8 Weeks

We have eight weeks remaining before we embark on the final leg of our canoe trip to Hudson Bay. We have finalized our logistics, and all that remains is to meet our various rendezvous times and places. In a nutshell, this is what we are doing: my sister Margaret is driving me from my cabin near Cook, Minnesota, to Winnipeg. Deb and Deb are flying from Minneapolis to Winnipeg. After a night spent with our friend Gayle, we will all three fly on June 21 to Norway House, Manitoba, where our trip last year ended. Either that day or the next, depending on how long it takes us to find the gear we left behind at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police station, we will paddle away from civilization. We will begin on the Nelson River but will soon veer off onto the Echimamish River. The Cree name of that waterway means “river that flows both ways.” We will be paddling against the current initially but will eventually enjoy having it push us from behind. Many days later, we will find ourselves on the historic Hayes River, one of the main routes of the voyageurs in the 1700s. The Hayes itself has 55 sets of rapids and/or portages (depending upon how brave we are, or how foolish). We will have the option to drop down to another river called the Gods River which is supposedly a little calmer. One source tells us it takes longer to take the Gods River route, but Eric Sevareid chose that path because he was told it was faster. Which route we choose will probably depend upon how we are doing timewise and how we are managing the portages. It remains undecided at this point. The two rivers (Hayes and Gods) join after about two weeks when the rapids are finished, and from there to Hudson Bay is a relatively calm paddle. The only danger on that stretch will be the polar bears. Hopefully they will have had a satisfying spring, eating-wise, and will have little interest in us. We are to be picked up by a motorboat at York Factory, which is the old Hudson Bay Company trading post where the Hayes flows into Hudson Bay. There is nothing there now except for the remains of the old fort and a fenced- in area where canoeists MUST camp to dissuade the polar bears. Oh, and there is a dock where we will meet our boat.
The boat, which we are chartering, will drive us up the Nelson River to the town of Gillam, where we will meet the train to take us to Churchill. Why the train? Because there are no roads that go to Churchill. After two days in Churchill seeing the sights (including beluga whales and more polar bears), we will reboard the train, head back to Gillam to pick up our canoe (which needed its own reservation), and continue on to Thompson where the road begins. Friends from Elbow Lake will drive us back to Winnipeg (the Debs) and Minnesota (me). If all goes as planned we will be back in Minnesota by July 22 or 23, having covered 600 km of some of the most remote wilderness paddling in the world.
I will be sending out a link which will allow you to follow us via satellite as we paddle. It is not capable of sending emails, but simply locations. Please follow us if you are interested!