Canoeing in Fredericton

• Today, being Canada Day, Kulli and I went canoeing on the St. John and Nashwaaksis Rivers. The Nashwaaksis is tributary which feeds into the St. John at Fredericton. The canoe is a 20-year old cedar-strip (sometimes called a "stripper") Redbird design. In retrospect I would not wish a strip boat building project on anyone. I wasted a good part of my youth on this thing. Anyway - its a nice canoe and we had great day. Some pictures can be found here.

Diving off Peggy's Cove

Norman and I went SCUBA diving off Peggy's Cove in July '08. A few pictures are here.

Canoeing the Bonaventure River

During June 2009 Ian, Adam, Kulli and Peter canoed down the Bonaventure River. Located on Quebec's Gaspe Peninsula, the Bonaventure is known for its exceptionally clear water and as an Atlantic Salmon habitat. We started high in the Chic Choc Mountains - after a four hour transfer (with an outfitters off road-converted school bus) from the coastal town of Bonaventure. We canoed about 110 km over four days -arriving back at our vehicle at the outfitting camp in Bonaventure.
Most of the rapids were R-1 and R-2's. We may have encountered two R-3's. One for sure!
Overall this was a good trip. Generally relaxed with a few moderately challenging moments. No biting insects! See photos here.

Part 3 - St. Lawrence Sailing Video

Finally completed the Silver Shadow trilogy. See the final video here.

La Jetée

Assembling the Silver Shadow video made me recall (from film studies at York University) an important still-montage film. La Jetée (1962) by Chris Marker was a milestone experimental film. Composed entirely of stills (with one short exception) La Jetée deals with a group of nuclear war survivors living below Paris. This one is a veritable "ace up your sleeve" if you are having a conversation with serious art-house film enthusiasts. In my case it is probably the only real avant-garde film I know - so I would be quickly unmasked. Anyway - you can see it here - It's only about 25 long minutes and quite watchable.

Prescott (Ontario) to Halifax

We bought a sail boat in 2005 - a C & C 25. Sailed Silver Shadow from Prescott, Ontario to Halifax, Nova Scotia over three years. I hope to use this space to to write about our trip down the St. Lawrence, around Gaspe, and onto the Atlantic. I am preparing a three-part video series. See parts 1 & 2 here: Silver Shadow - Part 1 ; Silver Shadow - Part 2
Fellow crew - please comment so we can build up this site!

Canoeing the Bay du Nord River

In July 2004 Külli & I canoed down Newfoundland's Bay du Nord River - from Jubilee Lake to Pool's Cove. We found the river quite challenging in places (some R5+’s). As we are relative novices to remote WW tripping (and were travelling alone) we opted for a more conservative approach. We lined/portaged >R2 situations. Some tricky lining situations in canyon rapids! In retrospect spray covers would have been a good idea. Be prepared to spend half a day portaging around Smokey Falls. Some of the scenery was spectacular. Would strongly recommend this trip to anyone with reasonable tripping and moderate WW skills. I have attached some sections of a blog summary below:

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…I located the Bay du Nord on the Canadian Heritage Rivers Website. The fact that little information exists on the internet or in written form on the Bay du Nord intrigued us even more. The fishing was described laconically as “good” in the few descriptions a found. In addition to good fishing, we were also seeking some degree of challenge. The river described as “difficult”, “remote” and “requiring expert-level” whitewater skills seemed to offer challenge. I know from experience that these are very subjective terms, often over or under -stated. Although we have some whitewater experience in Ontario (e.g. the Missinabi River 2002 and Spanish River 2003) we had to be certain that most rapids were lineable or portagable. The fact that the river was in Newfoundland clenched this trip for Külli and me. Both of us had wanted to visit The Rock. Newfoundland seemed to add another dimension to a wilderness canoe trip. The Canadian Heritage Rivers System describes the Bay du Nord River as”… one of the last wilderness areas of insular Newfoundland. Its pristine natural condition and diverse natural features, such as barrens, forests, lakes and rapids, combine to create a scenic beauty of great majesty. Largely located within the 2,895 sq. km Bay du Nord Wilderness Reserve, the river offers a wide variety of wilderness recreation opportunities. Recreational canoeists recognize the Bay du Nord as an excellent and very challenging river which presents a variety of canoeing experiences in a magnificent wilderness setting.”

Planning for the Trip

We started planning for the trip in January. As the only way into the upper Bay du Nord Wilderness area is by aircraft we had to locate an air service. I discovered Thorburn Aviation through a Newfoundland travel directory. After a few telephone conversations with Thorburn’s owner and pilot Gene Ploughman, plans began to fall into place. Gene connected us to John Gosse, a wildlife biologist from Terra Nova Park. John agreed to lend us his whitewater canoe and help us to pre-position our van at Pool’s Cove, at the mouth of the river where we would be exiting. Külli and I spent hours poring over the three requisite 1:50,000 scale topographic maps. We identified points of interest, hazards, and developed a route - programming these coordinates on my laptop as we went along. When done I uploaded the selected coordinates into my Garmin E-Trex Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver.

Getting There

We arrived in Newfoundland via Port aux Basques on the morning of Friday June 25 by car ferry from North Sydney, Nova Scotia. One of Külli’s colleagues at Dalhousie, originally from Newfoundland, said that Port aux Basques is a barren rock and that we would immediately wonder if all of Newfoundland would be as severe and inhospitable a place. Looking out from the deck of the MV Joseph and Clara Smallwood as we docked at dawn I had to admit she was right! After driving for about half a day we met up with John Gosse who accompanied us by car to Pool’s Cove where we left our van. We then drove about 250 km to Traytown, to pick up John’s 16 foot Old Town canoe. During the drive John stated a few times that the Bay du Nord was not an easy river. He said that typically only 3-4 parties a year canoe the river. He made appoint of telling us that he swamped three times during his first and only trip down the river last year. We ended our night in a rental cottage at Thorburn Lake – about 10 minutes from Thorburn Aviation’s seaplane base. I called Gene Ploughman to let him know that persons and gear were in place. Gene insisted that we depart at 7:30 AM in the morning. Wind is a big concern when flying canoes because of the drag effect on small aircraft. Early mornings are quietest. Gene said he cannot fly if the wind exceeds 25 knots. ''This isn’t Air Canada, I only fly when the conditions allow it” Gene tells me in a wry voice.

The Flight

When we arrived in the morning, we found Gene preparing his Cessna 185 for flight. The 185 (in picture) is an impressive aircraft. It bares a superficial resemblance to the 172, the aircraft most people visualize when they hear Cessna. The 185 is larger, more robust and has a 300 horsepower Continental fuel injected six cylinder engine with a variable pitch prop. I understand it was developed for bush flying. Although almost 25 years old, Gene’s 185 was in good shape. We loaded our gear into the rear section of the small cabin. I helped Gene attach the canoe to the right pontoon struts. We untied the aircraft from the dock, climbed in and were ready for flight. The wind was really starting to pick up. Despite his earlier statements about wind, Gene seemed determined to fly that morning. After a short engine warm up and systems check, Gene pitched the prop for torque, maxed the throttle and we were off. The plane seemed to almost jump into the air. Even with the drag of the canoe, this aircraft does not require much room to get airborne. We departed from Thorburn Lake at around 8:00 AM on Saturday June 26.

Six Days on the River

Day 1 - Rain

After flying for about half an hour over endless lakes, shrubs and rock Gene told us that we would have to put down for a while. Patches of fog covered the ground and he said he could not reach Jubilee Lake at this time because of the fog. After a stopover in a nearby pond to wait for fog to clear we flew on. A pond is what most Canadians would call a lake but in Newfoundland wilderness is measured to a different scale. Finally we landed in Jubilee Lake. Gene pulled up to an old dock. At one time there had been a cabin on the Lake but it was dismantled years ago as part of the Province’s effort to create a large wilderness preserve. The wilted dock is all that remained of the. We unpacked our gear from the plane. Gene and I untied the canoe. Within five minutes Külli and I were ready to paddle. I untied the Cessna as Gene started the engine. We waved farewell. The plane began to gather speed and soon rose into the grey sky. We began to paddle away from the dock. Here we were alone on Jubilee Lake - alone. The topography reminded me of Ontario’s Canadian Shield region. However the Bay du Nord area seemed starker, severe in appearance as few deciduous trees could be seen. I switched on the GPS and noted our distance and bearing to our first waypoint, the channel into Koskaecodde Lake. The wind was really starting to blow. After inching along, we opted to take a break in hopes that he wind would recede. We were not fortunate. However after about 2 hours we paddled into the narrows that joined the two lakes. We passed through a narrows with a few rocks. The water had some flow to it. We were already on the seaward southern side of the height of land. Each lake being lower than the one above it. We opted for an earlier camp and after some looking chose a sandy beachfront lot. Sandy campsites are not good because the sand always tracks into your tent. Keeping dry is also more difficult because sand can easily turn to mud when it rains. After a dehydrated prepared meal we went to sleep. I could hear rain fall on the tent fly as I was falling asleep.

Day 2 - Fish, Fish & More Fish

We entered Medonnegonix Lake. Külli was the first to cast. She tossed a Little Cleo as far she could behind the boat. After what seemed like only a few seconds she claimed that she probably had a snag. I agreed we must be in shallow water I said; the lure was probably hitting a few rocks. I cast in a Williams spoon. I too appeared to get a snag almost immediately. I decided to reel in to check if there was debris or seaweed attached. As I reeled toward the boat I noticed a fair sized dark form follow the lure right to the boat and then dive just before I pulled the lure out of the water. OK maybe those arching rod tips were not snags after all. We soon began to land fish; Ouananiche (land-locked Atlantic salmon – 2 pound fish caught by Külli shown photograph on left) and Speckled Trout. Ouananiche has been described as one of the “least known, and rarest of fish species.” Ouananiche, which average between 2 to 5 lbs are a landlocked version of the increasingly rare Atlantic Salmon. There are supposedly very few Ouananiche fisheries in the world. We seemed to have discovered one. That evening we dined on fish. I must admit that the Speckled Trout tasted better. Külli preferred the somewhat fattier, Lake Trout-like, Ouananiche (in picture below). I should note that we saw some bears, one was enormous, and a caribou that day. I reflected on the description of what we were to expect tomorrow: “The most challenging section of the Bay du Nord is considered to be the 30 km of river below Medonnegonix Lake.”

Day 3 – More Fish & Rough Whitewater

Our day opened with me catching a 3 pound Speckled after a couple casts while waiting for the hot water to boil on the naphtha stove. This is too easy – I thought. After a breakfast of bacon and (dehydrated) scrambled eggs we packed up and were off. Soon we were into the Bay du Nord River proper. The topo map indicated a set of rapids were to be expected soon. After running a few sets of minor rapids which were not indicated on the map we had our experience with some more serious rapids. We diligently decided to scout the rapids. They were more challenging than anything we had taken before, but not outright frightening. We observed the flow and developed a visual plan for the run. We got back in the boat, donned our helmets and pushed off – we were committed – no turning back. All went well and we quite enjoyed ourselves. We then scouted and ran a few minor sets of rapids. Soon we encountered another more challenging set. Our mistake was to not scout it thoroughly. This set started well. We dropped through two sections with out much of a problem. We soon however turned into a low canyon-like section with a cascading set of rapids winding between large boulders. We were able to get around the first set of boulders. We then dropped about 4 or 5 feet and hit some enormous standing waves (or haystacks in whitewater parlance) taking on lots of water. We kept moving however and wound into another boulder strewn drop. The canoe’s nose plunged too deep this time and the boat began to submerge soon moving away from underneath me. Külli was already out of the boat and got pulled into a side eddy. I floated with the boat a little longer soon making my way into a quiet section between two powerful drops. Helmets and high buoyancy floatation vests are a good thing! The canoe plunged forward. The next hour was spent rescuing the canoe which was bobbing around in some slower water downriver, securing our floating packs, locating paddles and fishing rod case. We had been warned to expect a few good swims. I am glad we had our first experience early. It humbled us and allowed us to approach the rest of the trip with reasonable caution. The experience also made it clear that all items must be well secured within the canoe. After paddling on for a while we found a flat rocky shore section to camp. Our Seal Line water proof expedition canoe packs were fabulous – not a drop of water had entered. We changed into dry clothes and warmed up by a fire and ate some Ouananiche.

Day 4 – Cautious

We had learned our lesson yesterday. Most of the day was spent carefully assessing ever more ferocious rapids. We opted to line or portage a number of rapids. Some rapids were not rapids – they were falls mislabeled. I find it hard to believe that anyone could run these. Not even in a kayak. These “rapids” featured successions of step-like drops powerfully winding between boulders. Some were not really portagable – requiring a combination of lifting, lining and rock climbing (with heavy packs). No time for fishing. That evening we made it to Smokey Falls which is substantial. The falls are some 60 feet high. The water volume is immense – producing a slight fog around the vicinity. We slept on a flat rock ledge close to the falls.

Day 5 – Slow Going

Most of our day involved traversing Smokey falls. This was not easy because remote wilderness canoe routes do not feature cleared portages. Portaging the canoe about 600 meters required several scouting trips to determine the least restrictive route through the brush. Fortunately some sections of caribou trails were useful. Our total travel for that day was about 2 km. We camped at a grassy site that was infested with black flies. Although we had been wearing bug jackets throughout the trip – here they were essential. After dinner we tried a few casts from the canoe. We had not fished for a while – being too preoccupied with whitewater travel. We hooked small fish immediately. They appeared to be Atlantic Salmon smolt - which we promptly released. Smokey Falls marks the limit of freshwater habitat for salmon. We did not see any mature salmon rise although the run was supposed peak at around the end of June. We decided to quit fishing as we did not want to endanger this sensitive species.

Day 6 - The Best Pan-fried Cod in the World

The final day involved running a lot of class 2-3 rapids in the last 5 km of the river proper. We encountered a few rock gardens with the rapids. This was all quite manageable however compared to what we had encountered previously. As it was the end of June, the water level was declining and some sections required us to get out o the cane and line and push. Close to the mouth we had to portage a falls. Here we encountered humans for the first time in 5 days. A number of fishing cottages are located just below these falls. Several anglers were wading casting flies into pools for Atlantic Salmon. The Bay du Nord is a scheduled Atlantic Salmon River. Scheduled means fly fishing only. We chatted briefly with a few. One man proudly told us that he caught and released a salmon in the morning. After the cottages, the river widened into a fjord-like section. The water was brackish. We followed the mouth as it opened up into Fortune Bay which offered a magnificent bluish vista of sea and rocky islands. The water was remarkably calm and we decided to paddled straight across to Pool’s cove – approximately 3 km from the river mouth.

We arrived at the government dock, where we had parked our van 6 days ago. We chatted with a few curious residents as we loaded our gear and attached the canoe onto the roof. Pool’s cove is an authentic fishing village. Road access is a relatively new phenomenon. Previously the village could only be reached by coastal ferry. After driving about 150 km to the intersection of the Trans-Canada and Highway 360 we could no longer fight off hunger pangs. We pulled into the Exploits River Motel. This Motel was clearly not marketing to urban sophisticates seeking Newfoundland charm. The parking lot held a trailer with a load of crushed school buses and a few dusty pickups with long whip antennae. The motel featured a combination dining lounge and variety store. A friendly largish woman greeted us and pointed to the daily special – fried cod with mashed potato. We ordered a portion each. When it arrived at the table, the fish smelled fabulous. It tasted even better. Fantastic - this was surely the best meal I had had in a long time.

Last Word

I have never experienced wilderness as during those six days on the Bay du Nord. The whitewater sections were magnificent. The people we met in Newfoundland were generous and sincere. We are already discussing returning with a better outfitted boat and at least one other canoe party to run some of those rapids that we held back on.
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Note – Also consider flying from Conne River. This may be less complicated logistically and shorter (less expensive).