paddler123
Enthusiastic about Wooden Canoes
This summer, my brother and I took a trip in northern Quebec and Labrador, in our 17' Headwaters Prospector. We started on the Pekans River, putting in on the Rte. 389 bridge.
We spent three days going up the Pekans. Since it was mid-June, the water was very high. It was also quite cold, but the first week of our trip was almost completely bug-free - they hadn't come out yet!
We then went up the Pekans to a series of large lakes, which we traversed on our way to the height of land and the border with Labrador.
We then crossed the height of land (which was a series of small ponds in a bog) to get on to what would eventually become the Clark River. We spend about a week going down this. It started at barely at trickle, but ended up a decent-sized river when it flowed into Menihek Lake. After picking up a food resupply at the train camp at Esker, we began a week of traveling on truly enormous lakes.
Miraculously, we were only windbound for one afternoon, but we spent a lot of time hugging the shore and battling the wind. We paddled across Menihek, Marble, Astray, Dyke, Petitsikapau, Freeman, and Attikamagen Lakes. In this entire week we only had two portages! Unfortunately, our bug-free window had passed, and the mosquitoes and blackflies were in full force. For a span of about three weeks, neither of us ever left the tent without wearing our bug shirt and face net.
We spent three days going up the Pekans. Since it was mid-June, the water was very high. It was also quite cold, but the first week of our trip was almost completely bug-free - they hadn't come out yet!
We then went up the Pekans to a series of large lakes, which we traversed on our way to the height of land and the border with Labrador.
We then crossed the height of land (which was a series of small ponds in a bog) to get on to what would eventually become the Clark River. We spend about a week going down this. It started at barely at trickle, but ended up a decent-sized river when it flowed into Menihek Lake. After picking up a food resupply at the train camp at Esker, we began a week of traveling on truly enormous lakes.
Miraculously, we were only windbound for one afternoon, but we spent a lot of time hugging the shore and battling the wind. We paddled across Menihek, Marble, Astray, Dyke, Petitsikapau, Freeman, and Attikamagen Lakes. In this entire week we only had two portages! Unfortunately, our bug-free window had passed, and the mosquitoes and blackflies were in full force. For a span of about three weeks, neither of us ever left the tent without wearing our bug shirt and face net.
