Table of Contents:

• The Day’s Basic Data And Maps
• Paddling Toward A Big Question Mark
• Down The Day’s First Two Rapids
• Island Lunch Spot N of Terry Fox Bridge
• Approaching The Chutes Coulonge
• Take-Out Spot Above the Pontiac Hydro Installation
• The Double Shuttle Plan
• Checking Out The Chutes Coulonge
• Our Esprit Rafting Base Camp  Campsite 

Previous Post: Day 9: From Rapides Enragés to Chute A L’Ours

Down The Coulonge – Day 9: From Rapides Enragés (Km 60) To Chute A L’Ours (Km 43)

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The Day’s Basic Data And Maps

• distance: 28 km
• time:  start – 8:10 a.m.; finish – 3:00 p.m.
• portages/rapids: 1/6 + 1 Falls
  • – W-53 Swifts / C3–>C4 PRR 350m “Chutes a L’Ours”
  • – W-R54 C1 / C2 / C2 / C1 1000m “Guennette”
  • – W-R55 C2 300m… Notes Wilson: “Be nimble or pay”!
  • – W-R56 C1
  • – W-R57 C1T RR Ledge
  • – W-R58 C1T 125m
  • – W-R59 C1/C1T several runs spread out over 2 km.
• weather: Sunny and very warm
• campsite: CRCS10 Esprit Rafting – Esprit Point, Davidson; lawn area looking southeast onto Ottawa River.
• Natural Resources Canada topo map sheets: Lac Usborne    031 K 02;                         Fort-Coulonge 031 F 15

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Paddling Toward A Big Question Mark

As noted in the previous post, we started this day not really knowing how things were going to unfold.  Well, we knew that we’d be paddling about thirty kilometers to the Chutes Coulonge.  It was the part after that which was up in the air.  Months of research had not turned up anything about a portage around the Chutes Coulonge and the worst-case scenario of using the roads on either side of the river – all six kilometers of them – to get around them was not appealing.

We did have another option – a possible shuttle with Jim Coffey’s Esprit Rafting – that would be a lot less painful.  However, I had only made contact with Jim via email and the last time was in June.  I really should have given him a call before we set off at the top of the Coulonge.  What if he couldn’t do the shuttle!

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Down The Day’s First Two Rapids

We got on the water early – it was just after 8 when we set off.  On tap almost immediately were what looked to be the day’s two most challenging sections of the river – W-R54 (the kilometer-long Guennette Rapids) and W-R55,  a shorter 300-meter CII right after that.

Sunrise on the Coulonge at the top of Chute a L’Ours

We seem to have been all business this morning since there are not many pix  – in fact, none!  As for the rapids, a combination of lining and running and lifting over did the job.  They certainly did not seem to have quite the snarl that Wilson describes. The low late-season water levels are probably the explanation.  There was also a bit of scraping and bouncing off badly placed boulders in unexpected places – the usual indignities that our no longer new and scratch-free canoe has been subjected to over the past five years.

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Island Lunch Spot N of Terry Fox Bridge

Around noon we passed this island and decided to check it out as a potential campsite – it is an okay spot that would serve paddlers who had a day to kill while waiting for a shuttle at the Terry Fox Bridge just a bit further down.

We found a shady corner and had lunch there before moving on.

our Day 10 island lunch stop – and “okay” tent spot about 5 km up from the Terry Fox Bridge

campsite on the lower Coulonge 4.75 km N of the Terry Fox Bridge

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Approaching The Chutes Coulonge

Under the Terry Fox bridge, we floated and then on to the Chutes. We passed a few residential properties and made easy progress.  When we passed the golf course on river right, we knew we were getting close to the Chutes.

approaching the Terry Fox Bridge on the lower Coulonge

the Terry Fox Bridge over the Coulonge

the lower Coulonge below the bridge

Just past the golf course – a popular place for Coulonge trippers to leave their vehicles while they do the river – we approached the structure in the image below from river right.

We scanned the river right shoreline in search of what we hoped would be a portage trail. The warning signs helped us find it!

the generating station just above the Coulonge Chutes

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Take-Out Spot Above the Pontiac Hydro Installation

The take-out spot is about 1.5 kilometers downriver from the golf course and is just before the hydro installation. [We would later learn that the structure covers the top end of a one-kilometer tunnel taking the water down to the actual generating station at the bottom of the gorge.]

Next to the partially visible signs pictured below was a landing and a well-used 70-meter trail which goes up to the gravel Chutes Coulonge road.  About 100 meters down this road is the gated entry to the Park.  We’d later walk down the road to the Chutes Coulonge Park parking lot and the Park’s Ticket Office/Gift Shop/Administrative Building.

Any hesitation to use the trail was neutralized by the fact that we were clearly not the first to use the well-established trail and that the signs (almost completely hidden by the foliage) were undoubtedly put there as lawsuit prevention statements by the managers/owners.

The signs have the “Hydro Pontiac” logo on the top left. It may manage the site for the current owner, Brookfield Renewable Power, a company whose Quebec holdings include more than the Coulonge Chutes G.S. (named the Joey Tanenbaum G.S.) and its 17 MW capacity.  (See here for a list of its holdings.)

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The Double Shuttle Plan

A fingers-crossed phone call from the take-out point to Jim Coffey at Esprit Rafting to alert him to our arrival put the next stage of our trip – the shuttle – into motion.  We had decided to scrap the road portage idea and saw an additional “plus” in chatting with Jim; he would be able to fill us in on the rapids of the Rocher Fendu stretch of the Ottawa.

Luckily, he remembered the correspondence we had exchanged earlier in the year – he had been down in the Caribbean for some of it!   Within an hour Dennis Blaedow arrived and we were on our way to the Esprit Rafting base camp in Davidson, a short twenty-minute drive away.

From The Chutes Coulonge to Esprit Rafting Base Camp in Davidson

The plan was this – spend the night on the shores of the Ottawa River at Esprit Point and then get shuttled back to the Coulonge by Dennis the next morning.  We would put in at the bottom of the chutes and finish off our Coulonge River trip right to the mouth of the Ottawa River.

Amazingly Jim offered the shuttles to us for free – he said he was inspired by our plan to paddle right down to Ottawa itself. He said we could pay the usual $15. a person for tenting at Esprit!  We did insist on paying for the shuttle service and on our departure the next morning left $150. for him to donate to whatever charity he wanted!  We were just relieved at how well everything had turned out – from a big question mark to a fantastic exclamation mark!

As for Dennis, as well as working with Jim for Esprit for the past twenty-five years as the ultimate shuttle master, it turns out that he is on the board responsible for the running of the Chutes Coulonge. Well, not just on the board – he is the current Director.  His knowledge of – and passion for – the upper Ottawa Valley and its river and rafting routes and other attractions made our two rides with him a blur thanks to the great conversation.

Jim and Dennis would be the first of a half-dozen generous and welcoming Ottawa Valley people we would meet as we made our way downriver to Ottawa.  Never having visited before, we finally got to experience what people were getting at when they talked about that special Ottawa Valley vibe.

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Checking Out The Chutes Coulonge

Before Dennis arrived, we had a bit more than forty-five minutes for a quick visit to the Chutes down the road.  We stashed our canoe and gear at the top end of the trail and set off for the Chutes; the entrance was about ten minutes down the road. Just past the top of the trail and before the park gate we passed the gated entrance to the Brookfield property:

The Generating Station gate on the Park road – just before the gated entry to the Park itself

Just before the Park ticket office, we walked through the parking lot and noticed the sign “Parking Canoers “. At the office, our question about the sign got the response that canoe trippers who are shuttled to the beginning of their Coulonge River trip have their cars left here.

This was interesting to hear.  Obviously, they would use the same take-out point and trail up to the road as we had to get to their vehicles.

I did wonder how that golf course just two kilometers up the river feels about losing its canoe trippers’ parking business since fewer canoe trippers are now leaving their vehicles up there.

As for the Park itself, while the Chutes themselves are the obvious main attraction, there are several exhibits which deal with the lumber industry and forestry to put everything into historical context.  Here is some of what we rushed through in thirty minutes. (You could easily spend a couple of hours taking in the falls and the exhibits.  We saw what we could since we wouldn’t be back the next day!)

winch boat used to tug the log booms on the river

a collection of boats the logger used – a red pointer boat and a cedar strip canoe

Walking on a boardwalk that recreated the Coulonge and its logging camp locations provided us with a neat review of the river we had just spent the past eight days paddling from Lac Pomponne on down.

The main attraction is definitely the chutes themselves and we hurried past all the plaques and info boards to get to them.

Chutes Coulonge – the concrete first drop.

the bridge crossing the Coulonge Gorge provides a great vantage point

the first two drops at Les Chutes Coulonge

another view of the Coulonge Falls

The main lumber-era feature was the 915-meter wooden log slide on the river left side of the falls.  Down this slide, the logs would come tumbling each spring after the Coulonge ice had broken and the rivermen had driven the results of their winter’s work downstream. Almost a century ago it was replaced by a concrete slide still in place although it has not been used since the last log drive in 1982.

the Coulonge Gorge below the falls

Turning around, we looked down the half-mile or so gorge to the bottom. Not visible is the Powerhouse, a building we would see the next morning when our Esprit Rafting shuttle dropped us off at the bottom of the canyon and we paddled back into it as far as we could.

the zip line as it crosses the gorge below the main falls

As it turned out, that was not very far!  The bottom is an impassable boulder garden and the late summer lack of water meant a hike would have been necessary.

I really did not see how the chutes were producing hydropower as we looked at them from the various vantage points.  It was only when I checked out the Chutes Coulonge website and found a virtual tour of the park that I found this explanation. It connected the building we saw at the take-out on top of the chutes to the one we would see the next morning when Dennis dropped us off at the bottom of the gorge section so we could finish off our Coulonge part of the trip.

There is a green building at the very end of the canyon that is the Hydro Pontiac Power house. This was completed in the spring of 1993. Just inside the gate, on the left as you entered the park [see my photo up above] is the entrance to the 1800 ft (549 m) underground tunnel. The water is diverted down that tunnel directly to the power house where two turbines generate a total of 16.2 megawatts which could supply 8000 homes with electricity.

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Our Esprit Rafting Base Camp  Campsite 

Our too-quick tour of the Chutes Coulonge done, we hurried back to the gear we had stashed just off the side of the road at the top of the trail from the river.  Waiting there was Dennis!  Within an hour we were putting up our tent on the Esprit riverfront property.

our campsite at Esprit Rafting base camp in Davidson

image taken from CBC news article on the fire

Missing from any of the photos we took of the Esprit property was the almost century-old pine lodge that had served as a restaurant/bar and the social heart of Jim Coffey’s Esprit Rafting business.  On May 20 of this year (2016) it burned to the ground. Nearby a few other buildings were also damaged but luckily the gear and the Youth Hostelling International facilities and tenting area were not affected.

We spoke with one of the river guides who was there that night; he told me that, as shocked as they were,  they took to the water the very next morning – a busy Saturday – with a full roster of rafts and guests. [See here for a CBC Ottawa news article from the next day which describes the sad event.  You can watch a  CTV news clip here.]

Jim started the venture in 1992 and made it a success, thanks to his positive way of handling people and the random stuff life throws his way, as well as an excellent staff, people like Dennis Blaedow.  It doesn’t hurt that just downriver from Davidson is the Rocher Fendu on the Ottawa River, perhaps eastern North America’s premier whitewater rafting destination.

Esprit is one of three or four local companies on both sides of the river that have made it quite the thrill-seeker draw with their rafts both large and small.  The next day we’d get to experience the Middle Channel of Rocher Fendu for ourselves, relying heavily on the notes that Jim had provided as we sat there with our topo maps on the table!

a view of some of the Esprit property in Davidson

Trailers, YI International tents, and the tents of visitors like us can be seen in the photo above – just a small slice of the Esprit property.  A visit to the point on which the lodge used to be revealed little except a few charred pieces of wood; the area had been cleaned out after the fire.  In its place stood a large open event tent with tables and chairs.

I turned away from the scene of the fire to the Ottawa River and the setting sun. The next day would mark an end and a beginning – we would finish our Coulonge River trip and start off on our four-day paddle down the Ottawa River.

Sunset on the Ottawa River at Esprit Point

Next Post – Day 11: From Chutes Coulonge (Km 13) To The Ottawa River (km 0)

Down The Coulonge – Day 11: From Chutes Coulonge (Km 13) To The Ottawa River (km 0)

Previous Post – Day 8: From Die Hard Rapids (Km 81) To Rapides Enragés (Km 60)

• distance: 16 km
• time:  start – 9:00 a.m. ; finish – 1:00 p.m.
• portages/rapids: 1/4 includes 2 Falls
  • – W-R49 C1 “Tri-Play”
  • – W-R50 Falls PRR 100m / C1 275m / Falls PRR 150m
    • or PRR 600m “Gallinotes”
  • – W-R51 C1 50m
  • – W-R52 C2 250m
  • – W-53 Swifts / C3–>C4 PRR 300m “Chutes a L’Ours”
• weather: Sunny with some fluffy clouds, very warm!
• campsite: CRCS09 at head of portage with a great view down river – wonderful “front porch” perhaps the best campsite of the trip,

early morning view of Rapides Enragés from the bottom

Max framing me and the Rapides Enragés ..my shot is the one below!

A leisurely 9 a.m. start to a day that would end four hours later! On the menu were two  upcoming sets of rapids – Wilson’s R49 (“Tri-Play”)  and R50 (Gallinotes). Staying with the main flow of water on a river with late-season water levels, we were through R49 in no time.

our canoe below Gallinotes Rapids first falls

The Gallinotes set of rapids and falls (one at the top and one at the bottom) required a bit more work. We did the 100 meter carry around the first set of falls and then paddled down to just above the second set where we did another mini portage.   According to the gps track were at the top at 10:20 and were paddling away an hour later.

the initial falls at Rapides Gallinotes

Gallinote Rapids – first falls

The Gallinotes’ bottom set of falls, while nowhere as dramatic as the ones at the top, did have some rock outcrop that we walked along as we framed some more shots of the rapids.  A short gorp and gatorade break here and we moved on.

the bottom set of falls at Rapides Gallinotes

rock outcrop at the bottom of Rapides Gallinotes

the bottom of Gallinotes Rapids

Just past the swifts below the Gallinotes Rapids we paddled by the point (just above Km 55) where some canoe trippers portage into the Coulonge after a shuttle from Fort Coulonge or Davidson to Lac Jim.  That leaves the pressed-for-time paddlers two or three days back to the Chutes Coulonge (Km 12) and their vehicle. They do get to do a series of swifts and easy rapids as they head down to one of the river’s nicest camp spots, the one at the top of the Chute A L’Ours (Bear Falls) at Km 43. [We rank the site #1 of the ones we stayed at. Perhaps we should let Canoe Trip Advisor know!]

beachfront property on the Coulonge – Km 53

Not far down from the sandbar campsite we went through a series of swifts both above and below the confluence of the Coulonge and the East Coulonge.

looking up the East Coulonge River mouth –  some swifts above and below the junction

A last set of supposed CII rapids which we ran down the middle and it on to our goal for the day – the campsite at the top of Chute A L’Ours.   The approach involves going through a set of swifts to the take-out just above a sand beach on river right some distance above what Wilson rates as CIII -IV.

Chute A L’Ours from the bottom

The image below is the view from half way down the Chute A L’Ours rapids; you can barely make out our tent on river right just above the beach front.

perhaps our favourite Coulonge camp site – the one at the top of Chute a L’Ours (Bear Falls)

Chute A L’Ours campsite

front porch view at Chute A L’Ours on the Coulonge River

We spent the rest of the day – a beautiful sunny one – relaxing, sipping on cups of filtered coffee, and walking the various trails, including the portage trail to the other end.  Cameras, tripod  and our handy little saw came along for what was a combination of picture-taking and trail maintenance.  The other end of the portage also had some nice campsites – but none quite like the one at the top of the rapids!

taking in the bottom of Chute a L’Ours

Max framing a shot at Chute A L’Ours

the bottom right shoreline of Chute A L’Ours

The tent site is nestled in a stand of pine and birch. One majestic pine dominates the scene but given the erosion of its root system  you can see its inevitable fate as time erodes its foundation.

In our rambles down the various trails around the campsite we did come upon a thunder box, a rare find along the Coulonge.  It was only the second we had seen, the first being on our Lac Grand island at the end of Day 1.

staring into the fire at Chute a L’Ours

The Chute A L’Ours campsite made for a perfect last night on the Coulonge River.  Coming up was a big question mark – What do we do when we get close to the Chutes Coulonge?  We had not found out any information about a portage that would take us around the 30-meter drop and the gorge below.  The one contact i had made – Jim Coffey at Esprit Rafting in Davidson – had offered to arrange a shuttle round the falls if we needed one. However, I hadn’t gotten back to him before our departure.  We figured we’d give him a call when we got the top of the Chutes Coulonge.

We were hoping for the best!

Next Post – Day 10: From Chute A L’Ours (Km 43) To Chutes Coulonge (Km 15)

Previous Post – Day 7:  Km 99 to “Die Hard” Rapids (Km 81)

• distance: 20 km
• time:  start – 9:15 a.m.; finish – 1:15 p.m.
• portages/rapids: 1/2
  • – W-R47 C1 50m
  • – W-R48 C1 100m PRR 475m “Enragés”
• weather: Initially overcast, then a 30-minute torrential downpour. Sun in the afternoon
• Campsite: CRCS08 at the end of the lane from logging/access road; room for multiple 2-person tents and perhaps 2 or 3 – 4-person tents.

See Wilson Map 10 insert for portage and campsite location

Across from our Die Hard campsite was a stretch of beach that looked like it might have a campsite above it. We paddled across to check it out. While we found a couple of artifacts on the beach, there was no campsite or even a level spot to make one.

Beach – complete with toilet facilities!  – on river left below Die Hard Rapids

At about 10 a.m., it started raining. At first, it was start-and-stop drizzle and perhaps in response to our “Will you make up your mind already!” it started pouring heavily.

The rain starts coming down – softly at first.

It was such a torrential downpour that we pulled into a small cove and took out the 10’x14′ tarp to cover the gear in the middle of the canoe, as well as ourselves. We sat there and listened to the raindrops battering the silnylon, but at least we were mostly dry.

looking out at the downpour from under the  tarp

looking back at Max under the tarp in a torrential downpour that lasted 30 minutes

Thirty minutes later, it was over – reduced to a few occasional sprinkles – and we continued on our way down the river. We were impressed by kilometer after kilometer of deep sandbanks. It really drove home the character of the Coulonge River due to a channel cut through a massive glacial sand deposit at the end of the most recent Ice Age about 10,000 years ago.

By 12:30 or so – we had not even had lunch yet! – we came to the top of the portage trail around the Rapides Enragés. We did the carry to the other end of the portage and found a wide-open clearing at the bottom of a lane that came down to the river.

Rapides Enragés – portage on river right

On the plus side, we were surrounded by some beautiful white pines, and the river was a short walk away. We were a bit taken aback when a teen male on an ATV came ripping down to the open area where our tent was, but after he turned around and left, that would be it for unexpected visitors!

Rapides Enragés cap site – tent up by 2 p.m.

old white pine by our Rapides Enragés campsite

our closest encounter with Coulonge wildlife

With the tent up and lunch done, we put some stuff out on the rocks to dry. Later we walked back up to the top of the rapids. Along the way, we left the trail to get closer to the cascade of water coming down the right side of the island in the middle of the rapids. Here is some of what we focussed our lenses on as we enjoyed the short (at least for us) day and the extra time to just sit or walk around and enjoy the river and the rapids.

looking up at the Rapides Enragés from the bottom

Rapides Enragés main channel – final chutes at the bottom

rocks and water at Rapides Enragés

boreal forest floor – on the portage trail at Les Rapides Enrages

View of the falls on the right channel of Les Rapides Enragés

Up at the top of the rapids is a side set of waterfalls. I took the above shot at 1/80 sec. and then put on both a polarizer and a neutral density filter to slow things down a bit for the image below – 1/3 sec – to get a smoother look to the water tumbling over the rock. I wish I had made the contrast even more dramatic with an initial 1/400 or so shot! More than anything else, I just remember sitting there on the side of the rapids with my tripod and thinking – “We are so lucky to be here – to be able to be here!”

View of the waterfalls on the right channel of Rapides Enragés

The next day we would again follow our new Coulonge rule –  that is,  Thou shalt camp by rapids and waterfalls. To do so, we would make even less progress – a mere 17 km. The reward was the best campsite of the trip – the one at the top of Chute A L’Ours/Bear Falls!

Next Post – Day 9: From Rapides Enragés (Km 60) To Chute A L’Ours (Km 43)

Previous Post – Day 6 – Km 121 to Km 99 (across from Carmichael Creek)

• distance: 20 km
• time:  start – 8:15 a.m. ; finish – 1:00 p.m.
• portages/rapids: 1/3 + 1 Falls
  • – DNR Falls PRR 300m “Chute au Diable”
  • – W-R44 C1 75m or LRL “Petite Chute du Diable”
  • – W-R45 C1 100m
  • – W-R46 C3 175m LRR “Die Hard”
• weather: Overcast and cloudy in the a.m. with the sun appearing in the mid-p.m.; still a warm day!
• campsite: CRCS07 “urban renewal project”: A site well away from put-in beside the portage trail right side. The ground was covered with some grass and other debris and growth – with only some sand!! Flat with room for our 4-person tent.

An early-ish start this day – 8:15. We left our parking lot campsite behind, determined that the rest of our campsites would be more like the ones we liked – a sheltered spot on a rock outcrop with a scenic view of the river and some distance from a road.  We’d hit two out of three over the next few days.  This day would be one of the “hits”!

bridge pillar – but no bridge – at Km 94

The first landmark which came up was the bridge seen in the pic above – at least, the one pillar in the middle of the river that is left of it!  Wilson noted the following –

There is an operating lumber camp at mileage 94  [actually kilometer]  equipped with a radio phone (1992). The road will be there for some time but the camp may only be temporary. (Wilson, p.91)

The only thing that’s left of the bridge is the pillar in the middle of the river.  Wilson’s comments date back a quarter-century, long enough for the road also to have been abandoned.  We did not go up to see if there were any visible remains of the lumber camp.

approaching Chute Au Diable (Km 90) on the Coulonge River

Four kilometers down from the remains of the bridge across the river we came to the day’s one portage, a 250-meter carry on river right around Chute Au Diable.  The photo above shows the rapids from the top with its CIII rapids leading to a chute at the end.

Chute Au Diable – P river right 250 meters

the view from just above Chute Au Diable’s falls

the put-in at the bottom of Chute Au Diable – hunter’s camp/cottage on opposite shore

The portage trail ends up just around the corner from the falls themselves. Across the river, we saw what looks to be a new cottage.  We paddled back to the falls to get a better looking then continued downriver.

looking back at Chute Au Diable

Given the scarcity of rock on the river banks – except for the occasional rapids/falls sections – we had to paddle up to the chunk of rock on river left. Max had to chuckle as my brains and my eyes switched into “pictograph hunting” mode, sucked in by some red lichen that formed what looked like paintings.

Other than the Oiseau Rock site on the Ottawa River, it is noteworthy how few pictograph sites exist on the Quebec side of the Algonquin world. One could argue that the great period of rock painting in the Anishinaabe world only came after the almost-annihilation of the Ottawa Valley Algonquins by the Iroquois and by the diseases introduced by the Europeans from 1600 onwards. However, the existence of the Peterborough Petroglyphs and the pictographs of Mazinaw Rock, both of which are older than the Ojibwe paintings of northwestern Ontario, would seem to contradict that notion.

a “wow” moment on the Coulonge – some rock outcrop not a part of a set of rapids

When we came to Petite Chute Du Diable (R44)  we lined through the very bouldery river left, opting to spare our kevlar/carbon fiber boat of yet more scrapes and dings.  Here is a shot of Max looking back at the top of the rapids.

looking back up at the Petite Chute Du Diable – we lined it

Just after our little living job we spotted some bright red flowers on the right shore and went over to check them out.  It proved to be an agreeably shady spot to stop for lunch so out came the Helinox chairs and the water filter and the butane stove.

lunch stop – red flowers catch Max’s eye

We didn’t know it at the time but we’d only end up paddling another hour after lunch before calling it a day.  The reason? We found – that is, created – a campsite at Die Hard Rapids that had more of what we like.  Before that, we paddled by the sandbar site at Km 83 as shown in the pic below. Again we figured that the actual site must be in the bush behind the sandbar – and again, we came up empty in our search.  This would be the last time we would bother!

supposed sandbar campsite at Km 83 on the Coulonge

the view from the sandbar back up the river`

We moved on to “Die Hard” Rapids, lining and running the various bits mostly on river right or straight down the middle.  There was some scraping and bumping involved in our less-than-elegant trip through the Die Hard boulder garden.

Later on that afternoon we found the portage trail around the entire set of rapids on river right.  After we got to the bottom of the rapids we decided that this would be where we would stop for the day.  The only problem was there was no obvious campsite.  We were in the small bay on river right and looking back upriver to the scene you see in the pic below.  We ended up creating a serviceable tent site tucked in the bush and then stumbled upon the portage trail as we scouted the immediate area. That evening we walked the portage and cleared away most of the deadfall and debris. We also put up some prospectors’ tape at the start and end of the trail.

setting up the tripod for a shot of our Die Hard tent site…

Die Hard tent site – not totally sand and with some tree cover

Given the previous night’s location in a parking lot at the end of a side trail that we shared with a pick-up truck, we had decided not to pass up the chance to camp in a spot more closely resembling a wilderness tent site!  Ending the day at 1 is not our usual – but given the scarcity of sites, we realized that pushing on might lead to a repeat of the night before. A good call too as we would paddle twenty kilometers the next day and not see anything as good as our tent spot at the bottom of Die Hard!

So – we spent about fifteen minutes to create a campsite – the biggest task being to cut a path from the sand beach to the actual tent site nestled in a stand of birches and pines a few feet in.

dusk view – looking down the Coulonge from Die Hard Rapids

One quality of a better campsite is the opportunity it gives you to ramble around the neighbourhood a bit.  We walked the portage trail and up along the shore for a couple of hours, pointing our cameras in various directions and enjoying the views.  The next day would provide us with even better photo opportunities as we got to know our Rapids Enragés tent site.

a 1 p.m. stop means lots of time to play with our cameras

the bottom of Die Hard Rapids from river right – promising sand beach on the left

Next Post – Day 8: From Die Hard (Km 81) To Rapides Enragés (Km 60)

Previous Post – Day 5: Km 157 to the Coulonge/Corneille Confluence (Km 121)

• distance: 22 km
• time:  start – 9:45 a.m. ; finish – 3:30 p.m.
• portages/rapids: 1/4 including 2 Falls 
  • – W-R40 C1 50m (access via Corneille River)
  • – W-R41 C1/Falls/C3 to C2/Falls PRR 475m “Gauthier”
  • – W-R42 C1T 250m “Wolf”
  • – W-R43 C1 75m
• weather: Sunny with wisps and occasional clouds; hot!
• campsite: CRCS06 River right; steep climb up the embankment, room for multiple tents of any sort; more if there are no vehicles expected!  :(
• See Wilson – Map 6, Map 7, Map 8 (top) and Chute Gauthier close-up map  for details

As meandering as the previous 30 kilometers of the river had been, this day would see us travel southeast in an almost straight line for the entire day.  One portage – 475 meters on river right around Chute Gauthier – and a couple of easy CI rapids and that was it.  We had as our goal the campsite noted on the Wilson Map 8 at about Km 99.  Other than a spot near the end of Chute Gauthier,  there were really no other decent stopping points before our eventual campsite (and it was mediocre).

a stretch of Chute Gauthier

As for Chute Gauthier, we made use of the portage trail on river right after an initial set of CI rapids at the top.  We were down at the bottom the second set of falls about forty-five leisurely minutes later. While it is possible to run and line certain sections, given the low water level those options seemed more trouble than just picking up the canoe and gear and getting it done.

Gauthier Chute on the Coulonge – rapids before falls

Chute Gauthier (W-R41) – the final set of  falls at the bottom of the rapids

After the Gauthier Falls, the swifts and fast water made for a very nice average speed of 8 km/hr.  Past the CI Wolf Rapids and on to a possible campsite indicated on the Wilson map at Km 102 on the north end of an island. When we got there we found a sandbar.  Thinking that the actual campsite must be on the island just behind the sandbar, we did a bit of bushwhacking to find it.  No trail- no clearing – no nada – we concluded that the campsite – such as it was – was the sandbar!

a supposed sandbar tent site at Km 102

The P which Wilson affixed to the tent symbol – we would only find out after we got home and checked out the legend page – stands for Poor, a fair assessment of the spot. It may be okay in an emergency; otherwise, you’d have to believe that better was just a bit further downriver!  The trouble is that for long stretches of the Coulonge that sandbar is all there is to choose from.

humble sandbar fire ring on the Cologne at Km 102

We went on a bit further, finally stopping at Km 99 when we noticed a sandy vertical gash in the otherwise green shoreline on river right.  As we got closer the faded prospectors’ tape caught our eye. Across from the steep trail going up to the top of the sandy bank was a hunters’ camp/cottage.

Day 6 Camp site – River Right across from camp

Day 6 Tent Site take out across from the camp

A fifteen-foot scamper up the 45º sandbank brought us to a flat open area that serves as a parking lot for the owners of the camp across the river.

the short steep path up from the river to Camp 6

We weren’t thrilled to see that we would be camping at the end of a side road alongside a Dodge Ram 150 and a trailer. M for mediocre the Wilson map rates it.   On the plus side, it is a flat, open space and it was better than almost anything else we’d seen this particular day.  After our afternoon-long search for a nice campsite, it would have to do. The lesson we learned here – and which we would apply for the last three nights of the trip – was this: on the Coulonge River the best campsites are in those bits of the river with rock outcrops and accompanying rapids.

Day 6 Campsite at Km 99-

Occasionally we would focus on the sounds of the generator from the camp across the river and of the owner practicing his moose calls.  We hoped for another sunny day as we continued our way down the river the next day. We had already picked out the bottom of a set of rapids as the target campsite!

Our first six campsites on the Coulonge – from best to worst

• Coulonge-Corneille confluence – Day 5
• west end of Lac Grand island – Day 1
• Pine Tree Rapids – Day 3
• Km 157 – Day 4
• Lac Ward – Day 2
• Km 99  –  Day 6

Next Post – Day 7: Km 99 to “Die Hard” Rapids (Km 81)

Previous Post – Day 4: From Tall Pine Rapids (Km 183) To Km 157

• distance: 36 km
• time:  start -9:30 a.m. ; finish – 3:45 p.m.
• portages/rapids: 0/1
  • – W-R40 C1
• weather: Sunny with clouds; hot!
• campsite: CRCS05 confluence of Coulonge and Corneille Rivers; room for multiple two-person tents and possibly 2 or 3  four-person tents. Best site so far!

This would prove to be a great day on the river!  While it certainly meanders, especially from Km 155 to Km 130,  we made pretty good time thanks to the long stretches of swifts! The gps track for the morning shows  8, 9, and 10 km/hr. speeds as we made our way down river to the day’s goal – the junction of the Coulonge and Corneille at Km. 121.

In 2015 we had paddled the Steel River system above Lake Superior’s north shore.  Near the end of that trip, we spent a day paddling about 35 kilometers of the meandering river as it cut through a massive glacial sand and gravel deposit. Classic Canadian Shield rock outcrop it was not!

And now on this stretch of the Coulonge memories of the Steel – similar high sand banks and even the occasional tree collapsing into the river. We had already noted the sand lining both sides of the road as we drove up Highway 117  to the put-in at Lac Larouche.  It really brought home the fact that the Coulonge is a river bed carved through one vast glacial sand deposit.  Apparently, the next river up, the Noire,  is more of the same and it is likely that the third of the so-called Three Sisters, the Dumoine, is too.  All of this sand bought back memories of our childhood playing in the massive sand pits on the edge of the mining town of Noranda in the Abitibi to the north of the Coulonge.

The pix don’t do it justice but we passed by a majestic white pine tree on the bend of one of the many meanders and beached the canoe while we took a closer look.  It had somehow survived the loggers’ axes but you could see that its sand base was being eroded and that in time it too would suffer the fate of all living beings. In the meanwhile, it exuded a most positive energy and we sat in the shade it provided while we sipped on the Coulonge Nouveau that we had just filtered and bottled!

sand beach on a meandering Coulonge section

looking down the Coulonge from The Big Bend

looking back at the great white pine one last time

Later when we took a look at the Google Earth satellite view of this stretch of the river we located our pine tree on the meandering stretch of the river – and we saw what else was happening in the neighbourhood!  The Google satellite image below reveals all!

More river – and more sand!

typical Coulonge banks above the confluence with the Corneille

We finally stopped for lunch around 1:15, finding a bit of shade in the spot on the river bank as in the pic below.  After our Wasa crackers/mushroom paté/Thai soup lunch, a bit more paddling brought us to our campsite for the day.  We were hoping that it would be available, thinking that perhaps other canoe trippers had already laid claim to it for the day.

lunchtime on the Coulonge – shade is good

curious Coulonge local checks out the visitors!

We need not have worried. Except for the summer camp group of five canoes that we had seen on Day 1 on Lac Grand – and then again on Day 2 on Lac Giroux – we had seen no one else on the river.  In fact, we would do the entire Coulonge without meeting any other canoe trippers, somewhat surprising but perhaps the result of it being a bit late in the season.  It may also be that canoe tripping is just not the way that 99.9% of people want to spend their time.  It certainly involves a time commitment that goes beyond the one week that seems to be a maximum these days.

Day 5 – Coulonge/Corneille Confluence

As we approached the confluence of the Coulonge with the Corneille, we dealt with low water combined with a CI set of rapids that made getting over to river left a bit awkward.  We had to walk the canoe through the boulder garden you see in the pix below to get to the take-out point on the NE corner of the junction.

A path there leads up to a flat camping area above the river; there is room there for multiple tents.  We chose a spot on the edge of the clearing that provided us with a bit of tree shade and cover.  We were home for the day and unlike the previous day put up the tent immediately. Only then did we put out some gear to dry and spend a bit of time cleaning up the campsite which was a bit messy thanks to the thoughtlessness of some previous paddlers.

boulder garden – shallow water at the confluence of the Corneille and the Coulonge

looking up the Corneille where it meets the Coulonge

campsite above the confluence of the Coulonge and the Corneille

campsite at the confluence of the Coulonge and the Corneille

Next Post – Day 6: The Coulonge/Corneille Confluence  to Km 99

Previous Post – Day Three – From Lac Ward To “Tall Pine” Rapids (Km 183)

• distance: 26 km
• time:  start -9:30 a.m. ; finish – 5:30 p.m.
• portages/rapids: 2/18 + 2 Do Not Runs
• the W stands for Wilson and  makes use of his numbering sequence – see his essential book; R is Rapid and C is class; P is Portage and L is Line; RR is “river right”
  • – W-R22 C1T 75m top and C1 200m bottom
  • – W-R23 C1 20m
  • – W-R24 C1T 75m
  • – W-R25 C1 50m
  • – W-R26 C1 100m
  • – W-R27 C1T 100m
  • – W-R28 C1 10m
  • – W-R29 C2 75m “Batardeau” PRR/l or LRR
  • – W-R30 C1T 175m
  • – W-R31 C1T 100m
  • – W-R32 C1T 200m
  • DNR – Falls PRL 275m
  • DNR – Falls PRL 35m  or Line
  • – W-R33 C1T 175m
  • – W-R34 C1 125m
  • – W-R35 LO chutes + C1T 250m scout RR
  • – W-R36 C2 450m ‘fun and games” and then continuous swifts almost to R37
  • – W-R37 C1 75m
  • – W-R38 C1 200m followed by
  • – W-R39 C1 300m then by continuous swifts

• weather: overcast and cloudy in a.m.; some sun in the p.m. then getting cloudy and overcast rain shower at end of the day while setting up the tent, then to cloudy with clear spots (see moon shot)
• campsite: CRCS04 River right up a small embankment; room for perhaps 2 4-person tents or multiple 2-person

Another day, another twenty sets of rapids!  On the maps above it looks to be a very busy day.   A closer look will show that most of the day’s rapids were Class I’s with the only issue being water level.  Reading the main flow correctly so as to avoid running onto sandbars would prove to be the biggest challenge – not just on this day but on many of the ones to follow.  We would learn that the Coulonge River has essentially carved its way through a massive glacial gravel and sand deposit.  Occasionally there are spots where rock outcrop creates a set of rapids or falls.

morning mist below Tall Pine Rapids (W-R21) on the Coulonge

We left our Tall Pines campsite at about 9:30, intent on moving downriver about 25 kilometers.  the Wilson map (#4) had three campsites indicated between Km 160 and Km 155 and we figured to be at one of them.

a look back at our Tall Pine campsite – and the white pine obelisk!

A half hour’s paddle downriver brought us to a widening of the river and the field of water lilies you see below.  We also checked out another of the campsites indicated on the Wilson map on the island and were left scratching our heads as to why he would bother. It was one of the countless sandbar “campsites” that you’ll pass by if you paddle the river. Totally exposed and lacking in any adequate toilet possibilities, it might be better if they were not even marked on the map!   Only when we got home did we check Wilson’s map legend to see that P stood for poor;  that made sense of it all!

photo op on the Coulonge

stopping-to-take-a-pix-of-some-flora

getting close to the flora on the Coulonge

A bit more than 1 km. down (at Km 180) a logging road bridge crosses the river.

logging road over the Coulonge – Day 4

After the bridge we passed by a couple of campsites on river right – both were flat open areas on sand and had room for multiple tents and both are labelled M for mediocre on the Wilson maps (#3 and #4).

When we came to the Cascades du Batardeaux we lined and ran the upper part (W-R29) until we came to the top of the falls which we portaged around on river left as per Wilson’s detailed map.  this was followed by a number of other lift-overs and lining jobs that took us down the day’s only real rough stretch of the river as illustrated in the satellite image below.

the top of Les Cascades du Batardeau (immediately below W-R29)

leaving Les Cascades du Batardeau behind after a lunch stop

Between W-R32 and W-R33 two sets of falls. Thanks to the incredible amount of detail on Wilson’s map, it is not totally clear on Wilson’s Map 4. The first one is pictured below – Le Chute Perley. It is a 275-meter carry on river left.

checking out Perley Falls (below Les Cascades du Batardeaux)

le-chute-perley-2-km-below-les-cascades-du-batardeau

After Km 170, except for a CII set of rapids (W-R36) which Wilson labelled “Fun and Games”, it was kilometer after kilometer of swifts and easy CI rapids that carried us down the river faster than usual. (Our GPS track after Perley Falls averages about 8.5 k,/hour!)

We would finally find ourselves a campsite on river right. It was just a bit before 6 p.m. and the sun was out.  We did something we rarely do – instead of putting up the tent and perhaps a tarp first thing, we decided to put up a couple of ropes as clotheslines so that our rain gear and socks and a few other items could catch some sun and wind over the next few hours.  Not too long after our gear was hanging on the lines, we were treated to a twenty-minute late afternoon shower!  Stuffing our packs and loose gear under the canoe, we quickly put up one of the tarps to provide a dry area so we could recover from the surprise.  It stopped raining shortly afterward!

the Bros chillin’ at the end of another day on the Coulonge

Out came the sun again and up went the stuff that had been hanging on the lines.

moon over the Coulonge – Day 4 camp

On tap for the next day – a day on the meandering part of the river all the way down to one of our favourite campsites of the trip, the one at the confluence of the Coulonge and the Rivière de la Corneille.

Next Post – Day Five –  Km 157 to the Coulonge/Corneille Junction (Km 121)

The Day’s Basic Data And Map

• distance: 30 km
• time:  start – 8:15 a.m.; finish – 4:30 p.m.
• portages/rapids: 1/17 + 2 DNRs
  • – W-R5 C1T 1000m
  • – W-R6 C1 20m
  • – DNR Falls PRR/L 70m at exit Lac Pomponne
  • – W-R7 C2 30m or LRR “Double Trouble”
  • – W-R8 C2 300m “Bridge Rapids”
  • – W-R9 C1T 30m
  • – W-R10 C2T 225m
  • – W-R11 C1 75m
  • – W-R12 C2T
  • – W-R13 C1T 40m
  • – W-R14 C1 followed by swifts
  • – W-R15 C1 30m
  • – W-R16 C1 50m
  • – W-R17 C2 50m “keel hauler”
  • – W-R18 C1 30m left of the island
  • – W-R19 C1T 25m
  • – W-R20 C1T 35m  “rocks!”
  • – DNR C3T LO 25m
  • – W-R21 C2T 275m “Tall Pine”
• weather: sunny and cloudy in the a.m.; overcast by noon and then gentle rain for the rest of the day including setting up camp
• campsite: CRCS03 Wilson’s “Tall Pine” campsite at the end of the portage
• Natural Resources Canada topo map sheets: Lac Brûlé 031 K 14; Lac Bruce  031 K 11

Previous Post – Day Two: The Day of Headwater Lakes

Down The Coulonge: Day 2 – The Day Of Headwater Lakes – To Lac Ward (Km 217)

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From Lake Paddle To River Paddle

Back in 2014 when Max and I paddled down the Bloodvein River system, we had spent a week in the river’s headwaters section in Woodland Caribou Provincial Park on the Ontario side. When we got to Artery Lake we knew that a different sort of trip was about to unfold.

We had that same feeling at the start of Day 3 on the Coulonge.  Like the Bloodvein River from Artery Lake to Lake Winnipeg with its 80+ sets of rapids and falls,  the Coulonge from Lac Ward on down has 65.  And even more so than the rapids on the Bloodvein, there are more Class I and easy Class IIs to deal with as well as 40 kilometers of swifts and fast water.  The Coulonge makes for an excellent river for beginner canoe trippers!

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Hap Wilson’s Essential River Guide

Our Day 3 menu is listed above, derived from the Wilson canoe tripping guidebook Rivers Of The Upper Ottawa Valley.  The W in front of each Rapid # (ie.g. W-R5)  is an acknowledgment of the source;  we recommend that paddlers get a copy of the ultimate guide to the river. While it is 25 years old, it still is your best friend in pointing out the challenges of the river and getting advice on how to meet them.

Perhaps one year soon an update will note the more recent changes to the roads, dams,  and bridges as well as provide more up-to-date info on take-out options at Chutes Coulonge.  There is certainly more development on the river – cottages, lodges, camps –  than Wilson noted back in the early 1990s.

We would see some of that new development this very day.

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By 8:15 the canoe was loaded.  I stepped back for one last shot of the campsite and parking lot while Max readied the canoe.  Then it was down Lac Ward.  It was an overcast morning but there was no wind; we made easy progress – our typical cruising speed is about 6 clicks an hour – and, thanks to almost a kilometer of swifts,  we sped up a bit as we went down the narrow channel between Lacs Ward and Pomponne.

Lac Ward campsite – Day 3- morning view

There is a logging road bridge that crosses the river in the stretch between Ward and Pomponne.  Just after I took the photo below and tucked the camera away,  a logging truck with a full load came rumbling over the bridge – a missed photo op for sure!  One kilometer later we were in Lac Pomponne proper as the river widened.

Coulonge logging road bridge just before Lac Pomponne

At the bottom of Lac Pomponne was our first portage of the day, a 70-meter carry on river right around a set of falls. This is what it looked like as we approached –

ripples at the bottom of Lac Pomponne

We spent about 15 minutes walking the portage around the rapids.  This is what they look like from the put-in –

bottom of rapids after Lac Pomponne

Max getting his paddle groove on

it was followed a few minutes later by W-R7 (see Google sat image above) which we lined on river right. Not far down from there was a flat area – the end of a lane – with a trailer. I went up to check out the camping possibilities and the state of the trailer.

flat open space just south of the rapids on river right – great for group camp

one trashed trailer on the Coulonge south of Lac Pomponne

A few minutes later a quick lining job got us around a bony set of rapids. Behind us was another bridge crossing the river. Nearby were a couple of newly-built cottages on river right with easy access to the road that runs by.

logging road bridge and rapids south of Lac Pomponne

cottage on the Coulonge

2nd cottage on the upper Coulonge

Possible Campsite at N46° 57′ 41.1″ W77° 16′ 21.4″

It was shortly after noon when we stopped for lunch at the following spot on river right. There was room there for a tent or two.

campsite at N46° 56′ 30.4″ W77° 15′ 29.5

The overcast sky gave way to light rain by 1 p.m. and for the next six hours, it would not stop.

a newly built motel/lodge on the banks of the Coulonge – N46° 55′ 22.1″ W77° 16′ 09.1

gravel bar on the upper Coulonge

The goal for the day had been the bottom of W-R21 which Wilson labelled “Tall Pine” Rapids; his map indicated a campsite at the end of the carry.  As the list above makes clear, there were some swifts and Class I rapids to deal with – often by lining difficult short stretches – before we got there.

There was also W-R20, pictured below, with an initial ledge that we “lifted over” on river left before hopping in for a bumpy ride down the rest of the rapids.

Start of rapids W-R20 – the set just before Tall Pine Rapids

lining past the ledge of W-R20 – we ran the rest

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Tall Pine Rapids (W-R21 ) and Campsite

It was still raining when we got to the take-out for W-R21 (“Tall Pine”). Rather than the 275 meters which Wilson noted, our GPS track came out to 385. The trail itself was in good shape and there was indeed more than one tall pine at the camping area end of the carry.

looking at the end stretch of W-R21 (Tall Pine Rapids) from the portage trail on river right

looking-from-tall-pine-portage-at-the-rapids-on-a-wet-afternoon

We started off by setting up the 10′ X 14′ green tarp.  Soon the tent went up underneath it.  To create a bit more dry space we also set up the yellow tarp right next to it.  We were pretty much soaked right through, so the next thing we did was to get into our dry clothes and warm up a bit.

Max looking over our tarp job at Tall Pine camp

tar over tent and second tarp as covered porch at Tall Pine

Tall Pine Campsite – under the double tarps

It had been another good day on the river even with the afternoon rain.  We got supper going and then were treated to a surprise – the rain stopped and out came the sun and, as a bonus,  a rainbow arched across the sky.

a sunny end to a rainy Day three – Tall Pine Rapids camp

rays of sun and a rainbow after the big rain – view from Tall Pine camp

Next Post – Day Four: From Tall Pine Rapids (Km 183) To Km 157

Down The Coulonge: Day 4 – From Tall Pine Rapids (Km 183) To Km 157

last revised and updated on Aug. 3, 2024.

Table of Contents:

• The Day’s Basic Data and Maps
• A Last Look At Our Day 1 Campsite
• From Grand to Nichotéa to Desty
• Lunch On D’Arcy/A Canoe Group On Giroux
• Lac Giroux To Lac Nelligan
• From Nelligan to Ward (Via Palis and Nauclea)
• Camping Without a Park Permit
• Our Lac Ward Parking Lot Campsite
• Next Post –  Day 3: From Lac Ward To “Tall Pine Rapids” (Km 187)

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The Day’s Basic Data and Maps

• distance: 36 km
• time:  start – 8:30 a.m.; finish – 6:50 p.m.
• portages/rapids: 1/4 + line
  • – old dam/chute LO/line Lac Grand to Nichotéa
  • – W-R1 C1 40m or PRL 30m
  • – W-R2 C1Tech 35m or LRL
  • – DNR – PRL 400m watch for shorter put-in, road lulls you into walking!
  • – W-R3 C2/3 400m “Pork Rapids” ( we LRL)
  • – W-R4 C1T 40 (portage is RR)
• weather: Sunny all day with a bit of wind to paddle into
• campsite: CRCS02 Lac Ward boat launch area – room for 2 or 3 four-person tents, possibly larger ones, an “ok” campsite for the end of a long day
• Natural Resources Canada Topo Map Sheets: Lac Jean-Péré  031 N 02;  Lac Nichcotéa  031 N 03

Previous Post – Day One: From From Lac Larouche (Km 271) To Lac Grand (Km 253)

Down The Coulonge: Day 1- From Lac Larouche (Km 271) to Lac Grand (Km 253)

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A Last Look At Our Day 1 Campsite

A very nice Day One campsite to start the trip – and a beautiful morning to start Day Two as we loaded up the canoe for the move downriver.  We were hoping to do 25 or so kilometers, campsites determining the exact stopping point. Pork Rapids looked like a potential target.

tent site on the island at the west end of Lac Grand

The two pix below illustrate the sloping bank down to the water. As we pulled away I got a last shot of the flat camping area above the steep bank. 2.5 km to the west was the narrow channel leading out of Lac Grand and into the first of several headwater lakes we would be paddling this day.

loading the canoe for our Day 2 paddle

the view of our Lac Grand island campsite from the water

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Screenshot

From Grand to Nichotéa to Desty

The lower late-season water meant we lifted, lined and scraped our way through the stretch between Lac Grand and Lac Nichotéa.  You can see the view from above and below the set of riffles in the two pix below.

the Coulonge between Lac Grand and Lac Nichotéa

a view of the old dam and log chute from the bottom

We had pushed off from our island camp at about 8:30.  Two and half hours later we were approaching the remains of a bridge crossing at the point where Lac Nichotéa narrows and runs into Lac Desty.

approaching the remains of a road bridge between Nichotéa and Desty

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Lunch On D’Arcy/Canoe Group on Giroux

After another hour’s paddling, we got to the next lake in the day’s string of lakes – Lac D’Arcy.  We were also glad to have stopped at the island campsite because we definitely did not see a lot of choices as we paddled through Nichotéa and Desty.  D’Arcy would be no different.  The image below captures the basic shoreline of the various lakes we paddled through – very little rock outcrop and lots of bush right down to the water.

looking towards Lac D’arcy from the west end of Lac Desty

At our lunch stop on the south shore of Lac D’Arcy’s east end, we watched as the five-canoe party from Day One passed us.  It was a summer camp group led by two guides – a male and a female both in their late teens/early 20’s – and eight mid-teen girls; they were also on their way down to Fort Coulonge.  We wished them all the best.

Amazingly, they would be the only canoe trippers we saw on our eleven days on the Coulonge.  We had expected that our time on the river would be punctuated by frequent encounters with other canoe trippers.  We were expecting it would be more like Temagami or Algonquin – i.e. very busy – since it was mid-August.

Lac D’Arcy lunch stop

Our short break was followed by an hour’s paddle to the west end of the lake and the narrows that lead into Lac Giroux. There is an island as you come into Lac Giroux. Wilson describes it in glowing terms in the Coulonge chapter of his Ottawa Valley tripping guide.  We saw a rather small island with few mature trees on it – not quite what we had pictured. The summer camp group had stopped there – either for their lunch break or to make camp for the day. We waved and paddled on, heading for the channel that leads down to Lac Nelligan.

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Lac Giroux To Lac Nelligan

Screenshot

By 2:30 we were approaching the dam/power station pictured below.  The portage trail is on river left and runs for 400 meters down to the bottom.  At the top is an area which could host a tent or two if necessary.

approaching the dam between Lac Giroux and Lac Nelligan

portage time at the dam before Lac Nelligan

We walked on to the power dam – it is run by Brookfield Renewable Power, the same company that owns the Chutes Coulonge facility at the other end of the river- and got a view from the top. Then it was time to hoof it down the portage trail, the first stretch of which is on a dirt road before it veers to the right and then back down to the river.

looking down the Coulonge from the Lac Giroux dam

the river left portage trail into Lac Nelligan from Giroux

the  bottom end of Coulonge portage into Nelligan from Giroux

Not too far from the put-in around the dam was another obstacle – the chute pictured below that required another portage.  All told, we spent about an hour doing the two carries to get from Giroux to Nelligan.

bottom of a small chute into Lac Nelligan

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Nelligan to Ward (Via Palis and Nauclea)

Next up in the “Work” category – the portage around Rapides Pork after paddling down Lac Avers. It is Rapid 3 in the Wilson trip guide.  We spent about 30 minutes on the 400-meter carry and then decided – even though it was already 5 p.m. – that we’d paddle a bit more.  I guess part of it was that we weren’t exactly smitten by the campsite choices at the end of the Pork Rapids portage.  We figured that something better had to be just a bit further down the river – a hopelessly optimistic notion that we keep falling for!  Just another kilometer or two for something much better will be the reward!

So, bye-bye Pork Rapids.  We’d paddle for almost another two hours before we stopped for the day!  By then we were in Lac Ward, having passed by kilometer after kilometer of camper-unfriendly shoreline and down two more small lakes – Palis and Nauclea.  We had also stopped taking photos – so no pix from 3:45 to 8:15!  No Pork Rapids, no nada until our tent was up at Lac Ward.

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Camping Without a Park Permit

Lac Ward campsite – and boat launch area!

We did not have a camping permit for La Vérendrye and passed by the park office at Le Domaine off Hwy 117 on our way to the put-in on Lac Larouche.  My visit to the Park website a couple of weeks before the trip left me totally confused.  I was unable to figure out how a canoe tripper would go about getting backcountry campsites on a website clearly intended for car campers.

I got the impression that we might not even be given a permit to enter the lakes we needed to on our way to Lac Pomponne. If you went through the backcountry camping permit process, a comment in the Comments section below would be appreciated!

See here for the SEPAQ webiste.

The permit seems to cost about $25. a night for car campers. We were in the Park for two nights. How much canoe trippers pay per night is still unclear to me.

As we got to the sand beach in the small bay at the top of Lac Ward a vehicle pulled up at what we now realized was a small parking lot with access to the sand beach boat launch.  Out of the pick-up came a couple of uniformed guys – park officials of some sort.

We were fully expecting them to ask about our camping permits but our brief chat never got around to that topic!  They took out their lunch kits and watched as we put up our tent and got our butane stoves and supper fixings out.  And then they were gone and we were left on the edge of a parking lot with a campsite that would have to do – even if the illusion of being on a wilderness canoe trip was somewhat spoiled.

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Our Lac Ward Parking Lot Campsite

The Google image above shows that two major logging roads – #20 and #28 – as well as some minor side lanes pass on the west side of Lac Ward.  We looked at the Wilson map and saw that the campsite was indicated with the letter M.  Only when we got back home and checked the legend (p.20 of Rivers Of The Upper Ottawa Valley) did we find out that M did not stand for “medium” but rather for the “mediocre” that it was.

However, when you’re paddling until 6:45 you’re happy to find anything with a flat space. On the plus side, there was a picnic table that we made use of to keep stuff off the sand. A search around the immediate area did not turn up a “thunderbox”,  somewhat surprising given the site’s use as a boat launch.

boat launch on the west side of Lac Ward – and camp spot

Lac Ward sunset light show

The 36 km we had covered this day were more than expected and it meant that we’d be leaving the Réserve La Vérendrye the next morning.  We’d also be leaving the Coulonge River system’s headwaters for the drama of some seventy sets of rapids and innumerable swifts.  We had lost about 50 meters of elevation in our day-and-a-half paddle across the park.  Over the next ten days, we’d negotiate the 700-meter drop from Lac Ward to the Chutes Coulonge.

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Next Post –  Day 3: From Lac Ward To “Tall Pine Rapids” (Km 187)

Down The Coulonge – Day 3: From Lac Ward To “Tall Pine Rapids” (Km 183)

Previous Post: Canoeing Quebec’s Coulonge River – Introduction, Maps, & More

Coulonge River:  Day One –  To The Head Waters And Lac Grande

• distance: 18 km
• time:  start – 12:30 p.m. ; finish – 5:00 p.m.
• portages/rapids: 2/0
  • P01 – 280m Lac Green to Lac Au Barrage (Coulonge River headwaters)
  • P02RL – 120m or line/wade/use culvert under road depending on water levels
• weather: overcast and cloudy becoming cloudy with sun towards evening
• campsite: CRCS01 Lac Grand unmarked island site. Room for multiple 2-person tents or perhaps two 4-person tents.
• Natural Resources Canada Topo Map Sheet: Lac Jean-Péré  031 N 02

How do you get back to your vehicle at the end of the canoe trip?  The single biggest complication of most canoe trips was eliminated thanks to Cyril taking the ride with us from Ottawa to the put-in off Highway 117 in La Réserve Faunique la Vérendrye.  He would drive the car back to Ottawa while we spent the next fifteen days paddling back to his place.  Had we wanted to end the trip at Fort Coulonge, he was ready to pick us up there instead – but we were keen on doing the Ottawa River stretch too.

Another option is to arrange a shuttle from an outfitter/canoe tripping company like Esprit Whitewater in Davidson.  It is located on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River just north of Fort Coulonge.  It offers everything from fully organized canoe trips down the Dumoine, Noire, and Coulonge to shuttles to the various points.

Given the time required and the distance, the shuttle to where we put in was one of the more expensive options. (See here for the shuttle list with prices that are based on their vehicle being used. If a logging road shuttle was the choice, sparing your vehicle sounds like it would be worth it!)

Coulonge put-in off Highway 117 at Lac Larouche

The put-in spot was Lac Larouche.  Turning off the highway we found a dirt side road running thirty meters right down the lake to a boat put-in area.

Cyril obliged with a “start of the trip” shot of another episode of Pete and Max’s  Excellent Adventures and then he watched as we paddled the two kilometres towards Lac Green.

The Bros ready for another excellent adventure

We did get to listen to the car moving up from the shore with the emergency brake still on and paddled back frantically to let Cyril know!  He had already figured it out and we got to wave goodbye one more time – and then it was off for real.

We weren’t sure if Lacs Larouche and Green were separated by a portage or not. When we got to the end of Lac Larouche we found a narrow and shallow channel that we were able to paddle through. At the Lac Green side, we came across sandbars and had to wade to find deeper water.  We did the 5-km. paddle up Lac Green right down the middle; it was an overcast afternoon and the wind was light and the paddlin’ was easy!

the west end of Lac Green – and the portage to lac Au Barrage

At the west end of Lac Green, we came to what looked like a fishermen’s camping area just off the logging road that passes by.  It would make an “okay” campsite for Day One if you had started late in the afternoon. You can also drive up to this point from Hwy 117 if you want to eliminate the first ten kilometres that we had just paddled.   It would be our first portage of the trip – an easy 280-meter carry along a wide and heavily used trail that took us into the actual headwaters of the Coulonge River system, Lac Au Barrage.

Portage #1 – the west end of Lac Green – Max contemplating what to grab first!

the start of the well-used portage trail from Green to Barrage

the end of the portage from Lac Green to lac Au Barrage

After a short lunch break at the put-in on Lac Au Barrage,  we followed the east shoreline down to a culvert/bridge and the entrance to Lac Grand.  When we set off our goal for the day was a campsite as far down Lac Grand as possible,  a respectable half-day of paddling to start things off.

approaching the portage to Lac Grand and the bridge/culvert

First up was the concrete culvert/ bridge.  In retrospect, it may have been easier just to portage around the thing.  There is an obvious and well-used 100-meter trail on river left that starts just before the bridge. We decided to “paddle” underneath the road. As the photo below shows, water levels were a tad low! There was some scraping as we pulled the canoe through part of the way, only to enter a shallow bay that required more wading and pulling. (As you can see, that road from Hwy 117 also crosses the river at this point; you could just put in here and eliminate two portages!)

the stream under the bridge between Lacs Barrage and Grand

the narrow stream into Lac Grand from Lac Au Barrage

It took us fifteen minutes to get back to our usual paddling speed on the deeper water of the channel that leads down to Lac Grand itself.  The lake is about ten kilometres long. By 4 p.m. or so we were paddling on the east side of the string of islands you see on the map below.  Seeing a party of five canoes up ahead had us shift into campsite search a bit earlier than expected.  Since we weren’t expecting to pass them, we figured the best place to look for a campsite would be somewhere behind them!

Day 1 Camp Site on the small island at the west end of Grand Lac

The Hap Wilson map #1 indicates an island campsite on the small island on the above map.  We paddled along the north shore of the island and, not finding a decent take-out spot,  finally landed on the west side.  There was no official park sign indicating a campsite but what we found after the 10-meter scramble up the bank was a site that could well have hosted the five-canoe party ahead of us. Later we would find a “thunderbox” (toilet box) in the bush behind the tenting area.

tent and tarp up on Lac Grand island

“thunder box” behind our tent site on an island in Lac Grand

looking up some old pines at our tent site

the area around the tent on Lac Grand island campsite

Day One was done and we soon had the tent up on a campsite that would turn out to be one of the nicer ones of the entire trip.  That evening we leaned back in our camp chairs and enjoyed a beautiful sunset punctuated by a moon shining through the reddening sky.

taking in the sunset on our Lac Grand island

sunset panorama on Lac Grand

framing the moment – sunset on Lac Grand

sky on fire – sunset on Lac Grand

On tap for Day Two – more of the Coulonge headwaters in La Réserve Faunique La Vérendrye.  Most Coulonge canoe trips begin on Lac Pomponne or some road-accessible insertion point a bit further downriver. However, the shuttle ride up the Coulonge on the poorly maintained logging roads is more difficult than the round-about route that we took via Hwy 117. The cost of starting where we did – two extra days of paddling in Park La Vérendrye.  The reward – two extra days of paddling in Park La Vérendrye!

Next Post – Day Two: The day of Headwater Lakes – To Lac Ward (Km.217)