Canoeing Georgian Bay’s French River Delta: Day 2 – Down The Main Outlet From The Elbow to The Bustards

Posted on 2017-10-06 by true_north

Table of Contents:

Previous Post: Day 1 – Hartley Bay Marina to The Elbow

Canoeing Georgian Bay’s French River Delta: Logistics, Maps, & Day 1

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Day 2 Basic Data and Maps

  • distance: 13.7 km
  • time:   9:00 a.m.; finish 2:25 p.m.
  • portages/rapids:  1 
    • P18 – 240m Dalles Rapids
  •  weather: sunny and hot; some SW wind; overnight rain showers;
  • campsite: CS 900 (old #735) on the Bustard Islands; multiple 2- or 4-person tents

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First Up – The Dalles Rapids Portage

It had rained a bit overnight and the tarp was wet when we crawled out of the tent around 6:45 along with the just-appearing sun.  However, the tarp had done its job and the fly and tent were dry as we stuffed everything back into their compression sacs for the day.  By 9 we were finally on the water, having dallied a bit in the early morning sunshine with our cups of coffee on the flat rock point to the side of the campsite.

This day would involve a bit of history, the part of the French River story dealing with lumbering and fishing. Just 1 kilometre down from CS 672 (old #624) was the only portage of the day, a 240-meter carry around Dalles Rapids.

French River Main Channel Dalles Rapids and Portage

As we neared the rapids we came upon the rusting boiler of one of the tugboats that used to pull the log booms downriver to the rapids and towards the sawmills of French River Village another kilometer or so downriver.

In the image below you can see a canoe and the portage sign to the right of the boiler which gives the point its current name.

alligator boat  boiler from the lumber era on river left of the French River’s Main Outlet

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Woolford’s Early 1820s Painting of The Rapids

And then the Dalles Rapids. In my thoughts was a painting of the chute done by the English landscape painter John Elliott Woolford in the early 1820s. He was travelling down the river with the then-Governor-General of the British North American colonies, the Earl of Dalhousie.  This was sixty years before the main outlet of the French became the route where the logs were floated down from upriver.  Given his watercolour, it promised to be a dramatic sight!

John Elliott Woolford. Rapid of La Dalle, French River, Ontario.

Well, there was some artistic license taken by Woolford! Our first look at the rapids from above did not match his painted view.  The use of the name “La Dalle” is also confusing since the name La Dalle refers to the final set of swifts on what is now the Old Voyageur Channel further to the west.

We’d get a closer look at the rapids from the bottom after our 240-meter carry over a well-used path on river left around the Rapids.

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Tramway Point

Wondering about the origins of the name Tramway Point, I found a passage in Toni Harting’s book which provided an explanation.  The Tramway Point label on the map above should be on the same side of the river as the portage.  Harting writes –

In about 1907, a narrow-gauge tramway was constructed south of Dalles Rapids (roughly following the still existing fur-trade portage trail connection Boiler Point Bay to Dalles Pool) to transport all the material for the Canadian Pacific Railway bridge being built over the French river, 1 kilometer downstream from Dry Pine Bay. The logging companies used this tramway for a while to transport supplies but in the long run it did not meet their demands and was subsequently abandoned. (86)

While we did see a few remnants of this logging past, the tramway itself is not there. See here for a photo of a section of that tramway.  There is more information later in this post.

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A Walk Up The Side of The Rapids

After an easy carry on a woodlands-like trail, we paddled upriver to the bottom of the rapids and scampered up the banks for a closer look.  More confident canoe trippers with

  • barrels instead of traditional canoe packs and
  • maybe a spray skirt and
  • with another canoe or two in their party

may well have run these rapids, mostly characterized by a high volume of water. We tend to err on the side of caution.

French River Main Channel – Dalles Rapids panorama

We spent a half-hour at Dalles Rapids, walking up toward the top and framing some images. It is definitely a scenic spot worth spending some time at.

Max heading for the top of Dalles Rapids

a view of Dalles Rapids from river left – French River Main Channel

an embedded metal spike at Dalles Rapids – a remnant of the lumber era

Screenshot

We did find an unsigned campsite (#677?) on top of the bank where we landed our canoe; it would make an excellent spot to stop for the day and would allow you to spend more time framing images at Dalles Rapids in changing light conditions. So too would some of the other ones nearby. This snippet of the Maps by Jeff map provides the locations.

river left below Dalles Rapids on the French River

an unsigned campsite below Dalles Rapids

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On To Little Dalles Rapids & Passing Camp McIntosh

Moving on, we saw the ripples of Little Dalles Rapids up ahead.  Perhaps it is the higher water levels this year – up two feet according to the locals – but the rapids were no more than swifts.  We paddled right through. On our right, we passed Camp McIntosh, a fishing resort with six rental cottages and some other buildings, including the owner’s winterized residence.

a satellite view of Camp Mcintosh on the French River’s  main channel

Camp McIntosh below Dalles Rapids on the French River’s Main Channel

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French River Village Site – Some History

More artifacts from the heyday of the lumber era popped up along the shore as we continued downriver.  We were approaching the location of French River Village, for thirty or so years (the mid-1870s to 1910)  the boomtown home of 300 that included (as listed in Kas Stone’s book):

  • two sawmills
  • two churches
  • three hotels
  • a post office
  • warehouses
  • private residences
  • stores

French River Village died a slow death after 1910 and the end of the lumber boom; the Queen’s Hotel, once the logging company bunkhouse,  burned down in 1917; the post office closed in 1922 and the last person moved out in 1934.  Other than the occasional rusted piece of machinery, the one substantial ruin to be seen on the site is not far from where we beached our canoe.

The site of the village is on river left (i.e. east side) of the Main Outlet just above Loading Cove. [Note: we did not know this at the time!]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The map above left is included in Kevin Callan’s write-up of a route in his A Paddler’s Guide To Killarney And The French River(2006).  It shows the village on the wrong side of the Outlet.  He has probably mixed up the location of the actual French River Village with the location of a planned townsite around MacDougal Bay that never happened.

Toni Harting provides this background detail –

…a townsite called Coponaning was surveyed in 1875 at the Main Outlet of the river, just below Dalles Rapids and enclosing MacDougal Bay….The town would only exist on paper. it was never actually built…(Harting, 85)

iron ring on the banks of the French River’s Main Channel

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Checking Out the Sawmill Remains

We beached our canoe at the point on Callan’s map indicated by “Mill site”.  The image below shows the remains of a brick wall of that sawmill.  From there we walked inland a bit on a rough trail looking for some evidence of the village.

In all, there are only a couple of structures to be seen:

  • the collapsed wall of the sawmill that drew us in and
  • a lighthouse we saw as we looked south from the plateau the trail led us to.

We did not know it at the time but we had landed a couple of hundred meters too far north of Loading Cove to get a full view of the former village site.

three-meter high brick wall – the ruins of French River Village

brick remains of one of the sawmills at the once French River Village site

Looking south from my vantage point, I expected to see a flat area where streets once ran down to the water.  There is nothing to see – except for the lighthouse which still stands to the south.  That should have served as a clue that we were not quite at the village site! Instead, we went away thinking that the terrain you see in the image below was where it had once stood.

looking south towards the French River Village site from  near the sawmill remains

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The Location of French River Village

After our trip, I kept thinking about the jagged and uneven nature of the terrain that we thought the village had been built on.  It just seemed to be an unlikely choice of space on which to put up all those buildings listed above.  Rereading the Toni Harting book more carefully helped clarify things.

So too did zooming in a satellite view of the area just above Loading Cove. I was surprised to see buildings since we had seen nothing but the lighthouse tower from our vantage point a couple of hundred meters north!

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Historical Images of French River Village

Another lucky find – the book pictured above, , Capturing the French River by Wayne Kelly  helped to make sense of what the village actually looked like. [The Mobi/Kindle book can be accessed at Amazon here.]  The promotional blurb at the Amazon  site presents the book like this:

Capturing the French River introduces a rare collection of exceptional photographs taken along the river between 1910 and 1927 by Doctors J. Ernest Rushbrook and Frank Sherman, whose lifelong friendship was based in part around their mutual love of photography, of nature, of the Canadian wilderness and of the canoe. The collection was a serendipitous discovery by author Wayne Kelly, who immediately recognized the uniqueness of these incredible images. 

The CDN$7.99. downloaded copy of the book includes a hundred or so images, some of which helped me finally see what French River Village looked like in its heyday. Here are a few that you will find as you read through this worthwhile little investment!

There was an elevated tramway that came down to French River Village and Loading Cove from the sawmills. The photo above shows the south end of the tramway near Loading Cove.  The carts loaded with lumber would be pulled by horses to the dock where waiting ships would take it to points south.

The images above and below show the Ontario Lumber Company’s bunkhouse. The building served for a short while as a hotel as the lumber business died.

The photo below has the lighthouse, the company store, and the workers’ recreation hall in the foreground. On the left running diagonally up the image alongside the river are the workers’ huts. At the very top right-hand side are the two churches – one Presbyterian and the other Roman Catholic.

The image below shows a paddling group making use of the wooden tramway built around 1907 to haul their canoes and gear from Boiler Point to Dalles Pool. This tramway is the one described by the Toni Harting quote in the discussion of Tramway Point above.

While the village was on its deathbed by 1910, in 1917  the Ontario Lumber Company’s bunkhouse, which by then had become the Queen’s Hotel, was destroyed by a fire. That pretty much sealed the village’s fate.  By 1930 most anything of value had been hauled away from the village site and made use of elsewhere in the area.

With our scan of what we thought was the former French River Village townsite done and our morning meditation on the transience of all things over,  it was time to move on! We were headed for the open water of Georgian Bay!

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TV Ontario Mini-Doc: “The Ghost Town of  French River Village”

Click here or on the image to access the video

The TV Ontario’s Tripping series Season 1 – Episode 5  has a bonus “webisode” which deals briefly (4 minutes) with F.R. Village. Paul McDougal provides some historical detail on the forty-year life of one of the many Canadian Shield towns built on resource extraction. 

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The Shortest Way To the Bustards

We stopped for a Gatorade/energy bar break at Cantin Point.  It is 2 kilometres from the Point to Tarpot Island, the northernmost of the Bustards. Subtract another kilometre for the various rocks and small islands that stretch south from Cantin Point and you are left with no more than a kilometre of open water.  This is the shortest crossing route over to the Bustards.  We couldn’t have had nicer conditions and in 20 minutes we were paddling into the Coral Channel between Tarpot Island and Tie Island.

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The Coral Channel

The Channel gets its name from the early 1900s sinking of the Coral, a wooden sailboat, at the entrance of the channel between the two islands.  We did look for bits of the wreckage – according to Kas Stone easy to find –  as we paddled towards the entrance of the channel but did not see anything.  Intent instead to find a lunch spot after our morning of sightseeing, we did not linger to see if we could locate the debris.

As for the channel, in 2017 it was paddle-able!  Stone  (2008)  noted that

“accumulations of rock and sand, and falling water levels, have blocked its northern outlet completely.” (76)

The high water is back and even if it wasn’t, a short lift-over and you would be into some water you could float on!

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Safe Harbour by Highland Home

We paddled down the channel and found a spot to the north of an island named Highland Home which has a few fishing shacks  – some upgraded to cottages?- on it. We were in the heart of what was in the 1940s and 50s a thriving fishing station that involved dozens of families. (See the Kas Stone book Paddling and Hiking the Georgian Bay Coast for the complete story!)

The harbour is also well-known to Georgian Bay sailors as a safe shelter from the waters of the Bay when they turn rough. No boats were at anchor the day we paddled through.

a few simple camps on Highland Home, an island  in the northern Bustards

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Our Bustards Campsite

After lunch, we paddled past Highland Home and Pearl Island and east down the channel between Strawberry Island and Tanvat Island. There are a few designated campsites along the east side of Tanvat island. (See here for a map with approximate locations.)

We were heading for a campsite – CS 900 (old #735) – that Rick had mentioned was especially nice when we kayaked through the Bustards a month before. Unfortunately for us on that occasion,  there was already a tent up as we approached so we kept on paddling south.

Max and I had better luck! Being here in late September may have had something to do with it!

FRPP – CS 900 (old #735)  east side of the Bustards panorama – our tent is on the extreme right

looking east towards our campsite and Georgian Bay

the bent pine at the point of CS 900 in the Bustards

another view of our tent spot on the Bustards

The campsite proved to be everything we were hoping for. We found a sheltered and flat spot for our four-person tent, a scenic point overlooking the waters of Georgian Bay, and a walkable island site where we could ramble around for different views.  There is room at CS 900 for multiple tents – with no one feeling like they had gotten the short end of the stick!

a swirl in the rock at island CS 900

setting up my tripod at dusk on the Bustards

sunset on the Bustards/Georgian Bay

An early stop this day – shortly after 2!   While we had only covered 14 kilometers,  the time we spent at Dalles Rapids and the remains of French River Village, as well as our paddle down the Coral Channel into the Bustards Harbour by Highland Home were reminders that distance is not the only thing that canoe trippers should focus on!  The next day would provide us with the same lesson as we headed to the west end of the Park.

Day 3 - from the Bustards to Eagle Nest Point

Day 3 – from the Bustards to Eagle Nest Point

Next Post: Day 3 – From The Bustards To Eagle Nest Point

Canoeing Georgian Bay’s French River Delta:: Day 3 -The Bustards To Eagle Nest Point

Canoeing Georgian Bay’s French River Delta: Day 4 – From West to East – Up, Down and Across the French River Delta

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Canoeing Georgian Bay’s French River Delta: Logistics, Maps, & Day 1

Posted on 2017-10-05 by true_north

Last update: February 23, 2024.

Table of Contents:

Maps

  • Official FRPP map – 2021 Edition
  • Garmin Topo Canada
  • David Crawshay’s Topo Canada for iOS devices
  • ATLOGIS Canada Topo Maps for Android OS
  • Federal Government 1:50,000 Topos
  • Maps By Jeff – West French River Map
  • Google Earth

More Info

Day 1 – Hartley Bay to “The Elbow” On The French River’s Main Outlet  

                              has detailed  maps and basic info

Day 2 – From The Main Channel’s The Elbow To The Bustard Islands

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Setting The Scene – A Bit of History: 

The French River Delta and the nearby off-shore islands of Georgian Bay are a part – the most scenic part – of Ontario’s French River Provincial Park.  The Park was created in 1989 to protect and promote a river that was once integral to a transcontinental water highway.  It stretched from Montreal to the Canadian Rockies via the Ottawa River, the Mattawa River, Lake Nipissing, the French River, and the Great Lakes.

Samuel de Champlain Map from 1618 – Lake Nipissing is at the top left

[Note that on Champlain’s map, he names the entire river stretch from Montréal to Lake Nipissing La Rivière des Algoumequins.  After the Algonquian-Iroquois War and its devastating impact on the Algonquins, by the late 1600s, the river would be associated with the Odawa.

Stretching 110 kilometres from the south side of Lake Nipissing to Georgian Bay, it was used as part of a transcontinental trade route by both Indigenous Peoples and, after 1615, by French and Canadien and (after 1763) British fur traders and missionaries.  The river system’s integral connection with Canada’s early history meant that the French River was chosen when the newly formed federal government program, The Canadian Heritage Rivers System, named its first river in 1986.

Canadian Heritage Rivers plaque – French River Visitors’ Center off Highway 69

I had already paddled the upper French River twice in the mid-1980s – once with my wife Laila and another with my friend Cyril.  We started in Restoule Provincial Park on both occasions and paddled down the Restoule River to where it meets the French.  At Highway 69, we headed back up the Pickerel River system to a take-out at Port Loring.

Restoule Lake and River

Restoule Lake and River

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Print Sources Worth Checking Out:

This September, I finally got to see the river below Highway 69.  The intervening years also meant that there was much more information to add to my understanding of any challenges presented by the river and an appreciation of the area’s history and natural beauty.  Toni Harting’s French River: Canoeing The River of the Stick Wavers (1996) was one great find.

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Friends of French River PP Map for campsite info 

The official park map to get is the 2021 4th.  Edition of the 1:55,000 scale  Friends of French River map.  It has the new campsite numbers.  The waterproof map is a good investment and gives the Friends some money to keep doing their work.

The map needs more canoe paddler information on the relatively few portages in the Park.  The one thing it is helpful for is indicating campsite locations.

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Kas Stone’s Paddling and Hiking the Georgian Bay Coast (2008) is an essential guidebook for anyone spending time on the G’Bay Coast.  It is a well-researched combination of history and practical paddling advice and has numerous detailed maps and some great colour photos.  Earlier this summer, I read the book before our kayak trip down the coast from Killarney to Snug Harbour near Parry Sound.  See Chapter 6 – “The French River Delta And The Bustards.”

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Where To Start:

See here for a live interactive Google map of the area

Our preferred starting point is  Hartley Bay Marina.  It is at the end of a 14-kilometer gravel road from Highway 69.  After a 2 1/4 hour drive from downtown Toronto to Parry Sound, it takes another 1 1/4 hours to get to the Marina.

Hartley Bay Marina header

We were going up on a Wednesday in late September, so we knew it would be pretty quiet in the Park.

The plan:  leave our car at the Marina for a week.  The cost: $10.  a day for parking + $10. for a canoe launch from their dock.  Valet parking – no extra charge!

Another Option – Key Marine Resort

The Hartley Bay Marina put-in/take-out is the best choice if the French River delta is your destination.  Another option is the Key Marine Resort off Highway 69.  However, it involves a 13-kilometre paddle down the Key River to get to Georgian Bay (and one you’ll have to redo on your return).

Given the usual motorboat traffic on Key River and no way to escape, it can become tedious in a hurry!  Once you pass Key Harbour, you are at the far east end of the delta!

Better to set off from Hartley Bay Marina – 13 kilometres brings you to The Elbow, the hub of the various French River channels to the Bay.  On the way back, there are at least half a dozen other channels and route options, so you will not have to repeat the entry route.

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Maps:

The 2021 French River PP Map for campsite info 

2021 Edition

Out-of-date older maps:

2017 Edition

In 2021 the FRPP managers decided to retire a few campsites and renumber many others.  The result is that pre-2021  Unlostify and the Friends of FRPP maps and trip reports with specific numbered

2006 edition

campsites are now outdated.  Some campers will be confused as they try to match the number on their pre-2021 map to the one nailed to a tree.  Here is a list of the campsites with their old and new numbers.

Campsite Re-Numbering Reference

I’ve reviewed my trip report posts and changed most of the campsite numbers I mentioned.  The new # appears first; the old # follows.

Getting a copy of the new park map at the Park Visitors’ Center along with your backcountry permit might be the easiest thing to do.

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Other Maps:

Garmin Topo Canada – nice to have but not needed

Along with our copy of the above map, we also had Max’s Garmin Etrex 20 GPS device with the Garmin Topo Canada 4.0 map set.  The paper map occasionally does not provide enough topo detail, and the Etrex helped.  However, a dedicated GPS device is not necessary these days.  A smartphone will do the job just as well. 

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Crawshay’s Topo Canada iOS App

I brought along my iPhone 6 with David Crawshay’s Topo Canada app and the required Topos installed.  On a few occasions, as we paddled through a maze of channels and islands, I fired it up to see where we were.  I did not, however, leave it on all day; it would eat up battery like crazy compared to the Garmin device!  There is an equivalent app available for Android OS devices.

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ATLOGIS Canada Topo Maps for Android OS: free/$14.

The Android OS app from a German app developer is similar to Crawshay’s Topo Canada iOS app.  However, it costs $14.  U.S.  Given its usefulness, the one-time cost is easy to justify and may save you time and aggravation.

Click here to access the Google App Store page –

Note: The free version of the app may be enough for your purpose.

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Federal Government Topos

Natural Resources Canada

If you want to download and make your own paper copies of the relevant bits from the Natural Resources Canada 1:50,000 topos check out these links from the Government of Canada’s geogratis site –

Note: The Federal Government provides the maps for “free” but is no longer in the map printing business.  Some entrepreneurs have stepped in and set up businesses to print the maps.  Most use plastic material (Dupont’s Tyvek?) instead of paper, and individual sheets cost $20.  CDN or so.

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Maps By Jeff West French River

Another useful map is the Maps By Jeff French River map, also available for $20. in a waterproof plastic material.   Here is what the map looks like – 

Maps By Jeff West French River map

If the map’s overall style looks familiar, the reason is the involvement of Jeff McMurtrie, who started off as Jeff’s Maps more than a decade ago before he became Unlostify!  And now – Maps By Jeff.

It has the newly-numbered campsite locations and also provides interesting historical and geological background on notable spots.  One caution – the 1:50000 NRC maps provide more accurate mapping of narrow channels and passages between islands.  I wouldn’t rely just on the Maps By Jeff map, as helpful as it is.

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Google Earth

Getting a satellite view of the terrain gives you a different perspective.  Click here to access the view at the start of this one-week French delta adventure at Harley Bay Marina.

Hartley Bay Marina – satellite view

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More Information

Ontario Parks Online Backcountry Permit

Backcountry camping permits can be purchased online at the Ontario Parks website. Click on the Reservations option in the header and then the “Backcountry ” prompt to the right of  Day Use.

Once on the Backcountry page, scroll down and choose French River in the Park folder and then enter the other required info.

Note: In 2024, FRPP changed its backcountry reservation system. You now need to pick a specific site for each night in the Park.

Kevin Callan explains the change in an Explore magazine  online article –

For the 2025 paddling season, Ontario Parks has implemented a site-specific reservation model for all backcountry paddling campsites at this Provincial Park, which previously had divided zones to reserve. This “site-specific” style of booking a backcountry site isn’t new. Other parks, such as the nearby Killarney Provincial Park, have already transitioned to this type of reservation when overcrowded by visitors, especially beginner canoe trippers.  Source

The change means that you are committed to specific campsites and that last-minute changes to your itinerary due to weather conditions or a decision to paddle an hour more or less are technically not possible.  A pre-determined list of campsites is not how my brother and I do canoe tripping!  Except for CS634 on Day 2, all  of our campsite choices on this trip were made the day of!  The fact that we keep our visits to the Delta to May-June and September-October means that there are very few other campers around.

Paddlers will now need information on specific campsites to make sure they do not end up with a dud of a site, of which there are a few in the Park.

The 2025 French River fee structure looks like this:

I was surprised to see a $9.73 (+ GST!) charge for getting the backcountry permit online. Maybe it’s been there for years, and I just didn’t notice before?

Another option is to stop at the French River Park Visitor Center and get your camping permits there. Maps and up-to-date info on matters relating to the park – fires, bear sightings, water levels, campsite closures, etc. –  would also be available. It is off the old Hwy 69, now renamed Settlers Road. 

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Our Route:

When we left Toronto for Hartley Bay, we were still unclear about how to let the following seven days unfold.  In doing some pre-trip reading,  I created a list of spots to include in our one-week ramble.  They were –

  • the remains of French River Village
  • Dalles Rapids
  • the Bustard Lighthouses
  • The Elephants in Pickerel Bay
  • Eagle Nest Point
  • the Pickerel River
  • the Bass Creek portages
  • the Old Voyageur Channel
  • Devil’s Door Rapids
  • the Cross Channel From west to east

By the time we got to the Marina, our route was somehow fleshed out.  The 110-kilometer track indicated on the overview map above is what we came up with to hit all those spots listed above.

The numbers 1 to 6 show where we camped at the end of each day.  They were all designated French River Provincial Park campsites, as shown on the map first published in 2006 by The Friends of French River volunteer group.  My copy was the blue third edition from 2017, pictured here.

2017 – 3rd edition

The campsites are available on a “first come” basis with no need to pre-book, as you do with other parks like Killarney.  The waterproof map is not only a good investment; it also provides the Friends with a bit of money to keep doing their work.  I still remember when we had a Provincial Government department taking care of parks and maintaining portages!

We made the route happen, thanks to favourable wind and wave conditions.  For example, the paddle out to and back from the Bustards could not have been on calmer water.  We also had a string of seven sunny days and occasionally complained about the lethargy induced by the stifling heat.  It was July weather in late September!

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For another approach to the tripping possibilities of the Delta, take a look at this report about an October 2024 trip.

Up and Down The French River Delta’s Many Channels And Outlets

2024 French River Delta overview

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Favourite Campsites:

We only stayed at designated campsites on this trip; we did note some spots where we would have pitched our tent had it been later in the day.  Our three favourite sites?

  • CS 900 (old 735) on the east side of the Bustards
  • CS 832 (old 816) at Eagle Nest Point – west end of the Park
  • CS 634 (old 633) on Pickerel Bay (The Elephants)

Even the worst one – CS 672 (old 624)on our first night – would be pretty good anywhere else!

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Cell Phone Coverage:

Bell Cell Phone Coverage - French River Delta

See here for the Bell network coverage map

Given the map above, making a cell phone connection in the French River delta seems unlikely.  However, we could phone home from most campsites, especially those on Georgian Bay.

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Day 1 – From Hartley Bay Marina to “The Elbow” On The French River’s Main Outlet

  • distance: 12.7 km
  • time:  4:15 p.m.; finish 6:50 p.m..
  • portages/rapids:  0
  • weather: sunny/cloudy periods;
  • campsite: room for multiple 2-person tents, 1 x 4-person spot

We loaded the two Hooligan canoe packs and the two duffels and pushed off from the Hartley Bay Marina dock shortly after 4:00 p.m.  While an earlier start would have been nice,  we did have enough time before the 7 p.m. sunset to get closer to Georgian Bay.  Our target was a designated tent site in The Elbow area.

The Hartley Bay Marina dock – loading the canoe

A Wednesday afternoon in late September would explain the lack of motorboat traffic.  We saw maybe two during the 2 1/2 hours it took us to get to The Elbow junction.  Given the poor review of CS 670 (old #622) –  too many poorly placed “thunderboxes” (box toilets)!  According to the marina front desk person,- we left it off our list of possible tent spots.

French River - The Elbow campsites

Note: the CS #s are the old ones.  See this list for the new 2021 ones which replaced them.

With its southern exposure, CS 672 (old # 624) was where we ended up.  We saw another canoe on the far shore as we reached the site.  They were nearby campers out for an evening paddle.

Paddlers near CS 672  as we approach

The daylight was already fading as we put up the tent.  We also put up the über tarp.  (Some rain was forecast overnight, and we wanted to ensure a dry tent and easy take-down if it was still raining the next morning.)

Out came the headlamps as we prepared our supper.  We had cut it a bit close!

We took very few pix this first afternoon, so intent on living up to the Albinger Bros. motto of gittin’ ‘er dun!  We would up the chill level and the photo count in days to come!

Campsite 672 near the Elbow on the Main Outlet

The pix here would be among the few with the colour of deciduous tree leaves in them.  The closer you get to the Bay, the fewer maples and birches there are; the pines, cedars, and spruces take over completely.

looking out at the Main Outlet of the French River at The Elbow CS 672 (old CS #624)

dusk view from CS #672 near the Main Outlet’s Elbow

Day 1 – with its 4 p.m. start – had been a bit of a rush.  Still, we had managed to put in 13 kilometers.  As we sat on the rock patio on the side of our tent spot and sipped on our post-supper whisky in the dark, we were already easing into that canoe trip groove.  Day 2, with its great weather and eye-popping scenery, would complete the transition.

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Next Post: Day 2 – From The Main Outlet’s The Elbow To The Bustards

Canoeing Georgian Bay’s French River Delta: Day 2 – Down The Main Outlet From The Elbow to The Bustards

Day 2 - from The Elbow (Main Channel French River) To The Bustards

Day 2 - Cantin Point To the Bustards

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Related Posts:  

 Kayaking The Georgian Bay Coast: Maps, Logistics + Days 1 and 2 – Chikanishing Creek To Solomon I.  To Point Grondine

Kayaking The Georgian Bay Coast: Maps, Logistics + Days 1 and 2 – Chikanishing Creek To Solomon I. To Point Grondine

Canoeing The French From Top To Bottom: Intro, Logistics, Planning, and Maps

Canoeing The French River From Top To Bottom: Intro., Logistics, Planning and Maps

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Georgian Bay’s North and East Coast – Paddlers’ Eye Candy

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In early fall 2024, we returned for another one-week helping of the French River Delta. 

Up and Down The French River Delta’s Many Channels And Outlets

 

 

Posted in Georgian Bay, wilderness canoe tripping | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Kayaking The Georgian Bay Coast: Days 7 And 8 – Garland I. To Franklin I. To Snug Harbour

Posted on 2017-09-18 by true_north

Contents:

Previous Post: Days 5 & 6 – Byng Inlet To Hangdog I. To Garland I

​Kayaking The Georgian Bay Coast: Days 5 And 6 – Byng Inlet To Hangdog I. To Garland I. (The Minks)

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Day 7 – Garland Island To Franklin Island

dawn on Garland Island in Georgian Bay

When I crawled out of my tent into the awesome sunrise you see in the photo above, Rick was already up and standing at the spot where we had our butane cookstoves. He had moved them into a more sheltered nook thanks to the noticeable wind blowing from the south-east.  While we munched on our various oatmeal concoctions for breakfast, we turned our backs to the wind and to the most ruffled water we’d seen since Day 1. (Spoiler alert – it wasn’t really that bad!)

We considered the two following options –

  • paddle the 7.5 km. down to the bottom of the Mink Islands into the wind, all the way and then make the 5 km. crossing to the south end of Franklin Island
  • do the 6.5-kilometer crossing to the southern tip of the Oak Islands right away while we were fresh and then enjoy a sheltered paddle down to the south end of Franklin Island.

As the map below makes clear, we went with #2.

Days 7 and 8 – from Garland I. To Franklin I. To Snug Harbour

We left Garland Island before 9 and by 11:30 we were coasting into the sand beach you see in the photo below – the site of our campsite.  Two things to note –

  1.  The high water levels this summer had flooded what was a fire pit now a foot deep in water!
  2. Until my shot of the flooded fire pit, I did not take a single photo after that sunrise shot above. I was definitely focused on getting the open crossing done and was probably obsessing about the still-uncomfortable back of my kayak seat.

In any case, it was nice to crawl out of the kayak and check out the campsite.  For a moment we considered just finishing off the trip that very afternoon.  After all, we were a one-hour paddle from our vehicles around the corner at Snug Harbour.  It is something that my brother and I have done on some of our trips – only to ask the next morning – “Why were we in such a hurry?”

In the photo below it is just a bit past noon and the tents were up; we had resisted the siren call of Snug Harbour!

As for the site, it was amazing.  It had all the features of an interior woodlands campsite that I like – the shelter of trees and higher ground on the wind side of the site, at least six inches of earth for the tent pegs to sink into, and – though not immediately evident – excellent G’Bay views to the west.  It even had a thunderbox (i.e. toilet box)..


Actually, it had four different toilet boxes if you count the demolished one that I found within 30 meters of the tenting area.  The best one was located off the side of the trail going up to the Bay viewpoint rock.  It was far enough away from where people put up their tents.

On the other hand, there was the monstrosity you see in the two images below. It sat there,  tilted and big enough to have a second toilet seat.  It was maybe ten meters and in plain view from the tenting area.  You have to wonder who decided that this would be a great spot to put a third toilet box on the site!

 

 

 

 

 

The people whose boat was anchored off the island just to the north of us would also be spending the night in the neighbourhood.

Rick returning from his leisure paddle around the neighbourhood

I grabbed my camera kit and my Helinox chair and headed for the scenic Bay-side lookout. On the horizon was the Mink archipelago and to the south of that the Red Rock Lighthouse, its presence a mere dot.  While it would have been nice to have added the Minks to our route, they would have to wait for another trip.

a view of Red Rock Lighthouse and the Mink Islands from our Franklin I. campsite

See here for a very readable summary of the history of the Red Rock Lighthouse and its predecessor on what is now Old Tower Island.

I left my comfy chair and scrambled around the edge of the island looking for striking vantage points. I was looking for the Zen of that “Group of Seven” moment!  It is easy to see what those painters found so beguiling in the Georgian Bay landscape although their inspiration may have come further down the coast to the south of Parry Sound.

We finished Day 7 with a meditation on the setting sun and an expression of gratitude for the way the day – and the entire trip! – had unfolded.

savouring the end of another glorious day on Georgian Bay

looking west from Franklin Island

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Day 8 – From Franklin I. To Snug Harbour

It is about 4 kilometers from the west side of Franklin Island to Snug Harbour.  We were emptying our kayaks of bags by 10:00 a.m., having paddled the route shown on the map below. One more lighthouse to greet us at the entrance to the inner harbour and then it was on to the public dock where we beached the kayaks.

Day 8 – Franklin I to Snug Harbour

Snug Harbour llighthouse

Snug Harbour lighthouse


While Rick and Ken went off to get their cars from the Gilly’s Marina parking lot, I packed away all my stuff into the two duffel bags I had brought along.

Screen Shot 2018-09-01 at 2.59.06 PM

A half-hour later the kayaks – two on Ken’s car top – were strapped down securely and we set off for White Squall Kayaking Center to return my rental kayak.

Snug Harbour To White Squall To the 400

White Squall is probably the single largest supplier of rental kayaks and canoes in the Georgian Bay area.  I rented one of their kayaks for a Minks & McCoys trip back in 1996 so it is great to see that twenty years later they are still there and by all appearances doing well.  They certainly have enough stock on hand. I should have taken a photo or two of their extensive kayak collection!


What a contrast!

One evening we are sitting on an island rock on the edge of Georgian Bay; a 2 1/2 hour drive down the 400 and along the 401 and we are back in North America’s fifth-largest chunk of urban sprawl.

We in the GTA are so lucky to have what the northeast corner of Georgian Bay offers.  It is definitely a corner of Ontario worth getting to know.  And once experienced, by all accounts, it seems to be one that paddlers like my kayaking buddies Ken and Rick keep coming back to because of the countless different possibilities which the area’s share of those reputed 30,000 islands offer to keen paddlers.

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Back To G’ Bay By Canoe!

In fact, this week my brother and I will sample in more depth one little slice of NE G’Bay. We are heading up to the French River Delta and the Bustards and have a week to explore some of the channels and outlets of the French River.  From my latest visit to the Weather Network website, it looks like we will get another serving of the great weather we had for this trip.

See the post below for a summary of the trip and for more G’Bay vistas!

Canoeing Georgian Bay’s French River Delta: Logistics, Maps, and Day 1

Canoeing Georgian Bay’s French River Delta: Logistics, Maps, & Day 1

Click here for the Google Maps link

 

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​Kayaking The Georgian Bay Coast: Days 5 And 6 – Byng Inlet To Hangdog I. To Garland I. (The Minks)

Posted on 2017-09-17 by true_north

Table of Contents:

Day 5 – From S of Byng Inlet To The Hangdog Island Channel

Day 6 – From Hangdog I. to Garland I. (just N of Elmtree I.)

Previous Post: Days 3 & 4 – From The Bustard Islands to South of Byng Inlet

Kayaking The Georgian Bay Coast: Day 3 And 4 – Point Grondine To The Bustards To South of Byng Inlet

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Day 5 – From S of Byng Inlet To The Hangdog I. Channel

  • distance: 17.5 km (about half of Day 4’s paddle!)
  • weather: another great day on the Bay

Our Day 4 campsite to the south of Byng Inlet was an interior one away from G’ Bay;  it faced east towards Marjory Island and the mainland so we missed out on a sunset.  We were, however, treated to a beautiful sunrise as we crawled out of our tents shortly after 6:30 the next morning.

sunrise over Byng Inlet – August 26 6:40

leaving our Day 4 S of Byng Inlet campsite at 8:30

After Day 3’s 35 km, this day would prove to be much less ambitious!

Day 5 paddle – the first half

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An Early  Stop At The Jumping Rock

By 8:30 we had left our campsite (pictured above) and were making our way to another of Rick’s favourite little spots –  a small island on the south side of Norgate Inlet and across from Duquesne Island with its rebuilt lodge.  He kept the specific nature of the stop a secret until we actually got there!

one of Rick’s surprise stops – just S of Duquesne Island Lodge

Well, it turned out that this was the Jumping Rock  – or, at least, one of them! Rick and Ken took advantage of the rock and the warmth of the morning and dived in for a little swim. Meanwhile I – not really a keen swimmer! – walked my Canon Elph 330 p&s around to frame the scene from different vantage points!

the view N to Duquesne Island

Rick goes for a ritual jump from his tour stop south of Duquesne Island

looking S from the Jumping Rock near Duquesne Island

a refreshed Rick ready to paddle

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Checking Out A Clever Art Installation

After our little break, we’d spend the next hour and a half heading down the coast and not feeling the need to stay especially close to the shore – the water was that calm. By 11:30 as we crossed Charles Inlet it was time to check out another spot from Rick’s special tour map.  He called it an art installation but Ken and I were not quite sure what that could be. When we saw the piece of whimsy pictured below we couldn’t help but express our approval.

Unfortunately, the image I framed does not do justice to the clever adaptation of a random slice of nature. Not clearly shown are the two legs of the fisherman being swallowed by the sea monster! The lack of a viewfinder and the washed-out LCD screen meant I was shooting blind.

whimsical Georgian Bay art installation! – the dragon and the fisherman

creative use of rock in Charles Inlet

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To Our Hangdog Island Campsite

As the map below shows, we paddled through a maze of islands across Bayfield Inlet all the way down to our early stop for the day on Hangdog Island and another terrific campsite.

We had stopped so early that we actually had lunch when we got to the campsite! Day 5 – another in a string of memorable days paddling the northeast coast of Georgian Bay!  The next day would have enough “eye candy” and history to be perhaps the best single day of the trip!

from Jarrad Island to Hangdog Island

our Hangdog Channel landing

8 p.m. end of August sunset on Georgian Bay

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Day 6: From Hangdog I. to Garland I. (N of Elmtree I.)

  • distance: 22 kilometers
  • weather: Sunny with little wind
  • campsite – Garland Island, the northernmost of the Minks Islands group

The shot below shows the deck of my rental kayak and the waterproof  (well, IPX7) Pelican case that I kept my Canon Elph 330 in. The P&S was always accessible for quick shots and the results are usually acceptable.  Ripple-free water this morning, eh!

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A Stop At Point O’ Barrel

We left the campsite at about 8:30 … an hour later we were approaching Pointe Au Baril (it is pronounced Point O’ Barrel with no French twist to it at all!). Before the trip,  I had taken a closer look at the topos of the Pointe au Baril area between Highway 69 and the Bay. I have gone past a hundred times over the years but never knew that it was such a popular cottage destination. So – given that it was a Sunday in prime time cottage season – we did see the most boat traffic and cottages of our entire trip this morning as we travelled through the maze of islands pictured on the map above. It was far less busy than expected!

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How Point Au Baril Got Its Name

We had another diversion this morning – a visit to the lighthouse and its keepers at Lookout Point. It was at this point that fur traders found a barrel of brandy – or was it whisky? –  one spring in the 1870s (a suspect date which seems a hundred years too late!) that had been lost by another crew the year before.  Some serious partying ensued and the point had its name!  As we approached I pointed my p&s Canon east at the barrel and the morning sun.  The reward was the blown-out image of the barrel on a stick you see in the photo below!

Pointe Au Baril lighthouse at Lookout Point – note all the cottages nearby!

the Barrel on a pole at the entrance of Pointe Au Barrel Harbour

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The Point Au Baril Lighthouse

A few years after the barrel was installed at the point,  a mariner’s light was added.  Over time increasingly permanent structures were built.  We would spend a half-hour checking out the current lighthouse, built around 1900. It is a tapered square wooden structure with a light at the top which was automated in the early 1980’s. Attached to the light tower is the keeper’s cottage. During our visit, we met the legendary current keeper, Emmaline Madigan.

a view of the Pointe au Baril lighthouse from the dock

a panorama of the Pointe au Baril lighthouse and outer harbour

Pointe au Baril panorama – click on to enlarge!

I framed a shot of the anchor, a piece of marine salvage found by the keeper’s daughters in the 1990s while trolling nearby and brought back here. It is thought to belong to the steamship Asia which sank in September of 1882.

Pointe au Baril – the lighthouse

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The Lighthouse Keeper  Invites Us In

An interesting article on Madigan and her life can be accessed here  (The Ojibwe Hotel Historical Preservation Society website).  Also, check out the YouTube video below for more background on Madigan’s life and her sixty-year-plus connection with the lighthouse.  After being dismissed when the lighthouse was automated in 1983, she was invited back in 2000  after local authorities took over management of the lighthouse.  She is in her beloved lighthouse from May to September and visitors are welcome to tour the structure and chat.

looking out to Georgian Bay from the Pointe au Baril lighthouse

We were glad to have stopped in this Sunday morning to meet Emmeline and her new partner Bill Puglsey.  The climb up to the top of the tower was a bonus!

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Past Kishkadena I. And On To Big McKoy I.

Back in the kayaks, it was southward.  it would have been nice to paddle a bit east to check out the old Ojibway Hotel – now a sailing club but with a public restaurant – but that will be another for another trip!  We did take a brief break on some flat rock just across from Kishkadena Island and its huge residence.

stretching our legs on a piece of Georgian Bay rock

A bit of googling a few days later turned up more information on the property, the Kishkadena Island Beach House,  a 4-acre property with a 5000 sq. ft. cottage.  It recently sold for the asking price ($3,950,000.) See here for the details.

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From Big McCoy Island To  Garland Island

Our lunch stop would be at the north end of Big McCoy Island. It was a sunny day and shade was at a premium but we did find a few trees that provided some respite from the sun.  Lunch done, we headed west on the channel between Big McCoy and  Agassiz Islands.

the channel between Big McCoy and Agassiz Islands

a view from the north end of Big McCoy I.

Then we paddled to the west side of the island and down the east side of Chippewa Island. Our goal was Elmtree Island and a campsite that Rick had used before but as we approached we could see that there were already people there. So instead, we pulled ashore on the island one up from it –  the northernmost of the Mink Islands.  That would be Garland Island, our home for the night.  It allowed for an opportunity to ramble around and access different views of the rockscape and seascape that make G’ Bay so special.

Day 6 – from Big McCoy to Garland I.

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Our Garland Island Campsite

We arrived at Garland Island shortly before 4 and, as always, the tents went up first before we switched into a more relaxed mode.

kayaks on shore at Garland Island – the day is done

Garland Island campsite

A carpet of sunburst lichen (Xanthoria elegans) covered the horizontal rock face along the shore.

sunburst lichen along the shoreline of Garland Island

small natural garden in a rocky nook of Garland Island

more sunburst lichen on Garland island

life in the cracks of the rocks of Garland Island

my tent on Garland Island – well-anchored!

On the first two days, I had tried to set up my tent in sheltered spots with a bit of earth underneath that I could push my tent pegs into.  I would learn that this is often not possible – or even ideal – on a G’Bay trip! The shot above shows my obsession with securely anchoring my tent. There must be two hundred pounds of rocks weighing the tent down!

looking east from Garland Island – on the distant horizon perhaps the Oak Islands

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Route Options For The Next Morning

Our trip was nearing its end and we had been given almost ideal weather for most of our trip.  Our vehicles were at Snug Harbour, less than twenty kilometers away.

We planned to spend one more night on the Bay on the south end of Franklin Island before an easy morning’s 4-kilometer paddle to the dock at Snug Harbour. Still to be determined was our exact crossing point.  There were two options –

  • We could head for the north end of Franklin I. the first thing in the morning or
  • we could paddle down the Minks and then cross over to the south end of Franklin.

While we were hoping for the second option, it would be the wind and the waves that would determine our choice.

NEXT POST:  Days 7 & 8  Garland Island to Franklin Island To Snug Harbour

Kayaking The Georgian Bay Coast: Days 7 And 8 – Garland I. To Franklin I. To Snug Harbour

 

 

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Kayaking The Georgian Bay Coast: Day 3 And 4 – Point Grondine To The Bustards To South of Byng Inlet

Posted on 2017-09-13 by true_north

Table of Contents:

Day 3: Point Grondine To the Bustard Islands  

Day 4: The Bustards To S of Byng Inlet   

Previous Post: Days 1 & 2 – Killarney (Chikanishing Creek) To Solomons Island

Kayaking The Georgian Bay Coast: Maps, Logistics + Days 1 and 2 – Chikanishing Creek To Solomon I. To Point Grondine

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Day 3: Point Grondine To the Bustard Islands  

  • weather: Sunny with little wind
  • distance: 22.5 km.
  • campsite: east side of The Bustards

Day 3 Route – from Point Grondine to Tanvat Island in The Bustards

By Day 3 we were getting into the groove of things. Everybody was okay with the 6:45 get-up time; it meant that by 8:30 we were on the water and continuing our paddle along the coast.  The three following photos were taken at an island stop about ninety minutes later as we stretched our legs after an easy start to the day. We were just south of Bottle Island at the bottom of the French River delta.

break time on the way to the Bustards lighthouse

beached – or is that rocked? – kayaks in Georgian Bay

turtleback rock

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A Visit To The Bustard Lighthouses

Thanks to the fairly placid water we were able to take a direct route to the Bustard Rocks and its three lighthouse towers across an open and exposed stretch of the Bay.  Thirty minutes later we were paddling our way into the image below. The main tower at 11.3 meters and the two smaller ones at 8.2 meters are tapered square and painted white.

The shorter front light towers – for the inner and outer ranges – were retired in 1999 but the main one still flashes out a beam every ten seconds.  It was electrified in 1951 and a couple of years later the Coast Guard took over its upkeep.  In 1965 the old lightkeeper’s cottage was removed; all you see now is its concrete floor.

We stopped at the Lighthouse for lunch,  getting comfortable on the west side of the main lighthouse. What wind there was coming from the east/southeast.

a shot of the Bustards lighthouse from the foundations of a house which one sat there

The cottage of the lighthouse keeper – pictured in a 1930s or 40s image below along with another building to the north – are gone, as is any evidence of the garden that the keeper Tom Flynn (he served from 1928 to 1951) had established there by hauling earth from some of the other islands and the mainland.

Georgian Bay Bustards Rock – lighthouses

historical photo from the 1930s or so

a shot from the concrete platform  of the cottage which once sat near the main lighthouse

The above cement platform also makes for an excellent landing pad!  Below is a shot of a Canadian Coast Guard helicopter sitting there while the lighthouse is getting serviced.

Bustard Rocks – one of the two smaller and retired lighthouses

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On To Our Bustards Islands Campsite

From the Bustard Rocks on the west side of the Bustard Islands group, which is apparently made up of some 600 islands and rocks,  we headed up the channel between Long Island and Burnt Island towards the Gun Barrel channel.  It is well-known to sailors for excellent anchorage spots at its east end. Then it was further east down the channel between Strawberry Island and Tanvat Island.

Rick had noted a campsite on his well-worn map at the north-east corner of Tanvat but as we neared it other campers came into view.  However, there are some good campsites as you paddle down the east side of Tanvat so we headed for the next one.

The Bustards – from the lighthouse to Northeast Point

the east end of the Bustards’ Burnt Island on the way to Strawberry Island

calm waters on the east side of Tanvat Island in the Bustards

Sumac near our campsite in the Bustards

kayak at rest at the end of Day 3

east side of The Bustards’ Tanvat island – tent spot

Another good day on the water – and another great campsite at the end of it!  I was liking the rhythm of our exploration of  Georgian Bay’s wildest and probably most scenic stretch of rock and water!  Below is one of the few small wood fires we made during the trip!

campsite on Tanvat Island in the Bustards – my Grey tent and Ken’s golden one

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Day 4: The Bustards To S of Byng Inlet   

  • weather: another sunny day with manageable winds
  • distance: 33 km. (our single biggest)
  • campsite: an island campsite south of Byng Inlet

sunrise on Tanvat Island in the Bustards

Day 4 – first half – Bustards to Besener Rock

We began Day 4 – again, at about 8:30 – with a paddle across some open water to Dead Island to the east before spending the rest of the day heading in a south-easterly direction past Byng Inlet to a campsite a few kilometers to the south. It proved to be our single biggest day of paddling – 33 kilometers – and it felt great to crawl out of my kayak at the end of it.  The problem I was having with the back of the seat and the resulting pain in my lower back may have had something to do with it! I never did feel 100% comfortable in that kayak.

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A Stop On the Tip of Dead Island

After leaving Tanvat, we beached our kayaks on the southern tip of Dead Island for a half-hour break. The satellite image below shows the island and our route.

Dead Island – a brief mid-morning break

The Kas Stone book Paddling And Hiking the Georgian Bay Coast has a brief section on Dead Island. I thought about her write-up as we munched on our energy bars and sipped our water and checked out the map as we sat on the southern tip of the island.

As the story goes, in the 1800s and before the island was used by an Ojibwe band living nearby as a place to leave the corpses of their dead,  either in the trees or under piles of rocks to keep animals from getting at them. Supposedly in the late 1880s, these remains were stolen by people involved with the Chicago World’s Fair and keen on having the remains of indigenous Americans on display.  Given that the corpses were not mummified or intact – we are not talking Egyptian mummies here – it seems an unlikely story that needs some actual evidence.

the southern tip of Dead Island

A couple of hours later it was another sculpted horizontal rock face and time for lunch.  Given the scarcity of good campsites to the north of Byng Inlet, we knew that we’d be paddling a bit further. It would turn out to be another six kilometers south of the McNab Rocks at the mouth of the Inlet.

lunch stop on another bit of Georgian Bay rock

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An Interior Island Campsite

Rick had an island site marked on his map that he had apparently camped at before so that was our target.  We got there around 3:30, early enough for a swim and some time to wash up.  At the site was a picnic table – perhaps a sign that the spot was used by fishing groups for shore lunches.  However, mould covered the table and it did not look like it had been used yet this year.

Day 4 – second half from Besener Rock to an island campsite

It was at this site that we would spot the only bear of our trip.   A curious cub in the bush behind us watched us for a moment or two as we were setting up our tents at about 4:00 p.m.  As the cub took off into the woods, we wondered where the momma bear was.

our away-from-the-Bay campsite – south of Byng Inlet

And now that I look at the images I clicked on this Day 4 I see that I took very few.  Clearly, I was focusing on the paddling and not on photo ops!  As darkness came I looked over to the far shore and saw the lights in the two cottages there. While there are a few cottages and camps all down the coast, this would be the only night that they would be so close.

cottages on the shore across from our Day 4 camp south of Byng Inlet

Next  Post: Days 5 & 6 – Byng Inlet To Hangdog I (N of Pointe Au Baril) To Garland Island In The Minks

​Kayaking The Georgian Bay Coast: Days 5 And 6 – Byng Inlet To Hangdog I. To Garland I. (The Minks)

 

 

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Kayaking The Georgian Bay Coast: Maps, Logistics + Days 1 and 2 – Chikanishing Creek To Solomon I. To Point Grondine

Posted on 2017-09-09 by true_north

Table of Contents:

The Maps

Logistics: Shuttle Arrangements

Ongoing Wikwemikong Land Claims Negotiations

Previous Post: Kayaking Georgian Bay – Intro: Killarney To Snug Harbour

Kayaking Georgian Bay – From Killarney To Snug Harbour – Intro and Initial Planning

Other posts – 

Chikanishing to Snug Harbour On Georgian Bay

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The Maps:

This was one of those trips where I was a passenger and not the organizer!   Rick had his laminated collection of Natural Resources Canada 1:50,000 topos and even some marine charts. They were annotated with all sorts of notes prompted by a dozen previous trips on the northeast shore of Georgian Bay.

1. Natural Resources Canada Topos:

Screen Shot 2018-06-12 at 4.01.03 PM

These are the NRC topos you need for the Chikanishing to Snug Harbour route.  Just click here to access the particular map file (pdf or tif) from the Govt of Canada website, using the folder info below. Or just click on the map name and download a smaller  jpg file from my WordPress site:

Since the Federal Government is not in the map printing business anymore, there are private enterprises that do the job.  $20. a sheet (they use plastic now)  is a typical price.

Or you can do the printing yourself.  Often you only need a small section of the entire map sheet.  Put the various pages you print inside a map case or a large or extra-large clear plastic Ziploc bag. It is easy to make two copies of the map set – one in your dry bag just in case and one in your map case in the canoe or kayak for daily use.

2. David Crawshay’s iOS Topo Canada App

You can also use your smartphone thanks to its GPS capability.  With David Crawshay’s Topo Canada app and the required topos installed on your iPhone, you would have instant confirmation of your location on those occasions when you are just not sure where you are. This is something that may happen as you paddle through a maze of channels and islands. The Android world also has map apps that would be useful to have.

A smartphone screen is certainly much larger than that of a dedicated GPS device.  That makes it more useful in providing more context as to your location.  However, leaving your iPhone on all day would eat up the battery like crazy compared to a dedicated Garmin device like the eTrex 20 or the Oregon 450 I have.

3, ATLOGIS Canada Topo Maps for Android OS

There is an Android OS app from a German app developer similar to Crawshay’s Topo Canada iOS app. However, it costs $14. U.S.  Given its usefulness, the one-time cost is a worthwhile investment that will save you time and aggravation. Click here to access the Google App Store page –

Note: The free version of the app may be enough for your purpose.

 One notable thing the topos lack is campsite information.  You’ll need to turn to the following sources for that.

4. Maps By Jeff Maps:

 

For the first four days of the trip – down to Key Harbour – you can make use of the Maps By Jeff Maps for Killarney and French River.  Buy the hard copy maps if you want – they are very useful and informative and they have campsites indicated. They also now have the revised-in-2021  campsite numbers for French River Provincial Park.

If you only need the small section of the map on Georgian Bay for your kayak trip, take a screenshot and make a paper copy.

5. The Adventure Map: Franklin, Minks, & McCoys

Another useful map is the Chrismar Adventure Map pictured to the right – Franklin, Minks, and McCoys.  It would cover the last couple of days of the trip and, like the Maps By Jeff maps, it provides campsite locations, as well as other interesting bits of info.

At $14. for a plasticized copy, the map is an excellent investment!  In any case, there is not a digitalized copy available. Click on the title above to see how to order – or check out a MEC outlet.

My day-by-day posts also provide map information on where we camped each night.

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The Logistics: Shuttle Arrangements

Unless your trip is a loop and you paddle your way back to where you started, the biggest logistical issue is getting back to your vehicle!  The two basic options are :

  • Jockeying cars so that one is at each end. It is an inexpensive solution but it can be a bit of a downer at the end of a trip.  Cost: time. In our case, 5 to 6 hours of driving.
  • arranging a shuttle. On the plus side,  it eliminates the drive back to the put-in to retrieve the vehicle.  Cost: money. In our case, $650.!

We decided to go with the shuttle option and turned to White Squall for rental and shuttle service.

White Squall:

Click on the White Squall header to access their web page.

White Squall’s Coles Lake outlet is where I got my kayak.

For this trip (2017) I rented a Boreal Designs composite sea kayak for eight days at $42. a day. Given the length of the rental, I got a bit of a discount.  White Squall also provided a shuttle service. This included the use of their vehicle to transport the three kayaks.  Using your own vehicle and having the shuttle driver drive it back to the endpoint would presumably cost a bit less.  The cost for us: $650. shared by the three of us.  With the Paddling Center closing, I think the shuttle service is also gone.

Other Rental/Shuttle Options:

2. Swift Georgian Bay Outlet

If a rental is what you need, the Swift Waubaushene outlet off Hwy 400 is an excellent alternative thanks to their large selection.  Click on the header to access their website.

3. Killarney Outfitters

Another option is Killarney Outfitters right near the put-in at Chikanishing! They rent canoes and kayaks and would be able to arrange a shuttle of your vehicle down to Snug Harbour or wherever you choose to exit. Click on the header to access their website.

4. Gilly’s Marina at Snug Harbour

Possible Alternative Shuttle Option –  Gilly’s Marina may be able to provide a shuttle driver that would drive up with you to the Chikanishing put-in and then drive your vehicle back to Snug Harbour.  It would take about 5 hours of the driver’s time. 

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To The Chikanishing Put-In

To make sure we’d get to White Squall early, we had driven up from Toronto to  Ken’s family cottage on Victoria Harbour the night before.  We were treated to the warm glow of sunset as we sat on the patio. Unfortunately, the weather forecast for the next day called for major rainfall at least until the early afternoon.

Victoria Harbour

Before getting to White Squall the next morning we drove through a torrential downpour or two and watched another one from the Jolly Roger restaurant just south of Parry Sound where we had stopped for breakfast. After that it seemed to clear up a bit – but not completely.

heavy rain on the way to the put-in

We got to the now-closed Cole Lake White Squall Center just north of Parry Sound around 9:30 or so. My rental kayak was already on their vehicle when we arrived.

After loading the other two onto the White Squall truck, the driver followed our two vehicles to Snug Harbour.

We had arranged with the folks at Gilly’s Marina at Snug Harbour to leave our cars in their parking lot, paying $7.50 a day for the nine days we figured it might take us to paddle back to Snug Harbour from our Chikanishing put-in point.

After we dropped off the two vehicles at the marina, we hopped into the White Squall truck and headed up to Chikanishing. It was our shuttle driver’s last day on the job. There was lots of anticipation all around!

  • We briefed him on our route down the coast
  • He filled us in on his upcoming move out west to Kamloops and his first year in the Outdoor Education program at Thompson Rivers University.

All in all, it took four hours after heading for Snug Harbour from the White Squall Center to get to Chikanishing and the put-in.

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Day 1: From Chikanishing Creek To Solomons Island

The Chikanishing Creek Road turn-off from Highway 637 is just 1.4 kilometers past the Killarney Park Info Center. It ends in the large parking lot pictured in the satellite image below. It is a popular parking spot for kayakers and canoeists off on their Georgian Bay paddle trip. (It costs $14.50 a day to park there; you pay at the Park office.) We drove to the grassy area just above the put-in and within a half-hour were ready to go. The bonus downpour probably speeded things up a bit!

chikanishing-put-in

an aerial view of the Chikanishing Creek parking lot off Hwy 637

The Chikanishing Creek put-in

Day 1 – Chikanishing Creek To Solomons Island

Given that it was 1:45 when we set off we knew that we would not get far, maybe ten kilometers or so. It would all depend on the wind and the waves.  The NW wind pushed us down the G’ Bay side of Philip Edward Island after we rounded South Point and we zig-zagged our way through the maze of islands along the coast.

The water would be a bit choppy as we made our way east along Philip Edward Island. As the map shows, we made major use of the islands as wind blockers. Happy just to be on the water, we were not obsessing about the distance covered on this first day.   We would make a couple of stops – one for lunch and another to stretch our legs and check out the views. The stretch of water above Le Hayes Island would be about the most turbulent we would see during the entire trip!

choppy water on the Georgian Bay side of Philip Edward Island

lunch stop on the G’Bay side of Philip Edward I.

getting ready to move on after our lunch stop

squeezing through a channel that is impassible with lower water conditions

water, rock, and pine with Ken and his Current Design kayak

It was about 4:30 when we passed by what looked to be a possible campsite.  I thought I recognized the island from the hill behind the camp area. The previous summer my brother and I had stopped for lunch on the south side of an island and then gone for a ramble up the hill behind us for fine views all the way east to Big Rock.  This looked like it – but, then again, it was not quite the same!

Solomons I, Used To be I., and the Foxes

While Ken and Rick landed their kayaks I paddled around the point to the south side, thinking I would see something that fit in better with what I remembered.

Unsuccessful, I turned back and checked out the spot that we decided would be our home for the night.  It was only when I got home and took a look at the GPS track on my computer screen that it became clear that the Used-To-Be Island that I had convinced myself we had camped on was actually Solomons Island.  Both islands do have fine viewpoints – as the snippet of Maps By Jeff map makes clear!

a panoramic view from Solomon I. hilltop – enlarge with a click!

a view of the La Cloche Hills from Solomons I.

Both Rick and Ken, pros at Georgian Bay kayaking and camping,  pitched their tents on flat rock surfaces.  I chose a more sheltered spot tucked in among the trees on the left where I was able to make use of my tent pegs.


Day 1 – despite the bad weather in the morning – had been a great start to our trip down the Georgian Bay coast.  We had covered about 8 kilometers.

Day 2 would add another 20+ and have us paddling through more of that Bay “eye candy” that makes kayaking there so incredibly rewarding.

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Day 2: Solomons Island to the East Side of Point Grondine 

Day 2 – Solomons Island To Island NE of Point Grondine

Given the myriad of possible routes of a trip down the Georgian Bay coast,  the map above illustrates just one thing – what we were comfortable with on Day 2 given the lack of wind and waves.  Another day and the route would be adapted to suit the different conditions.  Thanks to an almost windless day and calm water, we paddled long stretches across open water, not feeling a need to stay really close to the shore or use islands to break the wind.

Rick and Ken have done several trips down the Bay coast over the years so it was fantastic to be able to tag along and benefit from their experience – and their collection of great places to stop and have a break, have lunch, have a swim, or set up camp. It was all there on Rick’s heavily annotated map! As we passed by the above rock face I recognized – just a tad late – a photo-op. Out came the little point-and-shoot and a view that did not quite capture what I had wanted.

Luckily the spot – Family Island – was on Rock’s list of special places so as we rounded the corner – just over an hour into the day! – we beached our kayaks and made ourselves at home.  I even set up my Helinox chair! I’ll admit, though, that I spent most of the next hour rambling around the island with my camera and lenses. While I never did get that shot that had originally drawn my eye to the island, I got a bunch of others from an equally enchanting perspective!

Family Island – mid-morning break

Family Island rock

pools on the rock face of Family Island

lichen on red granite on Georgian Bay

Back to the kayaks where Rick was studying his map and a horizontal Ken taking in some of the warmth of the sun.

chillin’ on Family Island – a sunny day on the Bay

passing by some cottages on the way to Beaverstone Bay

By 11 we were approaching Beaverstone Bay, passing some cottages on the way. South of Popham Point is a collection of islands and rocks known as The Chickens with Hen Island to the south-east looking over them!  We found a flat rock to beach our kayaks and then hopped over some rocks to find a spot sheltered from the wind that had picked up a bit since our start at 8:30.

lunch stop on Georgian Bay in the Chickens near Hen Island

lunch spot in the Chickens in Georgian Bay

Chickens Island lunch stop

Some canoe-tripping parties make a rushed affair out of lunch. It was Day 2 and I liked what I was seeing – these guys took their time and even let their engines idle for a bit after lunch.  My brother and I have always spent an hour or so on our midday break; Rick and Ken were doing the same!

panorama – Ken’s tent at island camp NE of Point Grondine

After lunch, we rounded Point Grondine and headed up to some islands north of Horseshoe Bay.  (Jeff’s Killarney map does show a couple of island campsites just north of the point but we were headed a bit further up.)  Since the mainland (Point Grondine Reserve #3) is a part of Wikwemikong First Nations territory, no camping is allowed. We made sure that we were indeed on an island before we called it a day!

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Ongoing Wikwemikong Land Claims Negotiations

Still in the category of Crown Land are the islands offshore of the reserve – i.e. the Chickens and the islands on the east side of Point Grondine where we were looking for a campsite.

Current negotiations may change the status of those islands, as well as Philip Edward Island (P.E.I.) and the Foxes and the Hawks island groups south of P.E.I. The map above shows the proposed settlement to the land claims issue with pink and yellow indicating lands under discussion.

tents up at Georgian Bay/Point Grondine campsite #2

Jeff’s Killarney map (the previous Unlistify version) with several indicated campsites on the east side of Point Grondine

Our campsite choice was not on Jeff’s Killarney map but it more than fit the bill as an excellent stop thanks to its flat tenting spots and fine views.

kayaks at rest – Day 2 campsite near Point Grondine

horizontal rock face on Day 2 campsite island near Point Grondine

fire pit on an island on the East side of Point Grondine

Day 2 dusk on Georgian Bay

Day 2 – another great day on the water and on the rocks and islands!   This Georgian Bay kayak tripping is easy to like.  This canoe tripper,  used to rapids and beaver dams and sweepers on the rivers of the interior boreal forest,  was not missing the portages! Coming up – two very satisfying days where we covered almost 60 kilometers in more great paddling weather.

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Days 3 & 4  Point Grondine To The Bustards’ Tanvat Island To S of Byng Inlet

Kayaking The Georgian Bay Coast: Day 3 And 4 – Point Grondine To The Bustards To South of Byng Inlet

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Kayaking Georgian Bay – From Killarney To Snug Harbour – Intro and Initial Planning

Posted on 2017-08-20 by true_north

Table of Contents:

Day-By-Day Reports

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Arranging A Kayak Rental From White Squall

Georgian Bay’s La Cloche Mountains in the distance from an island hilltop view

I pick up the rented Epsilon C200 at White Squall’s Paddling Center north of Parry Sound on Tuesday, and then one of its drivers shuttles us up to the north end of Georgian Bay for the start of what will be a memorable paddle down the coast of “the sixth Great Lake”!

Boreal Design Epsilon C200 – 17′ long and about 2′ wide!

If you need to rent a kayak for the trip, other  rental options include

Killarney Outfitters is not far from the put-in

Swift Outdoor Center – Waubaushene (Georgian Bay)

In all cases, the earlier you book your rental the more likely they will have one available for you.

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My Only Other Kayak Trip: Lake Superior’s NE Coast

It has been quite a while since my one and only major kayak trip!  Back in 1995, five of us from southern Ontario – we had three solo kayaks and one tandem –  paddled along the northeast shore of Lake Superior from Hattie Cove on the west side of Pukaskwa National Park back to Michipicoten. (That’s Puck a saw if you’re wondering!)

It was incredibly beautiful – and occasionally quite intimidating as I watched my fellow kayakers disappear as two-meter waves rolled in.  We just sat out for a couple of days as the strong wind blew and waves pounded the shore. Lake Superior is a big open lake – the largest freshwater lake in the world – and when that wind is blowing from the southwest, there is nowhere to hide! As Lightfoot sings in The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald – “It’s the lake they call Gichi Gumi“! Big Water!

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Our Intro To Georgian Bay – Philip Edward Island

Last summer’s four-day canoe trip with my brother Max around Philip Edward Island at the top end of the bay was my introduction to the area.

We came back raving about the beauty of Georgian Bay and the pleasure of paddling past and down channels created by the countless islands (some bare rock and looking like whalebacks and others partially treed and with great campsites).   We were also reassured by how those islands – supposedly 30,000 in all  – can serve as windbreaks and safe passage when the wind picks up.

Paddling Around Georgian Bay’s Philip Edward Island – Part One

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From Chikanishing Creek To Snug Harbour

Unlike that Lake Superior trip, this time, the northeast shore of a somewhat more gentle Georgian Bay (Champlain named it “La Mer Douce” on his 1618 map) will provide the stunning seascape and island scenery.

Georgian Bay overview map

Ken, Rick, and I will put in on the banks of  Chikanishing Creek in Killarney Provincial Park.  The starting point is about ten kilometers east of the town of Killarney and eliminates some open and exposed paddling in favour of a more gentle start.

  • Rick has done several trips on Lake Superior and Georgian Bay;
  • Ken is a lifelong sailor with lots of Caribbean big water experience.
  • And then there’s me with my summers spent canoeing the interior lakes and rivers of the Canadian Shield!  I figure I’m the kayaking rookie and in pretty good hands!

The weather forecast for August 22 – August 30 looks excellent – all except for some rain on the very first day/   Maybe it will be over by the time we set off!

During that timeframe, the plan is to paddle the 150 kilometers down to Snug Harbour at the entrance to Parry Sound.  On the way, we’ll make our way east on the G’Bay side of Philip Edward Island and along the mouth of the French River, the very first river to make the list of Canadian Heritage Rivers, thanks to its association with the voyageurs and the fur trade from the early 1600s to the 1820s.

Then we cruise by the mouth of the Key River and the entrance to Byng Inlet – lots more history, this time of the lumber industry and railroads.   Nearing Point Au Baril, as the weekend approaches, we may see some boat traffic because of the increasing number of cottages the further south we head.

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Exit Point: Dillon or Snug Harbour?

Both Dillon and Snug Harbour are popular start and endpoints for Georgian Bay kayak trips.  While both are close to Franklin Island, Snug Harbour is closer to the many excellent campsites at the island’s south end.

Before getting shuttled up to the start of the trip at Chikanishing, we will park our vehicles at Snug Harbour.

The Gilly’s Marina parking lot makes for a convenient – and safe – spot. They charge $7.50 a day for the service.  The Dillon Cove Marina up at the north end of Franklin charges a similar fee.

West Fox’s gravel beach on the W side of the island

It will be non-stop photo ops as we make our way through some incredible “eye candy”!  Most of the shots will undoubtedly be taken from land, but I plan to have my Fuji x20 on board inside a waterproof Pelican case as we paddle so I can get the occasional shot from the water.

approaching the Bustard Rock lighthouse

approaching the Bustard Rock lighthouse

Bell Cell Phone Coverage - Georgian Bay

Bell Cell Phone Coverage

We have set aside nine days to do the 150-kilometer journey.  If we don’t need the extra wind days, then we’ll get it done in a day or two less!

Amazingly, this beautiful slice of nature –  wild, even if not completely devoid of signs of “civilization” – is within a three-hour drive from Toronto and the G.T.A.,  North America’s fifth-largest bit of urban sprawl! Except for the first day or two, we’ll be close enough to Highway 69 to be in cell phone coverage range for the entire trip!  Last year phone calls were even possible in the Philip Edward Island stretch at the top end of the route.

Testing Our New Garmin inReach Explorer +

inReach Explorer+

iPhone & SPOT Connect

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am taking along our new Garmin inReach Explorer+ GPS tracker and two-way communication device to get to know how it works. It replaces our previous GPS tracker and SOS transmitter,  the Spot Connect pictured on the right. We decided to make the switch to the Garmin inReach because it not only sends out messages but can also receive them. The Spot can only send brief 45-character messages; it also requires a smartphone to be functional, while the inReach can function independently.

We also switched because of an incident where the Spot initiated an SOS call without our input! It was a total energy-sapping fiasco that, like it or not, came to define the trip.  You can read all about it by scrolling to the tail end of this post dealing with Day Two of a recent canoe trip –

Canoeing The Little Missinaibi River: Day 2 – From Ramhill Lake To Below Rawhide Lake

Both devices provide real-time tracking information – the GPS location –  which is posted at the respective company-maintained website.    Below is a screenshot of the page as it looks right now – i.e. empty!

On Tuesday, August 22, our kayaks will be in the water! Until then – some last-minute packing to do.  Cramming everything into the kayak’s two main hatches in little waterproof bags will be a novelty to this canoe tripper used to organize everything in two large 110-liter canoe packs and two large duffle bags!

a protected channel near Hincks Island in Georgian Bay – a shot from last summer

Day-By-Day Reports 

Check out the following posts for maps, info,  and pix of our paddle down the coast.

Days 1 & 2  Chikanishing Creek To Solomons I. to NE of Point Grondine

Days 3 & 4  Point Grondine To The Bustards’ Tanvat I. To S of Byng Inlet

Days 5 & 6  S of Byng Inlet To Hangdog I. Channel To Garland I. (Minks)

Days 7 & 8  Garland Island to Franklin Island To Snug Harbour

The weather – i.e. the wind and the waves – determined our route – and it will determine yours!  Most days I wore the Farmer John neoprene wet suit that I had picked up at Mountain Equipment Co-Op in 1995 for that Lake Superior kayak trip. I’m glad I hadn’t given it away in the intervening twenty years!

campsite on Tanvat Island in the Bustards

Posted in Georgian Bay, kayaking, wilderness canoe tripping | 9 Comments

The Little Missinaibi River From Top To Bottom – Intro, Maps, and Logistics

Posted on 2017-07-21 by true_north

Last update: March 25, 2023.

Table Of Contents:

Four Approaches To Little Missinaibi Lake & Fairy Point on Missinaibi Lake

Accessing the Headwaters From Healey Bay 

The VIA Sudbury to White River Train 

Can the upper river (i.e. south of Little Missinaibi Lake)  be done?

What are the obstacles?  How many portages are there?

Is it a viable alternative to the Bolkow route?

On-Line Map Sources:

Links To Some Related Web pages (outposts; Bill Steer article)

The Day-By-Day Posts:

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Introduction with Overview Map 

Flowing 65 kilometres from its headwaters in Sunset Lake to its mouth at Whitefish Bay in Missinaibi Lake, the Little Missinaibi is not a long river. A little past its halfway point, it widens out with shallow bays that reach in all directions. The result – Little Missinaibi Lake, a renowned fishing (northern pike and pickerel) destination served by a couple of fly-in outposts on islands at the north end of the lake and another on Cam Lake, one lake over.

The river – and the lake – are within the 7000 square kilometre Chapeau Crown Game Preserve,  which is the world’s single largest animal sanctuary since no hunting or trapping is allowed.  This put an end to the traditional economy of the Indigenous families who lived there.  The potential for wildlife sightings, especially of moose and bear,  is said to be high.  Logging, however, continues to this day.

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Missinaibi As An Anishinaabe Territory

In 1905,  Treaty No. 9 was signed by representatives of Canada’s Federal Government and by leaders of the various Indigenous (Cree or Ojibwe) communities, made up of Anishinaabe Peoples who speak one of the Algonkian languages.  The area covered by the Treaty was the land on the James Bay side of the Height of Land with the Albany River as the northern limit.

The map below shows the southern part of the Treaty No. 9 territory with the Missinaibi area in the circle.

Treaty no 9 close-up – see here to access the full map

(Click here for a map showing the current locations of  the area’s various First Nations communities, the total population of which is currently about three hundred.)

While those living on the north side of the height of land (for example, on Lake Missinaibi) would now receive the same $4 a year settlement as those living on Dog Lake and covered since 1850 by the Robinson-Superior Treaty,  there would soon be more than the Treaty to deal with.

In the mid-1920s, the Chapleau Crown Game Preserve (see the first map) was established, and those families living within the Preserve’s boundaries (specifically the Brunswick House band at the north end of Missinaibi Lake) were removed to/resettled in the Chapleau area. The number of people affected is not stated.

Despite the earlier Treaty No. 9 terms, no exception to the hunting ban within the Game Preserve was made for these members of the Indigenous communities in the Chapleau area. This CBC article examines some of the issues this has raised recently.

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A comprehensive account of Treaty No. 9 is currently on my night table and may eventually lead to a more detailed look at the Treaty in this section.

.  If you are curious, click on the cover image to the left or on the title below. It will take you to the Amazon website.

Treaty No. 9: Making the Agreement to Share the Land in Far Northern Ontario in 1905

A review by Wendy Russell in Anthropologia (2011) gives a clear account of the book’s content and merits. 11 copies of the book are available at the Toronto Public Library.

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Another source with a specific Missinaibi focus is The Dispossession of the Northern Ojibwa and Cree: The Case of the Chapleau Game Preserve by David Calverley (Ontario History, Spring 2009). The author summarises his study in the following words –

  • an examination of both treaties to establish the existence of a treaty right by both bands to hunt within the territory of the Chapleau Game Preserve,
  • how this right was taken from them, and
  • the resulting dispossession that occurred.

Click on the header or title to access.

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Missinaibi: “Place of Pictures”

close-up of the main panel at Little Missinaibi Lake Picto Site #2

Besides fishing and wildlife viewing, another major attraction is a series of pictograph sites on both Little Missinaibi Lake and Missinaibi Lake.   These ochre rock paintings are hundreds of years old and are expressions of traditional Anishinaabe culture. They are the work of shamans or vision questers at sites associated with the manitous who could grant favours or medicines to those who came to ask.  Many of these pictographs are badly faded and almost indecipherable; enough remains to still make the visit worthwhile. Paddling by these sites is an easy way to elevate an already excellent wilderness canoe trip to an even higher level.

a view of Little Missinaibi Lake’s  “Pothole” pictograph site from the south

The very word Missinaibi has its roots in the  Anishinaabe language. The earliest reference I have found to it is in a report written by Robert Bell of the Geological Survey of Canada and published in 1877. He refers to the lake and river as Missinibi.  A.P. Low of the same GSC spells it Missinabi in his 1888 summary report. A government topo map from 1901 uses the same Missinaibi spelling for the village, the river, and the two lakes. These days, the village name is spelled differently than that of the river and the lakes!

See here for a copy of the entire map set.

This quote from Selwyn Dewdney, the person most responsible for initiating the study of the native pictographs of the Canadian Shield,  makes clear the probable origin of the name:

Dewdney on Missanabie and Missinaibi

The word Mazinahbikaung – or Mazinawbikong – shares its roots with another Ontario lake famous for its pictographs, Mazinaw Lake in Bon Echo Provincial Park.

another view of the core of the Pothole site

another view of the core of the Pothole site

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Wildfires Along The Missinaibi R. System

In the recent past, the Missinaibi area has been spared the impact of wildfires.  As the map below shows, the last significant fire in the Little Missinaibi Lake vicinity was in 1995, almost thirty years ago.  The central Missinaibi Lake fire dates back almost another decade.

Upper Missinaibi River – fire history since the mid-1980s

As for the rest of the river, it too has seen little recent wildfire activity.  The one minor wildfire was north of Thunderhouse Falls in the James Bay Lowlands as you come to the Rabbit River/Missinaibi River confluence.  It dates back to 1995.

Screenshot

Check out Natural Resources Canada’s Canadian Wildland Fire Information System website for the source of the above map and for current conditions.

The interactive map at the Ontario Government’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry website is another source of current info. Access it here.

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Hap Wilson’s Missinaibi Guidebook

missinaibi WilsonThe last section of the river – the one from Little Lake Missinaibi on down to Whitefish Bay and Missinaibi Lake –  is well-documented.  Online trip reports and published material like Hap Wilson’s Missinaibi: Journey to the Northern Sky: From Lake Superior to James Bay by Canoe provide paddlers with useful information on rapids, portages, and campsites, as well as points of interest like scenic lookouts and the location of the pictograph sites.

What has been lacking is information on the forty-five-kilometre upper stretch of the river before it reaches Lookout Bay at the south end of Little Missinaibi Lake.  We saw our canoe trip as a chance to do some reconnaissance and fill in the blanks!

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Approaches To Little Missinaibi Lake & Fairy Point on Missinaibi Lake:  

Overview - Missanabie to Chapleau

Overview – Missanabie to Chapleau

While we chose to get to Little Missinaibi Lake from its headwaters, you don’t need to paddle down the upper stretch of the River to access the Lake!  What follows are the four options, which will get you there while providing some great paddling, classic Canadian Shield campsites, and a chance to see the pictograph sites mentioned. And, to no surprise,  there are a few portages along the way!

the “back door” options –

1. from Barclay Bay;

2. from Missanabie via Dog and Crooked Lake

the “side door” option –

  • 3. Bolkow Lake entry popularised by Hap Wilson’s book

the “front door” option –

  • 4. from Windermere Lake’s Healey Bay into the river’s headwaters

the-little-missinaibi-river-system-and-west-end-of-lake-missinaibi11

The first two options approach Little Missinaibi Lake from the mouth of the Little Missinaibi River in Whitefish Bay and work their way up to Little Missinaibi Lake – i.e. through the back door!

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Option #1 – From Barclay Bay

 

  • distance:  12.5 km. to Whitefish Bay + 11 km. to above Admiral Falls
  • time: one long day or two shorter ones

This is the most common way to get to Fairy Point on Missinaibi Lake and to Little Missinaibi Lake.  After an 88-kilometre gravel road drive from Chapleau to the Barclay Bay campground of Missinaibi Provincial Park (see the first map above), you paddle up Missinaibi Lake for 12.5 kilometres to Whitefish Bay. If there is a south-west wind blowing it can get interesting!

At Whitefish Bay is the beginning of a 1000-meter portage to access the Little Missinaibi River. It may take you a day to go upriver, and you will use the Trump Lake bypass (another 1000-meter portage) to avoid some of the rapids of the Little Missinaibi from the Trump Lake portage take-out spot up to Admiral Falls.

From Trump Lake, it is a portage into and a paddle down Elbow Lake and Creek. You are now at the north end of Little Missinaibi Lake 1.5 kilometres south of Admiral Falls!

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Option #2 – From Missanabie

  • distance:  40 km. to Whitefish Bay + 11 km. to above Admiral Falls
  • time: two long days or three shorter ones
  • map – route to Whitefish Bay marked in red on the map; Trump Lake bypass in orange

Over twice the paddling distance of Option #1, it starts with 15 km of lake paddle to the east end of Dog Lake. Next is a 300-meter Height of Land Portage into Crooked Lake and another 15 kilometres down the lake to a 330-meter carry into Missinaibi Lake.  If the winds are agreeable, a visit to Fairy Point on the way to Whitefish Bay is a good idea. Otherwise, you can hope that it will be calmer on your return! From Fairy Point, it is an hour’s paddle to Whitefish Bay, where you begin the up-the-Lil-Miss section described in #1.

Back to the top

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Option #3 – From Bolkow Lake

  • distance: about 33 km. to the mouth of Elbow Creek at the north end of Little Missinaibi Lake
  • time: two long days
  • map – route to the north end of Little Missinaibi Lake marked in purple on the map;

Rather than come to Little Missinaibi Lake from Whitefish Bay, this option is the side door route!  Hap Wilson’s Missinaibi guidebook (1995) has a brief description and map with the basic information. The info has certainly encouraged a few canoe trippers to make the journey.

A very useful and recent (2016) trip report of the Bolkow route was posted by Paul Hudson at the Canadian Canoe Routes website.

Paul Hudson. 2016 Trip Report – Shumka to Missanabie Via the Little Missinaibi River

He and his crew dropped off their canoes and bags at Bolkow Lake, drove their vehicles to Missanabie, left them at Ernie’s Campground, and then caught that morning’s VIA train (9:00 a.m.)  from Missanabie back to Bolkow and their canoes. They then paddled back to Missanabie over a seven-day period. They spent two days on the Bolkow Lake to Little Missinaibi Lake section.

All of the above options leave you at the north end of Little Missinaibi Lake at the mouth of Elbow Creek. It is 18 kilometres to the south end of the lake (13 as the crow flies), another day’s paddle during which you could visit the various pictograph sites on the lake. Then it would be another day to paddle back north for the return trip via the Trump Lake route or down the Little Missinaibi itself from Admiral Falls.

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Option #4 – From Windermere Lake’s Healey Bay

  • distance: about 45 km to Lookout Bay at the south end of Little Missinaibi Lake
  • time: three and a half days
  • map – route to the south end of Little Missinaibi Lake marked in blue on the map.

There is something special about doing a river from its headwaters to the bottom.  It was the 45-kilometre upper part of it that flows from its headwaters in Mackey Lake into Lookout Bay from the south that piqued our curiosity.  It would certainly simplify our trip.

Coming into Little Missinaibi Lake from the south would eliminate the need to travel its length from north to south to see the various rock painting sites and then paddle all the way back north, as is the case with the first three options outlined.  With the VIA stop at Missanabie as our endpoint, it would also mean we would not need to duplicate the return paddle of Options #1 and #2.

The only problem was that there was no information we could find on the upper section of the river from its headwaters to Lookout Bay.  Reading Hap Wilson’s mention of the river’s upper section in his guidebook made us look for the details.  It became clear that what he had in mind was the section from Admiral Falls to the start of the Trump Lake Portage – i.e. the top part of the lower third of the river.

Back to the top

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Accessing the Headwaters From Healey Bay 

The VIA Sudbury to White River Train 

We chose Healey Bay as the put-in point for our trip down the Lil’ Miss. You get there from Chapleau on the 28-kilometre Esher-Healey Road. The Happy Day Lodge is located on the bay and we tented on their property after a ten-hour drive from southern Ontario. We left our car there while we paddled to the take-out point at Missanabie on Dog Lake and on the White River- Sudbury rail line.  The return from Missanabie was a breeze thanks to the 1 1/4 hour VIA train ride back to our car.

Healey Bay is also a stop ‘on request’ between the stops at Musk and Esher on the VIA rail line from White River to Sudbury.  If you didn’t want to drive to Healey Bay, you could leave your vehicle at the most convenient spot on the line (e.g. White River, Missanabie, Chapleau, Sudbury) and take the train to the put-in.  The VIA train service follows a regular schedule from Sudbury to White River and then returns to Sudbury the next day.

From Windermere Lake’s Healey Bay, it is a quick paddle from the lodge to the CPR tracks and the bottom of Little Island Lake.  (If you are not starting from the lodge,  you can request that the train let you off just before the bridge and walk the canoe down to Little Island Lake).

Here is the Federal Government 1:50000 topo view of the general area.

Fed Govt topo Healey Bay to Sunset Lake

Fed Govt topo Healey Bay to Sunset Lake

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And so the journey begins. Here, in brief, is what we found about the upper section of the Little Missinaibi – some FAQs if you will.

Can the upper river be done?

The short answer to this would have to be a yes! followed quickly by a  but…  Review the daily blog posts about our recent trip to better understand the ‘but’.  This overview will help you decide if you want to do it.

Perhaps the overriding factor will be the water level. We completed the trip during mid-to-late June with the assumption that levels would be higher than later in the season. It will also govern how difficult the first roughly 40 km of travel will be.

What are the obstacles?  How many portages are there?

The Healey Bay to Mackey Lake section will likely be the least affected by lower water levels. Some additional marsh walking might be necessary. Beaver dams should help provide canoeable levels similar to what we experienced. Lower levels in Mackey Lake would make the short river section between the Austin Road and the lake more challenging due to the significant deadfall. (We had to do a fair bit of branch trimming to allow us to ride/pull/push over the logs.  After that section, the going should be easier.

The next obstacle is the portage into Sunset Lake. We had the good fortune of at least having a short “river” section with enough water to float/line the canoe. Lower water levels would certainly increase the carry distance.  We had some blockages and rough spots after the lining part, but these would likely be ‘avoided’ by doing a longer ‘full’ portage – an extra 600m plus the 250m we did.

After a short 90m portage around a set of rapids at the north end of Sunset Lake, the progress is relatively easy to the end of Rawhide Lake.  We opted to camp at the south end of Ramhill Lake by an old road crossing and continued our journey to Rawhide Lake the next day.

The tail end of our second day and most of the third day presented us with the most work.  At the bottom of Rawhide Lake, we opted to do a 1.7 km portage around a section of the river that seemed rather impenetrable. (See Day 2  for pics and map). The portage ending at Key Lake Creek was made easier because after a 120-meter slog through the bush it was 1.5 km of the Woods Lake gravel Road.

Now let the fun begin! The roughly 7 km from the bottom of Key Lake to about 2 km above Mukwa Falls was one long day of deciding whether to stay on the river and canoe haul or try to find portages around the obstructions.  Not necessarily difficult to do but just time-consuming. A younger crew will have an easier time dealing with the obstacles!

In places, we would empty the canoe for a short 2 m portage, reload and paddle a bit.  Then it would be a bit more tree trimming to make an easier portage or trimming log/sweeper branches before hauling over and in some cases under.

Perhaps the highlight of Day 3’s eight kilometres of progress was an unexpected waterfall, which we named “Animiki” Falls for its thunderous sound. ( A closer look at the Google Earth satellite image does show some ‘white’ water.)  See the Day 3 pics for a couple of shots. Of the river’s four sets of waterfalls, it ranks as the second-most spectacular.  The portage is on river left, and we left it well-marked! In hindsight, we should have found a campsite nearby and spent some more time at these falls.

Is it a viable alternative to the Bolkow route?

We figure that if the stretch of the river from its headwaters had been included in Hap Wilson’s book twenty-five years ago, it would be an easier paddle these days. Successive groups of canoe trippers would have done some work on the sweepers and log jams;  the portages would be a known commodity.  We are hoping that this post – and the day-by-day trip report – will encourage future trippers to go down a forgotten but totally doable river.

Whitefish Falls – the emphatic endpoint of the Little Missinaibi River

Back To The Top

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On-Line Map Sources:

1. Federal Government 1:50,000 Topographic Maps 

Natural Resources Canada, a ministry of the Canadian Federal Government in Ottawa, provides free access to all government-produced topographical maps, both 1:250,000 and the more useful 1:50,000.

Natural Resources Canada

While some of them date back to the 1970s, they are nevertheless a valuable resource for canoe trippers.  See here for the folder which contains all of the Topo Canada map material.  Choose either the 50 k pdf or tif folders and then find the maps using the numbers and letters below.

Or – just click on the following map titles for the ones you will need for the Little Missinaibi River trip.

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2. David Crawshay’s Topo Maps Canada IOS App

David Crawshay‘s free Topo Maps Canada app works on your iPhone or iPad to let you view the topos you have downloaded.  Since we both had our Garmin GPS units and the installed Canada Topo 4.0 map set, the Crawshay app and the relevant maps came along just in case.  If you don’t have a GPS unit, your smartphone with its GPS capability would do the job as an occasional check on location.  We still travel with a paper map set in a waterproof holder.

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3. ATLOGIS Canada Topos for Android OS: free/$14.

There is an Android OS app from a German app developer similar to Crawshay’s Topo Canada iOS app. However, it costs $14. U.S.  Given its usefulness, the one-time cost is a worthwhile investment that will save you time and aggravation. Click here to access the Google App Store page –

Note: The free version of the app may be enough for your purpose.

4. Natural Resources Canada’s Toporama 

The Atlas Of Canada’s Toporama website

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5. Google Earth and Ontario’s MNR Satellite Imagery

Screen Shot 2019-11-27 at 7.16.05 PM

Google Earth is definitely worth a look. The satellite images are more recent than the topos and capture details not shown on the government maps. You can now open up Google Earth directly in the Chrome or Safari browser. [Before, you had to install a dedicated Google Earth app to access the imagery.]

Ontario Minstiry of Nat. Resources website header

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry’s  “Make a Topographic Map” website is useful.  I often take a look at its satellite imagery since it seems to be different than Google’s and is often more revealing.

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Links to Some Related Web Pages:

Two Outposts On Little Missinaibi Lake

Little Missinaibi Lake has a couple of fishing outposts, each located on an island at the north end of the lake. The  Outpost Camps Inc website has a map of the lake with points of interest. See here. The other outpost is owned and run by Hawk Air Fly-In Vacations.

Bill Steer’s article on the Pictograph Site

Bill Steer (aka Backroads Bill) has a nice write-up on the pictographs at Fairy Point on Missinaibi Lake and includes GPS coordinates and details on how to get there. Check it out at The Rock Fairies – Spiritual Pictograph Site. 

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The Day-By-Day Posts –

Windermere Lake’s Healey Bay to Missanabie

The following posts provide details – maps, photos, and discussion – of the 120-kilometre trip from Healey Bay to Missanabie.  We had two main goals –

  1. to paddle the entire length of the Little Missinaibi River;
  2. to see the seven pictograph sites (4 on Little Missinaibi Lake and 3 on Missinaibi Lake)

We got it done and had a great time doing it, even if Day Two’s “incident” weighed heavily on our minds.

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Canoeing The Little Missinaibi River: Day 1 – from Healey Bay to Ramhill Lake

 

 

Posted in Pictographs of the Canadian Shield, wilderness canoe tripping | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Canoeing The Little Missinaibi River: Days 9 & 10 – From Crooked Lake To Missanabie to Toronto Via Healey Bay

Posted on 2017-07-13 by true_north

last revised on April 20, 2024

Table of Contents:

Missanabie Village

Day 10 – Map and Basic Data – Missanabie To Healey Bay By Train

Le Grand Portage To Toronto- 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Dropping Off Our Canoe For Repairs At Swift Waubuashene

Links to The Other Day-By-Day Reports 

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The Day’s Basic Data and Map

  • distance: 18.5 km
  • time:   9:10 a.m.; finish 1:45 p.m.
  • portages/rapids:  1 
    • P18 – 240m Height of Land – Arctic watershed to Superior watershed
  •  weather: sunny /cloudy periods; strong SW wind; overcast by day’s end but no rain;
  • campsite: Ernie’s Campground uptown Missanabie…now called Dog Lake Cottages and Campground

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The Height of Land Portage Into Dog Lake

From our Crooked Lake campsite, it was a half-hour paddle to the Height of Land Portage. We set off just after nine and by two were in Missanabie. One thing we did not do is take any pix.

Well, Max took one! As we paddled away from the put-in on Dog Lake he turned around for a shot of the easternmost point of Dog Lake and the bush between it and Crooked Lake.

Like the Little Missinaibi River system, Crooked Lake feeds into Missinaibi Lake and the Missinaibi River system.  Its water ends up in James Bay after merging with the Moose River. Meanwhile, we were now in sprawling-in-all-directions Dog Lake. Its outlet, the Michipicoten River,  ends up in Lake Superior. We were paddling in the Atlantic watershed!

The Perimeter of Dog Lake – looking very much like a reclining dog with its legs stretched out!

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Robert Bell Describes The Portage & Lake 

Robert Bell of the Geological Survey of Canada came across this height-of-land portage in 1875 on his way to Michipicoten from James Bay. His report has this brief description:

The lake he refers to as Mattagaming is the one we know as Dog.  He notes its T shape but you can see something else!  It looks like a Labrador Retriever sitting with his front legs forward and his head up! The Ojibwe word for “dog” is animosh so what the matta part of Mattagaming means is unclear unless it is related to mattawa meaning fork. The lake splits with one section to the north and the other to the southern outlet.

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Paddling Into The First Wind of the Trip

After the almost complete absence of headwind for the entire trip,  a solid breeze from the southwest during our last two hours on the water would have us digging in extra hard on certain exposed stretches. The one from Km 110 to the narrows was one of them.

On passing the island at Km 112 we stopped for a bit of a breather at a dock on the sheltered NE side. We met there a couple almost at the end of their Dog Lake island vacation. He was curious about the rivers we had paddled and we, in turn, were impressed that not only had he done them too, but some of them like the Bloodvein he had done more than once! We were definitely talking to a kindred spirit!

After our island chat, we paddled through the narrows between Fifty-Seven Bay and Hay Bay. Then we headed north to Dog Lake Narrows, the channel over which Highway 651 crosses. More into-the-wind paddling and we finally arrived within sight of Missanabie.

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The Origin of the Name Missinaibi

Ever since I  read Selwyn Dewdney’s account of how the hamlet got its name I have been pronouncing it “Miss Anabie” in my mind!  Dewdney writes –

Missanabie is not even spelled the same way as the Lake and river system – strange.

As to how to pronounce it, we have said Miss in ah bee with a soft “i”, a soft “a” and a stress on the third syllable for almost forty years. I asked Julie at the Missinaibi Park office in Chapleau how she pronounces it and she said – Miss in ay bee, with a hard “a” sound. When we got to Missanabie I would ask Ken Martel the same question. He pronounced it the way we have been all these years!  Now that we have this issue settled(!), there remained just one more to deal with – where to put up our tent for the night.

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Missanabie Village:

2019 image of Ernie’s Campground Missanabie – see here for the image source – the “village” is on the top left and out of the picture

The last time we had been in Missanabie was in 1983 and – Duh! – things had changed! Thirty-four years ago there wasn’t much else there (that we could remember) other than the hotel. As we approached the docks and a beach area on the waterfront we were amazed by all the trailers and cottages.

The Wikipedia entry on Missanabie has some recent population statistics.  After noting a population of 62 in the 2006 census, it continues –

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Missanabie had a population of 33 living in 15 of its 38 total private dwellings, a change of -17.5% from its 2016 population of 40.

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Northern Walleye Lodge

While doing pre-trip research I had seen a Northern Walleye Lodge indicated on the Google map of Missanabie. The plan had been to ask the lodge if we could camp on its grounds for the night – we figured $20. would do it –  and then be very near to the train stop the next morning. Well, the Lodge does exist but it is on Dog Lake about ten kilometers south of Missanabie. In Missanabie all they have is a parking lot where guests leave their vehicles; they are then taken to the lodge by motorboat.

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Ernie’s Cottages and Campground 

Missanabie waterfront in front of Ken’s Bait Shop and Ernie’s Campground

another view of Missanabie landing in front of Ernie’s and Ken’s

However, in our chat with the island couple, we learned of Ernie’s Cottages and Campground.  [See here for their Facebook page.] It was the answer we were looking for!  We paddled up to the concrete boat launch pad just to the right of the fish cleaning shack. We walked up the dirt road to a couple of guys standing in front of a store – the sign read Ken’s One-Stop Bait Shop.

When we said we were looking for Ernie one of them said we’d found him!  Introducing himself as Ken Martel, Ernie’s son, he assumed correctly that we were looking for a tent site and within a minute we were walking towards an area thirty meters away that he had pointed at. He told us to come back later and pay – it was $20. (tax included) for the night. We left thinking – “Man, that was easy!”

Ernie’s Campsite – and Ken’s One-Stop Shop at Missanabie

As well as lots of tent space, Ernie’s has some cottages (cabins) available. They also rent space on the property to people who show up with trailers. Some park them for the entire season. The photo below from Ernie’s website has an aerial view of the property. It is a shot from 2009 so things look a bit different in 2017!

This shot of Ernie’s campground from 2009 is no longer accessible on their website.

The tail end of the trailer you see in the photo below – right to the left of our tent space – belonged to someone who had yet to be up in Missanabie this year. On the upper right of the photo is the gazebo, an enclosed cooking/eating area with running water and a fridge and stove. We were the only ones to use it during the time we were there. Another twenty meters to the right was a double washroom/ shower facility. It felt good to stand under a stream of hot water after a few days of haphazard cleanliness!

our camp spot at Ernie’s in Missanabie – right next to the gazebo

In the panorama shot below our tent was up under that clump of trees you see on the left. The fish cleaning shack is on the extreme right of the image.

a panorama of the campgrounds and the docks and boat launch ramp

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Ernie’s Bought By Missanabie Cree F. N.

Note:  Since we were there, Ernie Martel has sold his Ernie’s Campground and retired to Wawa.  A YouTube video posted in February 2022 still refers to it as Ernie’s Campground so its sale and the name change to Dog Lake Cottages and Campground probably happened sometime since 2021.

The new owners are the Missanabie Cree First Nation, who already own and run the nearby Island View Camp in Hay Bay. (The website has not been refreshed since 2019.) The purchase was made possible by the $150 million from the Federal Government after a land claim settlement which was reached in 2020. The F.N. expects another 55 Sq. miles of land to end the dispute.  It will enable the F.N.’s desire to expand its economic base in the area. As the F.N. website points out –

The Missanabie Cree were also successful in negotiating with the Government of Canada for loss of use compensation under their Treaty Land Entitlement claim which was recorded the largest per capita settlement in the history of Canada.

As a part of the settlement, the Cree band also received what had been Crown Land in the Missanabie area. See the map below for the extent of the territory signed over by the Ontario Provincial Government.

Missinaibi Cree First Nation Territory

Not everyone was happy with the land transfer to Missanabie Cree F.N. The Robinson-Superior Treaty (1850) Anishinaabe considered the territory theirs.

Ontario land transfer to Missanabie Cree First Nation questioned by Anishnabek Nation | Media.Knet

One Anishinaabe (i.e.Ojibwe) political leader argued –

For the Province to transfer fifteen square miles of Robinson Superior Treaty land without a lawful agreement from the Robinson Superior Treaty Chiefs shows us that the government has no concern for our treaties. It’s an illegal transfer because it contradicts the Constitution Act…  (source)

It may be that the Treaty No. 5 chiefs were expecting to receive some financial compensation from the provincial government in return for their agreement to the land transfer.

The $150,000,000. and the land transfer were only the first steps in what is seen by Missanabie Cre F.N. leaders as the eventual settlement.

In 2011, on August 17, The Missanabie Cree First Nation and the Government of Ontario signed an agreement to provide the Nation with 15 square miles (39 km2) of land as an initial allotment of a total 70 square miles (180 km2) to which they are entitled under Treaty 9. (Wikipedia source)

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Update: While I have paddled through Dog Lake and into the Missinaibi River system a few times over the past 45 years, I only recently delved into the history of the Cree and Ojibwe people who live in the area. Curious about why we had never seen any local Indigenous people on our trips through the area, I searched for some population stats.

On googling “Missinaibi 62” I learned that this is a reserve owned by the Michipicoten First Nation. A satellite scan of the reserve showed four cottages which may be used on an occasional and seasonal basis by those living on the main reserve at Michipicoten, a 126-kilometre car ride away from Missanabie. See here for maps of the main reserve on Lake Superior and their other reserve in Chapleau.

Island View Camp owned by the Missanabii Cree First Nation

To the east of Missanabie Village, I always assumed (wrongly) that there was a  Cree community somewhere.  Its omission from Treaty No. 9 consideration was rectified in the land settlement indicated on the map above.

However, the band office is in downtown Sault Ste. Marie and the only collection of Cree F.N.-owned buildings in the Missanabie area is the Island View Camp on Dog Lake.  Of the 476 members of the Missanabie Cree F.N., very few would seem to live on the territory they were awarded.

The political leaders of the First Nation were hopeful that 10 to 15% of its members would move to the reserve from the various urban centers where they now live.  Former chief Glenn Nolan put it this way –

‘An opportunity for us to reconnect with that physical space and allow us to become a community once again’  (source)

Time will tell if 50 to 75 F.N. members – they would have to be either true believers or those with little at stake holding them back – will follow their leaders and abandon

  • established homes,
  • employment,
  • educational opportunities, and
  • all the conveniences of an urban lifestyle in Wawa or Sault Ste. Marie or Toronto

to build from scratch an uncertain future on their new reserve and what is left of nearby Missanabie after the Martels’ departure.

My continued research led to this eye-opening study which deals with the impact of Treaty No. 9 and the establishment of the Chapleau Crown Game Preserve on the indigenous families who lived in the area, either on a permanent or seasonal basis.

Click on the title to access the study.

It led me down the proverbial rabbit hole. Faced with a half-dozen different Indigenous communities and their stories, I figured I would examine each one in turn and clarify for myself the situation from various perspectives, Indigenous and non-. Well, it did not turn out as expected.

All I have to show for my deep dive is the beginnings of a post that, in the end, I gave up on. There is a book in there somewhere for someone keen on coming up with the facts and untangling the threads of what is a multi-layered story.

Missinaibi-Area First Nations  & Their Recent History

Missinaibi-Area First Nations & Their Recent History

Our Tour Of Downtown Missanabie

We had a few hours to kill so we decided to do an in-depth tour of Missanabie. We could also figure out where to haul our canoe and gear for the next morning’s train ride back to our starting point at Healey Bay. (Missanabie – population 40 or so – no  longer has a train station or waiting room.)

We walked to the entrance of Ernie’s Campground. At the entrance sits a building with all sorts of heavy equipment outside – dump trucks, tractors,…all the stuff you need for road building. It is Martel Contracting. It does road work, welding, tire repair, and more. We never did find out if this business – like Ken’s Bait Shop and Ernie’s Restaurant which we would soon visit – belonged to the same family.

the entrance to Ernie’s Campgrounds and Cottages – Missanabie

There is a dirt road named Curran Street that runs parallel to the CPR tracks. As we walked down Curran we came to the hotel. It was apparently purchased by Americans some time ago, renovated, and turned into a private residence or two. Next to it is another building – one in need of some attention before it collapses.

the old Missanabie Hotel – now an American-owned residence

dilapidated building in Missanabie

We crossed the rail tracks – there are two sets – and headed for the junction where Highway 651 comes to the tracks. This is where we ended up waiting for the train the next morning, flagging it as it approached from the northwest. (The conductor already knew he would have two passengers to pick up since we had purchased the tickets beforehand.) We walked down Highway 651 from the tracks – it is labelled as First Street on the above map. Now we were in downtown Missanabie. As we approached Ernie’s we stood under the awning of the establishment and looked back at the tracks – a CPR freight train was coming through.

CPR freight train moving through Missanabie

The next morning we would be reminded of the #1 rule of railway travel in Canada – when two trains want to use the same track at the same time, freight takes precedence over passengers every time!

Ernie’s Lounge/Restaurant/LCBO Outlet

If Missanabie has a community heart it would have to be Ernie’s Restaurant!

  • It is a lounge with a large TV screen; the Blue Jays were on when we visited.
  • It is also a restaurant that specializes in hamburgers and french fries.
  • Also attached to it is an LCBO outlet – i.e. a place where you can buy bottled alcohol to take away.
  • There may also have been a small tuck shop there which sells sundries like cigarettes and pop and chips.
  • the community’s mailboxes are located at the front of the building.
  • If you are driving into town and need accommodation or a place to put your trailer, Ernie in the restaurant will have the answer!

the LCBO outlet on the side of Ernie’s Restaurant and Lounge

We spent some time in the restaurant/lounge munching on some French fries and chatting with Ernie and his helper. He had opened the restaurant in the mid-1970s after moving up to Missanabie from Dalton where he was born and grew up. (Dalton is down the CPR tracks a few kilometers.) The closing of the nearby mine in the community of Renabie in 1991 must have been difficult for businesses like Ernie’s in Missanabie; so too the closing of the lumber yard in town. The restaurant and the thriving Campground and Cottages show that Ernie Martel and his son Ken are making a good go of it.

the front of Ernie’s on First Street Missanabie

Across the street from Ernie’s is the Fire Hall. The sign seems new enough to indicate it is still in operation. Set some distance behind and to the left of the Fire Hall is the  Missarenda Consolidated Public School run by the Algoma District School Board. We were left wondering how many children in what age range go to the school and whether those from the nearby First Nations reserve would be among them.

the Missanabie Fire Hall with the public school behind it

Fire Hall and Ernie’s on First Street, Missanabie – Dog Lake in the background

Missanabie’s public school – Missarenda Consolidated

Something we did not notice in the village of 40 to 60 inhabitants is an OPP post -.i.e. a police station.

We spent the afternoon wandering up and down the roads of town taking pix and checking stuff out. Back at the campground, we made use of the shower facilities and then headed to the gazebo for supper. It was a soft end to our canoe trip, one that had begun with a couple of difficult days on the upper section of the Little Missinaibi River. Occasionally in the days since we still heard the sound of that SAR helicopter from CFB Trenton hovering over our Day Two campsite at 2 a.m. We knew we would be talking – and explaining – and apologizing – for days to come about that helicopter visit when we reached home.

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Day 10 – Missanabie To Healey Bay By Train

  • distance: 66.8 km
  • time:  8:00 a.m.; finish 10:45 a.m.
  • portages:  1     335m – Campground to the trackside train stop
  • weather: sunny
  • campsite:  we were back in Toronto at 8 p.m. after a long ride from Healey Bay with a quick stop at the Swift Georgian Bay outlet to drop off our canoe!

Healey Bay on the east end of Lake Windermere was our starting point;  it was the closest we could get to the headwaters of the Little Missinaibi. The Happy Day Lodge was a convenient place to leave our vehicle while we did our nine-day paddle to Missanabie. And now that the trip was over it was also an easy place to return to.

Running through Missanabie – and past Healey Bay – is a VIA-run passenger service on the CPR tracks that run from Sudbury to White River. Three times a week it runs one way; the other three it makes the return trip. It was Friday morning in Missanabie and, after breakfast and coffee in the gazebo, we did our last portage, a 335-meter carry up to the stop on the side of the tracks at the end of Highway 651.

The map below shows the 66-kilometer route from Missanabie to Healey Bay. While we would have our stuff by the tracks by 8:15, it was scheduled to arrive at 9.

Click here for a PDF file of the train schedule for the Sudbury-White River – Sudbury service.

one last look at our landing spot at Missanabie – off to catch the train

The train arrived on time!  Onboard after handing up our canoe and gear to someone in the baggage car, we found we were two of five passengers that morning. (The passenger capacity is 95!)  The fare for each of us was $20. which is why I was surprised to be told that the charge for the canoe would be $50. My understanding was that the canoe fee could not be higher than the passenger fee – i.e.$20 – so I did point that out – to no avail.

Missanabie train stop – with the old Missanabie Hotel across the tracks

Somewhere along the line, we stopped to pick up two Americans and their sons; they were on their way back to their vehicles in Chapleau after a week of fishing at an outpost not far from where they caught the train. Twice we waited for ten to twenty minutes on a sidetrack while freight trains moved through.

Healey Bay stop on the rail line

Healey Bay is between Musk and Esher; when I purchased the tickets I just paid for the fare to Esher, the next stop. The train will pick you up – and drop you off – wherever you request. All it takes is a bit of arm-waving!

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Le Grand Portage To Toronto

Back at Healey Bay Max went to get his car while I sat with the gear on the side of the tracks. It was about 10:45. By 11:00 we would have the four bags, paddles, and life jackets inside and the canoe strapped down. It was now time for Le Grand Portage, the ten-hour drive back to Toronto! We weren’t even sure if we would make the entire distance in one day,  thinking that we might camp somewhere south of Sudbury and then finish the drive on Saturday morning.

However, Max was relentless behind the wheel. First, we knocked off the ride from Healey Bay south to Iron Bridge. That took over three hours. We stopped for some gas and some junk food and kept moving.

The next target was Sudbury, another two hours and 200 kilometers to the east. It was about 4 p.m. as we skirted south of the town on the by-pass and started heading south. We knew that another four hours and we’d be home – so we pushed on.

Rather than drive into Parry Sound to our usual gas station we saved another ten or fifteen minutes by pulling into a roadside Shell station just north of the Sound. And a bonus – it was a full-serve station so while the tank was being filled, we were emptying ours!  And it was time for more junk food!

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Dropping Off Our Canoe For Repairs At Swift Waubuashene

We also had another reason for our haste – we wanted to get to Swift Canoe‘s Georgian Bay outlet at Waubaushene before they closed at 8 p.m. Before the trip, I had inquired about dropping off our canoe for a repair/paint job on the bottom of the canoe. Not only had we added more scratches and scrapes to the bottom on this trip;  in our numerous log and beaver dam haul-overs, we had also stressed the bottom enough to cause a long crack line. Truth be told, our 42-lb. composite Kevlar/carbon fiber canoe, an excellent tripping canoe, was not meant to take the kind of abuse it was subjected to on the Little Missinaibi!

Still, we were happy to have done the trip with our  Swift Dumoine and know that hauling a 70-lb. Royalex or Tuff Stuff canoe over those same obstacles would have been an even bigger challenge. We need to reward our refurbished Dumoine with a nice, easy trip when we pick it up!

We dropped the canoe off shortly after 7.  By 8:15 we were on the Danforth in my Toronto neighbourhood picking up a few bottles of wine and by 8:45 we were sitting at the kitchen table with my wife and a visiting friend. To no surprise, they wanted to hear the helicopter story – the story of the SAR team rappelling down to our tent site at 2:00 a.m. in response to the SOS message we never sent!

I guess that is how the trip down the Little Missinaibi is fated to be remembered – although our posts have hopefully made it clear that it was about so much more too!

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Update: that “nice, easy trip”?  It was a totally delightful one-week ramble in the French River Delta and the nearby islands of Georgian Bay.  See here for the first of the posts –

 Canoeing Georgian Bay’s French River Delta: Logistics, Maps, & Day 1

Canoeing Georgian Bay’s French River Delta: Logistics, Maps, & Day 1

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Links to The Day-By-Day Reports 

The Little Missinaibi From Top To Bottom – Intro, Maps, & Logistics

The Little Missinaibi River From Top To Bottom – Intro, Maps, and Logistics

 

Day 1 – From Healey Bay To Ramhill Lake

Canoeing The Little Missinaibi River: Day 1 – from Healey Bay to Ramhill Lake

Day 2 – From Ramhill Lake To Below Sunset Lake/Key Lake

Canoeing The Little Missinaibi River: Day 2 – From Ramhill Lake To Below Rawhide Lake / Key Lake

Day 3 – From Below Rawhide Lake To Mukwa Falls (Woods Lake Rd Crossing)

Canoeing The Little Missinaibi River: Day 3 – From Below Rawhide Lake To Mukwa Falls below Woods Lake Road Crossing

Day 4 – From Mukwa Falls To Little Missinaibi Lake

Canoeing The Little Missinaibi River: Day 4 – From Mukwa Falls To Little Missinaibi Lake

Day 5 – From Little Missinaibi Lake To Admiral Falls

Canoeing The Little Missinaibi River: Day 5 – From Little Missinaibi Lake To Admiral Falls


Day 6 – From Admiral Falls To Whitefish Falls on Missinaibi Lake

Canoeing The Little Missinaibi River: Day 6 – From Admiral Falls To Whitefish Falls on Missinaibi Lake

Day 7 – From Whitefish Falls on Missinaibi Lake To Red Granite Point

Canoeing The Little Missinaibi River: Day 7 – From Whitefish Falls on Missinaibi Lake To Red Granite Point

Day 8 – From Red Granite Point To Crooked Lake Island Site

Canoeing The Little Missinaibi River: Day 8 – From Red Granite Point To Crooked Lake Island Site

The Pictographs of Little Missinaibi Lake

The Pictographs of Little Missinaibi Lake

The Anishinaabe Pictograph Sites of Missinaibi Lake

The Anishinaabe Pictograph Sites of Missinaibi Lake

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Canoeing The Little Missinaibi River: Day 8 – From Red Granite Point To Crooked Lake Island Site

Posted on 2017-07-13 by true_north

Contents:

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The Day’s Basic Data And Maps

  • distance: 15 km
  • time:  11:30 a.m.; finish 4:00 p.m..
  • portages/rapids:  1
    • P17 – 350m into Crooked Lake
  • weather: sunny/cloudy periods;
  • campsite: island – room for multiple tents.

Previous Post – Day 7: From Whitefish Falls To Red Granite Point

Canoeing The Little Missinaibi River: Day 7 – From Whitefish Falls on Missinaibi Lake To Red Granite Point

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Drying Out Our Stuff On A Sunny Morning

Days 5, 6, and 7 had seen more than their share of rain; we took advantage of a sunny morning on Red Granite Point to dry everything before setting off, knowing full well that by the end of the day some of it would likely be wet again. Tarp, fly, the inner tent itself, bags, socks … all on the rocks sucking up the rays. We lounged in our camp chairs, sipped on second cups of coffee, and occasionally flipped stuff over. Across the bay, the Fairy Point rock face was looking pretty dark in the shade.

drying time on Red Granite Point

a last look over to Fairy Point

a section of Fairy Point’s extended rock face in the morning shade

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Contemplating Red Granite Point And Lake Titicaca’s Isla De La Luna

Shortly before noon we finally set off.  Just to the north of the camp area we rounded the point and were reminded yet again why it has the name Red Granite Point! There is a stretch of horizontal rock face with a reddish colour to it. We wondered if the Indigenous inhabitants of the area had ascribed any special meaning to the spot.

The Red Granite that gives the point its name

As we paddled by I thought back to a similar but much more dramatic red-stained rock face on Lake Titicaca at the other end of the Americas. We had approached the island after spending a day on the nearby Isla del Sol, the Ground Zero of the Incan mythical universe.   Given its association with menstrual blood in the Quechua and Inca traditions, the red-stained Isla de la Luna came to be a woman’s island and was the site of a nunnery of sacred virgins. The ruins are still there. (See here for more.)

Lago Titicaca – approaching Isla de la Luna’s reddish northwestern tip

Morrisseau - shaman riding Thunderbird

Morrisseau – shaman riding Thunderbird

In Norval Morrisseau’s Legends of My People, The Great Ojibwe there is one Anishinaabe explanation of the red-stained rock. Morrisseau connects it to the slaying of the Giant Beaver by Nanabush, with drops of his blood sprayed all across the Canadian Shield. The “blood” is said to appear as pictographs on hundreds of vertical rock faces and on the bodies of Anishinaabeg shamans and warriors.  The iron oxide powder was an essential item in the shaman’s otter skin medicine bag.  It may also be how “red” came to be associated with the Indigenous people – almost certainly Anishinaabeg –  the first Europeans met. (See this article The Beothuk Indians – “Newfoundland’s Red Ochre People.)

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The Portage To Crooked Lake Sign-In Box

Then it was around the corner into the bay on the left side of the image below – we were paddling up to our only portage of the day, the 350-meter carry into (not so) Crooked Lake. Would the register stand with the sign-in book still be there?  We remembered signing in on our early 1980s trips. (There was another canoe trippers’ book in Mattice; writing your name in it was a part of the “end of” or “halfway down” ritual in those days. The name of the Mattice restaurant where it was kept escapes me – Let me know if you remember.  On one visit I scanned through a few pages of the Book looking for Pierre Elliot’s signature and comment but did not find it!

approaching the portage to Crooked Lake

[A 1901 Ontario Government report recorded Crooked Lake’s  Ojibwe – or perhaps James Bay Cree – name as Wowogonosh.]

And there it was!  The stand with the name register in the box. We lifted up the lid of the box and found garbage! Candy wrappers and other litter. However, since the book was gone, various tripping parties have recently written their particulars on the placard below the box.

The sign-in box at the Missinaibi end of the trail from Crooked Lake

only the canoe to go on our 350-meter carry into Crooked Lake from Missinaibi Lake

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Up Crooked L. To A Renabie Supply Road

The well-used trail led us to the Crooked Lake side and a bit of a mushy wade out to the put-in.

The mushy put-in on Crooked Lake – the day’s one portage done

We headed up Crooked Lake and, after a couple of hours of paddling, decided that we had earned a lunch break. Shade was at a premium, but when we saw the open field in the photo below, we figured we could make it work. There I am sitting in the shade of the tall pine on the left, partially hidden by the tall grass.

Lunch spot – a bit of shade in a field of tall grass

The clearing had us wondering what had been there before and why it remained so free of tree growth. Some research, when we got home, revealed an interesting story about a now-defunct gold mining community of Renabie, which shut down in 1991 after forty-some years of operation. We were sitting at the start of a road from Crooked Lake that went up to the community!

Renabie and the road from our lunch spot on Crooked Lake

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Campsite E of the Height-of-Land Portage

We kept going until about 4 p.m. when we passed an island with a campsite clearing. As well as a fish-cleaning table and a fire pit with a grill (not always positives given the mess that fishing parties can leave behind), there was ample room for our tent in a well-sheltered area to the side and yet more space overlooking the lake for our bug shelter.

our tent up on our small island campsite

our tent tucked away on Crooked Lake island site

our most successful setting up of our bug/tarp shelter

A second easy day in a row!  The challenges we dealt with on the first four days down the Little Missinaibi seemed like another canoe trip! Just a few more kilometers and the trip would be over.

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Days 9 & 10 – From Crooked Lake To Missanabie To Southern Ontario Via Healey Bay

Canoeing The Little Missinaibi River: Days 9 & 10 – From Crooked Lake To Missanabie to Toronto Via Healey Bay

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