MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Summer 2019

60 Bucking the trend of the customary post-university backpacking trip to Europe, four students—Julian Baker, Jessica Basta, Mitch Mihan and Katie Pedlar—celebrated the end of the first phase of their education by paddling the length of the province of Ontario, from Lake Superior via the Michipicoten, Missinaibi, and Moose Rivers to James Bay. Here are some highlights from their trip reports. N.B.: at press time, trip member Katie Pedlar was away tree-planting in the far north, and could not contribute. Beginnings Julian Baker: The Missinaibi River has appealed to me for many years. My first introduction to the river was when I was 15 years old; half of my camp friends went with me on the Harricana River and the other half descended the Missinaibi. We were reunited in Moosonee and swapped stories of who ran the bigger rapids, who saw the more impressive waterfalls and bragged of the forest fires we dodged. After that I needed to see for myself if the Missinaibi was in fact a “better” river than the Harricana. I’ve since learned you can’t compare trips and no river is better or worse than any other. Jessica Basta: I didn’t have paddling experience when I decided to go on the trip. During the months before Julian took me out on a canoe and showed me some basic strokes and then I did some solo practice. I enjoyed the challenges that fostered our creativity and resourcefulness. When we were given a good tailwind, we constructed a sail out of trees and a tarp. Working together strengthened the bond between the group and allowed us to preserve some energy. Mitch Mihan: I was first introduced to canoeing by my father who would take myself and my sisters into Algonquin Park for three- or four- day paddling trips. Canoeing was a hobby for my partner Katie Pedlar as well, and the shared interest was what got us out on our first date: a canoe trip down the Beaver River. The Route Jessica Basta: The water levels were quite low along some of rapids, so there were many rapids we had to line. Over the course of the trip, Julian taught me the importance and some techniques of scouting rapids. We always made sure one canoe made it safely across the rapid before the other, in the event that we needed to perform a rescue. All time we spent scouting the rapids and deciding whether we would run or line the rapid ensured that we were all safe. Julian Baker: The first paddle strokes of any long trip are always eager, anxious and uncertain. Our first strokes dipped into the fast-flowing current of the Michipicoten River. PADDLING SUPERIOR TO JAMES Three local paddlers recount a cross-province canoe voyage from the world’s largest lake to the world’s second-largest bay