north_french

NORTH FRENCH RIVER

LOCATION - Ontario, Canada

Route - Source to Moosonee

Distance - 250 miles

Duration - 8 days

Date - June 2000

Group - Brad Bassi, Mike McDonnel,
Phil Royce, Beth Slater

Overview
The North French River flows for roughly 200 miles from its source in a series of lakes
north of Cochrane, Ontario to the mouth of the Moose River on the southern tip of James
Bay. Our trip may have been the first to ever explore this route by canoe from its source
all the way to the sea. Over its length, the North French changes from a flat and narrow
river snaking through marshy ground to a challenging torrent of rapids of falls. For the
last fifty miles the river's gradient becomes uniform and runs quickly with no obstructions
to tide water. In all, this is one of the most pristine rivers I have paddled in the boreal
forests of northern Canada.

The Headwaters
Reaching the put in for the North French was not as simple getting
to the start of other rivers I had paddled in northern Ontario. We
hired a guide to navigate us through the maze of changing logging
roads and to shuttle our vehicle after dropping us off in the bush.
After filling in one washout with logs we reached a trail leading to the
headwater pond of the North French River and soon our gear was
unloaded and camp set up for the night.

The next morning we paddled for a few hundred meters across the
pond to the outlet that was marked by a single line on our 1:50,000
scale maps.    What we found was a two foot wide trench of barely
flowing water, but it was enough to float the boats and we dragged
them down to the next pond.   By the time the stream exited this
body of water it had grown to ten or twenty feet and would remain
wide enough and deep enough from here on out.

Although it was now wider, the upper reached of the North French
was not about to let us pass through easily. By the afternoon the
quickly flowing stream narrowed and became choked by alder
bushes that made paddling impossible. For the rest of this day and
half of the next, we made progress by grabbing alder branches and
pulling ourselves along. In all of my years of tripping I have never
seen a more congested stretch of water.   The canoes were
completely full of twigs and debris and our clothes were on the verge
of tearing. Very cold and rainy weather had us feeling nearly
beaten, but when our team reached the next lake and found a good
sized river draining it the excitement level was high. The amount of
work required to travel three kilometers in ten hours while in the
alder choked headwaters was tremendous and we were ready for
some good paddling.

After a night of light snow we woke up to clear skies and paddled
through one of the most gorgeous pieces of river I have ever seen.
For forty kilometers the river ran quick and smooth between high
banks covered with tall spruce trees. An occasional log jam blocked
this section, but we were able to drag over each of these
obstructions without having to portage.

The Whitewater

Roughly half way through the trip our team came to the first rapids of
the trip and found a long set of fun class II. For the next fifty
kilometers the river would make its drop off of the Canadian Shield to
the James Bay lowlands. Over this distance it would carve a wild and
exciting course over many bedrock ledges. Near the start of this
section we were fortunate enough to round a corner and see a huge
black bear standing only a few feet away from us on shore.

During our trip high water made this section of rapids and falls very
interesting. Many of the rapids were pushy and ended above
unrunnable ledges dropping into big hydraulics, which made the
paddling a little more stressful than usual. In several places the
person in the solo boat would run a set to a last chance eddy above
a drop and help catch the other canoes as they came to shore. In
several places a mistake would have led to a very bad swim.
Although there were several portages in this section, we were able to
run much of the whitewater. The pinkish granite was striking and we
all enjoyed this part of the river immensely.

Several larger waterfalls were carried in this section, but the most
difficult obstruction was a long miniature canyon incised about ten to
twenty feet into bedrock. Everyone was able to run the first few
kilometers of this section, but the last kilometers was narrower and
contained big water class III and IV rapids ending in a huge keeper
hole. To pass through, we lined much of this stretch with difficulty
through a side channel dropping over sharp rock. Luckily we were
not forced to portage this entire canyon.

Due to high water the fishing in this reach was not very good, but at
lower levels it could be phenomenal. For the three days of
whitewater we had variable weather and at times dealt with
horrendous flies and mosquitoes. Again, at lower water levels many
of the rapids that we lined or carried could probably be run. As it
was, I left this piece of river feeling lucky to have been able to
experience it in such a pristine state.

The Lower North French

After running through the long stretch of rapids the North French picks
up several tributaries and slides over one last ledge before completely
changing its character. As if someone flipped a switch the river stops
encountering ledges and flows swiftly over a bouldery bottom for nearly
fifty miles. The completely uniform gradient over this distance made
for very fast current and enjoyable paddling. We had the poor luck of
encountering a strong headwind that made traveling difficult, but a
good bit of hard paddling carried us through to the Moose River.

On the final day of the trip we were cruising on the massive Moose
River and closing in on Moosonee under clear skies and fair weather.
When we were within three miles of the village we saw a distinct line on
the water moving towards us. Baffled, we paddled on only to be
slammed by a headwind strong enough to slow travel to a crawl. For
the next few hours we battled big swells blowing up the river from
James Bay and were happy to have reached the final campsite of the
trip at Tidewater Provincial Park before dark. This abrupt change in
conditions was one last reminder that nothing is certain in the north
and that it is best to be humble in a land where weather reigns
supreme.

The next morning we made the kilometer long crossing to town and
caught the train for our five hour ride south to Cochrane where our
vehicle was waiting. The trip was a success and everyone was happy
to have seen such a great and seldom traveled river. The long drive
home was broken into two days, and Canton was reached by the
middle of the day on June 10th.

Mike McDonnel and Beth Slater drag their canoe down the tiny
headwater stream of the North French River in Ontario.

Encouraged by better paddling not far below the headwtater pond of the river, we
were quickly disappointed to find an alder choked mess shortly below.

Beth Slater enjoying a rest on the gorgeous middle reaches of the North French
River. Notice the huge spruce trees that created several log jams.

A huge black bear enjoys a mouthful of delicious foliage only a few feet away from
our canoe. Once the bear smelled us it ran away very quickly.

Brad Bassi scouts a large series of ledges soon after the North French River began
running through rapids as it dropped off of the Canadian Shield.

Brad looking at a big ledge drop that the team was forced to portage.

Phil Royce runs a long set of class II / III rapids somewhere in the middle reaches
of the North French River.

Phil Royce running the ledge that forced the author to jump from his canoe only
moments earlier.

A long bit of calm water being enjoyed under sunny skies and warm weather.

Brad Bassi at the evening's camp below the long mini canyon that forced the team to
line their canoes for almost a kilometer.

The box car that would be carrying our canoes south to Cochrane, Ontario.