The Churchill/Hamilton/Grand River Trip

One of the big reasons we chose to go home this summer was to try to get out on the Churchill/Hamilton/Grand River (all one river) before the lower Churchill development makes it off limits and then floods the valley. We watched the weather and when we saw two days of sunshine we went for it.

We put in at the lower end of the Gull Island Rapids. Low water at this time of year meant we had a little bit of rough water to pass through in sight of the start. You can almost see it in this photo of our start point.



We ended up having a little trouble getting through this spot but luckily the Boss had some duct tape that saved the trip after a bump on a rock put a small crack in the bottom of the canoe. Thanks again Boss!

For the most part the river was fast moving but clean. Lots of current but no trouble with rocks. We made camp on the first night on the downstream side of Tom's Island on a big sandy point. This is our Dad and the J-Set pitching a tent. You can see how clear the weather was.



That night was chilly for me who foolishly brought only a +7 rated summer sleeping bag but the morning was beautiful.



It was another great day on the water on day two. We went from Tom's Island all the way down to Muskrat Falls portage. Along the way we made some stops and found an old trappers river tilt. A tilt is a small cabin. This one is no longer habitable.



The portage at Muskrat is crazy steep which sadly cannot be expressed with my photographic ability. Suffice it to say I held the canoe with one hand and used the other to help crawl up the trail. And it obviously doesn't get used much as it's a very narrow overgrown trail. Once we got into the trees the black flies became wicked. Evil. Cruel. In 30 seconds the bug dope was sweated off and the claustrophbic heat of the bug net was preferable to eating a steady diet of blackflies with each breath.

We camped on top. It wasn't chilly this night. It was downright cold. I survived but barely and I certainly didn't sleep.

In the morning the wind came back up pretty stong. The Boss wanted to see the Muskrat Falls before they became another victim of "progress". But hey, Air Conditioning is a need. It's not like people could live without it. Really, why would they want to?

So the Boss and I did the hike down to the falls and we all got a ride back to the valley rather than paddle the last of the river. In theory that part will remain untouched so we can always paddle it later.

OK enough for today. In my next post I'll try to give you a photo impression of the falls.