Whistler BC, Winter 2018/19

Dinner with our new friends Kathy, Pam and Elke. Kathy and Pam rescued Rhonda and I from the River of Golden Dreams, Whistler, last summer.

Back in June 2019, Rhonda and I rented a canoe to enjoy the River of Golden Dreams tour. This journey take you across Alta Lake through the Whistler wetlands down a scenic glacier river. It is supposed to be a 3 hour tour (that's what Gilligan thought). https://youtu.be/EuudAUb3-Sk

The river was running fast and near flood stage. Halfway into the tour, our canoe was swept into the bushes with the fast and strong currents. The canoe capsized and flipped over. I jumped into the cold river. Rhonda was trapped in the shrubs with only her face above the surface and her legs entangled in the branches. I reached over and pulled her out of the branches and they both floated down the river, without our canoe and water proof bag with cell phone and wallets.

As we drifted down the river, we were quickly rescued by Kathy and Pam (two sisters from Langley, BC) who were paddling an inflatable kayak up stream. They had us grab hold of there craft and we drifted down river to a small opening in the shrubbery where we could get out the water. Kathy and Pam went back to the canoe that was now lodged into the overhanging branches. Their first attempt to dislodge the canoe was unsuccessful. Not willing to admit defeat, they went back a second time and recovered our waterproof bag. While recovering the bag, they dislodged the canoe, but it was filled with water and they were unable to recover it. Rhonda and I watched from our micro-beach as our capsized canoe floated down the river to destinations unknown.

We now had our phones and began calling Eco Tours for a rescue. I assured them that Eco Tours is a reputable operation and assured us of a prompt response. Kathy and Pam insisted on staying with us until the end (thank God they did). I called every 30-45 minutes asking where our rescue team is. Every time, I received a different and more creative excuse. After of 3 hours of waiting on our micro-beach, we decided that we are on our own for rescue. Rhonda carefully placed herself on top of Kathy and Pam's two person kayak and floated down the remaining part of the river. I hitched a ride with another tour company back to the drop off point where Rhonda, Kathy, and Pam were making plans on where to go to dinner that evening.

DO NOT RENT CANOES FROM ECO TOURS, WHISTLER

So on February 9th, Kathy, Pam, and Pam's wife Elke were planning to stay and a friends condo and meet us for dinner later on. They arrived at the condo, only to find that it was being rented. They had no place to stay! This is called "Homeless in Whistler" when there is a mix up with your accommodations and you have no place to stay. So Kathy called us and were more than happy to "rescue" them. We had a wonderful dinner and lively conversations. What a great evening!Les mer