The B.C. Interior is a desert, complete with rattlesnakes and tumbleweeds. Here, the Thompson River is an anomaly—a big-volume thrill ride through the sun-baked heart of ranch country.
As the river drops into its canyon, the worn bedrock below surfaces in the form of house rocks and Dr. Seuss–style tow- ers. Coulees choked with sand and scree pour in from the sides. It’s the type of place where you’d expect Clint Eastwood to ride up over the next mesa and shoot the nose plugs off your helmet, John Wayne to mosey around the next butte and challenge you to a throwdown.
Tom Faucher is an end slinger from way back. Dirty Tom, as he’s known to friends and enemies alike, has been coming to the Thompson for years and knows the river well. Like most B.C. paddlers, his favourite watering hole is the Frog.
“Thar’s ah’ways play,” he drawls. “Bettah as it gets lowah.”
End slingers always were men of few words.
The fact is, ol’ Dirty is no cowboy, just a paddler who likes the Frog wave on the Thompson for its accessibility, dependability and off-season playability.
The Frog is easy to find. The Trans- Canada Highway follows the Thompson as it winds its way down to Lytton and its confluence with the mighty Fraser. Look for the first real rapid on the river, located between Cache Creek and Lytton, just upstream of the canyon section. There’s a highway pullout on the left, a ladder on the right. A two-minute walk and you’re there. After a rain, beware of the grease they call mud that coats the rocks at the put-in.
The Thompson carries a lot of water, 2,500 cubic metres per second (cms) at peak flow in June, dropping to a trickle during the cold months of January and February. The Frog comes in at 600 cms (around August) and is in best shape at 370 cms (through winter until the flood starts in May). That gives you something to do in B.C. when all the other water is either gone or turned to ice.
Like a lot of features, what you get depends on the level. Usually there’s a hole (the Pit) to be found on surfer’s right, a nice shoulder, then a seam and a scrappy little wave. It’s fast and dynamic, with enough of a foam pile to keep you in place.
There’s an eddy on river left, but get there quick or you’re on a tour downstream. Sometimes there’s a rope fixed further downriver so that you can pull yourself back up and not have to get out of your boat.
Thanksgiving sees local end slingers with time on their hands, a belly full of turkey and a mind for trouble. Every year Dirty Tom and friends head to the Frog for a showdown to tap in on the optimum fall levels. Y’all can join, but remember to bring your hat. Even in October, that desert sun is so strong it’ll make you squint. Just like a cowboy.
This article first appeared in the Fall 2003 issue of Rapid Magazine.
