Che-Mun's last list of the millenium - Part I

The last list - Part II

By MICHAEL PEAKE Che-Mun Editor
 We cannot resist the Millennium Lists that abound in these final few days of the century. We now present Che-Mun's version-the Hide-Away Canoe Club's LastList on 27 canoeing related topics-one for each year of Che-Mun. The usual caveat is due. This is by no means a scientific or exhaustive study. The categories are solely the opinion of the humble editor of Che-Mun and some others. Many of the selections are highly personal and refer to only HACC trips. We welcome your suggestions for list and topic additions. Send some in and we will publish them in Outfit 100 which starts the Millennium off in style next spring.

Helen Falls, on the Hanbury River, viewed from the top of the portage next to the famous Eric Morse Cairn.

 1. The Great Trips - post 1950
 1955 - The Voyageurs on the Churchill River. The greatest trip of a great group. Immortalized in Sig Olson's 1961 classic The Lonely Land.
 1962 - John Lentz and party become the first modern group down the Back River. Beating out a misfit group of British military types in kayaks (see Beacon Six).
 1985 - Journey Across the Barrenlands by the Hide-Away Canoe Club. The official naming of a river for Eric Morse as part of a 55-day, 1000 mile trip from the 60th parallel to the mouth of the Back River also via the Thelon, Dubawnt -- and the Morse rivers.
 
 2. The Great Trips - pre 1950
 1893 - The Tyrrell brothers, from Edmonton down Athabasca to Black Lake up to the Dubawnt and down to Chesterfield Inlet and down Hudson Bay to Churchill. A classic northern Canadian tale of adventure.
 1902 - David Hanbury in his second year of travel. By sled and canoe: he left Baker Lake up the Thelon, overland to Consul River down to Back to Pelly Lake over land to Armark River to Ocean along to Coppermine which he ascended to Kendall River and up to Dismal Lakes and down to Great Bear to Ft. Norman and then Edmonton.
 1905 - the pair of George River trips by Mina Hubbard and Dillon Wallace. Wallace's trip was especially brutal; dumping in the ice-cold George in late September and arriving at freeze-up to meet his nemesis, who had beaten him with the help of guide extraordinare George Elson.
 1905 - Charles Camsell for the Geological Survey of Canada. Down the Yukon's Stewart and Beaver rivers, overland to down Wind and Peel rivers to Mackenzie, up the Rat down the Bell and Porcupine to Dawson City.(See Son of the North.)
 1911-2 - George Douglas' Lands Forlorn journey from Edmonton, down the Athabasca and Mackenzie (via steamer), up Great Bear River and across Great Bear Lake, up Dease River to the Dismal Lakes and down Kendall and Coppermine rivers to Arctic Ocean-and back- plus overwintering on the Dease River.

 3. The Tragic Trips

The graves of Hornby, Adlard and Christian on the banks of the Thelon River are a sobering reminder of the power of the land.

 1926-7 - Hornby, Adlard and Christian on the Thelon. All three died after overwintering and missing the caribou migration. Christian's diary was the basis for this legendary and tragic trip and the book Unflinching: Death on the Barrengrounds.
 1955 - The Moffat Dubawnt River trip. Arthur Moffat, a seasoned traveller, took a group of young men on a slow and undisciplined trip down the Dubawnt. Their lack of schedule meant they took risks to catchup on time and Moffat died of exposure after they dumped in a large rapid they did not scout. He is buried in Baker Lake.
 1990-92 - Don Starkell's Arctic venture - dumped in Hudson Bay north of Churchill while soloing. He was lucky to survive and tried again the next two years, this time with partners who eventually left. He almost died of exposure at the end of the final year but was rescued at the last moment.
 
 4. The best rivers
 1. Coppermine. History, rapids, scenery, remoteness - it has it all,
 2. George. Big, clear water, lots of rapids, the great Hubbard connection.
 3. Rupert. Brawling, high-volume and a travel route for generations. But remember to bring your sunglasses, it runs due west.
 
 5. The Toughest Portages
 1. Grand Portage - The great jump to the pays d'en haut, a must for any historically-minded paddler. A protected trail and very scenic. Fairly flat a couple of wet and hill sports with a bit of mud but loooong!(nine miles) We first did it a day after a six inch snowfall which certainly added to the degree of difficulty.
 2. Boulder Portage in between Lake Nantais and Klotz Lake in the upper Ungava peninsula in northern Quebec. Not really meant to be a portage but we were heading our way to meet Robert Flaherty's route and had to get by this killer.
 3. Methye Portage. Though we haven't done it, this crucial and historic 12-mile link between the Churchill and Clearwater systems is on our to-do list.

The big stretch of portaging into the Dismal Lakes and Kendall River was a tough slog in the summer of 1991.

 
 6. The best campsites
 1. Conjuring House. Tenting with a view- on top of a 100-foot sheer cliff above the boiling Conjuring House Falls on the Missinaibi. And it's only two steps to water!
 2. Chubb Crater. Camping in the eastern notch of this 2-mile-wide natural phenomenon in northern Quebec affords a view unlike anywhere else in the world.
 3. Helen Falls. Camped on the rock shelf of this fall on the Hanbury River thanks to the low water, and reading the notes in our tents from the Eric Morse cairn, located just above us, was a treat.
 
  7. Top Wilderness Trippers

This young boy talking to The Voyageurs somewhere along the Churchill is one of our favourite images from a favourite trip.

 George Luste. An understated man but tougher than he would have you believe, Luste has gone from paddling with big groups to small groups to solo. His blend of experience, reverence and knowledge is second to none.
 Bob Davis. Though little heard from now, in the 1970s, Davis cut a swath as a strong, rugged and capable paddler, especially in harsh Ungava.
 Stew Coffin, John Lentz, Cliff Jacobson, Jim Abel, Dick Irwin, Aki Nishimura, just to name a few.
 
 8. Best Canoeing Books New (1960+)
 The Lonely Land by Sig Olson, 1961.
 Fur Trade Canoe Routes of Canada/Then and Now by Eric Morse 1969.
 Path of the Paddle by Bill Mason, 1980.
 Canoeing Wild Rivers by Cliff Jacobson, 1984.
 Great Heart by John Rugge and James Davidson, 1988.
 Canoeing North into the Unknown. Edited by Gwyneth Hoyle & Bruce Hodgins, 1996.
 
 9.Best Canoeing Books pre-1960
 Lands Forlorn by George Douglas, 1914.

Dickson Canyon on the Hanbury River is a scenic gem. It means a tough portage but it's well worth it.

 Across the Sub-Arctics of Canada , J. W. Tyrrell, 1897.
 Son of the North by Charles Camsell, 1954.
 
 10. Best Historic Journals
 1. Samuel Hearne's A Journey from Fort Prince of Wales in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean in the years 1769, 1770, 1771 and 1772.
 2. Alex Mackenzie's, Voyages from Montreal on the river St. lawrence, through the continent of North America to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans, in the years 1789 and 1793.
 3. George Back's Narrative of the Arctic Land Expedition to the Mouth of the Great Fish River.
 
 11. George Luste's Book List - 1960+
 1. George Grinnell-A Death on the Barrens *
 2. Peter Browning-The Last Wilderness*
 3. Eric Morse-Freshwater Saga
 
 12. Luste's Book List pre-1960
 1. P. G. Downes-Sleeping Island
 2. Elliott Merrick-True North
 3. Eric Severaid- Canoeing with the Cree.
 
 13. Luste's Book List - Historical
 1. David Thompson-Narrative of his Explorations in Western America 1784 - 1812 *
 2. Knud Rasmussen-Across Arctic America
 3. David Hanbury-Sport and Travel in the Northland of Canada *
 *now out of print /- reprint edition is available at Northern Books - www.members.tripod.com/ northernbooks or call 416.531.8873
  Che-Mun's last list of the millenium, Part II