The World of Triple Rainbows.

Thursday Septemer 2- No real plans for the long weekend yet. Possibly try to shake up some work in town or just spend the whole weekend working on my trailer, a task that will take far less time than a three day long weekend. Maybe I should have gotten on top of those plans.

Friday September 3-9AM- The Department head walks into class, “The day is cancelled for you guys, your teacher fell off a ladder so he will not be able to teach you ATV safety for some time.” Mmmm great…. What am I going to do with even more days off…. “Hey is there anywhere around here to go fishing or canoeing.” “Well you can pretty much go fishing anywhere, and I have heard of people canoeing along the North Saskatchewan just out East of the city here.” Daryl walks back to the equipment room and returns with a fifty thousand scale topographical map. “hmm, this looks mighty intriguing” I say to myself, all the while I am left with the question of who I am going to convince to come with me.

10 after nine- I send a text to my buddy Josh who is working away in Saskatoon on a roof. “You need a hand today.” The ever so hung over Josh is more than glad to accept my charity and off to Saskatoon I go.

So I make my way to the “Paris of the Prairies,” the most aesthetically pleasing city in our province. We roof for a few hours, and I convince Josh that maybe canoeing this weekend would be a swell idear. Not one to usually take much convincing… Josh whole heartedly agrees. We decide to spend the evening barbequing with Josh’s friends from Saskatoon. The night is wonderful, vegetables are roasted, homegrown Saskatchewan buffalo is consumed, and I make a slew of new friends, one of whom, Jenna, decides to come along with us on our journey.

Saturday- After a night of drinking wine and singing at a Japanese karaoke bar we are off to our starting point- The Cecil Ferry. It is Four O clock by the time we finally get the boat in the water but that’s no worry. The evening turns out to be lovely after spending the drive fearing what the wind might do to our canoeing… Will the weekend be a repeat of the last time I was out on the North Sask? Right off the hop we are greeted with a slew of rapids, one after the other, around every bend and twist in the river there is fast water. What a great surprise! As the river here nears the watershed of the South Saskatchewan it cuts deep into the surrounding banks and creates a furry of fun. We could not be more pleased. A perfect camping spot on a beach and a hearty meal of garden treats and buffalo tenderloin chased by red wine is our treat at the end of a few hours of dipping the paddle….Oh and a set of bear footprints fifty yards away. We retreat to a sleep spent under the stars, only to be interrupted in the middle of the night by the thunder and lighting. Faster than a one way potash train we whip up the tent, just in time for the rain to start.

Sunday-The day which I’m not sure actually existed- We wake up to a cloudy morning, but at least the rain has stopped. A wonderful breakfast is made consisting of Pine View farm’s free run organic hog slices, mixed with an egg skillet, chocolate chip biscuits, hash browns and Labrador tea.

After packing up all our stuff we head out on the paddle once again. An hour or so goes by and out comes the magic. The rapids get worse the further along the river we get and at one point we get absolutely drenched in the current. We pull over to the side of the river and bail out the boat. An attempt at starting to make a fire is made but it seems we are getting less intelligent by the minute. Finally we put back in the water just as things are starting to take a turn to the awesome.

Two more sets of rapids go by as our eyes begin to bulge and the water takes on a creative form unlike no other and we begin to see the current move swiftly in circles around our boat. Rocks pass by that appear to be the size of buildings and every little wave takes on an appearance of a hazardous death, and all we can do is stare in disbelief.

Then! Away on the horizon, a concrete monolith appears, jutting out half way into the river. An unusual site among the wooded banks and humanless expanse of the North Saskatchewan. It is the Prince Albert Dam… Or what was supposed to be the Prince Albert Dam. In 1912 work was started on this project, only to be stopped prematurely during the wars years due to a number of circumstances, one being that the figure for the power that that dam would generate was greatly overestimated. The project was halted in 1914 nearly a hundred years ago and the city would spend fifty years paying off the debt that it created. The dam reaches partially across the water. A symbol of strength shut down in its prime, typical of Saskatchewan’s historical boom and bust economy. Weathered for nearly a century, this creation takes on the appearance of a post apocalyptical world. Fallen trees crash onto man made rock and metal and moss covers areas once touched by the feet of progress. A lone birch protrudes from the highest peak, nearly fifty feet above the river. Signs of bear clashes against graffiti dating all the way back to the 1920’s, when people simply signed their name in lead pencil, perhaps leaving the profanity in the back of their mind. Or perhaps they came from a time when people were generally happy. More recent signs of humans exist but who wouldn’t want to visit this structure... But that’s just it, not everyone can, the are is only accessible by all-terrain vehicle or canoe…

Welcome to the greatest trip of my life.

We paddle past the dam and then back through it to the shore. It is like one giant playground for grown ups. Multiple levels to explore, pools, chimneys, holes, ladders, slides and the worlds greatest view of the province's most underused river. Words really can not do justice to what went on in that four hours but it was possibly the greatest four hours of my existence.

Have you ever reminisced on the world of double rainbows and shit eating grins, “ So this is what the world was talking about.” Well this was what I would like to refer to as the world of triple rainbows.

Eventually we head down the river once again. Along the way we would spot a bear and come upon another excellent camp site. Dinner is served as Elk call to one another in the distance, chasing the world of the double rainbow. Myself, intrigued at the sound, follow it deep into the forest. Slowly walking, always stopping, on the lookout for the ghost of the forest. Finally I stumble within rifle range of more than one of these magnificent beasts, and just as quickly as the ghosts appear, they whisper into the pine, morph into the birch and disappear into a thicket of aspen. I am left relatively satisfied… I come back to camp, enjoyed by the prospect of a second dinner. Josh has caught a walleye in my absence. Partnered with Labrodor tea, the meal is enjoyed by all and once again the three weary travelers head to the world of sleep.

Monday is no Sunday but once again a skillet is whipped up. The paddles are dipped and this time the end of our adventure is within eye sight. We reach the forks of the two Saskatchewans by noon and we head back to a world that really does not compare. A world where even single rainbows are far and few between.