The Grand Canyon of the Fraser is a short gorge on the upper Fraser River in the Robson Valley region of east central British Columbia. The location, about south-southwest of Hutton, became part of the Sugarbowl-Grizzly Den Provincial Park and Protected Area in 2000. The canyon head was about by river from Fort George, and is about due east of downtown Prince George. The name is commonly confused even by journalists with the Fraser Canyon, which runs south from the city of Williams Lake to the town of Hope. Locale The canyon is about in length. Striking Green's Rock in the upper rapids was the single largest contributor to deaths. Allegedly, a surveyor called Green died there around 1908. The two sets of falls in the upper canyon, each about high, were surrounded by large hazardous boulders. In 1912, Foley, Welch and Stewart (FW&S), the principal contractor for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTP), engaged Frank Freeman to dynamite the boulders. The falls also disappeared, increasing the dangerous current. A lake connects the upper and lower rapids. During high water, a huge whirlpool in the lower rapids pulled small vessels under. Eddies form whirlpools deep, and wide, which can suck in large floating objects. First Nations and explorers First Nations people have travelled the river in canoes for generations. In 1825, James McMillan surveyed a trail along the upper river for the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). In March 1827, George McDougall trekked upstream along the frozen river. When high water, First Nations would portage canoe contents, and sometimes canoes themselves, around the canyon. Between 1906 and 1910, First Nations crews earned good money piloting GTP surveyors through the whitewater and were highly regarded for their river skills. Crews left vulnerable valuables, such as watches, with the portage party, which would trek around the obstacle. Overlanders and successors In 1860, four prospectors carrying $1,600 in gold successfully travelled upstream, possibly inspiring the Overlanders. The first recorded drowning was one of the Overlanders in 1862. The party lost 10 scouting canoes at this spot. They portaged their supplies around the first two stretches of wild water. For the third stretch, a small crew remained on the rafts loaded with supplies. Although sustaining some damage, each craft reached safety below. Back upriver, seven stragglers fell overboard and one drowned. Later that month, another victim drowned. The next year, a small party traversed the