The landscape of northern Labrador, Quebec and Nunavik is like nothing I've experienced before. It is stunningly dramatic, rugged and sparsely populated. We didn't see anyone for the first 20 days of the trip. Thankfully our spot pager and satellite phone worked brilliantly and gave us extra peace of mind knowing we could send out daily GPS messages and updates to friends and family.
From our starting point on the Smallwood Reservoir we paddled over 800 km to Ungava Bay. We crossed enormous lakes, battled epic winds and faced many cold rains. Our faces and hands suffered the brunt of the weather. Many chapped lips, rosy cheeks and cracked and bloodied knuckles. The days were long and hard. For the first two weeks we'd wake up at 4 am, often paddling 40-50 km of flat water a day. As we reached the height of land, water levels were noticeably higher and the big lakes transitioned into the headwaters of the George River.
The whitewater started off very rocky and technical but as the river grew in size so did the sets and volume of the river. Thankfully we were able to find many sneak routes through the larger rapids, avoiding the big standing waves, ledges and obstacles the river had to offer. By the end of the George we were surrounded by large glacially scrapped treeless mountains. Crystal clear, icy cold water flowing in from various streams and rivers. And the hillsides were covered in game trails with tracks of tracks of caribou, bear and wolf.
The trip was absolutely amazing! By and far the best and most challenging canoe trip of my life. I know people are really eager to see images and hear stories so I will try to write multiple posts a day as time allows. It is my hope to share stories, detail our trip days as best I can. Meanwhile the guys are editing slideshows, stitching videos together and I will be scanning my film in due time. So there will be plenty of things to share.
I want to end this post by just saying thank you to the guys. Zach, Brent, Brian, Charlie and Henry- you guys are truly incredible. You are fantastic paddlers, great friends and just hilarious guys to be around. Thank you for an experience of a lifetime, one that I will never forget.
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