled a little bit on their own.
On our way in, we saw a few groups with camping gear paddling out, who confirmed that there were a few campsites open so we weren’t too anxious. After a leisurely 1.5 hour paddle, we arrived at the campground at 10:30am. Big Bro quickly claimed Site 6, which has a view of the creek and it’s in the shade for most of the day.
The small beach was practically covered with paddle crafts. I think BC Parks would need to install some kayak/canoe racks very soon.
Hike to Widgeon Falls
After setting up camp, we all went on a hike to the famous Widgeon Falls. About 800m in, we chose the more interesting but more challenging ‘trail’ over the ‘road’. The trail was in a fairly bad shape in some sections, with crumbling bridges with nails sticking out. Some steep sections also required a bit of scrambling. But with due care, all 3 kids handled it well enough. I wouldn’t recommend bringing a backpack-carrier-dependent toddler on this hike due to these hazards.
The trail led us to the shores of section of upper Widgeon Creek below the falls, where the crystal clear waters slowed and pooled. We went in for a quick dip. The water was cold but not bone-chilling, so we managed to stay in the creek for a few minutes. I changed into runners for the hike and left our water shoes at camp, and it was a lot harder to walk over the slippery rocks in the creek bare foot. Andy was kind enough to lend us his crocs and saved us from suffering too much. Note for next visit: bring both walking shoes and water shoes on this hike.
About 0.8km further from the creek, we arrived at Widgeon Falls. The crowds congregated at the higher areas where some swimming/dipping holes could be found. Lots of signs warned against the danger of swimming in a water fall, so dip at your own risk.
Backcountry Camping
After hiking back down to camp, we bid farewell to Andy’s family around 4:30pm. The 4L of water I collected at the falls was dwindling fast due to the hike down. I set out to cook dinner, which used up another 500mL of water.
I really didn’t want to drink from the swampy water in the creek even with filtering, so I was doing some mental calculations about alternative plans. Hiking up 2km to get more water from the creek was out of the question. Paddling downstream to where the water is a bit fresher could be an option. Note to self: packing that 10L bag of water from home may add a lot of weight, but it would alleviate a whole lot of water anxiety.
While I was busy with food prep, a friendly family from Coquitlam joined us at our table. Big Bro played a few UNO games with their daughter who kept winning.
After dinner, I taught Big Bro the game of Hive and he became quite enthralled. We kept playing in the tent until it was too dark to see, and turned in for the night.
With a forecast of overnight lows of 17oC, I felt confident to sleep with the rain fly off. I didn’t even pack a sleeping bag for myself, just a thermal insert layer. Boy, was I in for a lesson learned.
Around 11pm, I woke up due to being too cold. I knew I was in trouble if it’s already too cold at 11pm, because the temperature will keep dropping until the break of dawn. I got out to put the rain fly back on, and threw on more clothing layers (which weren’t much, just an extra pair of leggings, an short sleeve t-shirt, and my arm sleeves for sun protection).
I felt a bit warmer and went back to sleep, only to wake up again in the dead of the night due to the cold. Thankfully, I also packed a tarp with a reflective layer, so I used that as an emergency blanket. Finally that kept enough of my temperature for me to sleep. All the while, Big Bro was sleeping soundly and warmly in the sleeping bag I brought for him. If I had only brought another one…
Lesson: regardless of what the forecast says, pack that darn sleeping bag rated for 10-20 degrees Celsius lower than forecasted!
Our second day was fairly uneventful, except my new Jetboil stove wouldn’t ignite. And I forgot to pack my emergency bag which had my backup lighter. I sadly sat without my morning coffee until other campers started to wake up, and I sheepishly borrowed a lighter to cook some water. Lesson: don’t forget the emergency bag!
After breakfast and packing up, the crowds started to arrive in earnest around 9:30am. There were a few empty tent pads on this summer weekend, and most people stay for only 1 night, so there’s a good chance that you can get a camping spot. Your chances are likely best around 10 to 11am as people finish packing up.
Big Bro paddled a little bit, then slept for the majority of the paddle back. We got some compliments and surprised looks from the day trippers we passed.
The parking lot was totally full by the time we landed at 11am. Dozens of cars and trailers were parked on both sides of the road for a km or so. Note to visitors: I would try arriving at 7am on a summer weekend to avoid a full parking lot.
Overall, Big Bro’s first paddle camping trip was a resounding success! With the wealth of camping experience, it wasn’t hard for Big Bro to thoroughly enjoy it. He concluded that paddle camping is better than car camping, ‘because you get to paddle first, then camp’. But I think being placed deeper into nature where one can not hear any sound from traffic, and being further removed from civilization and the safety of your pull-out point, really do elevate the camping experience.