SPRING 2006 II · I reg h ad n oif m yu cv l p, a c op yw i th s.Of u ren d g - g i ou s er– thf c a ndl x p ag e .A t h im o fyu rv w l s db n x A n y o ebu ig thk rw l c v a p

Our campsite at the Ekwi River confluence; July 9

Tsunami in the NorthKeele River Trip July 2007

Text by Marilyn SprisslerPhotographs by Marilyn Sprissler, Bob Bignell, Allan Jacobs

Following several years of intensive summer canoe trips,I welcomed Bob Bignell’s suggestion of a more leisurely canoetrip, a far-north river with great scenery, relatively easy pad-dling and great hiking. The Keele River has its headwaters in

the Mackenzie Mountains near the Yukon – NWT border andflows eastward from there to the Mackenzie River, travellingthrough towering mountain vistas for most of the river’s length,only coming down to the lowlands of the Mackenzie Valley in

Fall 2009 Vol. 36 No. 3 Quarterly Journal of the Wilderness Canoe Association

2 NASTAWGAN FALL 2009

the last two days. The Keele has no tech-nical rapids per se; however, it flows ex-tremely fast, has some sections withquite high standing waves, and has sev-eral major boils. It is rated a class 2-3river by some outfitters, probably be-cause of the speed and the boils.Five of our group of six had paddled

together on previous trips: BobBignell, Allan Jacobs, Linda Gordon,Hendrik Herfst, and Marilyn Sprissler.Joining us was Jean-Claude Lessnick.With the exception of Hendrik, all wereWCA members.

General LogisticsThis approximately 235 miles trip cancomfortably be done in two weeks, butsince our plan was to allow lots of timefor hiking, fishing, exploring, and re-laxing, we planned on 19 days (July 3-21), including our fly-in day. Our origi-

nal plan was to meet in Norman Wells,take a charter flight with North WrightAirways (http://www.north-wrightair-ways.com) to the Keele, starting justbelow the confluence of the Natla andthe Keele, paddle down the Keele to theMackenzie, and then paddle downriveron the Mackenzie to Norman Wells,thus eliminating an expensive flight outand providing us with an opportunity toexperience the Mackenzie River.However, upon learning from RickMeyers, a local outfitter, that on one ortwo days out of every week, it is almostimpossible to paddle downriver on theMackenzie because of high winds out ofthe north, we decided to paddle on theMackenzie only as far as Tulita (previ-ously named Fort Norman) and take aboat ride the rest of the way.With the new airline regulations only

allowing 50 lbs for checked luggage, it

is becoming ever more difficult and ex-pensive to fly with canoeing gear, soHendrik and I drove my Dodge Ramtruck to Yellowknife, taking with usquite a lot of gear. We were able to leavethe truck parked at the Yellowknife air-port free of charge for the entire threeweeks because the ticket meters therehad been out of order for a couple ofyears. To get from Yellowknife toNorman Wells, it is necessary to flysince there is no summer road access, sowe flew with Canadian North who stillallowed two 70 lbs pieces of checkedluggage. The remainder of the gear weshipped with us via Air Cargo.We arrived a day before the rest of

our group and were picked up inNormanWells by North Wright staff andshuttled around by them so that we couldpick up last-minute items. In addition,we rented one canoe and sprayskirt plus

View of the Mackenzie Mountains as we flew in; July 3

NASTAWGAN FALL 2009 3

some other gear from Rick Myers. Rickwas extremely helpful and also advisedus about the normal wind and weatherpatterns in the area, so at the last minutewe changed our plans to include a pick-up by Rick in Tulita. This turned out tobe an excellent decision.Our pre-trip knowledge of possible

campsites and highlights was limited,since we had been unable to find muchconcrete information ahead of time. Butat the cabin where we spent the night wehad the good luck of meeting two youngfellows, Rob and Taylor, who hadextremely detailed information aboutthe trip since Taylor’s dad has runmany trips down the Keele River(http://canoenorthadventures.com). SoHendrik and I spent several hours withTaylor poring over maps, getting infor-mation on campsites, hotsprings, boilsof note, and other assorted tidbits ofinformation.

Days 1-3 Getting StartedAfter innumerable delays in NormanWells, everything was finally loaded intothe North Wright Twin Otter and wetook off. It was a fairly short flight,about 30 minutes, during which we flewover some spectacular terrain – first the

Mackenzie River, then some low flattishareas, then some of the MackenzieMountains, which are threaded bybraided rivers in the valleys. The moun-tains were all extremely dry and barren,consisting mostly of sand, gravel, androck. We were thrilled to spot two herdsof Dall sheep on the high plateaus. Ourlanding was noteworthy as we swoopedin and bounced like a rubber ball throw-ing water up in all directions: firstbounce about 20 feet, next about 15 feet,then a series of gradually smaller, rever-berating bumps till we were finally taxi-ing smoothly on the river. Everythingwas then ejected from the plane withlightening speed and within 15 minutesthe plane was in the air again and wewere left standing there.After a considerable delay while we

assembled our two Pakboats, organizedeverything, and loaded all three boats,we were finally able to push off downthe river. Our first planned campsite wasnot far down the river by Delthore Creek

and Mountain and we already had agood current of about 5 mph to help us,so in less than an hour we were able topull in and set up our campsite.We stayed at this first site for two

more days enjoying hiking, fishing,reading, Sudoku, and generally having awonderful time in the mountains. Ourwhole group did a little hike up DelthoreCreek, had a lunch, and then returned.The following day two of us hunted for acrossing point of the rushing, icyDelthore Creek and finally found a spotthat was not as dangerous as most of it.We managed the crossing usingmakeshift staffs and then climbed almost2000 feet on Delthore Mountain andwere treated to sublime views and apanoply of wildflowers. We maintainedcontact with our base camp (and the restof our group) via VHF radios, another ofBob’s great ideas. On the return trip wewere treated to a close-up view of amagnificent bull mountain caribou witha huge rack.

View of the area around Delthore Creekon our first hike; July 5

and daylight till 2 a.m. meant our timewas totally flexible. After spotting a hel-icopter going back and forth, we as-sumed there must be a mining campnearby and sure enough, shortly after wepulled over there were some geologists,drillers, pilot, cook etc., a total of 15 atthe camp. They were looking for copperfor a company named Kaska, whollyowned and operated by First Nations.At the camp was an airstrip and all

the amenities – long distance phone freeto anywhere in North America, wirelessinternet by satellite ($75 per month forboth!), satellite TV, etc. etc. They wereall very friendly and invited us to theirkitchen and offered us fruit, drinks,cookies, etc.The “large waves” that Taylor had

mentioned, we did not see. The moun-tain scenery continued to be fantastic,dry and rugged. One of the areas lookeda lot like hoodoos.We camped at beautiful turquoise

Nidhe Brook; you could see a very dis-tinct line where the clear blue Nidhejoined the silty, muddy, flooding Keele.

Days 7-8 Boils, Hotsprings, TufaMounds near the EkwiOne of the few sections that requiressome care (large boils and waves, crosscurrents) is located just above the Ekwiconfluence (UTM coordinates 0543000,7105884). There are three possible waysto go down – left is by far the most diffi-cult and requires some scouting; rightinvolves staying close to river right anddoing some rock dodging. Near the bot-tom you can get out and line past a verylarge whirlpool, which is at the bottom.For the third route you can take astringer, which is off to the far right. Itis very simple and the only thing towatch for is gravel at the bottom. Thisavoids both the big whirlpool and fin-ishes just beyond a boil. This stringerroute may not be negotiable at normalwater levels.Just where the Ekwi meets the Keele

on river left, there is a beautiful camp-site (downriver side of Ekwi) but it isvery difficult to access. We reached itwith a lot of difficulty, partly because


Day 4-6 Shezal Canyon, Orchids,Nidhe BrookAs we continued paddling downriver, thecurrent picked up a lot more speed. Itwas now flowing at about 9-11 mph andwe realized that the Keele and all thecreeks and rivers feeding into it were infull flood. This made for extreme speedheading down the river.According to our source of informa-

tion, Taylor, the water was normally veryclear and good for drinking, but due tothe flooding we found it very siltywithin a couple of days. Also, a coupleof the giant boils that Taylor had warnedus about were non-existent.Taking advantage of our extra time,

we stopped and hiked up various creeks,including the creek coming out of theShezal Canyon. We didn’t make it to thecanyon itself as it was quite far up-stream but were treated to numerous

wildflowers, especially dryas, on thegravelly meadows.On a couple of other hikes we dis-

covered a lot of orchids. Everywherealong the upper river are stupendousviews of huge mountains, some sweep-ing from high alpine right to the waterand many with beautiful colours. At ourDay 4 campsite we stayed on a gravelisland, which would probably not be anisland at normal water levels. We hadFortress Mountain for our side viewand Mountain Plateau across the riverfrom us with a giant multi-colouredtalus slope falling from mid-mountainall the way to the base. To top it off, wediscovered, after much searching withbinoculars, a few Dall sheep high up inthe alpine.

Day 5 saw another late and lazy start.The combination of having lots of time

View on the hike up Delthore Mountain at about 2,000 feet above our campsite; July 6


the Ekwi was also in full flood andpartly because of gravel bars blockingaccess to the eddy. Too late we realizedthat the best way to reach the eddy wasto stay mid-river (on the Keele) till justbelow the campsite and then quickly getover to river left and eddy in. Definitelya case of ‘too wise too late’!We had been given detailed and fairly

complicated instructions by our veryknowledgeable source on how to reachthe “secret” Godlin River hotsprings andthe tufa mounds, and therefore plannedon a layover at this campsite. The hot-springs are actually well known byhunters in the area.The recommended route involved

taking a canoe and working our way upthe Ekwi (river left) until we reachedcliffs that came to the water, then ferry

across with the canoe, and continue onthat shore until we came to another cliff,then ferry back. We were then supposedto climb up a small embankment using arope etc. This entire part of the recom-mended instructions was impossible todo because the Ekwi was roaring downin flood and it would have been com-pletely impossible to ferry anywhere atthe speed it was going.Instead, we had done a short recon-

noitering trip the first evening to see ifcrossing the cliffs, which drop straightinto the Ekwi, might be feasible. We de-cided it was worth a try, so that is whatwe proposed to do. Four of us got up at6 a.m. (Bob, JC, Hendrik, and myself)and headed out on a major hike to seekthe legendary Godlin River hotspringsand tufa mounds. By shortly after 8:20

A brief snack-stop near Shezal Canyon; July 6

a.m. we were on our way. It turned outto be an extremely difficult and longhike which included climbing approxi-mately 2700 feet, traversing a number ofcliffs, some using ropes, a lot of scram-bling, and a lot of route-searching. Wedidn’t get back till 8 p.m. that evening.We covered in total about 8.3 miles.

In this epic hike we did a combina-tion of wading in the water and bush-whacking until we reached the cliffs. Wethen ascended the cliffs to a point wherewe felt we could cross. There are actu-ally five or six cliffs altogether, whichsweep down straight into the ice-coldand very-fast-flowing Ekwi River. Itwas extremely difficult going and verytreacherous climbing. It took us a cou-ple of hours to cross this section. Wethen came down for a stretch and

us. They were really close! What athrill! We later saw them again when wewere down and they were high, lookingdown on us.We struggled with yet more cliffs

and ended up using the rope to get my-self and Bob up. On the way back weused the rope to descend one very steepcliff. Finally we reached the GodlinRiver area, which was our first goal, butwe needed to cross the river to reach thehotsprings, according to Taylor’s in-structions. But it too was in flood andwas impossible to cross, so unfortu-nately, we were out of luck. Later, wefound out from Fred Clement in Tulitathat it’s very often impossible to reachthe hotsprings.We took along Bob’s VHF radio in

order to call in about our progress, butapparently the signal does not travelthrough mountains. As in all of ourhikes we saw many, many flowers: grassof Parnassus, one-sided wintergreen,one-flowered wintergreen, hawkweed,harebell, green kidney lichen, mistletoe,plus numerous others. This hike wasphenomenal, definitely one of our triphighlights, even though we did notreach the hotsprings.

Days 9-12As we leisurely made our way down-river we stopped in at a hunt camp onriver right, a friendly camp cateringto very well-heeled clients. Susan,the cook, kindly invited us to stay forlunch since it was still pre-seasonand they were just making prepara-tions for the guests. From this camp,you can almost touch the CanolHeritage Trail.The next few days we continued mak-

ing our way downriver, hiking, fishing,relaxing as we went. Every creek beck-oned to us with excellent hiking, muchlike the Nahanni. We spotted grizzly,caribou, and wolf tracks, dippers playingin the creeks, numerous soaring ospreys,a glaucous gull and scaup. The river be-came gradually braided as the valleybroadened. At one point we could seehaze from a forest fire, but we never gotclose to it.


climbed again and stopped finally for awell-deserved lunch. As we were eatingour lunch six Dall sheep came down andout into the meadows just across from

View of the Ekwi River on our quest to find the Godlin Hotsprings; July 10

Cliff-crossing en route to the Godlin Hotsprings; July 10


Day 13 Boils, Boils, BoilsWe continued paddling downriver, notexpecting any scary moments (sinceour ‘source’ had not mentioned any-thing in this area), but there were twospots that were very bad – we had anarrow escape on the first and camewithin a hair’s breadth of dumping onthe second. Both were giant boils. Thefirst one occurs at approx. UTM 548,281 where the river makes a sharpturn to the right. There is a cliff onriver left and shallow gravel on riverright. Our mistake was to try to avoidthe shallow gravel and we thus, think-ing it was just standing waves, headedright towards where the boils were inmid-channel. All three canoes had topaddle extremely frantically in order

Godlin River hike – confluence of Ekwi and Godlin rivers; July 10

to get away from the seemingly ever-ex-panding and very scary-looking boils.The second set of boils was again to-

tally unexpected (location approximately597, 247). You would think we hadlearned our lesson, but no…exactly thesame scenario happened, just in the otherdirection: the river makes a sharp left,cliffs are on river right, and gravel onriver left. This time, Hendrik and I gotcaught in them, did a couple of 360s,and flipped completely on our side atone point showing off the bottom of ourboat. Hendrik in the stern did a massivebrace on the right and simultaneously Iin the bow did a massive brace on theleft and magically the boat did not flipbut returned to its normal upright posi-tion. Bob, who had an excellent view of

the bottom of our boat, was sure thatwe’d had it. Such confidence!I don’t think I’ve mentioned the ex-

treme speed of this river. A dumpwould have been very bad mainly be-cause of the river speed. There werealmost no technical rapids in thisriver, but because it was in flood, therewere a lot of waves (2-3 feet in heightperhaps) and boils in many places.Most of the boils were quite manage-able though. Apparently the normalspeed of the river averages about5 mph (according to Taylor), but ourexperience in the flooded river wasthat it was flowing at anywhere from8-11 mph. With paddling, our speedwas quite often showing between 13and 16 mph.

released from the bluff. We were all sit-ting watching, in awe of this spectacle,when after about 3-5 minutes Allan


Days 14-15 Confluence of Keele andMackenzie RiversWe passed Red Dog Mountain, the lastof the mountains, and gradually the ter-rain becomes quite broad and flat andthe river is very braided. There is quitean extensive bluff section that we pad-dled past under heavy rains. At onepoint just as we approached very highcliffs on river left, a pile of dirt andgravel crashed into the river. It lasted atleast about 30 seconds and was quiteamazing.When we finally arrived at the mouth

of the Keele, the Mackenzie was quite asight. It was glassy smooth, very fastcurrent, and it extended as far as wecould see in both directions and almost0.6 miles in width. We crossed to theother side, explored an unoccupied na-tive hunt camp, and then stopped for the

day very shortly after. Campsites on theMackenzie are few and far between.

Day 16 Tsunami!After a rather late start, we paddled fora couple of hours on river right about100 feet offshore, admiring the highbluffs. We then gradually crossed over toriver left, had lunch, and continued on.We were on river left, maybe 50 to

100 feet offshore, when all of a suddenwe saw a wondrous sight. Way across theriver on river right one of the high largebluffs collapsed! This was the mostamazing thing I have ever seen in mylife; the bluff was probably about 300-400 feet wide, 150 feet deep, and about100 feet high. The whole thing slumpeddownwards and pushed into the water!After the initial giant chunk, there weremany smaller chunks that continuously

Near our campsite was a most spectacular dryas field; July 11

Marilyn, relaxing in another gorgeousdryas stand; July 15


suddenly yelled: WAVE! GET TOSHORE!” In horror we saw this racing,frothing, foaming wave just in front ofAllan. It was coming upriver towards usat a speed of at least 16 mph.We all paddled towards the shore as

if our lives depended on it. Allan andLinda just made shore when the wavestruck them. Linda had hopped out andwas on the water side of the boat andAllan was on the land side. All we sawwas them and their canoe go flying Thelast thing we saw were Linda’s feet up inthe air.Hendrik and I reached shore, threw

ourselves out, and tried to haul the canoeup and out of the way, but it was ex-tremely sucky muck and willowy under-growth. We didn’t get far before we werestuck in the muck since our canoe wasfully loaded. I yelled, “RUN!”, grabbed

my camcorder, which was sitting loosein the boat, and we both ran as fast as wecould. I made it about 20 feet andHendrik about 10 on to land when thewave hit us. Fortunately we were highenough that the wave only travelled an-other 20 feet or so, just washing aroundour knees.The wave picked up our loaded canoe

and hurled it up and way over, a total ofmaybe 50 feet from where we desertedit. Bob and JC had a bit more time andwere at a slightly different angle whenthe wave hit, so although the wave threwtheir boat up on shore also, it justwashed around their knees.Once the wave had passed, we col-

lected ourselves, found that Linda andAllan were okay even though both theyand their canoe had been tossed over.Allan’s canoe did get punctured by a

The tsunami had thrown our boats 50-100 feet up on the shore; July 18

branch when it was thrown, but it wasnot a serious hole and he was able topatch it later.Everyone was pretty shaken up by the

experience and by the thoughts of whatwould have happened had we still beenin the middle of the river or, muchworse, on river right admiring the cliffs.Had we been anywhere out from shorethe wave would have dumped all threecanoes and with the current and debrisin the water it would have taken us therest of the day to rescue ourselves. Hadwe been under the cliff or within a cou-ple of hundred feet of it, it would havebeen ‘game over’…As we stood on the shore discussing

the wave, we saw two other waves rac-ing upriver at a different angle. Theywere a bit smaller, but just as fast.A third wave went in a slightly different

surfed in to shore on the backs of thewaves. Rather a dramatic end to our trip.Several people came down to the

beach in their trucks to chat with us,among them Fred Clement. He gave usthe news that because of the high windand waves, Rick Myers would be un-able to make his way upstream to Tulitawith his boat to pick us up. Instead,Fred would take us to Norman Wellswith his far more powerful jetboat. Hekindly invited us to camp in his pleas-ant, grassy backyard, instead of on thevery undesirable gravel beach. So aftersome frenzied packing – we had to takethe two Pakboats apart and it was pour-ing rain – and several trips with histruck, we were up at Fred’s place. Wespent the evening chatting and story-telling inside Fred’s large tipi, which heuses for smoking and drying meat andfish and for barbeques.Tulita is a very friendly little town of

about 450-500 people, most of whom areNatives. It is situated where the Great BearRiver comes in to meet the Mackenzie.Great Bear River is clear and has a beauti-ful deep jade colour. Just across the mouth


direction, up and to our right.We then dumped the water out of our

canoes and hauled them back to theriver, one at a time. It took all of us foreach boat, since they were completelyloaded.

Post-TsunamiThe second last day of the trip was quiteleisurely as we didn’t have much dis-tance to cover. Due to the amount of rainover the last couple of weeks and espe-cially the last few days, there was anenormous amount of debris in the riverand the Mackenzie was extremely silty.We spent a fair amount of time search-ing for a fresh stream so that we couldfill a small barrel with fresh water. Ofspecial note was a small section on riverright. We noticed what looked like coalseams in the low bluffs and then saw acouple of spots that looked like camp-fires burning. We stopped to look moreclosely, and sure enough, to our aston-ishment, we found a few spots that werespontaneously combusting, exactly likethe Smoking Hills phenomenon on theHorton River.

Also of interest was the almost com-plete lack of boat traffic on theMackenzie. We had all expected it to bea boat highway and were pleasantly sur-prised at the relative solitude, seeingonly a couple of barges, two small boats,and the Coast Guard. On our last nightout we stayed on Police Island – our ad-vice from Taylor was dead on – it wasthe only possible spot to camp in this en-tire stretch of the river. Everywhere elsewas swampy or bluffs.Our final paddling day saw us again

crossing the river left to right (about 1.3miles wide at this point). There was awind out of the north, which builtsteadily. Once on river right we neededto pass a very long section of bluffs. Stillsomewhat unnerved from our earlier ex-perience, we looked at them carefullyand noticed that these were composed ofmostly rock, not soft dirt like the largemass we had seen collapse. We foughthard to paddle downriver the rest of theway to Tulita, since the wind was blow-ing hard and the swells were now verylarge, but eventually our efforts paid offand we arrived at the town dock and

The giant slump that caused the tsunami; July 18


of the river is a striking mountain and inalmost any photo you see of Tulita thismountain is shown in the background.There are three large oval marks on themountain and local legend explains thatthese marks are actually giant beaver peltslaid out on the mountain.While in the tipi Fred told us a legend

about Yamouri. Supposedly there werethree giant beavers who were eating thepeople so Yamouri killed them and hungthe beaver pelts on the mountain. And the‘smoking hills’ area we passed yesterday issupposed to be the remnants of his bonfire.

Return to “TheWells”The final day consisted mainly of pack-ing Fred’s jet boat – a job that took a lotof time and careful placement of gear.Apparently in a jet boat, most of theweight should be forward. So first wepacked every nook and cranny of thefront of the boat with whatever would fitthere, then we put barrels in the rearholds, packs in the middle, canoe along

the middle, and then finally we squeezedourselves in.We then drove the boat fully loaded

down to the beach, where all climbed intothe boat. Another driver backed the boatquickly into the water, Fred gunned theengines into reverse, we swung aroundand then we were off. This took mere sec-onds. The wind and waves were high andthere had been a lot of discussion earlierabout when the wind might lessen.This was the wildest, roughest motor-

boat ride (actually jet boat ride) that Ihave ever been on – bar none! And ap-parently a jet boat gives you thesmoothest ride possible. Fred was trulyan expert boat driver. We rode along theshore, only about 10-20 feet off theshore, crashed and drove into and aroundthe waves. I’ve never seen anything likeit! We were constantly thrown into theair and from side to side, but eventuallywe made it after almost exactly twohours. We were met by Rick, who tookus via several trips to the Mackenzie

Lunch break on the shores of the Mackenzie River near Tulita; July 20

Hotel. We spent most of the rest of theday sorting and packing to organize forthe return flight from Norman Wells toYellowknife.

SummaryThis was one of the all-round best tripsI’ve ever been on! It had all the compo-nents that make a memorable trip: spec-tacular scenery, large variety of birdsand flowers, good company, great hik-ing, great campsites, huge variety of ter-rain, excitement, serenity and solitude.Many thanks are due to our young

friend Taylor for his trip advice, RickMyers of Norman Wells for his helpwith outfitting, transportation andweather advice and Fred Clement ofTulita for his generous sharing of hisbackyard, stories in his tipi and the wildjet boat ride!For a chart of campsite locations, dis-

tances, elevations, and weather, pleasecontact Marilyn Sprissler; ask the editorfor her email address.


Deadlines

The deadline dates for submitting material for the next issue in2009 and the four issues in 2010 are: the first day of November2009 and the first days of February, May, August, andNovember 2010. If you have questions, please contact the edi-tor; addresses on the last page.

Annual General Meeting 2010

The coming AGM will be held on February 20, 2010 in a greatlocation near Midland, Ontario. More info will be available inthe Winter 2009 issue of Nastawgan.

Published by theWilderness CanoeAssociationNastawgan is an Anishinabi word meaning “the way or route”

CPM #40015547ISSN 1828-1327

The WILDERNESS CANOE ASSOCIATION is a non-profit organization made up of individuals interested inwilderness travel, mainly by canoe and kayak, but also in-cluding backpacking and winter trips on both skis andsnowshoes. The club publishes a quarterly journal,

Nastawgan, to facilitate the exchange of information andideas of interest to wilderness travellers, organizes an ex-tensive program of trips for members, runs a few basicworkshops, and is involved in environmental issues rele-vant to wilderness canoeing.

Editorial

During the preparation of this issue of Nastawgan, aquite scary situation developed. At a crucial mo-ment in the production process, several promised ar-ticles, three of them major ones, had to be cancelledfor some reason by their writers, which left barelyenough material for an impossibly small eight-pageissue. So an urgent alert went out to various old andnew contributors, and within two weeks the crisiswas over because of the fine response by several ofthem. There was now enough material for a morefamiliar 28-pager, what a relief!Well, that’s the WCA spirit! We don’t hesitate

helping each other to get off a rock we’re stuck on,so we also help the struggling editor get out of anasty situation. Thank you, well done! Of course,this also shows that there is quite a lot of good ma-terial slumbering among the membership, just wait-ing to get out and be published. Don’t let your edi-tor have to beg you for material, just sit down withpencil, pen, or computer and write it the best youcan. Your editor will help you make it into aNastawgan-worthy piece. And because of yourcontributions, our treasured Nastawgan will be allthe healthier.

Letter to the Editor

Hi, ToniA very belated thanks for your review of my Lands Serene.I regret I had not informed you that you received an early copy,a copy with typos. Of course you noticed the most egre-gious errors – the figure captions that had slipped to the nextpage. At the time of your review all typos had been fixed.Anyone buying the book then or now will receive a typo-freecopy. At any rate, it is my fault that I did not inform you that thecorrections had been made, but I wanted you to let you know atleast now that they are fixed.Regards,Peter


The first annual WCA Summer Picnic at Minden WildwaterPreserve (July 25-26), was a roaring success. Water levels wereindeed roaring, thanks to incessant summer rain, providing plentyof thrills and spills. John McPhee and Bill Ness organized awhitewater clinic and there were lots of WCA boats full of par-ticipants eager to retrieve the results of hilarious dumps, ridingbig fun surfing waves below Otter Slide.The highlight of the flatwater paddle around the Poker Lake

loop, with wildlife and bird enthusiast Ray Laughlan, was hun-dreds of pink flowering delicately fragrant Rose Pegonia orchids.This excursion through lakes, forest (there were 10 portages), andmarshes left us with a peaceful aura that lingered on through theweekend.The films at Minden Hall included the Hood River and a

kayaking excursion in Luango National Park in Gabon, Africa. Allthat delicious baking sure was appreciated by wildwater ap-petites! Overall, a relaxing and fun weekend sharing stories andsmiles with old and new paddler friends.

Jay Neilson

Picnic

photo: Aleks Gusev

photo: Sara Rykov

photo: Aleks Gusev


Food for PaddlersIn the July 2009 issue of CanewsLetter, the journal of theOntario Recreational Canoeing and KayakingAssociation(www.orcka.ca), Gordon Haggert presents this

Traditional menu item of the voyageurs:

In 1801, Alexander Mackenzie, the first European totravel to theWest Coast and to the Arctic Ocean, wrote hisfamous book: Voyages from Montreal on the River St.Laurence Through the Continent of North America to theFrozen and Pacific Oceans in the years 1789 and 1793with a Preliminary Account of the Rise, Progress andPresent State of the Fur Trade of that Country. It is a day-to-day diary of two exciting trips across the continent withfirst-hand observations and descriptions of everything hesaw and experienced. Canoe trippers might be interestedin a traditional menu item of the voyageurs at GrandePortage. Mackenzie wrote:

“The mode of living at the Grande Portage is as follows:The proprietors, clerk, guides and interpreters mess to-gether, to the number sometimes of an hundred, at severaltables, in one large hall, the provision consisting of bread,salt pork, beef, hams, fish, and venison, butter, peas,Indian corn, potatoes, tea, spirits, wine &c., and plenty ofmilk for which purpose several milch cows are constantlykept. The mechanics have rations of such provision but thecanoemen, both from the North and Montreal, have noother allowance here, or in the voyage, than Indian cornand melted fat. The corn for this purpose is prepared be-fore it leaves Detroit, by boiling it in a strong alkali, whichtakes off the outer husk; it is then well washed, and care-fully dried upon stages, when it is fit for use. One quartof this is boiled for two hours, over a moderate fire, in agallon of water; to which, when it has boiled a small time,are added two ounces of melted suet; this causes the cornto split, and in the time mentioned makes a pretty thickpudding. If to this is added a little salt, (but not before it isboiled, as it would interrupt the operation) it make awholesome, palatable food, and easy of digestion. Thisquantity is fully sufficient for a man’s subsistence duringtwenty-four hours; though it is not sufficiently hearteningto sustain the strength necessary for a state of activelabour. The Americans call this dish hominee.”

If you would like to share your favourite tripping recipes,please contact Barb Young, 12 Erindale Crescent,Brampton, Ont. L6W 1B5; [email protected].

Out ThereWe’ve been out there a few times when we probablyshouldn’t have been, and I keep kicking myself eachtime we do it. And then the next time it happens, I’mwondering why we did it again. You know what I meanby being out there. It’s attempting to run a rapid thatlooks doable from shore, but looks far less certainwhen you are out there in the middle of it.I know why wilderness canoeists lean towards the

‘let’s-paddle-it’ option when deciding how to getaround a rapid. It’s the amount of work that has to bedone when the paddling option is rejected. It is far lesswork to run a rapid than any of the other choices avail-able to the wilderness canoeist – lining, portaging, lift-ing over, walking the canoes down.

Wilderness canoeists with experience know thatyou can get around anything. I know it. We havepushed canoes up 100 metres above the river to getaround gorges. Have never regretted that effort. Stillremember (and it has been a long time) the time Iknew, I really knew we should carry, but I thought thatwe could bring the canoes down empty and justportage the duffle bags.

Close. Very close. Oh, not to swamping, we did thatfor sure. But close. So close I could feel them callingfor me. Riding the swamped canoe down, holding onto the center thwart. I remember it well. How alert Iwas. How my mind was racing. How conscious I wasof my surroundings. Can I make it down to the bottomof the rapid? Concentrating on keeping my head abovewater. Making sure that I stayed upstream of the canoeso as to not risk a pin between rock and canoe. Didn’tsee anything except water and the canoe for a longtime.

Shivers. Not from the cold water. Shivers fromthem asking about me. Now? They didn’t wanta reply. If they did, I would tell them that I wasn’tready. Their answer would be that whether you areready or not doesn’t really matter. We make exceptionswhen you come to us.

Got away that time. I try to keep the memoryburied deep, but it surfaces. Often. Mostly when I amnear any moving water.

I shiver then. I’m afraid that I will have that fearthe rest of my life. It’s another reason to portage thecanoes when there is some doubt. That load willbe lighter than the one I carry every day now.

Greg Went


Location: Toronto Sailing & CanoeClub, 1391 Lakeshore Blvd. West,Toronto

Cost: $175.00 + GST

Registration: By email to:[email protected] and cc:[email protected]

Payment: Send cheque (payable toPaddler Co-op) to: Paddler Co-op,6535 Palmer Road, Palmer Rapids,ON, K0J 2E0

Meals: Course participants are re-sponsible for their own lunchmeals, snacks, and drinks. Whileit’s possible to get food from nearbyKing St. W. and Queen St. W. es-tablishments, it’s much more con-venient to bring your own.

Clothing: Wear comfortable, layeredclothing. Part of the training will beconducted outside, so bring warmclothes in case of cold weather.

Facilities: Club washroom facilitiesare scaled to handle large events andinclude hot showers and changingrooms.

Schedule November 2808:30 – 09:00 Meet & Greet withCoffee & Tea09:00 – 12:00 Course12:30 – 13:30 Lunch Break13:30 – 17:00 Course

Schedule November 2908:30 – 12:30 Course12:30 – 13:30 Lunch Break13:30 – 16:30 Course

WCA Wine &Cheese Fall Party

2009

The Wine and Cheese is a greatopportunity for all members, oldand new, to meet past canoeingfriends and make new ones. Evenif you are not a member, thisparty is for you.You can find outwho belongs to the WCA, whatthe club is all about, hear aboutrecent outings, and get new ideasand tips for planning future trips.On top of all that, you can enjoyinteresting presentations, andsample tasty snacks.The party takes place on

Saturday, November 28, 2009 atToronto Sailing and Canoe Club(TSCC), 1391 Lakeshore Blvd.West, Toronto. There is freeparking.For more information, cost,

program, etc. please go to theWCA website.

Lee Chantrell is a Paramedic with a

wealth of experience in outdoor

leadership and managing risk in re-

mote wilderness environments. A

former expedition leader in Nepal

and the Alps, a river operations

manager on the Ottawa River, and

more recently a practising

Advanced Care Paramedic, Lee in-

tegrates his teaching expertise with

practical medical training and well-

honed incident management skills.

Lee is a member of the Wilderness

Medical Society, with his Outdoor

Emergency Medicine program

being endorsed by both the

National Safety Council and the

Emergency Care and Safety

Institute. Lee is a passionate in-

structor and certified educator who

brings a professional, practical ap-

proach to the wilderness f irst aid

training.

Wilderness First Aid TrainingNovember 28-29, 2009

Provided by Lee Chantrell & Paddler Co-op


This article was prompted by PeterWilson’s “Living the Dream”(Nastawgan, Summer 2009). I too retiredthis year after 29 years in the federalpublic service, most of it within thePublic Safety portfolio, including a veryfrustrating five years in the review bodyresponsible for CSIS.Originally I had planned to return to

the Arctic to commemorate this long-awaited event, but the state of the econ-omy and the cost of air charters to andfrom the Horton forced a reality check.Even a straightforward trip to Wabakimifell apart because of scheduling prob-lems, so I finally settled on LaVérendrye because of its proximity toOttawa and a curiosity to revisit my ca-noeing roots. La Vérendrye representeda return to home waters, because this iswhere I first developed my passion forwilderness canoeing almost forty yearsago.

A brief sketch of the reserveRéserve faunique La Vérendrye wasoriginally created in 1939 as a huntingand fishing preserve, then renamed tocommemorate the 200th anniversary of

Lac au Barrage

the death of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes,sieur de La Vérendrye, one of Canada’smost renowned fur traders and explorers.La Vérendrye is part of a network of

22 parks and 15 wildlife reserves admin-istered by la Société des établissementsde plein air du Québec (Sépaq). It’s thesecond largest reserve in the province,covering an enormous area (12,589square kilometres) straddling Quebec’sHighway #117, which runs betweenMontreal and Val-d’Or. It is important tonote that this area is not a park, so youwill see plenty of evidence of loggingand recreational use. Since the reserve isonly about 250 km northwest of Ottawa,it’s a relatively easy drive, comparable toa trip to Algonquin Park.What makes La Vérendrye so special

is the incredible amount of water con-tained within its boundaries. Two im-mense reservoirs (Dozois and Cabonga)regulate water flows and permit hydro-electric generation along the Ottawa andGatineau rivers, and the headwaters ofboth the Dumoine and Coulonge riversare located within the reserve. With over4,000 lakes and rivers, it’s a canoeist’sparadise and so it’s not surprising that this

area has a long association with canoeing.La Vérendrye is part of the homeland

of the Algonquin, who used to roam thenorth and south shores of the OttawaRiver and its tributaries. At the beginningof the 17th century, their control of thestrategic Ottawa watershed, alliance withthe French, and growing involvement inthe fur trade provoked the Iroquois, whobegan raiding up and down the OttawaRiver and drove theAlgonquins from thisarea.During this period of instability, the

Hurons and Nipissings – who were mid-dlemen in the fur trade – developedcanoe routes through La Vérendryewhich bypassed the lower Ottawa River.These were used as a temporary detourto bring furs to Montreal.Later, after the wars between the

French and English ended and the Treatyof Paris guaranteed aboriginal peopletheir traditional hunting territories not al-ready ceded to the British, manyAlgonquins returned to their ancestralareas.They became increasingly involved in

the fur trade, building the canoes whichtransported the furs and trading rolls of

Return to La VérendryeTim Farr


birch bark used in their construction. Infact, much of the information which eth-nologist and scholar Edwin TappanAdney collected concerning the con-struction of fur trade canoes came fromthe factor of the Hudson’s Bay Companypost located on Grand Lac Victoria in LaVérendrye.There are nine Algonquin communi-

ties located on the Quebec side of theOttawa River watershed. Those mostclosely associated with La Vérendrye in-clude Lac Simon, Kitcisakik (Grand LacVictoria), Mitcikinabik Inik (BarriereLake) and Kitigan Zibi (River Desert)First Nations. The second of these com-munities – Kitcisakik – does not have thelegal status of a reserve.Some of Canada’s most famous birch-

bark canoe makers came from thesecommunities, including WilliamCommanda of Kitigan Zibi and Patrick

allowed me to borrow their car for up toa week at a time. Later, I used to take ei-ther my son or daughter out of schoolbefore the summer recess, and whateverskills they’ve acquired as canoeists werehoned in this area. As a result, it’s al-ways special to check-in at Le Domainebecause it holds many happy memoriesfor me.First stop was La Vérendrye Canoe-

Camping, which was formed in 1993 asthe result of a partnership between laFédération québécoise du canot et dukayak and Sépaq. Here, you can rent ca-noes, arrange shuttles, purchase canoeingand camping equipment, or simply dis-cuss routes and the conditions you’relikely to encounter. Staff also keep theportages cleared on many of the morepopular routes and maintain and cleanthe campsites.I was pleased to find that my name

Maranda of Mitcikinabik Inik. Maranda’scraftsmanship is featured in the iconicphotograph of Pierre Trudeau dressed ina T-shirt, kneeling in the stern of a birch-bark canoe.

The trip beginsWe started our 110-kilometre loop at Lacau Barrage on 5 July 2009 after pickingup the necessary permits at Le Domaine,which is essentially a truck stop, visitor’scentre, and float plane base located50 km inside the reserve’s southernboundary. This is also the terminus formany of the popular weekend canoeingcircuits on Lacs Jean-Pere, Poulter andAntostagan.I cut my canoeing teeth soloing on

many of these routes as a teenager,blessed by wonderful parents who droveme to and from Le Domaine and thenafter I had obtained a driver’s license,

Carrière Creek

and the details of the car I drove and thecolour of my canoe and tent were stillregistered on their computer system.Unfortunately, prices had gone up con-siderably since the last time I visited.Fees to use the reserve include a camp-ing charge of $8 per night, per adult; aspecial permit of $81.95 to fish in the re-serve for seven consecutive days; on topof a Quebec non-resident fishing license($62 annually or $41.50 for a temporary,seven-day license).Lac au Barrage is a further 30 km

north on Highway #117. Turning west offthe paved road at Route #28, you driveapproximately six kilometres on a veryrough logging road which skirts LacsLarouche and du Portage. Lac auBarrage is one of several parking siteswithin the reserve where it’s relativelysafe to leave a vehicle unattended, due toits distance from the highway. After get-

ting the canoe into the water and theusual fuss loading canoe packs and foodbarrels, then experimenting with theirweight distribution, we were underwayjust before noon.This trip was the 17th I had made

with my close friend, canoeing partner,and bowman Ted Baker, in what has be-come an annual ritual. Ted is withoutdoubt the most accomplished campfirecook I know, and it is a pleasure to watchhis slow, rhythmic strokes eating up thewater. After so many years canoeing to-gether, we trust each others’ judgment,we know our strengths and weaknesses,and our camp routine has become almosteffortless due to clearly understood andlong-established roles.A successful canoe tripping part-

nership is like a marriage, requiringpatience and good communication.Petty grievances if left unspoken can

ruin a relationship. But when it works– as ours does – it’s wonderful andsomething to be treasured. Our annualcanoe trips, which have taken usacross northern Ontario, to the shoresof James and Hudson Bays, and as farnorth as the Barrens, are truly thehighlight of the year.Lac au Barrage is the source of the

Coulonge River, whose course we wouldbe following on the first day. It’s possibleto make a two-week, 250-km trip southall the way from Lac au Barrage to theOttawa River (consult Hap Wilson’s“Rivers of the Upper Ottawa Valley” formore details). However, our journeywould take us west, starting with a shortlift-over into Lac Grand, then onwardsacross Lac Nichotéa.Nastawgan readers will recall how

much rain fell in Ontario and Quebecthis summer, so we encountered unusu-

View up eastern arm of Lac Camitogama



ally high water levels. In the first of whatproved to be several surprises, we wereable to run straight through the old con-trol dam and over the lumber slide at thewestern end of Lac Grand, rather thantaking the usual short portage. This damis one of several reminders of theCoulonge River’s long association withthe logging industry – in fact, the last logdrive took place in 1984. As a childgrowing up in Ottawa, it was commonfor me to see great rafts of logs gatheredin the shadow of the ParliamentBuildings, and there remains evidence oflogging activity throughout LaVérendrye to this day.Long after the original stands of white

pine were cut, the area continues to beharvested for pulp and veneer. The roughlogging roads, which crisscross the re-serve, are an eyesore and a disturbing re-minder of the destruction taking place,

Island campstite on Lac Camitogama

although most of the activity is confinedto the winter months.The countryside we were passing

through was literally dripping with water,to the point that some shoreline vegeta-tion had drowned and was toppling intothe water. The second-growth forest in-cludes white and yellow birch, sugarmaple, hemlock, white and black spruce,plenty of cedar, and the occasional standof white and red pine. There are alsosome 40 species of mammals in LaVérendrye including moose, bear, wolf,and of course beaver; over 150 species ofbirds; and the lakes and rivers are teem-ing with walleye, pike, and lake trout.I am always cautious crossing Lac

Nichotéa, because its saucer shape meansthat the lake can get rough quickly and inaccordance with the first law of wilder-ness canoe tripping, you will always bepaddling into a headwind. On this cross-ing the waves weren’t too bad but thesquall lines on the horizon quickly forcedus into our rain suits. Stopping in the leeof one of the islands three quarters acrossthe lake, we surprised a loon on its nest.The bird dived and swam straight underthe canoe, giving us a brief glimpse of atorpedo-like shape rocketing through thewater.Then we pushed onwards through

Lacs Desty and D’Arcy, leaving theCoulonge River route at Lac Giroux, and

turning north towards Baie Nord-Ouest.The further into the backcountry you

go, the fewer the campsites and thewilder the bush. Similar to Algonquin,campsites and portages are usuallymarked with yellow signage, but thereare very few places where one couldmake an unscheduled stop (even if per-mitted), without having to expend signif-icant energy to clear a tent site.We chose to camp on the portage

which leads into Lac Strobile. This actu-ally marks a height of land, with thewater to the south of the portage drain-ing into the Coulonge River system,while on the other side, water flows northinto the Dozois Reservoir.It was a buggy campsite and not par-

ticularly attractive, due to the presence ofa logging road running across theportage behind us. However, an eveningstroll revealed plenty of wolf scat andmoose sign along the road’s gravel mar-gins. During the whole time we werethere, only one truck passed, leaving aplume of dust and one very surprisedtrucker who caught a momentaryglimpse of us from his cab.Our route now left the chain of lakes

which drain into the upper CoulongeRiver, and took us down Carrière Creek.This is a beautiful trip for those who likean intimate encounter with nature, butthe creek requires plenty of lining, wad-ing, and a succession of short portages,before reaching Lac Stimulus. From thispoint onwards, the creek is navigable andbecomes a succession of oxbows, some-what reminiscent of the Wakimika Riverin Temagami.The banks are lined with marsh grass,

wild iris, pickerelweed, and cattails, andwe half expected to see a moose aroundevery bend. Eventually, Carrière Creekspills into a large lake of the same name,which offers some of the finest camp-sites in La Vérendrye.

Reliving past adventuresLac Carrière was the site of one of mymost frightening experiences in a canoe,this time with my daughter. We had ar-rived at the creek’s outlet and were anx-ious to reach the beach campsite, whichlies halfway up the lake’s eastern shore.It was a beautiful day and discountingthe whitecaps rolling down the lake inthe direction we were heading, we de-


“The most accomplished campfire cook I know”


cided to chance it rather than waiting outthe wind. Big mistake.As soon as we cleared Carrière’s

southwest bay, we had the full strength ofthe wind coming straight behind us andit became clear that the whitecaps werebreaking on top of metre-high swells. Mydaughter – who would have been four-teen or fifteen at the time – handled her-self like a veteran, but we were soonsurfing dangerously out of control, andfrom my position in the stern I could seethat the waves running past us were wellabove the gunwales of the canoe.I’ve often wondered what would have

happened if we had foundered in thatwind, because the lake is five kilometreslong at that point, with an unimpeded runstraight to its northern shore. In “Path ofthe Paddle” Bill Mason describes how tofashion a sea anchor out of a cookingpot, but at the time we were simply toobusy trying to stay upright and controlthe canoe in such heavy swells.We barely made it across to where a

narrow esker forms an island half-way upthe lake. We both sprang out of the canoejust before it was driven ashore where itwould surely have been trashed by thehigh waves. However, the rewards of thisparticular site far outweigh any difficul-ties getting there.This is one of several natural beaches

which occur throughout LaVérendrye. Inthis case, there’s a sandy beach on bothsides of a small peninsula almost linkingthe mainland to an island, with the beachnarrowing to a spear point aimed directlywestward into the setting sun. The beachsand also has a curious pink color abovethe high water line which rivals anythingthe Caribbean has to offer. It’s a greatplace to swim and lounge, with apanoramic 360-degree sweep of the sky-line and some of the most fantastic sun-sets imaginable.

Back to the presentOn day four, we completed the remain-der of the paddle up Lac Carrière andthen portaged into the western arm ofLac Camitogama, which lies like a wish-bone below the Dozois Reservoir. Thislake is relatively shallow and boasts largestands of wild rice, which make it attrac-tive for waterfowl. At Camitogama’snorthern terminus, a river of the samename perversely loops southwest before

hooking back towards the Dozois.The weather was not great, and we

were continually hit by sudden showers,which would force us to don rain suits,before the sun would temporarily breakthrough the clouds again.Canoeing downstream on the

Camitogama River, paddlers will en-counter the wreckage of a log cabinslowly being enveloped by the bush.This is one of several structures builtwithin La Vérendrye by local Algonquinfamilies, and it can be disconcerting tocome across signs of human habitationon a canoe trip. But before rushing tojudgment, paddlers should acquaintthemselves with the sorry history of theBarrier Lake Algonquins, who saw boththe federal and provincial governmentsrenege on a 1991 trilateral agreement,which would have given them theNatives a meaningful say about resourcemanagement within the reserve.Recurring roadblocks on Highway #117and internal divisions within the BarrierLake Algonquins are sad remindersof Canada’s treatment of aboriginalpeoples.

Dozois ReservoirThe final portage on the CamitogamaRiver skirts a sharp drop, with sentinelstumps of flooded timber visible in thereservoir’s waters below. The DozoisReservoir is a monster: 61 km long and34 km wide, capable of holding 2.6 bil-lion cubic metres of water. Built between1945 and 1948, the creation of the reser-voir and its associated dams led to exten-sive flooding and water levels continueto fluctuate, wreaking havoc with theshoreline.Canoeists rounding the southeast

headland must exercise extreme caution,because this huge body of water is com-pletely unforgiving when a wind blowsup. It’s also important to stay well clearof the rocky shoreline, because the en-ergy created by the swells coming ashorecreates very confused seas, which couldeasily swamp a small boat, let alone ourSwift Kipawa.Our trip, while tiring, was relatively

uneventful, with Ted spotting a sow bearand two cubs, which we surprised root-ing along the shoreline. By late after-noon, we had entered the eastern arm of

The author on Camitogama River


the reservoir and a fishing lodge was vis-ible in the distance. This would be a goodplace to seek help in an emergency, butthe prospect of talking to a crowd ofwalleye fishermen did not appeal to us,so we decided to press on.At the back of this inlet, it’s possi-

ble to make a very nasty portage overblow-downs and through plagues ofdeerflies and mosquitoes, to emergetired and sweating at the north end ofLac Cawatose. We found a campsiteused by moose hunters soon after en-tering this lake, and gratefully downedpaddles after almost ten hours on thewater. However, since our routine nor-mally involves a glass of scotch orwine in the evenings, we were soon re-laxed and capable of joking about theday’s adventures.On our fifth day, we paddled through

the rather confusing pentagonal hub ofLac Cawatose, taking pains to correctlyexit into one of two bays leading south.There is a portage located on the western

shore of this bay, which takes you up andover a small ridge and back down to theeastern arm of Lac Camitogama, whichwe had left just twenty-four hours ago.The weather was too sunny to wastecooped-up in a canoe, so we decided tostop early and camp on the island di-rectly across from the portage.This is vintage La Vérendrye, with a

small footprint for a tent nestled amongthe blueberries, and a path leading to ahigh rocky knoll where the fire pit waslocated. It was a gorgeous site, with rose-pink blossoms of sheep laurel splashedacross the hillside, and a rock shelf at thewater’s edge perfect for swimming andcollecting water for the evening meal. Wespent a peaceful afternoon reading,watching the resident pair of loons andbathing in the cool waters – the sort ofday which makes you glad to be aliveand in the bush.The next morning we prepared for an-

other long haul, portaging south out ofLac Camitogama into the northern arm

of Lac Canimina. This is also a big lake:two distinct sections joined by a narrowerpassageway, with the lower half of thelake requiring a six-kilometre paddleacross open water. We were heading east,and once again we had to contend withheadwinds for most of the day.As the lake nears its eastern limits it

becomes increasingly shallow, ending ina crescent-shaped sand beach. It used tobe possible to slide a canoe over thesmall outlet, which flows from LacLongevelle, but beavers have nowdammed this passage, raising the waterlevel by at least a metre or more behindthe dam.Despite the natural beauty of this site,

it also is the scene of a tragedy. InStephen Herrero’s book “Bear Attacks –Their Causes and Avoidance” he writesof an event, which occurred here in July,1983, when a group of boys and theirleaders were camped on Lac Canimina.Despite having hung their food packswell away from their tents, not only did a

View of Dozois Reservoir from portage


black bear manage to pull the food downbut also went through the wall of one ofthe tents, pulling a twelve-year-old boyoutside where the boy was subsequentlykilled.When my kids were younger, we

would lie in the darkness and I wouldrecount this story to them, with suit-able embellishments and dramaticpauses to listen to the deer mice forag-ing outside. Ted is not so gullible, how-ever, so I contented myself looking atthe tadpoles basking in the warm waterand following the moose tracks, whichled across the beach and disappearedinto the beaver pond behind our camp-site.That evening, we were treated to the

rare spectacle of 22 loons gathered to-gether, fishing for baitfish in the lake’sshallow waters. I have seen such largeflocks in the fall, but never in mid-sum-mer. It was another reminder that evenfamiliar countryside can yield unex-pected pleasures.

The circle completedOn day seven, we did two short portages,which took us out of Lac Canimina andinto Lac Longeville, which as it namessuggests, is a long narrow lake somewhatresembling an inverted “L”. Many ca-noeists pass quickly through Longevellewithout taking the time to appreciate itsbeauty. I’ve done this route many times,but what I always remember is one mag-ical trip in early September, when themists were rising off the water and shafts

of sunlight were peeking through the ten-drils, creating an almost hallucinogenicexperience as my canoe floated throughspace.After approximately five kilometres,

the lake hooks north. One route linksLongevelle with Lac Kanamini, whileanother connects with Lac au Barrage,via a short portage from Longevelle’seastern shore. As portages go, this was abreeze; there was even a short length ofsplit cedar walkway spanning a boghalfway across the trail. By noon, we hadhumped the canoe and our gear across,and paddled to one of the campsites atthe northern end of the lake to spend ourfinal night under the stars.It’s always sad as a canoe trip winds

down.Yes, it’s nice to look forward to re-connecting with loved ones and theprospect of a comfortable bed, but thereis also the gnawing realization that theworld of technology and office politics,both large and small, are about to over-whelm your life once more. But hold on,I’m retired! I don’t ever have to drag my-self back to work again!On that note, two happily retired ca-

noeists spent their last afternoon togethereating through the excess food, repack-ing and sorting gear, and finishing thenovels they’d started a week ago. And inwhat I hope is a harbinger of continuedgood fortune in the years ahead, we sawour third bald eagle in as many days,slowly riding the thermals and salutingthe end of what had been another out-standing trip.

PostscriptSome final thoughts for Nastawganreaders interested in visiting LaVérendrye. This is not the canoeingcountry depicted by the Group ofSeven, so don’t expect granite pointsand craggy pines, and be prepared tosee plenty of evidence of human use,starting with the aboriginal peoples andcontinuing through the epochs of thefur traders and loggers to the resourceextraction and recreational activities ofthe present day. But also consider thatin eight days we saw only two otherparties of canoeists: some boy scoutswhom we quickly outpaced on LacGrand, and a second party from CampNominingue whom we passed headingin the opposite direction on LacCaminina. While you will certainly en-counter the occasional f ishermen onmost of the lakes (invariably over-dressed in bib rain pants or a floatationsuit), the backcountry appears virtuallydevoid of people. And whether as a re-sult of increased environmental aware-ness or the efforts of La VérendryeCanoe-Camping staff, this was the firsttrip I’ve ever done where we encoun-tered zero – I repeat zero – litter in anyof the campsites we visited.For further information about canoe-

ing opportunities in this area, contact LaVérendrye Canoe-Camping, telephone819-435-2331 or email [email protected] or visit www.canot-kayak.qc.ca/la_verendrye/siteEn/index1.

Huge flock of loons


Nicolas Garry was a future Deputy-Govenor (1822-1835) of the Hudson’sBay Company who made his firstcanoe trip from Lachine to the inte-rior in 1821. The following excerptfrom the Diary of Nicholas Garry,published in the Proceedings and

Transactions of the Royal Society ofCanada, second series-volume VI,meeting of May 1900, describes hisexperiences during his trip on theFrench River:

Wednesday the 20th June… Wenow entered the Rivière des Françoisand came to the Portage, La Chaudièredes François, so called from theNumber of Small Holes in the Rockshaving the Appearance of a Kettle. TheRivière des François is about 75 milesin Length and has more theAppearance of a Lake, forming an in-numerable Number of Low rockyIslands, so that you never see the

French River 1821

Banks. At 8 o’clock we came to theRapids des Pins. Hitherto we had al-ways ascended the Rapids which isless dangerous both in Appearance andin Reality. Now we had to descend andwere broken in by rather a terrific one.The Guide stands on the Gunwale at

the Bow to ascertain the Course of theRapid, he then stands in the Canoe anddirects the Steersman how to Shape hisCourse. The Rapidity with which youdescend is wonderful and, I should say,certainly at the Rate of 15 to 20 milesan Hour. To every Rapid is attached amelancholy History of Canoes lost andthe Crosses or Burial Places you meetwith everywhere prove that they arebut too true. It was now nearly darkwhen we came to the Rapid of theParisienne which we likewise de-scended and encamped on a small is-land at the Foot.Thursday the 21st June. After pass-

ing a restless Night from the Attack of

the Musquitoes and black Fly we em-barked at half-past two,--- beautifulmoonlight. At 7 we came to thePortage of the Recolet where theCanoe is only transported a few Pacesto avoid the dangerous Part of theRapid. A Canoe with 11 men was lostat this Rapid a few years since. TheCrosses are still standing on the spotwhere they were buried. The Rivercontinues to run through rocky islands.Perhaps the worst Part of Canoe

travelling is the Want of Comfort,which attends your Encampment atNight. In most Diff iculties andPrivations in Life there is always asomething which is pleasurable tolook forward to, when Comfort andEase will refresh you and give Reliefto your Sufferings. Here the approachof Night and in other Cases of Rest israther a matter of Dread than ofDesire. The Night is passed under theSuffering of Bites and Stings, and ifat last, worn out, Sleep should closethe Eyes the call to embark nowawakens you to the renewed Attacksof a Host of bloodthirsty and insa-tiable Enemies; a Digression occa-sioned by the Bite of the Musquitoes,Sand Flies, Spiders, etc., etc.At 9 we breakfasted, and at ½ past

we embarked. After paddling for twoHours we came to a narrow Channelforming a Rapid, and the Banks ofhigh Rocks on each Side so confinedas scarcely to allow the Canoe topass; it had the Appearance of aCanal cut in the Rock. After it [we]came to a short carrying Place but theWater being high the Canoe wastowed. At 2 o’clock Lake Huronopened upon us with the Appearanceof a vast Ocean.

This excerpt appeared in ToniHarting’s book French River,Canoeing the River of the Stick-Wavers, published by The BostonMills Press in 1996.

In 1821, these Recollet Falls looked the same as they do now in 2009photo Toni Harting


KillarneyProvincial

ParkPhotos by Allan Crawford

September 2008

For questions, suggestions, proposals to organize trips, or anything else related to the WCA Outings, contact the OutingsCommittee: Bill Ness, 416-321-3005, [email protected]; Gisela Curwen, 416-484-1471, [email protected];Scott Card, 905-665-7302, [email protected]; Mary Perkins, [email protected], 905-725-2874

Our ability to offer an interesting and diversified activities program depends on our trip organizers’ generous donation of their timeand enthusiasm. We appreciate the important contribution these members make to our club. If you are an active paddler,

please help us. Become an outings organizer.

WCA outings and other activities may have an element of danger of serious personal injury. You are responsible fordetermining if your equipment, skill, and experience are adequate to participate safely in a club activity. Participants are

ultimately responsible for their own safety and well-being when participating in club events.All moving-water trips rated intermediate level or higher require participants to have fully outfitted whitewater canoes (thigh

straps, air bags filling the boat, throw bag, secured spare paddle), and to be wearing helmets and weather-appropriate clothing(wetsuits or drysuits for winter, spring, fall trips).

Below is a summary schedule of our upcoming club outings and activities.Full details and descriptions can be found in the outings section of our website.

WANTTO ORGANIZE ATRIP AND HAVE ITPRESENTED INTHE AUTUMN ISSUE?Contact the Outings Committee before Novembert 1

WCA ACTIVITIESFALL 2009


All Season HALIBURTON COUNTYCANOE ROUTESRay Laughlen, 705-754-9479,[email protected] ----- There aremany canoe routes in HaliburtonCounty that offer superb lake tripping.As I live in Haliburton and have a flexi-ble work schedule, I visit these areasfrequently, especially during the week.If you would like to paddle with me,give me a call. Outings are suitable fornovices.

September 18-20 FALLTURKEYTRIPON BIG EAST LAKEGary James, 416-512-6690,[email protected] ----- Join usonce again for this Fall Festival week-end canoe trip. We have booked agroup campsite on Big East Lake nearHaliburton off HWY 118. As food is thetheme for this trip, there is only oneshort portage to the lake. The lake issmall in width but big enough to ex-plore for the day. The permit fee, andthe Saturday dinner of turkey with allthe trimmings will be a group effort forthe purchasing and cooking, with thecost split among all participants. Weare limited to 8 tents and 16 people.Please consider sharing a tent on thistrip so we can maximize the number ofparticipants.

October 2-4 WCA FALL MEETING ATMKCPlease join us at the fall meeting for aweekend of paddling, renewing old ac-quaintances, and making new friends.By popular demand, we are returningto the Madawaska Kanu Centre in thebeautiful Madawaska Valley nearBarry’s Bay. There are many opportuni-ties nearby for flatwater, and, of course,whitewater paddling, as well as hiking,biking, and sightseeing. Bring any ex-perienced gear or boats that you wouldlike to sell or swap. See the newsletterand website for details and registrationform.

October 5-20 COULONGE RIVERJay Neilson, 613-687-6037, [email protected] ----- Exact dates androute will be determined by organizersand participants. There should be spec-tacular fall hardwood scenery on thisremote two week tour that starts in theLa Verendrye Wildlife Reserve. Basicwhitewater skills are required to enjoythe trip, and there will be some portag-ing so you will need to pack for this.Due to the time of year, participantsmust anticipate cold weather andwater, and be suitably outfitted to dealwith both.

October 18 BURNT RIVERBill Ness, 416-321-3005 [email protected], book by October 11-----An opportunity to work of the caloriesfrom last week’s Thanksgiving dinner.An easy flatwater river trip fromKinmount to above the village of BurntRiver. The Burnt always has enoughwater to be paddled. Pretty sceneryand a few short portages make this agood late season outing. A great dayout for families or anyone wanting toenjoy the fall woods from a boat.

November 13-15 KOLAPORE HIGH-LANDS HIKINGWEEKENDJoin us (Diane Lucas, Rick Sabourin,Bruce & Beth Bellaire, Barb & DaveYoung) for a weekend of hiking (or theremote chance of cross-country skiing)the weekend of Nov 13th to 15th. Wewill stay at the farmhouse at HighlandsNordic in Duntroon (www.highlands-nordic.on.ca), and will hike in the PrettyRiver Provincial Park and at KolaporeHighlands. Accomodation is dormitorystyle and the cost dependent on thenumber of participants but should bearound $50/person. You will provideyour own food but a pot luck dinner willbe organized for Saturday night. If youare interested please contactDiane Lucas at 905-826-0875 [email protected].


November 28 WCAWINE & CHEESEFALL PARTYThe very popular end-of-season Wine& Cheese will be held at the samevenue as last year, the Toronto Sailingand Canoe Club (TSCC), 1391Lakeshore Blvd. West, Toronto. Formore information, please go to theWCA website.

November 28-29 WILDERNESSFIRST AIDThis course, taught once again by theeminently qualified Lee Chantrell, inconjunction with Paddler Co-op, comeshighly recommended by all who havetaken it. It will equip you with the basicskills you need to deal with a widerange of medical emergencies thatcould be encountered in the outdoors.If you are a regular outings organizer,this course qualifies for reimbursementunder our Organizer RecognitionProgram. Please see details in thenewsletter or on the website. Specialthanks to Aleks Gusev for organizingthis educational event.

November-?December BLACK RIVERICEBREAKERBill Ness, 416-321-3005 or [email protected], call anytime ----- It’s not un-usual for us to get late season rain,which brings the rivers up. However, atthis time of year it’s often very cool (aeuphemism for cold) and the days are

short. One of our favourite day trips atthis time of year, if we have water, isthe Black River near Washago as itwinds through the Black RiverWilderness Park. It’s just an hour to anhour and a half drive for most of us insouth central Ontario. The car shuttle isonly 10 minutes long and the car neverfar away if you get cold. And best of all,it has a whole bunch of Class 1-2rapids packed into that short distance.If the weather and water are reallygood, we can combine it with a shortbut challenging Class 2-3 section of theHead River nearby. We have a regulargroup of late season fanatics who enjoyit. As this outing is very much waterand weather dependent, we make ourdecision to go a couple days in ad-vance. If you want to be put on the calllist, let me know.

January-March 2010 WINTER POOLSESSIONSBill Ness, 416-321-3005 [email protected] ----- We have a tenta-tive booking at our usual Scarboroughpool at Albert Campbell Collegiate(Finch at McCowan) for Sundays from5:00 to 6:30 pm, with 10 sessions fromJanuary 10 through to March 14.Assuming last year’s rental rates stillhold, a whole winter of paddling pleas-ure will cost you only $100. Sorry, but Idon’t have dates & fee confirmationsfrom Toronto Parks & Rec yet due to the

recent civic workers strike. I will post anupdate on the on-line trip listings when Iget the confirmation. Whether you’re anexperienced boater looking to refineyour technique or a new whitewaterpaddler looking for help with your roll,this is a great opportunity. Open ca-noes, C-1’s & kayaks welcome. Call meas soon as possible to book a spot asspace is limited. I do have a few extraboats that people can borrow on a first-come, first served basis.

ADDITIONALTRIPSCheck our website at www.wilderness-canoe.ca/trips.htm for additional trips.Members may submit additional trips tothe Outings Committee anytime [email protected]. If you miss theNastawgan deadline, your trip will stillbe listed on the website. Also, checkthe bulletin board at www.wilder-nesscanoe.ca/bulletin.htm for private,non-WCA trips or partner requests.

NEED A PARTNER?If you’re a tandem canoeist in need of apaddling partner, whether for a singletrip or on a more regular basis, ourwebsite provides a valuable resourceto help you connect with other mem-bers who want to get on the water. Ifyou need a partner, please submit amessage for posting to our website giv-ing details.

We Welcome PetsThe following is my humorous pet-related story from one summer. I was registering at a small motel onMichigan’s Upper Peninsula on the final night of a seven-week Canadian-American summer tour. I was lookingforward to a reunion with our six-year-old yellow Labrador Retriever the next evening, who unfortunately couldnot be with us due to a three-week Arctic canoe trip that was part of the journey. I had a great laugh at the smallnotice on the registration desk:“We welcome pets. Pets don’t smoke in bed and set fire to our blankets. Pets don’t steal our towels. Pets don’tplay the TV too loud. Pets don’t have noisy fights with their travelling companions and break our furniture. If yourpet can vouch for you, you are welcome too.”

George Drought


1 Keele River Trip13 Picnic14 Food for Paddlers14 Out There15 First Aid Training15 Wine & Cheese Party16 La Vérendrye

24 French River 182125 Killarney Provincial Park26 Outings/Activities27 We Welcome Pets

Editorial Team:Toni Harting, (Interim) Editor-in-ChiefBarb Young, Food EditorBill Ness, Outings EditorBob Henderson, Resource Editor

…in this issue

WCA Contacts http://www.wildernesscanoe.caWCA Postal AddressP.O. Box 910682901 Bayview Ave.Toronto, ON M2K 2Y6

BOARD OF DIRECTORSAleksandar Gusev(Chair)8 Valiant RoadEtobicoke, [email protected]

Martin HeppnerToronto, [email protected]

Jon [email protected]

Barbara [email protected]

Mary [email protected]

Michel [email protected]

SecretaryBill King45 Hi Mount DriveToronto, ON M2K [email protected]

WCA OutingsBill Ness194 Placentia Blvd.Toronto, ON M1S [email protected]

Interim EditorToni Harting7 Walmer Rd. Apt. 902Toronto, [email protected]

TreasurerBarb [email protected]

WebmasterJeff HaymerToronto, [email protected]

Membership andComputer RecordsAnne [email protected]

ConservationJeff [email protected]

Where it is…

Ontario

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SPRING 2006 II · I reg h ad n oif m yu cv l p, a c op yw i th s.Of u ren d g - g i ou s er– thf c a ndl x p ag e .A t h im o fyu rv w l s db n x A n y o ebu ig thk rw l c v a p