MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Summer 2019

61 Mind you, we were heading upstream so those first few days required battling the current. The trip then changed into a land of big lakes. These were some of the best days. Expert jerry-rigging sailor Mitch Mihan devised an ingenious sail system sure to make Bill Mason or Hap Wilson jealous. We traveled dozens if not hundreds of kilometres by sail over the month-long adventure. Any opportunity to not paddle was appreciated, even the slightest gust of wind would have us hoisting a tarp attempting to use our two canoes as a catamaran held together by ash poles cut from the forest and paracord supplied by MEC. Mitch Mihan: Every time we had a slight wind at our backs I would inquisitively look at the group and try to garner their support. Multiple lakes were crossed with barely a paddle stroke. Later on in the trip, as the river widened we even began running down river with the sail up, navigating through easy rapids, avoiding rocks. One day we noticed a tailwind as we awoke, so we set up our “catamaran” and began downstream. The wind was strongly in our favour, we were covering distance in record time, the four of us were giddy, happy to be moving so fast with such little effort. We had begun to anticipate a full rest day if our pace continued. With confidence we continued downstream always aiming for the deepest channels. We approached our fifth set of rapids that day, and steered hard right to enter the main channel. With rocks on our left we knew we had to work hard to get over. We all paddled/ steered and things started to line up. Just as we began to believe we would make the channel, a large gust filled the sail—sending the canoe on the left, straight into a rock with immense force. Our cross support (holding Amelie to layout LEFT PAGE Missinaibi River at dusk. THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Glassy Falls, Missinaibi River.Thunderhouse Falls, Missinaibi River. Missinaibi River cliffs. JULIAN BAKER