Trip Journal - River Trek 3 - 2001

Day 1, August 6

Our journey began at Lac Dix Milles, having driven some ninety kilometers on dusty and rutted logging roads through the backwoods of western Quebec. As Robb drove away, so did our last connection to the modern world for the next eleven days. After a quick lunch of fresh bread, cheese and veggies, we set off towards one of the many unmarked beaches which we would claim as home for the night. We pulled in to what seemed like a beautiful beach, arcing along the edge of the forest for several hundred meters. In a matter of minutes after setting up our tents, we discovered that the site was infested with fire ants, making standing still an exceptionally challenging task. Luckily, we found relief in the sandier areas of the site, where we built a large fire to begin cooking grilled cheese sandwiches and spinach soup. Despite the strong winds across the point of land and the occasional gritty bite of sand in our food, we settled into our trip, eager to take on the river. After a considerable argument with Charles to convince him to remove his watch and a brief wrestling match between Kyle and Pat, we called it a night and shut down camp.

Day 2, August 7

With a French toast breakfast in our bellies and all the gear packed up to go, we spent an hour or two in the bay opposite our camp to learn some fundamental canoeing strokes and techniques. The group picked up canoeing rather quickly, given that everyone conquered the powerful winds that bore down on us as we paddled north across Lac Dix Milles. Sometime in the mid-afternoon, we reached the northern-most point of the lack and contended with a small set of rapids under a bridge by walking our canoes through the waist-deep water. After a brief search for suitable encampment, we chose a site on the shore of a small, although somewhat swampy lake. We were greeted by a friendly man who lived a stone's throw away from our site. After a short conversation he managed to convince half of our team that a bear sighting would be inevitable, although this fantasy never materialized. That night, we enjoyed only the finest of Lebanese cuisine: falafel! Although a large hit with some of the worldlier members of our expedition, it was somewhat less appreciated by the bulk of the group. We packed it in early that night, eager to get out of the dismal backdrop of logging roads and cleared forests.

Day 3, August 8

The day began with a short portage, along a poorly maintained trail that Pat blazed with bright pink flagging tape. Due to the almost complete lack of rain for the month prior to our trip, the Riviere du Nord, which connects Lac Brulart and Lac Dix Milles, was pathetically low, forcing us to wade the canoes through many rock gardens and beaver dams, before finding some water deep enough to paddle. We managed to find one navigable class 1 rapid, giving us a taste of what was to come when we reached the Dumoine. We had a pleasant paddle through the calm meanders of the small river, finally reaching Lac Brulart in time for lunch. We pulled up to a beach on the eastern shore of the lake where we found an old, weathered dock to sit on while we ate our tuna, corn and lettuce sandwiches. After a windy paddle westward across the lake, we pulled up to a nice campsite in a small cove of the lake. In the water facing our site, we found hundreds of freshwater mussels, being careful not to disturb them as we had a swim before dinner. For dinner, we had one of PaddleFoot's staple meals: lazy perogies, consisting of lasagna noodles, fresh and dehydrated potatoes, onion, garlic and lots of cheese. With our bellies full, we packed it in for the night.

Day 4, August 9

After breaking camp, we hit our first stretch of the Dumoine river, although it only offered us a few sets of swifts before we arrived on Lac Laforge. We continued down this long and windy lake to reach Alligator's point for lunch. This site provided some relief from the fierce winds, but little relief from the strong sun that had been with us since we started the journey and would stay with us until the very last day. We pulled out our lunch for the day, the nutritious and filling, but almost never popular, GORP, a.k.a. "hamster food", "squirrel food", etc. We packed up and set across the lake, where the wind seemed to be stronger than ever. After two short portages around Twin Falls, we hit Lac Manitou, where we would find a campsite surrounded by towering pine trees, that threatened us with their fierce swaying in the strong wind. Despite concerns that we would be flattened if one of these giant trees blew over, they stood their ground and we slept through the night after watching a beautiful sunset.

Day 5, August 10

Having made far too much rice for the stir fry the previous night, we made rice pudding from the leftovers, adding sugar, cinnamon and raisins, and boiling the mixture to a pudding consistency. This filled us up well, but it was clear that leftovers would not be tolerated again. After running several class I rapids that morning, with a bit of whitewater paddling instruction thrown in, we completed our first long portage in record time. Triple play, also known as Grunt Portage, was one and a half kilometers over poor trails. Relieved to be finished, we ate cheese sandwiches at the end of the trail. Much to our disappointment and disgust, the lettuce planned for that meal had been transformed into a sticky brown liquid. We paddled a few more sets of rapids, including our first class II, Bridge Rapids, an easy run for our paddling arms grown strong by fighting windy lakes. We reached Lac Benoit and set up camp at a small, but pleasant site on a point of land known as Little Italy. The fauna of the Dumoine river manifested itself in strange ways at this site: three-inch leeches and a baby rabbit, dying from what appeared to be sheer terror. Despite this latter tragedy, we had a rowdy evening of stand-up comedy by Kyle, who re-enacted most of Delirious by Eddy Murphy. We also got our first of many renditions of "Little Trout" by James Stewart.

I woke one morning with a taste for trout,
So I got in my boat and headed out!

After Steve challenged everyone to arm wrestles, we slowly began to drift away to bed.

Day 6, August 11

Today was by far our biggest day of whitewater. We paddled countless class I, and II rapids, including the Sleeper, Double Choice, Gooseneck Rapids, Log Jam Rapids, the Snake and Thread the Needle, which, as the name implies, consisted of a one meter gap between two boulders which was successfully navigated by everyone in the group. We also lined the infamous Canoe Eater, a class III rock garden. A brief liftover in the morning prevented an unnecessary portage around a small waterfall. We ate our first buffet lunch of jam, peanut butter and nutella on pita bread. After navigating the shallow Little Steel rapids, we pulled up to our campsite in mid-current and set up our tents, looking forward to a sleep-in the next morning.

Day 7, August 12

One by one, we woke up to the smell of chocolate chip pancakes being cooked on the fire. After a leisurely breakfast, we packed up and left camp around noon for a brief two hour paddle to our next site, where we would relax for the remainder of the day. Our only dump of the trip occurred at this site, when Steve and Kyle took off on a paddle around the lake. As Steve was getting back in the boat after swimming in the middle of the lake, Kyle reached over on the same side to rescue a lost piece of pita, sending both of them overboard and swamping the canoe. After a good laugh by everybody, we all headed off in canoes to investigate a scenic water fall tucked away up a small creek. It turned out to be quite nice, although the volume of water flowing over the falls was feeble. We had a nice spaghetti Alfredo dinner that evening, appreciated by everybody. That night, as Kyle continued his Eddy Murphy routine, the group camped across from us began getting into the action and, pretty soon, Eddy Murphy quotes were bring thrown across from both campsites, surely heard for miles around.

Day 8, August 13

The next day met us with many more class I and II rapids, as well as several scenic cliffs along the shores of the river. We paddled Big Steel rapids, one of the only navigable class III rapids at that time of year. Again, everyone executed perfect lines through the big waves. We continued through some calmer sections of the river and set up camp beside a small set of swifts, early enough to steal a nap before dinner.

Day 9, August 14

Today saw us complete our second long portage, the 1.5 kilometer Grande Chute portage. The trail was exceptionally good, one third of which was a logging road, so the portage flew by virtually effortlessly. We trekked back up to a campsite overlooking the gorge and one of the most impressive of the Grand Chute falls. We had another lunch of peanut butter, jam and nutella on pita and made our way back to where we left our canoes. We paddled Lac Robinson and attempted Red Pine Rapids, consisting of a class II technical, a class I, a class III, known as the ledge and two more class II technicals. The second half of this set was made all the more difficult by the strong sun in our eyes, reflected off the surface of the water. We had to trust our acquired experience to take us through the right line. That night, we set up camp at the bottom of Red Pine.

Day 10, August 15

The next morning, we paddled a handful of class I and II rapids, lifted over another waterfall and floated down several kilometers of continuous swifts. Sometime in the late morning, we rounded a corner and were amazed by the site of Bald Eagle Cliff, a 600 foot cliff on the edge of the river. Later on, we paddled our last set of rapids, CI fun and headed towards our last campsite, on the portage trail around Bowman's Falls. We met many groups as they passed through our campsite, finishing up the short portage. After an adventurous game of man hunt in the woods around our site, we had a chili dinner followed by generous helpings of chocolate brownies.

Day 11, August 16

We had our earliest morning today, on the river by 7 after a breakfast of Quaker Harvest Crunch with milk. The remaining five kilometers of river were exceptionally calm and we were fortunate enough to see a majestic blue heron fly low over the surface of the water. Despite warnings of fierce winds across the Outaouais, we traversed it in good time. Of the two canoes paddled by Pat, Briana and James, one sturdy catamaran was built to tackle the large waves for which the Outaouais is known. Nevertheless, to prove it could be done, Steve soloed his canoe the full 2.5 kilometers to the pick-up, much to everyone's amazement. By about noon, Robb arrived with the van and a trailer full of river boards and kayaks. We pulled into Lover's Rapids on the Petawawa some two hours later to have lunch and surf in the waves. After that, it was back to base camp for a pizza dinner and a few pool games.

Day 12, August 17

The day was spent taking down and cleaning the gear, as well as the occasional pool game and guitar lesson. Chris Keefer, a fellow PaddleFoot guide, demonstrated the impressive art of starting fires with bow and hand drills. By 3 o'clock, the shuttle was ready to drive back to Montreal and everyone said their good-byes to the guides.

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