The Richmond Gulf is a huge inland lake separated from Hudson Bay by a strait appropriately named, “The Gullet” or “Hazard Gulf”. The geologist, A. P. Low, who first explored the area wrote in 1888 that, “This outlet is two miles (3.2km) long and not over 400 yards (365 m) wide in its most contracted part. With the change of tides, the water rushes in and out through it with great velocity forming large whirlpools, a source of great danger in the navigation of the channel with small craft. The sides of the channel are very steep and rise from the seashore to over one thousand feet on the inner side. The Gulf Lake or Artiwinipec has the form of an isosceles triangle. The base on the south is 19 miles (30 km) long, while the perpendicular to the northern apex is 23 miles (37km). It is surrounded by high hills. On the west, sharp cliffs, formed by the broken faces of the Manitounieck rock, which dip towards the sea, rise in places 1,200 feet (365m) above the water. The south and east sides are bounded by lower rounded hills of Laurentian and Huronian rocks in part flanked by beds of limestone, sandstone and trap. These hills vary from 400 to 800 feet (122 to 244m) in elevation. The surface of the Lake is broken by a number of high rocky islands, three of which are of considerable extent. Small black spruce trees grow along the base of the hills, in the low valleys between them and on many of the islands. Everywhere else the rocky surface is partly covered only with a low arctic flora. On the higher parts of the hills numerous patches of snow were seen at the end of August. The water of the lake is deep and clear, and probably abounds with fish, judging from the presence of large numbers of seals and gulls which feed upon them. In a small lake, which lies in a depression of the hills between the Gulf Lake and the coast and empties into the lake, the Esquimaux (now known as Inuit) catch large quantities of a small species of salmon which never exceed 10 lbs in weight. The rise of tide in the east bay is about 20 inches (50 cm).”
Yes, the tides push in and out of the gullet pushing ice flows in and out at speeds greater than we can ever hope to paddle. Obviously, the Gullet is only one of the remarkable features that you will encounter on this “adventure-of-a-lifetime”. The area is soon to become a National Provincial Park.
The Richmond Gulf abounds in beluga whales, seals, eagles, cormorants, ptarmigan and even some black bears. We will likely see them all on this 7-day trip in this remarkable region. We will paddle up tributaries to see the spectacular waterfalls on the Rivière du Nord, Clearwater (Eau-Claire) River and the 350 foot (107m) Katattulialuk Falls on the Wiachtiwan River - which to the Cree means “bright falls” (Rivière des Troyes). We will hike the “cuestas” on the western shore, visit an abandoned Hudson Bay Post which is still quite liveable, and view several late-Dorset subterranean dwellings that are surprisingly well-preserved for being over 1,000 years old. We might even meet Willie Tukaluk who was born in one of these dwellings in the Richmond Gulf – a dwelling with a roof of seal skins held up by whale bones. Yes, Willie now lives in Umiujaq and works with an archaeologist from AVATAQ during the summers. The weather should be good on the east side of the Richmond Gulf with temperatures in between 10 and 20 degrees Celsius. Night temperatures could occasionally go below freezing. Strong north westerly winds could bring in bouts of fog. A word about Pakcanoes: Pakcanoes are stable, light and packable. They pack into a 35 x 15 inch duffel bag that you can check as regular baggage on a plane. Portaging is easy since they weigh a mere 50 lbs compared to an ABS Old Town Tripper at 95 lbs. Joel and Bev Hollis reported on a trip they took on the Kuujjua River in Northern Quebec with an inflatable canoe, an Old Town Tripper and a Pakcanoe. Here is part of what they had to say: “The inflatable canoe developed leaks in the bottom and floated very low because of the heavy load of gear. The Tripper did okay, but most of the vinyl outer layer wore off, and the Kevlar bang plates were badly ground down. The Pakcanoe developed some minor abrasion on the keel strip, but it was easily patched and it seemed to float higher than the other boats, which made it easier to drag in shallow rapids.”
The legendary Cliff Jacobson, after observing a group of Norwegians descending some serious rapids on the Hood River in the Northwest Territories which he had chosen to portage said he would never again thumb his nose at folding canoes. Pakcanoes enable one to travel on commercial air lines to remote locations that would be totally impossible or prohibitively expensive with ordinary canoes.
ITINERARY
Subject to change due to wind, weather and the desires of the group. On less windy days we will likely paddle considerably more than on windy days, but we will stop and visit all the important sites. We may evben have time for a rest day.
Day 1: We will meet at the Air Inuit counter at Trudeau International Airport in Montreal no later than 7:30 hrs for our flight to Umiujaq. We will have breakfast on the flight. We may stop at La Grande and/or Kuujjuarapic on our way to Umiujaq. If we are not fogged out we should arrive in Umiujaq at 12:30 hrs. We will load our gear onto a truck for transport to the Richmond Gulf a distance of 12 km on a rough road. The latter part of this trip will be hiked and our gear transported by all-terrain-vehicles. We will set up camp here and assemble our canoes and demonstrate their capabilities. Time permitting some of us may wish to climb onto the plateau to the north or west of our campsite.
Day 2: We will pack up our camp and paddle about 4 km east to the rapids and falls tumbling from the Rivière du Nord into the Richmond Gulf. We may hike up the river a few kilometres since the rapids and falls are continuous for over 4 km. We will have lunch at the falls and then continue paddling for another 7 km to set up a new campsite in a sheltered bay behind a point. We should have time to explore the point.
Day 3: Today we will pack up our camp and paddle south 15 to 20 km to camp again on the shore near the mouth of the Caribou River.
Day 4: We will continue paddling to reach the mouth of the Clearwater River and then on to the mouth of the Wiachtiwan River where we will camp. The total distance will be about 20 km.
Day 5: We will hike up to the Katattulialuk Falls for some breathtaking views of water dropping 100 m in about 1 km. We will then continue paddling 10 km to explore the abandoned Hudson Bay Post at the south-east corner of the Richmond Gulf where we will camp for the night. This is a good place to see beluga whales and seals.
Day 6: We will begin our paddle westward in the lee of Cairn Island where there was another Hudson Bay Company Post many years before the abandoned one we saw yesterday. Hopefully we will get beyond Cairn Island. Campsites are more difficult to find on this side of the Richmond Gulf. Paddling distance will depend on the winds but we should try to do at least 16 km.
Day 7: We should reach the Gullet today and set up camp among the archaeological remains from the Thule period. We should have lots of time to visit the remains of Inuit shelters from the Devonian period and to climb some hills on the Castle Presqu’ile for views of the Gullet and Hudson Bay.
Day 8: We shall pack up our Pakcanoes, tents and gear and wait for a freighter canoe from Umiujaq to pick us up and take us back to Umiujaq along the Hudson Bay Coast. We should arrive in time to catch our flight back to Montreal at 4:00 p.m.
Notes:
From Umiujaq, QC. 20% required to register. Balance due 60 days prior to departure. No credit cards. No taxes. Payments by cheque or money order payable to Bill Pollock. Participant must obtain return air fare to Umiujaq at AirInuit.com.
Also see tour packages in:
Canada
Quebec
|
