750km of paddling on my own sounded like a great idea before I started. And it remained a great idea the whole way along. I’d never spent a night alone in the forest before and though I was a little nervous before beginning my trip, I knew it would be pretty much the same as any other trip. In the end one of the biggest differences was that I would talk to my boat instead of fellow trippers… which allowed me to dictate the conversation without any pesky differences of opinion or disagreement. Rather peaceful in some ways!
Start: Highway 808 bridge crossing the Otoskwin River
End: Attawapiskat
Distance and days: 755km over 27 days
If you’ve never traveled alone, despite what you might imagine, I didn’t get lonely at all on the river. I did however talk non-stop and thoroughly enjoy the company of others when I passed through a small community on day 12 of my trip. The first week on the Otoskwin River was very cold, not surprising for north Ontario in late May. The water was frigid, the air damp and chilly and there was still some snow and ice on the riverbanks. This greatly affected my speed both on and off the water. My morning routine was slow and I slept longer hours than I had originally planned for, not wanting to get on the river in the chilliest morning temperatures.
Despite the cold the river was incredibly beautiful. The rapids were magnificent, though I portaged more than I would have had I been with company - erring on the side of caution and self preservation. A couple of days into the journey I encountered the remnants of a forest fire which had ripped through one of the longer portages on the route. As a result of the fire I had to carry my gear and packraft over and through a veritable jungle of fallen trees all crisped and charred from the blaze. The 600+ metre portage which should have been a literal walk in the park became a 4 and a half hour ordeal… It felt damn good to finish it though!
At another portage was a pile of cut wood, ready for the next traveler to enjoy in a campfire. The route, though barely used anymore is still a navigable waterway, and first nations can run motor boats up many of the rapids in higher water. I was grateful for the wood and used a portion of it for my camp and cook fire. Before leaving the next morning I gathered some branches to leave at the woodpile as kindling for the next traveler.
As I got closer to Neskantaga I saw more evidence of human activity, until finally on day 11 I saw the first people - a couple in a motorboat zipping along who gave me a casual wave. I’m quite certain they weren’t expecting to see anyone paddling the river at that time of year. The next day I covered the remainder of the distance to the community itself. I could smell woodsmoke as the roofs of little buildings came into sight, and soon I could hear the sounds of activity that accompany human settlements. I spotted a boat ramp where a man was working on a large northern ‘canoe’. As I paddled towards him he caught a glimpse of me and stared for a moment. He then walked over to his pickup truck parked nearby and popped his head inside the driver door. A few moments later a stream of pickup trucks began arriving at the boat launch area and people got out, watching my slow approach from across the lake. A welcome party! I later found out that all the trucks had shortwave radio to communicate, and news of a paddler in this remote area was rare.
After leaving the community and continuing through lake Attawapiskat, I entered the Attawapiskat river itself. The remaining 500km or so I hoped to cover in about 12 days, so I had to push a little more than in the first half of the trip. The June weather improved and I was blessed with sunny days and warm evenings. The river widened as my journey continued, though odd sets of rapids still appeared here and there.
Near the last 100km of the river I entered the birthday cake islands - kilometres long stretches of whitewater rapids flowing between myriad islands of limestone, some just small plugs mid river, others huge and imposing, all cliff lined. There was no way to scout the river through these three island sections so I had to scout as I went, eddying out when possible and choosing channels both on instinct and by chance. The roar of sound ahead of me as I started to enter the first island set was intimidating, but also exhilarating. Having read the guide books which stated that the rapids were fairly easy to navigate and shouldn’t pose any real danger I was able to enter without too much trepidation. And I managed each set of rapids successfully.
I camped after a long day on a swampy shoreline, about 70km from Attawapiskat, my end point. I thought I’d break the distance into two days of travel, and take my time on the final day to say goodbye to the river. But as I was finishing dinner and planning ahead, mosquitoes and black flies swarmed in some of the thickest clouds I’d yet seen. When everything was packed away for the night I tried to hop into my tent speedily with the goal of minimizing the number of bugs getting in. I wasn’t very smooth, in my hasty dive I managed to catch the edge of the doorway with my body and split the zipper. It took me ages to get the door sealed up using duct tape, as there was no hope of getting the zipper functioning again (it was old and had suffered many such blows). That made my decision for the following day easy - I was going to make the 70km to the community - no more nights sleeping in my bug swarm!
The next morning I was on the river early, and paddled all day, racing a darkening horizon of rain and potential storms into the town in the evening. I got a room in a small hotel, $160 for the night and a hot shower. It was blissful after being grubby for so long. Did I learn anything in my month alone? I sure did. Can I put what I learned into words? Not very easily. Would I do it all again? Yes, even the mosquitoes.
