Entering Quebec

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon as we paddled away from the Parliament buildings of downtown Ottawa. Max Finkelstein accompanied us in his solo canoe, which had once brought him along much of the same route across this amazing country. As I looked back over my shoulder at the trees starting to sparkle gold in the valley, I was reminded just how fortunate we are to travel Canada’s waterways.

Our time in Ottawa proved to be more then just a typical re-supply point. We met up with Andrea McNeil from the Canadian Heritage Rivers Systems, Alex from the other group of canoeists, TranscaEAUda, and loads of other friends and family during our stay. We were also honoured to be welcomed into the home of Max and Connie Finkelstein. Max’s book Canoeing a Continent served as an invaluable resource during our preparations and we had contacted him before the trip for some advice. Having the opportunity to sit and share stories with someone who has been such an inspiration to us was truly a surreal experience.

Even though we had so much fun in Ottawa, getting back on the water always feels like returning back home; where we are most relaxed and comfortable. That being said, the journey between Ottawa and Montreal left our “home” less serene than usual. The heavily populated area forced us to find makeshift campsites on the outskirts of towns, in city parks, or near over passes, blurring the line between camping and homelessness (an ongoing debate in our group).

We enjoyed the sunshine and tailwind that accompanied us on the Ottawa River to the massive Carillon Locks, which lowered our canoes 20 m (65ft). The hydro-dam and present lock at Carillon were built between 1959 and 1963, replacing the 11 locks of the original canal system, and saving us a lot of time!

Once past there, the current slowed a little and we made our way to Lachine, dodging sail and power boats along the way, and meeting up with the St Lawrence briefly before heading into the canal system to bypass the mighty Lachine rapids. Passing the Lachine canoe club we ran into an old sprint kayaking friend of Stephanie and I, and later we were visited by Abby’s friend Jennie Mae Roy who brought us some delicious chocolate chip cookies! Our slow progress through the locks was making us anxious because we had been invited to attend the end of trip celebration for our fellow paddlers Mountains to Montreal. Their expedition had begun around the same time as ours, in Rocky Mountain House, AB and we were fortunate enough to have met up with them a number of times throughout our journey. We wanted to share in their excitement of finishing such a grand adventure, but unfortunately, just before we made it to the meeting spot we got a call from them to say that the event had already wrapped up. We were so disappointed.

We decided to stop in Old Montreal anyway, look around the town a little and of course, get poutines to cheer us up!

Our spirits raised again, we headed out of the city, to find somewhere we would be able to camp.

With the St. Laurence coming in on the right, and the strong currents converging in the center, this was tough water to handle. But we are experienced paddlers, we can handle currents, no problem! Add in some huge yachts, a few power boats zooming towards us in the no wake zone, and an irate speedboat honking and screaming at us, and the situation suddenly seemed out of our league. Where we come from, non-motorized boats have the right of way, but out there what it came down to was: we are small, and they are big. As I met eyes with the man who was driving one speedboat, and shook my head side to side as he smiled at me and sped away leaving the biggest wake I’ve ever seen to crash down on top of us, I knew we had to get out of there and fast! We stopped under the next bridge to calm our nerves, strap in any loose gear, and to make a game plan: stay together, stay close to shore and if you feel uncomfortable head for land. Luckily, after that the river opened up, the boat traffic slowed and we were no longer scared for our lives. So, it was now time to celebrate! We made it to the St Lawrence River!

The next few days we watched the landscape change from prairie flat farm land, to rolling hills and high cliffs.  We watched the freighters go by, stopping at the massive ports and huge factories along the riverside. We stopped in at the marinas and charming towns of rural Quebec, meeting friendly folks along the way. As we approached Quebec City, the river started to be affected by the tides, limiting our optimal paddling to the 6 hours when the tide was flowing out to sea. This also meant long treks through the muddy tidal flats to pull the boats up at night- a small price to pay for the fortuity of paddling the St Lawrence. Little did we know that the best of this mighty river was yet to come!  <Whitney>　

Kind hospitality and heritage waterways

Before starting the trip we were asked where we were most looking forward to paddling, and many of us replied: home. And for me, coming home to Ontario, has certainly been one of the highlights of this trip. After our wonderful séjour in Sudbury, we left the North Channel Yacht Club (NCYC) accompanied by a sailboat crewed by my uncle and grandfather for two days. Our first day back on the water, we watched dark, ominous clouds skirt passed us, showering the surrounding hills of Georgian Bay instead. We were greeted in Killarney by my excited family members and a father son team of canoers. These fellow canoers, Mountains 2 Montreal (M2M) group. M2M left Rocky Mountain House AB this spring. Throughout our journey we’d often heard of this charismatic group from people we`d meet and felt like they`d been with us all along. We spent the next two days with them, swapping stories, paddling partners, and a few drinks. 

The French River is a part of the Canadian Heritage River System, a program that aims to conserve rivers with outstanding natural, cultural and recreational heritage, to give them national recognition, and to encourage the public to enjoy and appreciate them. The mouth of the French River, especially the Old Voyageur channel, was a real treat to paddle through. The channel is comprised of multiple small passages, narrowings, and shelves, requiring minimal portaging. At one point we found ourselves paddling through a channel no wider than the 33” beam of our Clipper Whitewater II canoes. I was paddling M2M’s Clipper Mariner that had to be tilted in order to pass! Paddling the big boat was tons of fun and the company was stupendous. I have however become accustomed to paddling lightweight paddles and had to abandon their wooden otter tail paddles within minutes. My hat’s off to the M2M crew for maintaining their impressive stroke rate with these heavier paddles. We were pleased to see so many marked and well maintained campsites along this river. We stopped with M2M at the French River Interpretative Centre, located where the river crosses Hwy 69. Here, we were thoroughly impressed by the eye catching and comprehensive exhibits and displays, related to the cultural and natural resources of the region; we highly recommend our readers visit this gem. Our only complaint with regards to the interpretative centre is its relative inaccessibility from the river. We climbed a hill covered in loose boulders and poison ivy before making our way across the highway bridge. Despite soapy washings, poison ivy welts now dominate Stephanie’s lower legs, and have been continuously creeping farther up her body. 

The next big highlight was paddling across Lake Nipissing and arriving in North Bay. We crossed the lake in an afternoon with an increasing tail wind. Riding the waves we accelerated towards the marina beach and came crashing in at formidable speeds. Once in North Bay we were greeted by dear Saskatchewan friends Tiera and Ashley, paddling with us until Ottawa, and the first of many in a recent string of generous hosts. Ray and Cheryl, of the NCYC, took us into their home and stopped at nothing to try and make our stay more comfortable. They thought of everything: including tracking down maps of the Mattawa River, contacting local media, and charting the most efficient portage route through North Bay. We chose to portage using North Bay’s city streets instead of the historical Le Vase portage route in order to save time and to avoid the numerous mucky portages and swamps that comprise this route. 

We also managed to avoid many of the well-marked portages along the Mattawa River by lining, dragging, or skillfully paddling down the series of small rapids. It was great fun having Tiera and Ashley along. A great example of their playful, creative, and loving manner was exhibited when we jumped from tall rocks at Talon Chutes. The 17 minutes it took everyone to muster up the courage to jump was videotaped and we look forward to reviewing the graceful and graceless entries. 

Our next gracious host flagged us down from the shore in Mattawa. It was my grandfather’s cousin’s husband, Roger Labelle. We were welcomed at a neighbourhood fish fry and later viewed Roger’s hand crafted birch bark canoes. We marveled as he explained how to remove the bark from the tree, how the ribs are bent then shifted towards the ends of the canoe to hold down the cedar strips, and the strength of leatherwood shrubs used to tie it all together. He uses three ingredients in the canoe’s gum: spruce sap, wood ash (to keep the gum from melting in the hot sun), and bear grease (to increase its malleability and to prevent cracking). I’m glad that this trip’s given me the opportunity to visit and learn from Roger and wife, Lucille, (celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary this month!!) relatives I likely would’ve otherwise never gotten the chance to get to know. 

The confluence of the Mattawa and Ottawa Rivers was the start of some beautiful scenery: tall, forested hills line the Ottawa River and appear stunning throughout. These wonderful hills however also funnel the wind. Thus, a headwind, combined with minimal current due to numerous dams, slowed our progress down the Ottawa River. We used our wheels to portage the canoes along most of the routes suggested by Ontario Hydro. The hills made finding suitable campsites somewhat challenging, and we were glad when members of the Delayney family came to greet us on the river near Deep River and kindly invited us over to their warm and lovely home for the night. Mike Ranta and dog, Spitz, paddling solo from Rocky Mountain House to raise money for Atikokan youth, also spent that night at the Delayney’s, sharing in the exchange of adventure stories. We spent the following night camped at the home in Pembroke of NCYC members: Bob and Lucille. We were treated to a tour of their lovely home filled with Bob’s handcrafted furniture and artwork. We’re still talking about the delicious venison bourguignon stew and ice cream topped with warm peaches and melted chocolate they served. Bob and Lucille had an unassuming grace with which they did everything so well, and we thoroughly enjoyed their company. 

Leaving Pembroke, we stayed in the channel near the Quebec shoreline and enjoyed some of the few sets of rapids we’ve gotten to run. The boys became somewhat reminiscent of their homes as the hills along the shoreline gave way to agricultural and grassy fields. Soon we came across another familiar sight as we approached the dam near Arnprior, the voyageur canoe of the M2M crew. We portaged on the Quebec side through open forest and paddled across a tiny wetland. The M2M crew had lightened their load, and we struggled to keep up with them as we approached Ottawa. We were also greeted by a pair of swiftly moving boats crews by Abby`s father, Dave, and sister, Bev; and Trevor and family, from Saskatoon. The group had recently taken part in the Shawinigan marathon canoe race and spotting them approaching on the river was a delightful surprise. Coming into Ottawa`s city limits we found ourselves in the middle of a sailboat race and were somewhat nervous as we realized that we were sitting next the finish line buoy and that the boats were barreling towards us, before doing an impressive 90 degree turn (switching their trajectory away from us) and opening up colourful parachute-like sails. More excitement followed as we scrapped our way down the Deschenes Rapids then met with Max Finkelstein (accomplished canoeist, Ottawa River keeper, and all around neat guy) and Andrea McNeil (manager of the Canadian Heritage River System and friendly as heck). We had the chance to speak with a few media people before taking off from at the base of parliament hill (links below coming soon). It certainly feels like we’re on the home stretch now: the days are getting shorter, colder, and rainier, the leaves are starting to change colours, and we’re bubbly with the excitement of achieving our goal. Bay of Fundy, here we come!! <Nathalie>