Horburg to Blue Train Bridge
3 to 5 hrs
This stretch contains 3 large sets of rapids along with some braids and strainers to be aware of. The first rapids are upper Devil’s elbow that are located above Devil’s Elbow. They have some decent size waves and can easily be skirted on the right. If you skirt far right, be aware of the large log jam, especially in higher water.
Around the corner is Devil’s Elbow. It is a long set of waves that are all located on river left to at least the center of the river. These rapids can be skirted by running river right. There is a section of slower water at the bottom that gives you time to rescue an overturned canoe but the water picks up around the corner. Make sure you have rescue skills if running these rapids as many times people have lost their canoes around the corner.
There is lots of camping along the Devil’s Elbow but please respect this high use area by practicing Leave No Trace principles. Do not harvest fire wood or destroy undergrowth around or in the campsites (go far away) and please use the 2 outhouses located behind the 2 largest campsites. The amount of used toilet paper in the bushes is disheartening.
About 5 kilometers down river is Old Stoney rapid. These rapids are located on river right and contain some steep holes and ledges that fill canoes very quick. Center to river left gets you easily by these rapids. Around the corner on river right, there is a great campsite, with an outhouse.
There is a long stretch of flat water to get to the next significant rapids, Fisher Rapids. It is marked by a large house on river left about 400 meters back. It is a long S bend, curving to the right and then left. Stay on river left for the entire length. At the bottom of the S bend where the 2 channels meet up again, stay river left to avoid a large, shallow and recirculating ledge known as Lowell's hole. At some levels it is large enough to flip rafts!
From Fisher's it is a half hour paddle to the Blue Train Bridge.
