Nemo Creek

Nemo Creek flows into the west side of Slocan Lake just across from Silverton. Nemo has a commonly used rec site which is normally accessed by power boat. When we made the 4 km flat water paddle we were more interested in the perfect 25 foot waterfall and the two 15 - 20 foot slides located just upstream of the lake. There is also an unrunnable 50 footer that lands into a really tight crack and onto rocks. When we made the short hike up to the waterfall we found a swollen pushy river, that turned the normally easy waterfall into a long pushy rapid. It starts out with a tight slot into a powerful hole. Then comes the main drop, a 6 foot ledge into a hole followed immediately by the 25 footer. Downstream of this are the two slides. First a clean 15 foot slide followed by a tricky 20 foot slide where you have to stay left of some nasty looking rooster tails.

Spencer enjoying some of the scenery of Slocan Lake

The waterfall from below

First up was Spencer and he had a good line but was surprised by the power of the initial slot and the hole above the falls. I was ready to go next but Joel expressed that he wanted to paddle it before me, I guess this is because I have a habit of making hard drops look easy and he didn't want the false sense of security. It was a different way of complementing my paddling but I was humbled none the less. Joel came through the first slot, back endered and was pushed right against the canyon wall. He then came over the entrance ledge at a horrible angle and promptly flipped. He was able to snap off a quick roll just as he was sliding off the falls, saving himself from injury. This made it obvious that the drop was a lot harder than it first appeared but Jordie and I were still fired up to give it a go. Jordie went next and had a good line until the end when he flipped in the pool, rolled up and was still able to get to shore were Jen grabbed his boat so he could get out safely. This left me at the top extremely nervous as a number of good boaters all had different lines but watching all three lines helped me make adjustments to give myself the best chance of cleaning the line. I came through the slot exactly how I wanted too, then took five hard stokes up to the ledge, timed my boof perfectly, landed and all I had to do was take one more stroke off the lip of the falls, styling the entire run.

Joel in a bad place

Joel making the tough clutch roll

Jordie in good position coming off the falls

Mikkel making it look easy

After everyone was finished we turned our sights onto the slides located just below the falls. I went first and had a clean line through both. Spencer, Joel, Jordie and Dave followed behind me and all had good lines although they took the easier river left line over the second slide. We ended the day with a Canada Day celebration on the rec site beach before making the paddle back to Silverton.

Joel on the second slide

Dave at the lip of the second slide

Spencer on the second slide