Canoeists pay tribute to legend

Two centuries ago, a Canadian surveyor named David Thompson put his expertise to good use by mapping and surveying the upper Columbia River.

Though Lewis and Clark already had traveled through the area in 1802, that expedition only mapped out the lower Columbia River route. Thompson went farther, opening new land trade routes to the Pacific Ocean.

With the 200th anniversary of Thompson’s adventure approaching, a modern-day group of more than 100 canoeists called the 2011 David Thompson Columbia Brigade is making the same journey down the Columbia River from Invermere, British Columbia, to Astoria, Ore. The boats are all replicas of the ones used by Thompson’s party. They’re 25 feet long and 4 feet wide, with about six paddlers in each.

“The canoes can hold a ton and half of cargo,” said Ross MacDonald, brigade chairman. Thompson was the first European to navigate the length of the Columbia River starting in Canada. He was not only a mapmaker, but an explorer and fur trader.

The fur trade depended on collaboration between Native Americans and Europeans, who exchanged furs for items manufactured far away. Fur trade exploration also shaped the boundaries of Canada and the United States.

During Thompson’s life, it’s believed he mapped more than 4 million square kilometers of North America, earning him a reputation as the greatest land geographer.

The 2011 Brigade includes paddlers from across the U.S. and Canada, MacDonald said.

“Seven states and five provinces are represented, both men and women,” he said. “The youngest is 11 and the oldest is in his late 70s.”

The group was at Sacajawea State Park and hoisted the British Union Jack flag, just as Thompson might have, for the Fourth of July weekend.

Some of our paddlers came ashore playing bagpipes.

They’re continuing their journey downstream, making stops in Irrigon, Arlington, Maryhill, The Dalles and Hood River on the way to Astoria, which they expect to reach by Friday.