Winisk River: Webequie to Peawanuck (12 days / 420 km)
This is a trip I never thought I would be given the chance to do — a trip down the Winisk River. Back in the 1980’s when I was canoe guide for Camp Voyageur out of South River Ontario, we would paddle the Missinabi River to Moosonee each year. I always found the remoteness and the landscape invigorating and like so many other canoeists I wondered what it would be like to paddle a more remote river. I had an old copy of “Canoe Routes of Ontario” and up in the corner of the map of Ontario all by itself was the Winisk River that flows right into Polar Bear Provincial Park. I wanted to go there and never really forgot about it.
I met Dr. Bill Rom through an art commission of a sculpture of famed canoeist Bill Mason that he had commissioned for a park in Ely MN to honor his parents the foundered of Canoe Country Outfitting.
When we met to talk about the sculpture, we also talked about all the canoe trips we have done and then Bill said that he was going to canoe the Winisk but it was postponed last year because of COVID.
I told him the Winisk had been on my canoe “wish list” since I was 20. My friends and I were planning to canoe in Wabakimi when I got an email from Bill asking if I want to paddle the Winisk. After clearing it with my wife and friends I was on board!
Winisk Lake and virtually all of the Winisk River are protected within a Waterway Provincial Park. For the first 160 km the river runs wild and fast, with many rapids and falls. For the next 160 km it continues to run swiftly, but with fewer sudden rapids. Along the entire route are burnt-over areas with very little mature forest. Near Hudson Bay the river crosses Polar Bear Provincial Park, which contains one of the southernmost extensions of arctic tundra in the world.
Limestone Rapids offers a last dash through white water, and high limestone cliffs. islands and gravel mounds make the final stretch uniquely scenic. The trip ends at the village of Peawanuck.
Trip Completed: July 2022
Trip Summary
Starting Point: Webequie on Lake Winisk
Ending Point: Peawanuck
Total Distance: 420 km
Duration: 12 days (including 1 reconnaissance day and 1 rest day)
Difficulty: Advanced — This route challenges experienced canoeists with extensive white water and long-distance travel through the solitude of muskeg wilderness. A guide is strongly recommended.
Portages: 9-12 / 1.2,350m (steep and in poor condition)
About the Winisk River: The Winisk River originates in Northern Ontario north of Lake Superior in the Hudson Bay watershed. It is separated into the Upper Winisk which flows into Lake Winisk and the Lower Winisk from Lake Winisk to Hudson Bay. This trip is on the Lower Winisk. The last part of the trip will be affected by coastal winds. The river should not be run before June 20.
Maps & Resources
- The Ministry of Natural Resources publication “Canoe Routes of Ontario” 1981
- Wilderness Canoe Association
- Nastawagan Spring 2022 volume 49 number 1
- Winter 1979 volume 6 number 4
- Winter 1984 volume 11 number 4
- Canoe Atlas of the Little North by Jonathan Berger and Thomas Terry, Boston Mill Press 2007
- Annotated maps from Map Canada iPad app.
- A full set of government of Canada maps was also consulted and carried on the trip. If you would like a full set of annotated maps email me at [email protected]
All annotated maps shown were taken from online map app and marked by me. Satellite images are from Apple Maps. *(Apple Maps satellite images are far greater resolution than Google Earth. This was found out after the trip looking back at rapids to add notes.)
Know Before You Go
Bugs: It is northern Ontario, and it was a wet June, so the bugs were terrible. All at once blackflies, mosquitos, and flies. When the weather dropped, they disappeared. Bring bug gear, especially face nets.
Wildlife: We saw a bear in the town of Wabaquie but did not see any on the river but did see bear signs at hunting cabins. Polar bears have been reported all the way up to the Big Bend. We saw a polar bear and a cub on the tundra from a great distance. Our guide recommends carrying firearms. We carried bear spray. When we went with our guide to the Hudson Bay Shore firearms are required. Our guide Maurice Mack supplied them.
Fishing: Pike, pickerel, brook trout in fast water.
Supplies: Can be purchased in Webiquie and Peawanuck. Rain-gear and winter clothing are essential.
Water levels: The water levels were very high. All descriptions of the river in this trip log pertain to High Water. The Winisk normally is much lower this time of year (I am sure the bugs would be bad regardless, but the locals said they were exceptionally bad this year).
You can see the water levels on these charts from when we started until when we finished.
Weather: The weather in the Hudson Bay Lowlands can be unpredictable. We had generally pleasant temperatures 20C to 28C ( 70’s to 80’s F ) until day 9 where the temperature plummeted to the low 4C (30’s F). On the coast of Hudson Bay, we wore winter gear supplied by our guide and needed it.
Trip Report
Day 0: Nakina SeaBase to Village of Wabiquie to campsite mouth lower Winisk River.
It was a Friday morning. We had sorted our gear the night before. Having come up separately we had duplicates of many things. Some we kept as duplicates for safety others we didn’t to reduce weight. One vehicle was left at the Nakina Airport. We would be flying back on a land-based cargo plane so we needed to have a vehicle to get back to the Sea Base where the other truck was.
Bill had made the arrangement with both Nakina Sea Base and Nakina Air for the return flight. I will put contact information at the end of the report.
The weather was fantastic. The aircraft was a single Otter seaplane. We were weighed, our gear weighed. The canoe loaded on the pontoon and we boarded. A single Otter can carry a lot of weight and people. We traveled light so it was a bit empty.
The flight was scenic, vast area of forest and lakes and took about an hour and a half. Lake Winisk is large and not much on it except the village of Webaquie. From the windows I only saw one group of canoes. Most lakes have no structures on them.
We could have landed near the mouth of the upper Winisk but we wanted to visit the town, so we landed and unloaded at the seaplane dock at the south end of town near their airstrip. There was not much there except machinery and a black bear. Webaquie is only accessible by air during the summer but has a winter road which gives access to the main road system in Ontario from January to April where all large supplies and vehicles are brought in.
Day 1: Upper Winisk River
We paddled along the peninsula that the town is on until we spotted the main town and the collection of boats mostly Nor West freight canoes. Wonderfully beautiful and useful northern boats. We went into town and talked with many people from the village. They were setting up a huge tent and stage for a one-week music festival in two weeks’ time being headlined by the rock group Nazareth! Bill and I visited the band office and were given a tour of all aspects of how the village is run and works with other local bands of First Nations people.
Part of our trip was to survey climate change by observation and by talking to people who live in the area on what developments they have seen. We were shown a map of all the new mining development that will transform the area. It is called “The Ring of Fire” and the need for copper, and cobalt is driving it. Environmental impact is a major concern, and the companies are working with the First Nations people to make sure the impact is not severe and that the people will see financial gain. It is a far change from how things were done in the past.
It was a nice visit but the wind was picking up and Lake Winisk is big and we didn’t want to deal with large waves. We paddled through a series of islands and as we got closer noticed that the waves between the islands were not from the wind there was strong current in the lake, and these were standing waves! This was the first indication that not only was the water high but the volume moving into the river was huge.
The mouth of the upper Winisk is very wide at least 500 m or more and it was all large rapids. The white water being kicked up could be seen from at least 2 km away. With the current strong we aimed for shore far upstream from the portage. Most river portages are a NO MISS situation but with the volume of water this held especially true. We located the portage and got out. There is a decent campsite at the top of the portage.
We hiked down to catch a glimpse of the rapids. The portage was flooded out the end due to water levels. It was a rough portage, but it was a trail. There would be no better portage on the rest of the river, most portages were bush crashed.
The rapids were truly amazing in size. It reminded me of the rapids above Niagara Falls. It was about the same width as above the Horseshoe Falls and about, or it seemed the same volume. The m3/s of the Winisk on the gauge at below Asheweig River on July 15 was around 1100m3/s, we were three days upstream at the time so maybe about 1200 m3/s. That converts to around 40,000 cfs.
For reference, the average flow over Niagara Falls is 2400 m3/s / 85000 cfs. So, it was a lot of water! You can check the guage here. I highly recommend checking this before you go. The river dropped quite quickly in the next 30 days. We discovered on the lower river the Government of Canada has put gauges. It should have been in my research. The flow in August was between 700-500 m3/s. A whole different river. Generally, by late July the river is at these levels however it did the same in 2021.
Lower water would provide a bit more safety in exiting the river for portages but most of all will provide much more camping opportunities on lower river on fronts of islands.
Back to the trip. That evening after dinner I heard a motorboat approaching. I got out to look and it was a large Nor West canoe. It sped toward the rapids and went down all the way river left. After a half hour it drove back up. The waves alone there would swamp any uncovered canoe, but it obviously is runnable on the river left.
Day 2: Mouth of Winisk to Roundstone Lake
We started out with the portage. Once again this was the only portage that resembled a portage on the river. The end was wading out as the trail was flooded. When we got out into the river, we spent some time practicing ferrying in the tail end of the rapids. The approach we had to the river would be slow, ferries and stopping in eddies to scout and keeping out of the main channels that would swamp us. The standing waves were too large, and we did not have a spray deck. Also, the volume and current meant that any spill would be a very long swim. We all have whitewater near our homes if we want to play.
The three dry packs were lashed in for a very good float bag.
The first rapid came up quickly. The river does not have any warmup rapids. They just start big and end when you leave the Canadian Shield until near Peawanuck where you get Limestone Rapids.
The first set of rapids is Highrock Rapids. We went along the right side and stayed close to shore taking “sneek” lines from eddy pool to eddy pool. The rapids are marked SLW from The Atlas of the Little North. These maps were marked before the trip. See notations for High Water. I can imagine in low water that wading and lining can be done where necessary, in high water those are not an option.
Next is Muskeg Rapids. We also followed the right side. The river is much wider than it looks and although we could see the left side the ins and outs of the right side gave us options to pick our way down and stay out of big current.
We shot down dozens of rapids. The current was so strong that wherever there was any drop there were large rapids. The main current line had standing waves too large but the lines close to shore were good and anywhere the shore dipped in gave a eddy pool to stop and look. It was a shoot and stop and look. The water was too high and strong current to step out, but when necessary one of us would bush crash through thick alders that lined the shore.
The river widens into Bear Head Lake but still had a strong current in it. There is a fishing camp on the west side of the lake with several cabins, that looked like they had not been used for years. It would be nice campsite. We had lunch there.
The next set of rapids was Bear Head Rapids. The approach can be a bit confusing and the notes from Atlas of the Little North indicated a portage over an island on the east side. We had come down the east side along the shore avoiding the big channels which had standing waves of 1 -2 m high. There were small pools to stop and get a good look. Here is where we should have taken a channel all the way to the east side. We hadn’t been on the river long enough to realize there were no recognizable portages and we were looking for this one. We stopped behind an island and were headed to the calm above the island that looked like it was the portage. The strong current pulled us sideways and soon it was too far in. The only recourse was to straighten and run through and swamp. The canoe had plenty of floatation with three dry packs tied in the center and there was calm water at the end. The canoe caught the first wave too sideways and rolled over. We straightened the canoe to float through and should wash out the bottom into a big eddy.
We floated through. Bob and I came out in the eddy Bill got caught in the current and came out about half a kilometer downstream. The canoe should have rolled right side up did not and somehow snagged a rope on a rock mid rapid and sat in line with the current unharmed not moving 10m out from shore. One day pack with the repair kit had not been clipped in floated downstream. I wasn’t worried about it we would pick it up later, or so I thought.
It was not time for “should haves”. We should have had a throw rope attached to one of us. We should have taken the far east channel. I should have had that pack clipped in. Bob and I bush crashed up to as close as we could get to the canoe and worked on a plan. It was good to be with a person who has spent a lot of time climbing mountains. Mountaineers have exception situation awareness and know how to find a way in a difficult situation.
The canoe was not damaged and was not in a position it would be, it was just stuck. First, we tried to shoot a log at it to hit it and dislodge it. It was too far out. Then we cut a long narrow tree with my leatherman saw to use as a rope to get out to the canoe. It wasn’t long enough. We cut a much longer tree and hauled it out with the idea of tipping down in front of the bow the catch it and either dislodge it or be able to use it to get to the canoe. It too came up short. I decided to swim it out and place the log crossways under the bow to lift it up. I swam out with it and got it under the bow, then it pivoted, and I was unable to grab onto the canoe. I touched it as I went along side but couldn’t get a hand under the gunnel quick enough to stop going down stream. I grabbed the log and swam it into the eddy at the bottom and was ready for another go at it. It almost worked.
I was about to head back up the rapids for another go and suddenly saw the canoe lift and get loose ! Amazing. At first, I thought I must have moved it enough for it to break free on its own, then I saw Bob out there lifting it off. He had swum out got hold and planted his feet in the eddy of the rock and lifted it off. As he floated past, he shouted out for me to get his paddle from the shore. I went up and retrieved it and paddled the tree we had cut across to the canoe. Bill had made his way back and the canoe was emptied of water and only had one small dent on the gunnel.
The other side of the island had about a 2m falls and a lot more water. In any water level stay to the right. In lower water or in a canoe with a full spray deck this set could probably be run.
About two hours had passed and the day pack that got loose had travelled with the strong current downstream. The river was very wide and there were a series of islands. As we paddled, we looked but no luck. Of the items needed in the pack most of all was the repair kit and my rain jacket. All other things we had either a duplicate or it wasn’t necessary. I wouldn’t be painting pictures on this trip, but with the bugs it would have been difficult.
We did an analysis of what we learned from the mishap and how to adjust. First there would be no lining or wading. The current was too strong, and the rocks were verry slippery and jagged, the risk of foot entrapment with every step. Lining from shore was not an option as there was no shore and it would be easy to lose the canoe. The decision was made that scouting around any corner no matter how good it looked had to be done despite the difficulty of very thick willow bushes. Also, any approach to scouting or potential portage the canoe needed to be pivoted upstream far in advance to be able to stop in an instant at shore. This all worked exceptionally well for all further rapids. We were able to get in good position for bush crash portages or to hold the canoe so one of us could break through brush to see around the corner and determine if it was a go/ no go.
The retrieval of the canoe set us back on where we had planned to camp that day on Goose Hunting Lake. It was decided that we needed to get out gear out and see if any water got into the dry bags.
There is not much shoreline on the river and few rocky points or things you get further south to make a campsite. On the map, it is called Roundstone Lake. Mostly it was swampy. Along one section I caught a glimpse of a piece of faded flagging tape and a bit of a hole in the woods of the shoreline. We went in to check it out. It was a campsite. Not a great one but what we needed. The bugs were bad, so I quickly built a smudge fire and got as much smoke as possible. These smudge fires were very beneficial. I have read many accounts from the workers in the far north in the past of building huge smudge fires to keep the horses in so they didn’t go mad. It works for people too!
The gear and food were mostly dry. Some of the bread got wet so we fried it in oil. It worked to save it and it was tasty. We set up our tents and after eating climbed in did a bug kill and read and then nodded off. The next day would be more rapids.
Day 3: Roundstone Lake Swamp campsite to island Campsite Wye Rapids Falls
In the morning we packed and ate quickly. Nobody wanted to lounge around that campsite. We all wanted on the water and away from the bugs.
Soon after Roundstone Lake there is a set of rapids on either side of an island. The left side is marked as a falls so we went right. The rapids were big and at one point go around a corner where we could not see. We parked the canoe and waded and crashed through willow bushes to get to the corner. It was very rocky with no clear channels; the volume of water was all further out but there was plenty to damage a canoe on the rocks so the decision was to portage.
The banks of the river were flooded into the alder bushes, so we hauled the canoe in as there was enough water to float it. We found a narrow channel that ran parallel to the rapids and were able to pull the canoe quite a way through. It however ended about 200m from where we wanted to get to. It was impossible to carry in the bushes, so we cut a path and pulled the canoe through. It was a tremendous effort but once out we could see that it was the right choice.
Along the lake we spotted two cabins on the east side. It looked like trapping or hunting cabins. I was pretty sure from past experience in the north that if the cabin was used the owner would have supplies inside, including duct tape, for any traveler to use should they come across the cabin in an emergency. We weren’t in an emergency situation however I would feel much better with some repair items for the canoe.
We landed the canoe and went to look. There was a lot of stuff everywhere. Fuel canisters, an old freezer, a mop, and a lot of burnt trees around the cabin. One cabin was in total disrepair, but one had the door tied shut but no lock. We untied the door and when in. There was a bed and sleeping bags, tarps different items, so it has been in use. Then I saw a cabinet on the wall nailed shut with a note on it.
The note said: “Mr. and Mrs. Bear, there is NOTHING for you here! Please go home. For any travelers who need things please take what you need and secure after”
I pried the door open and the first thing I saw was a roll of duct tape! There were some other items including a fiberglass kit. There was also food and first aid supplies and bug spray and mosquito coils. I took the repair items and a few mosquito coils. We left some cash and a thank you note and securely closed the cabinet and the cabin. Now all I needed was a rain jacket. Luckily the weather was clear.
When we got into Goose Hunting Lake it was lunchtime. There is a nice rocky point on the right side coming into the lake. At that time, we heard loud honking. When we turned, we saw a trumpeter swam take off. It was magnificent and large and was the only one we saw. We mostly saw Bald Eagles and Canadian Geese.
After a nice lunch complete with a smudge fire and soup we continued.
At the end of Goose Hunting Lake there is a hunting camp on the west side. It is easily seen, and the cabins are in pretty good condition. From the writing on the walls, it was used as recently as 2020. All the doors were open, and it appears that there are three bunk cabins and a cook cabin. We looked around and saw a few things. Tarps, sleeping bags, assorted trash then I saw a rain jacket hanging up. This was too good to be true. I’m a big guy it probably will be too small. It was an XL Frog Tog! One of the sleeves had a melted part but otherwise in good condition. After telling this story to a friend he said, “You should do a trip and start with nothing and see if you can find everything along the way!”.
I do feel that I was fortunate to find it, I would need it in a few days.
Next was Wye Rapids which was marked as 4 km of work. It indicated that the runnable rapids would be on river left, west side, with a 400m portage. The photo on my map is from an article of a Winisk trip in the summer of 2021. In high water it looked nothing like this. Portages are indicated but nonexistent. They are bush crashes through thick tangled alders at the river’s edge and then thick sphagnum moss in the forest of black spruce. The moss is a thick carpet and covers all sorts of holes that can easily trap a foot.
The big rapids presented themselves from distance shooting up large sprays of water. The river approaching had a very strong current, so the shore was approached far above the perceived portage. As we got closer the canoe was placed in an upstream position with the bow into shore allowing a fast stop. We would drag as close to the rapids as was safe and if no evidence of a portage was there, we found the best place to stop and drag our gear ashore.
We put in below the rapids. the main channel still had 7 to 8 ft standing waves, but we had a very good side eddy on the left shore and rode down in, in awe of the waves just a few yards over beside us that could only be paddled in a large raft.
The careful and cautious approach along the river edges worked very well and soon we were on a calm section of the river, and it was time to look for a campsite.
It didn’t look to promising. There were a few prospects, but we decided to continue. The river had a couple of calm sections between rapids and when we came around a corner in the distance, we saw what looked like a large flat rock outcrop. This was something because there are not too many to be seen. As we got closer it got better and started to look like a perfect campsite from Temagami or BWCA had been transported into the muskeg!
Campsite: It was a perfect site with good tent sites, cooking area and open rock area with a small waterfall making a jacuzzi. The site was even separated from the mainland by about 5m. I could tell by the fireplace that Camp Kewayden had camped here and beside it was a neat stack of perfectly sawn and quartered firewood. I made a nice fire and appreciated the wood being there. Keewaydin is an old school tripping camp that uses wood canvas canoes and does all their cooking on fires and they always leave a bit of wood for the next person. I had studied their video of their trip down the Winisk. They did a 28-day trip starting on the Pipestone River to Upper Winisk then down the lower to Peawanuck.
The campsite was beautiful and we even a nice wind to keep down bugs. The weather was warm and a swim in the jacuzzi was great however giant horseflies were ready to bite you as soon as you got out. There was also one large Moose antler. We enjoyed the site to its fullest. I assumed we would not have another like it. Once the Canadian Shield goes away, we would rely on gravel banks on the fronts of islands, but the water was so high it would make it difficult.
This is as perfect a campsite as you will ever have on the Lower Winisk. Mostly there is little open shore just tangled alders straight in the water and swampy land behind that. This is the last bit of Canadian Shield after this the rock disappears and the river has large gravel banks.
Day 4: Island Campsite to Below Baskinieg Falls
The next morning, we packed up as usual but spent a bit of time to enjoy the campsite while drinking coffee and having breakfast.
We carefully worked our way down until we got to what was marked “worst part of Wye rapids “, it was indeed. We again approached from river left where the indicated portage was marked. There was nothing but as we could see that we couldn’t go further so we found the best place to unload and made our way into the woods.
The woods were more open with a thick bed of moss covering rocks and other holes. You had to walk cautiously to not twist an ankle or worse. There was no indication of any trail, so we just paralleled the river until we found a good put in. On the way back to get the canoe Bob found an easier place to bring the canoe in so we paddled it down a little avoiding the worst of the bush crash that was at the beginning.
We continued down the west side, close to the shore and taking a slow and cautious route from eddy pool to eddy pool. The main channel was consistent large waves and strong current.
One of the “must portage” rapids I had marked was Tashka Rapids. There was a fishing camp there and I had photos from a trip log I had studied. I did expect a usable portage and a landing. The rapid made itself visible and heard from more than a kilometre away. First you could see water shooting into the air and then heard the rumble. The approach on the east shore (river right) was made very cautiously. The current was very strong, even right against the shore. You could feel it that this was not just a big rapid, it was a monster, there was no missing this portage. We found the landing. It was flooded due to the high water.
After unloading we followed the trail to the fish camp. The fish camp was in ruins, not at all like the photo I had. What I wanted to see was the rapid. I put my pack down and walked over. The volume was so immense that it made you dizzy looking at it. The main tongue of the raid was as wide as a four-lane highway and glassy smooth for over a hundred meters as it headed down and then finally broke into waves 2-3 m high that went on and on.
Right beside it was a hydraulic so vicious and large that it could eat a transport truck. I was glad we didn’t miss the portage! We all spent some time in awe at this spectacle of nature’s power. Bob tossed a large log into the hydraulic and it disappeared and never surfaced downstream.
We continued the portage which quickly went from being decent to a mass of downed trees to a bush crash. Bob found a spot to put in. You could see the wave train out in the river still going strong. We would be able to navigate along the shore. Once downstream looking back it was no less jaw-dropping. The width and the power. I asked Bob who has done a lot of big western rivers how this compared. He said, “It is like Lava Falls on the Colorado in the Grand Canyon, just with way more volume! “The closest I could compare was the rapids I had seen in the Niagara Gorge.
The next challenge was Baskeig Falls. This is marked as having a portage on the east side then you need to cross the river to the portage on the west side. This was a concern with the water level and current so we would assess it when we got there. The first portage is on the right. Once again, the falls could be seen from water shooting up from quite a distance. We approached carefully pivoting first into an upstream ferry bow in and crept backwards to find any indication of trail. Again, no trail appeared so we picked the best spot.
This time there was a very steep incline to get up to the place where we could start to carry. The packs we just crawled our way up, but the canoe would have to be hauled up by rope. Bob had brought a climbing rope and we made a tackle with carabiners, and it came up easily. The portage was a brush crash, but we were used to that. When I got the canoe to the other end, I saw that the handle to my tea kettle had broken off and since that is what I had tied onto my kettle was lost in the woods. I carefully retraced my steps and there it was upright in the moss. I had grown quite fond of it. When I made smudge fires it was perfect to boil up water for tea, coffee, or soup.
Here we could see where we had to cross to the west side before the next falls. There was plenty of room to ferry across. The current was strong but if we kept at the precise angle the canoe never wanted to turn. The portage on the left was marked as a carry over. I thought that that would be washed out and a bit was but mostly it was a carry over open rock.
Just down from the falls on the left side we saw a nice gravel open area with bare rock, just above a small set of rapids. It looked like a good campsite. At first it seemed like there were no tent sites but once we walked in a patch of long grass, we saw that it was dry and could be trampled down for a very comfortable flat site.
The view upriver was beautiful looking back at the falls. There was plenty of wood for the fire and we all had a soft place to sleep.
Day 5: Baskineig Falls to Past Last Rapids
We started off with Bugs and breakfast and got on the water. We would soon be coming to Seashell Rapids. It was indicated that there would be a portage on an island.
The river was wider now and after a few kilometres we could see the indications of the rapid. The main flow was on the west side and the flow had carved the back of the river. The Canadian shield was beginning to fade and now there were high gravel banks. There were less rapids on the right side, and we picked our way down.
About halfway down there was a large rapid on the right side on the far left was huge water. In the middle was an open island with smooth rock areas and grasses. That was the portage. We executed a perfect front ferry and pivot to land on the island. It is a very scenic spot. The river is very wide, and you can view it all from there and have rapids on all sides. There were many sand pipers nesting there too. They were not happy with the visit. We portaged over the rocks and walked through some grassy areas. That’s where Bill stepped into a hidden hole and split his nice 50-year-old Grey Owl paddle.
We continued down to Bend Rapids and Gneiss Rapids. After that the river settles down and becomes wider like a large moving lake.
It was time again to look for a campsite and now we were in muskeg and the river had changed to gravel banks with very little shore. We scanned the sides for potential sites and spotted something on the right side. It looked like an animal trail but once we stopped and climbed up, we found some old beaver traps on a log and other indications it was used a long time ago. We had to camp in the woods, and it was very buggy, so we set up a smudge fire on the narrow shoreline and cooked there. Bill asked if I could fix his paddle. The fiberglass kit I had picked up fixed it quite well. It would be a little heavier now but solid!
The tent sites were good and once out of the bugs we all slept well.
We were through the big rapids and would have a few days on the Hudson Bay Lowland’s part, which was still moving fast but a very different landscape.
Day 6: Beaver Trap Campsite to Camp Before the Big Bend
When we got up we packed quickly and got out of the campsite as quickly as possible and out into the river to get away from the bugs. There would be a lot of paddling and the river looked very similar. The indications of where you were was when the Asheweig River comes in. The river gets wider but then is full of islands which for a few hours makes it feel like you are on a smaller river.
We finally had a moment to fish but had little luck. At lunch, we grilled up some summer sausage and made grilled cheese sandwiches with them. We were enjoying a day of not bush crashing portages. After much more paddling we started to look for campsites. The best hope was the fronts of islands that were cleared back by ice. We found one that had a good flat gravel area. You do not want to camp in the woods you can help it. The tent sites weren’t great but worked. That night I was up long enough to see a sunset from my tent, but there was no way I would go outside to take a photo, so I got one through my bug net. Once in your tent, there is not much that will get you out.
Day 7: Lowlands to Big Bend and Past
The paddling on this part of the river is a lot of the same. Like a wide moving lake. With the water so high there were no shoals like you would expect in low water. I looked at satellite images of this section and in lower water there are many channels around gravel banks. We saw a woodland caribou and many bald eagles.
Finally got to the Big Bend where the river turns due east. After many miles of paddling, we looked for a campsite but now the river was mostly high banks draining muskeg and no gravel banks. The lack of islands meant that using the front of an island was not an option.
Campsite: We found the least bad site on the side of the river. The bugs were especially severe. I built a large fire and put green branches on it to create a smoke screen that helped a little.
After dinner, it was straight into bug-free tents.
Day 8: Big Bend
We woke up and it was just as buggy and got off the site as quickly as possible. The river was getting much larger now and we were moving fast with the current being swift. In the trip plan, we had put in
days off, but because of the bugs and lack of nice campsites we decided to push through to Peawanuck early.
We had been fishing the last couple of days and despite being told that fishing would be great we had not one fish. Finally, halfway through the day, Bill caught a walleye. It wasn’t huge but was delicious
We had not seen anyone on the river, just empty cabins and a few airplanes all high-altitude flights probably coming and going to Europe. It is always fun sitting in a canoe in the wilderness and looking up and thinking somebody in first class is eating a great meal, drinking wine, and watching movies. Without a bug in sight!
Far in the distance, we saw some red on an island and as we got closer it was a bunch of canoes. We thought we were coming up on another canoe trip but when we got there, we saw it was 6 beautiful ABS Mad River canoes tied up. Not a person in sight or indication anyone had been here in a while. It turned out to be a campsite for the First Nation youth groups to motorboat up to and then camp for a week.
It got windier and the weather was changing and getting colder. The campsite we found was adequate on the bank and the wind and cold kept the bugs down.
Day 9: Campsite to Limestone Rapids to Peawanuck
This morning it was cold and drizzling. After a quick hot breakfast, we were off. The river continued to get bigger, but the muskeg shoreline remained the same.
By lunch, it was raining harder, was windier and the temperature continued to drop. We managed to make a fire and had a hot lunch of soup and grilled cheese. We were looking forward to seeing the topography change from muskeg and gravel to limestone cliffs.
Not far from the lunch site, we started to see the river widen and see the limestone cliffs and rapids. We weren’t sure if the high water would wash out the rapids, but it did not, and the river was over a mile wide now.
We shot a set of rapids and took a fair amount of water from the waves. After emptying the water, we scouted and could see that the water was better on the far side, so we traversed the river, and the shores were all limestone now. Once through that bend, you could see that again the river needed to be traversed to the other side where it was easier to run. The main current channels had large wave trains. On one bend we found a small channel that bypassed a bunch of difficult and wide rapids but when it came out we were on the main current side of the river but could not cross over so we portaged across an open plateau of limestone. Limestone Rapids goes for about 5 miles and is quite the finale to the river. It was now only a few miles to Peawanuck. It is a spectacular landscape.
It was now raining with little visibility and cold.
When we were getting closer to Peawanuck we started to look for signs of people but were seeing nothing. If it had been clear, we probably would have seen the large radio antenna but for now nothing. Bill told us a story how he had paddled right past Fort Albany on a trip back in his youth. It was not something we wanted to do.
After what seemed a long time, we heard a sound that must have been the town’s generator and then we came up to a small dock, with a rough road coming down to it. By the look of the map, we were close to the airstrip and the town was still a few miles down. We stopped and took a photo.
After a bit more paddling, we saw a bunch of Nor West freighter canoes pulled up on shore and figured that this was it. There are no docks like in Moosonee. The river cannot be navigated up to the town by larger boats like Moosonee. All supplies either are flown in or driven in by the ice road.
We were a few days early and we walked into town to find our guide Maurice Mack who was going to take us to Hudson Bay to look for polar bears. All three of us walked into town soaking wet and cold and started asking people if they knew where Maurice was. It happed that we ended up at his grandson’s house.
Soon Maurice and his wife showed up and after talking a bit and explaining why we were early he offered us to stay in a house that is available for traveling nurses and doctors. It was vacant due to the nursing shortage so we went from bugs and cold to a warm house with a hot shower! It was an amazing way to end the river portion of the trip.
Day 10: Peawanuck, Day Off
We took a well-earned day off and had time to dry out and warm up. It was still cold which had the benefit of having no bugs. Below a certain temperature the black flies, mosquitoes and flies can’t function. The town is small, with about 350 people.
The day was relaxed and each of us went to walk around the town and see a bit of it and meet the people. There is one store called the “Northern Store”. In the past all the stores in isolated northern towns had stores run by the Hudson Bay Company. The Northern Store bought out that part of Hudson Bay Company. The stores are small but sell a little bit of everything. It was great to get a soda and chips and other treats however all the prices reflect that everything had to be flown in.
Maurice came by and gave us a couple of pounds of caribou meat that we cooked up into a delicious strew. He went over the plans for our trip out to Hudson Bay the next day. The weather didn’t look to improve but we would go regardless.
Day 11: Peawanuck to Hudson Bay
The weather continued to get colder and we put on all the cold weather gear we had but nobody had expected weather in the low 40s and colder. Maurice picked us up and stopped at his house and outfitted us with winter coats, pants, boots, and gloves. He also gathered several guns a 30/30 a shotgun and a 357 handgun and gear. We were technically already in polar bear territory but on the tundra, it is best to always have protection.
We took his large “Bay boat”, a big fiberglass version of the Nor West freighter canoes with a 60 hp outboard. The trip up to the Bay took about 2 hours. The river splits into many channels and gets very wide. It has many hidden shallows and Maurice’s expert knowledge of the channels got us there easily. Along the way, we passed the former town site where in 1986 the town was decimated by river ice and then was moved several miles upriver to higher ground. We also passed the area where there was a cold war air base. The trees got smaller than only small willows then they were gone. We made it to Tundra.
The tundra is a small strip along Hudson Bay that is some of the furthest south arctic tundra. With the mist and fog and cold, it lived up to its reputation of a harsh environment. Maurice went and retrieved an ATV and returned pulling a sled. The landscape is mossy and wet, and sleds work well both in winter and summer. Many of the other hunters who have cabins up there use snowmobiles year-round. Maurice put chairs in the sled and our gear and off we went along a well-worn path.
We went a mile or two and went through some willow patches and in a clearing appeared the cabin. The cabin was basically a plywood-covered rectangular building with one small window. It also had a trap door on the roof. Both of these features were to protect against polar bears. We settled in and Maurice went to get his Argo, an 8-wheeled amphibious vehicle that we would use to go out on the tundra to look for bears.
We built a fire and the cabin warmed up quickly. Although there are no trees, there is plenty of wood that comes down the river and then washes up onto the shore.
We all went out to the Hudson Bay shoreline. It was low tide and tidal flats extended far out. Unlike tidal flats further south it didn’t team with life but there must have been plenty of small animals because the shore birds kept very busy.
Later we took the Argo and the ATV and went far out into the tundra to look for bears. Maurice said that bears are most common on sand ridges near the shore. We traveled across the tundra was unlike a landscape I have seen before. The atmosphere of fog and cold made it feel remote and forbidding.
Maurice scanned the ridges with binoculars and then saw a large white stop and a small white one moving along the ridge. We all managed to get a look and then the fog came in thick, and we couldn’t go any further.
We headed back to the cabin for dinner and the night.
Day 12: Tundra Back to Peawanuck
The weather continued to be cold and foggy. After breakfast, we headed out again to see if we could get closer to where the bears were. We took the Argo and ATV as far as we could and then headed out on foot. The fog came in again and we had to be careful otherwise we could get turned around and lose our way. Even with GPS, it is easy to get lost on the tundra.
After gathering our gear, we headed back to the boat and Maurice took us out into the bay to look for beluga whales. After we were out a ways, the fog blocked visibility and we couldn’t see the shore. After a quick look for whales, we headed back upriver.
The river had been dropping in volume steadily areas that were covered with water on the way down were now visible. It may be a bit of tide but once I saw the charts from the river gauge, I could see how quickly the river went down.
Bill is a member of the famous Explores Clun of New York. We are holding flag #118. This flag has been to the high Arctic and the Amazon and many other places. For over 100 years explorers have taken Explorers Club flags all over the world and to the moon (Neil Armstrong carried one). Part of the purpose of this trip was to examine how climate change has affected the Near North. We would talk with the indigenous people who live there and make observations. The climate change observations are noted at the end of the trip log.
Soon we were back to our house in Peawanuck and we started to get ready for our flight out the next day. Turns out we needn’t have bothered. We would be staying longer.
Day 13: Peawanuck, Grounded by Weather
We got the news early that nothing was flying anywhere in the north. The weather was bad over a wide area.
The day was spent relaxing, going out for walks, and cooking more caribou that Maurice brought us.
Day 14: Peawanuck, Still Grounded
Maurice came by and took us in his truck up a road that is being constructed to be able to get to the tundra hunting grounds by land. In the winter once everything is frozen it makes most of the land accessible by snowmobile but in the times in between the river is navigable, and the snow melts it is difficult to get to. It was a very informative trip, and we were able to see the muskeg much better.
From the river the drainage allows trees to grow larger. In the true muskeg, the trees are stunted, and the landscape is a wetland for hundreds of miles.
I went to tour the medical center. I am an EMT and was interested in how medical care is being provided in such an isolated place. I learned that so many of the ailments in the south such as onset diabetes and hypertension were also problems here too. Bill also went and toured the medical center and Bob ran out to the airstrip. I went and gave a talk to the youth about a career in art and gave a drawing lesson to several young artists. Many of them have a lot of talent and I would like to follow up on how I can help them. Supplies of any kind are difficult to get.
Day 15: Peawanuck to Nakina
Finally, the weather cleared and so was our flight. We gathered up our gear and Maurice picked us up and we headed to the airstrip. We would be flying out on a Cessna cargo plan, and it would be coming in with a load of supplies for a store that Maurice’s grandson runs. The Northern Store closes at 6 pm and on Sundays. His store is open from 6 pm to 10 pm and on Sundays. It sure was nice to have it when we came in the first day and were able to get butter tarts!
The plane came in and we unloaded 2500lbs of mostly soda. Contact with the rest of the world brings the good and the bad. There is a reason a Coke costs $4 in the North.
We loaded onto the plane. Our canoe was sold to Maurice. It is not economical to fly a canoe out of the north. Many northern expeditions use collapsible or inflatable canoes for this reason.
The view from the plane was incredible. Wetlands as far as you could see in all directions. No roads, no electrical lines, nothing, and it stayed that way for the first two hours! As we got closer, we started to see where the winter roads run through the wilderness and then logging roads and a few cabins on lakes. Then we saw the airstrip at Nakina. Soon we touched down.
Our gear was unloaded and we took my van which was left at the airport and went back to the Sea Base where Bill’s truck was. We separated our gear and said our goodbyes. We were all anxious to get back to our wives.
It was a trip of a lifetime. I am very grateful to Bill and Bob for inviting me along.
Author and Crew Bios
Dr. Bill Rom
Bill is the son of Bill Rom who started Canoe Country Outfitters in Ely, Minnesota in 1947 and grew up over the outfitters. He was a guide in BWCA from his teens until going to medical school. Bill has paddled to 95% of all the lakes in BWCA and Quetico. He is a member of The Explorer Club in New York where he was also head of Pulmonary Medicine at Bellevue Hospital. Bill has paddled the Albany River, Back River, Churchhill River in 1967 before the Hydro Dam, Nahanni, and many others. As well as canoe adventures Bill is a seasoned mountaineer having climbed in Tibet, South Georgia Island (Shackleton Route), Mount Denali, and others. You couldn’t ask for a more fascinating canoeing partner.
Bob Wade
Bob is the founder and owner of Ute Mountaineer in Aspen Colorado. Bob is an expert mountaineer, western river rafter, kayaker and rock climber. He not only sold the gear to adventurers but is one and has the resume to show it. Bob has guided on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon and other big western rivers. He has climbed Mt. Denali and had to shelter in a snow cave in the Denali pass for two days with his team including his wife, Ruth.
They survived and summited and returned to base to the surprise of many who thought they perished in the storm! One of many stories. Bob has traveled and climbed in Europe, South America, and the Himalayas. Bob is the kind of guy you want on any adventure. When the going gets tough, he loves it more!
Maurice Mack
Our excellent guide, Maurice Mack, can be contacted on [email protected]. I highly recommend his services.
Ron Bayens (Author)
That’s me. I wish I could put a resume down like Bob and Bill. I am from Canada, born in Toronto. I started canoeing when I was sent to Camp Voyageur near Algonquin Park when I was 9 years old. I must have liked it, I continued on to become a guide and guided each summer until I was 24. During that time I paddled the Missinabi, Dumoine River and Kipiwa Forest, Spanish River all of these five times. I also canoed Temagami and Algonquin Park many times.
I went on to become an artist specializing in oil portraits which led me to move to the United States. There I canoed many southern rivers which had great whitewater and control dams (it is nice to know when the water gets turned on!). I took up kayaking for about 10 years, before returning to canoes.
I recently took up sculpting and did a sculpture of legendary Canadian canoeist/filmmaker/author Bill Mason with the blessing of Bill Mason’s family an edition was made. This is how I met Dr. Rom. He has since commissioned a large bronze of Bill Mason paddling the Petawawa that will be installed in Ely Minnesota (the Canoe Capital of the USA).
Our mutual love of canoeing led to me being invited to paddle the Winisk River with Bill and Bob. It was a dream come true to finally be able to paddle it.