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SPRUCE, ROCK AND THIN WATER

Published February 16, 2012 by DON TYERMAN

Spruce	rocks and thin water.	An easy portage on the dry riverbed.
Breakfast in the James Bay Lowlands – the start of our last day.	James Bay tidal muck.

Spruce, Rock and Thin Water

It had been two weeks of tough slogging. The river was practically dry and we had dragged, carried and rappelled our 85 pound canoe most of the way. Inch by inch we made our way north and we had just crossed out of the Canadian Shield and entered the James Bay Lowlands where we hoped for some paddling for a change!

We were finally enjoying long stretches of fast moving water just deep enough to float our canoe. It surprised me how much the scenery looked like Southern Ontario, even though we were near James Bay. It was tricky to determine exactly where we were - every riverbend looked the same and they were passing by quickly.

But were they passing by fast enough? We had arranged for a boat to meet us at the rivermouth. It was to motor our canoe and ourselves across 60 kilometres of treacherous James Bay water to the nearest civilization, Moosonee. We were horribly behind schedule due to the low water conditions encountered upstream. Our "rest-days" had turned into forced marches through the ankle-deep water and now we had to make time to catch that boat. Then the river widened...

The equation is simple - a wider riverbed carrying the same volume of water equals an even shallower river. Disaster!! Time to walk again, this time upon a slippery pavement of limestone instead of boulder fields of granite rocks. Yes, the walking was easier, but it was still walking.

The setting sun and a fall onto the sharp, fossilized corals embedded into the limestone signalled the end of our second last day. We still had 50 kilometres to go - and we had been making 5 to 10 kilometres per brutally hard day for the entire previous week. Was it possible to paddle 50 kilometres tomorrow? Only if the river deepened and we had some very good Karma.

The final day dawned bright with the promise of a south wind to push us north to the Bay. I had studied the map carefully and it suggested a narrower river and hopefully, deeper water. Maybe just a little more walking, but I'd better not articulate this thought or a jinx will settle upon us...

Around the next bend should be... yes, deeper water!!! Thank God. And the wind has come up from behind too. Wow, can it be possible? Now it's time to pull on those paddles - if we don't our shuttle boat may leave and there'll be a lot of worried people wondering why we’re overdue.

Pull, pull, pull - forty strokes per minute. Hour after hour of mind-numbing paddling. Bend after bend of spruce-lined shores - but where exactly are we? Time to pull out the GPS.

OK, we now know where we are, but what about the tide? This river is tidal for the last twenty or so kilometres - an ebb-tide will pull us towards the sea, a flood tide will do the opposite…

Is the tide helping or hindering us? Every kilometre, every minute is critical. My GPS predicts tides, and, phew! - an outgoing tide is adding a couple of kilometres an hour to our speed! Good Karma indeed! But how long will it last?

Eventually, the tide will stop ebbing and a rush of seawater will flow upstream, slowing, possibly halting our progress. We need the ebb-tide's push or we'll miss our boat! The GPS says we've got a couple of hours before the tide turns on us.

We've been paddling for seven hours with no rest but there's no time to waste stopping for lunch. Corina, my partner, comes up with a "nutrition-plan" where she prepares lunch in the canoe while I paddle. We take turns paddling and eating to keep the ship moving.

The river's very wide now. Large expanses of tidal muck line the shores. Our rate of travel is fantastic! Pushed by tide and wind (and our tired muscles) we're doing a day's worth of paddling every hour! But wait, our speed is dropping. Oh no, the salty flood-tide is starting to flow in from the sea. Think. Think...

You're on a river, even though the current has turned 180 degrees there still are eddies and areas of slow current - use them and keep going. Only a few kilometres to go.

Two weeks of work and solitude are about to end. The GPS tells us that even with our slowing rate of travel we will make it to the prearranged meeting point today. The GPS is now a third member of the crew. A new friend and ally in our struggle. I'm staring at my electronic friend, working out our ETA in my head when Corina says "Is that a ... Boat?" Squinting my eyes against the pewter-coloured afternoon sun reflecting off the waves, I see it. Yes, it's a boat alright, and it's coming directly towards us!

What a strange feeling - an intrusion - civilization has just burst into the wilderness bubble that we have been travelling within for two weeks. The "real world" in the form of a freighter canoe is motoring upriver to meet us. Is this good? My tired body and mind heartily say "YES"! But at the same time a part of me is mourning. It's already missing the world of spruce, rock and thin water that we so recently were a part of. It's already planning the next trip...

Category: BACKCOUNTRY Views: 5008

Place: Kattawagami River

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