Wakwayakastic

WAKWAYAKASTIC RIVER

LOCATION - Ontario, Canada

Route - Detour Mine Road to Moosonee

Distance - 180 miles from source to James Bay

Duration - 9 days on the water

Date - June 1999

Group - Brad Bassi, Mike McDonnel,
Phil Royce, Booth Platt, Liz Hollenbach

The Team

Overview
After a succesful trip on Ontario's Missinaibi River, the Saint Lawrence University Outdoor Program was looking for a less traveled river to paddle
to James Bay. After some research and pouring over maps it was decided to tackle the Wakwayakastic River. There were several very appealing
aspects to this route. The first plus was that access was a simple drive to the headwaters lake on a first rate logging road. By doing this our team
would be able to paddle the full length of the two hundred kilometer river from its source to the sea at James Bay. There is something special
about seeing a river progress from a trickle and following it to salt water. The Wakwayakastic is extremely remote and seldom traveled, another
plus. Finally, our group was intrigued by a fifty kilometer long section that looked like it would contain many interesting rapids and falls.
Everything about this river had the makings of a perfect trip.

DAY 1
Our whole team was assembled for the Memorial Day departure and we left Canton
early that morning. After about five hours of driving found us on the shores of
Lake Nippising in the city of North Bay. From here the road heads due north
towards Cochrane, which lies another five or six hours away. A lunchtime stop in
Temagami exposed us to oppressive heat and everything suggested that our trip
would start under summer like conditions. However, when we arrived at the train
station in Cochrane a thunderstorm was raging. The real shock came when we
opened the van door and were greeted by temperatures in the low forties. We
were officially in the north woods and spring was just starting to give way to
summer.

Another hour of driving north lay between us and the put in. The route carried us
over Detour Mine Road which is paved and in phenomenal condition for a “bush”
road. The reason is that this road leads to a gold mine at Detour Lake which
provided ample funds for construction. We saw a huge bear from the van as we
sped to the start of the trip. After driving through clear cut after clear cut we
entered a more pristine area and our maps verified that the body of water to our
left was Wakwayakastic Lake, the very source of the river we would follow to James
Bay. We got out of the van to check things out and after only a few minutes the
thirty degree temperatures had me shivering and running to put on more clothes.

DAY 2
Eventually the canoes were loaded and pushed off into the relatively unknown land
ahead. The winds were stiff out on the lake and dense gray clouds hung low as
mist sped across the open expanse of water. The thin polypro gloves I had
brought along were barely cutting it and my hands were quickly numbing up on the
aluminum paddle shaft. The miserable cold and wind didn’t stop us from doing a
little fishing and within a few minutes Phil had hooked a small Northern Pike. The
very start of our river was at the far end of the lake and a short paddle carried us
to the tiny outlet.

The river has a humble beginning to say the least. The Wakwayakastic trickles
over a sandbar and swings around a sharp corner where it reaches a width if six to
ten feet. The tiny stream meanders wildly through a swampy corridor filled with
thick four or five foot tall alders that were just leafing out. The fifty yard wide river
corridor was bordered by dense and straight spruce trees mixed with an occasional
tamarack. From the outlet of this lake it was twenty kilometers to a small pond on
river left that was the next landmark. From there an additional five clicks would
carry us to Noon Lake, our destination for this first day.

The map may have shown this stretch of river as having meanders, but it could not
begin to accurately portray the snaking and winding that the infant stream did
through this first section. To make a kilometer of progress at least twice that
distance had to be covered in the canoe. The alders were so thick that only the
heads of the people in front of us could be seen poking above the vegetation.
Some of the turns were so tight that our canoes had trouble fitting around the
bends. Since it was still spring time here in the James Bay region the water
appeared to be at least a foot higher than normal and it was flowing through the
base of the alders and covering much of the widened river corridor with standing
water. Camping in this terrain would have been impossible and we only saw one
truly suitable spot on river right through this entire section.

DAY 3
Below Noon Lake the Wakwayakastic is much wider as it flows through a lake like expansion. After this the river averaged about twenty to thirty
feet wide and the band of alders on its edge was reduced to only a few feet deep. We paddled through many meanders in the morning, but the
course steadily straightened and the current increased. At one point we came around a sharp right turn and saw a small cow Moose walking from
the river into the dense forest were it quickly disappeared.

As we proceeded banks became more and more prevalent along the river and while this provided a welcome change of scenery it also helped to
create another type of obstacle to our progress. Since the tall spruce trees were so close to the river when they fell the trunks were able to block
the stream. The high water allowed us to deal with many of these by paddling hard at them and ramming the tough ABS canoes right over them,
but others required us to lift and drag the canoes over them. This art form involved exiting the boats and standing on the logs while sliding and
heaving the boat over the obstruction. This balancing is quite tricky and it had to be performed nearly twenty times on the second day of our trip.

As the day progressed it became apparent that we were not going to find good camping. The land was basically moss heaps growing on old fallen
timber riddled with holes and lots of standing water. We eventually found a huge cedar tree close to the river and a large area of flat and dry
elevated land surrounded around it. After cutting out some alders the site was suitable for the evening.

DAY 4
The Wakwayakastic was significantly larger now and the first rapids of the trip were
encountered. Several easy class I and II riffles lay around corners and some
lasted for good distances. The high water made for little maneuvering and it was
very fun to be sped along by the current without exerting any effort. After
continuing like this for a few kilometers we placed ourselves on the next map which
contained some actual marked rapids. This is also the point were our stream first
appeared on the maps as a two lined river. In addition to being wider the Wak was
also changing character. Wider pools were starting to be interspersed by short
class II rapids with some heavy water and straight forward maneuvering. The first
marked series of rapids was pretty interesting as the river swung around a long left
turn and then spilled through a series of islands with rocks and a bit of
maneuvering. Much of the day proceeded like and by the afternoon we were n a
good sized river, but dealing with hordes of biting flies.

Day 5
The Wakwayakastic was now over a hundred feet wide, but still lined with a narrow
band of alders for much of its distance. A steady current helped carry us along in the
morning but this slackened as the day progressed. After lunch we continued along as
the river made a big elbow like bend in its course through a flat and swampy area were
the river gained considerable volume.

Later in the day the Wakwayakastic began to drop off of the Canadian Shield. The
result was that the river ran quickly in a confined channel over ledges and easy rapids.
This was exciting and while we were hoping to find a pretty campsite on bedrock we
had to settle for a less than ideal spot on the clay covered bank. This site did have a
redeeming quality; big brook trout. I landed a nice fish and it was a welcome addition
to dinner.

Day 6
Today began with a horizon line divided by an island. This was the first falls of the trip
that required a portage and a faint path led up and away from the river to a confused
series of game trails. Our loads were double carried along this route through the
rapidly intensifying heat of the day. By the time I returned to the take out to grab the
canoe the blackflies had found me and were beginning a ravenous assault. It is hard to
convey the frustration of portaging an unwieldy canoe weighing over eighty pounds
through tick bush in the moist and humid heat intensified by rain gear and swarming
blackflies. It takes a lot of willpower to battle through a carry like this. Often the canoe
would wedge between two trees on the seldom used path or a line would come loose
and tangle around a tree stopping progress. Several fun rapids followed and an
outstanding campsite was located for the evening.

DAY 7
Our topo maps suggested that today the river began a steeper descent over numerous
rapids and falls. Within a hundred yards of launching the canoes a low rumble was
heard and a horizon line came into view. Sure enough, the day started with a river right
portage. After the portage we were back on the river running more class II rapids that
required a good deal of maneuvering. In less than a hundred yards another horizon
line was reached and we beached the canoes on an open river right ledge to examine
the drop. A thirty yard long class III-IV rapid with holes and heavy water blocked our
path and forced a portage. Luckily an open ledge existed at water level that allowed us
to avoid heading into the bush.

Soon the Wakwayakastic began to flow through a large burned over area. Barren gray
toothpick like skeletons of trees stood above the light green alder growth and made for
a very desolate scene. The river continued to drop and we ran continuous class I, II,
and II+ rapids. These stretches of runnable water were interspersed with steeper
ledges and heavier water that required a great deal of judgment and river skill to
negotiate. Since many of these solid class III sections would have meant swamping we
were forced to do a good deal of lining and sneaking rapids. We would scout a line and
then paddle as much as possible before exiting the boats and lining them around
steeper or heavier pieces of water.

DAY 8
This proved to be the most difficult day of the river. After only a few minutes of
paddling we were faced with a big horizon and a marked portage on river right.
Another short portage around a nasty ledge followed, and no one was surprised
when yet another sharp rapid was reached. We stood in the canoes and saw a
heavy line down river left which everyone ran without incident. Interesting and
exciting rapids led around the next corner to yet another horizon line. There was
a very rough portage trail on the left and we were beginning to wonder about all
of these falls since the trip notes we were following neglected to mention that
they existed. While portaging the still and hot air of the shaded woods was
perfect for an all out attack by blackflies and mosquitoes.

The put in below this carry was at the start of a very rocky and mean looking
class II-III rapid that led for a half kilometer around a left hand bend and into the
unknown. A long carry around a gorge followed and I removed a broken toe nail
with my Leatherman. Convinced that the portaging was done we reloaded the
boats and ran a kilometer long set of heavier class II rapids until another portage
came into view. This carry was a bit longer than average and took us around a
marginally runnable set of ledges.

Back on the river more class II’s continued in endless sets that made for great
and enjoyable runs around scatterings of rocks and through heavier waves. As
yet another falls was approached we could see anvil shaped thunderheads
rapidly building as the humid ninety degree air rose and moisture condensed out
of it. As we started our next portage distant rumbles of thunder could be heard
in every direction. This carry was particularly long and involved heading a
hundred feet to a ridge and proceeding downstream.

Once back on the water we started a long downhill slide. The exhilarating ride
through miles of steady class II with frothy whitecaps and boulders was very
welcome after the day's grueling portages and lining. We sped past increasingly
higher river banks littered with fossil bearing limestone. While running the rapids
we kept making note of a dark line of clouds that was slowly but steadily
advancing towards us. The air hung thick and still with humidity and there was
no doubt that we were in for a storm. When it hit the intense electrical storm
lasted an hour and forced us to take cover in the dense bush. By the time
storm was over the temperature had dropped at least twenty degrees and we
paddled a few more miles to a campsite that looked to have been recently used
by natives.

DAYS 9 and 10
The last miles on the Wakwayakastic were quickwater leading into the wide, shallow, and fast North French River. The majority of the last two
days were spent drifting on the fast currents of this larger river. The conveyor belt like feel of drifting mile after mile combined with phenomenal
weather made sitting in the boats for hours on end enjoyable. A few larger rapids were encountered, but they tended to be shallow and easy to
run. The North French is several hundred meters wide and the absolutely uniform gradient makes covering great distances simple.

Half way through the tenth day of the trip we were deposited into the Moose River about ten kilometers upstream of the trip's end at Moosonee,
Ontario. While the North French had felt large, the Moose was truly massive. After passing a Cree camp we crossed the two kilometer wide river
to its west side and marveled at the fact that the world here is either water or sky with only a thin strip of trees visible at any given time. In several
hours camp was established at Tidewater Provincial Park and the trip was over. We had reached James Bay.

Day 11
The very last day of the trip involved portaging our gear through the dirt streets of Moosonee and loading the train that would carry us back to
Cochrane. We managed to keep a relatively low profile and made the train on time. The five hour ride was uneventful and later that day we had
driven a good ways south, back to summer and a more familiar world.

Front - Booth Platt and Liz Hollenbach Wakwayakastic River
Back - Mike McDobbel and Phil Royce Ontario

Liz Hollenbach and Brad Bassi paddle into the very start of the
Wakwayakastic River.

Phil Royce dealing with shallow water in the extreme headwaters of
the Wakwayakastic River.

Mike McDonnel and Liz Hollenbach paddle a class II rapid just above
the confluence with the Little Wakwayakastic River.

Mike McDonnel runs a nice drop in the middle reaches of the river.

A nice Brook Trout caught in the quick flowing waters on the middle
parts of the river.

Phil Royce building a smudge fire to keep the bugs away
while getting ready to make dinner.

The team enjoying a perfect ledge campsite on the day the
portaging became tougher.

Mike, Phil, and Booth eating lunch in the middle of a long section of continuous
rapids that ran through a burnt over area of forest.

Booth Platt seeming to enjoy a rough portage through the thick Canadian bush.

Liz and Brad paddling away from one of the Wakwayakastic's many falls.

Phil helping load up the canoes after yet another portage on Ontario's
Wakwayakastic River.

Liz and Brad look on while Phil and Booth run a heavy class III rapid on the
Wakwayakastic River.

Phil Royce pondering the massive Moose River several mile above the village of
Moosonee and James Bay. Town was through the gap visible on the horizon.

Brad helping load up the Polar Bear Express for the train ride south.