NASTAWGAN - CHURCHILL RIVER

by Dave Bober

Canoe trips in northern Saskatchewan are often remembered for the unstable weather patterns, chilly nights, and cold water. However, 1989 was a definite exception when the water temperature in the Churchill River exceeded 25 °C in late July, ideal for a relaxed and leisurely swim. Our crew of six was a diverse group: a 17-year-old student, two retired engineers, a teacher, a minister, and a farmer. Most of us had never met previously but we did have one thing very much in common: a love for wilderness canoeing. We spent 14 non-rushed days paddling from Patuanak, a small Chipewyan community north of Green Lake, Saskatchewan, to Missinipe townsite on Otter Lake, a distance of about 320 kilometres.

	- Branimir Gjetvaj

Experiencing this great historic river was everything we had anticipated with one major exception - the heat! Four days in succession the mercury exceeded 33 °C and we all suffered from varying degrees of heat exhaustion and sunburn. Those uncomfortably warm nights compelled us to sleep on top of our sleeping bags and the tent felt like an oven by 6:00 a.m. Crossing the expanse of Knee Lake in the stifling stillness with a blazing sun overhead, we entertained visions of ice cubes. The hot, dry weather was also tough on the insect population, but the scarcity of mosquitoes and black flies did not offend us in the least.

For several days the smoke of forest fires hung heavy in the air, and in the vicinity of Sandy Lake we passed by a crew of twenty Cree fire fighters who had inadvertently been dropped off at the wrong location, which did not seem to bother them in the least. Our brief visit with them was interrupted by a bush plane that had arrived to carry them to the actual fire area. Fortunately for us the wind shifted and we were soon out of the danger zone.

The upper Churchill River is much smaller than we had envisioned or, in my situation, as remembered from an earlier trip down the Mudjatik River and up a short portion of the Churchill through the Leaf and Drum Rapids. Perhaps the water levels were much lower this time, or my imagination suffered from nostalgic growing pains, a malady common to river canoeists. Waterfowl were abundant and we were constantly entertained by geese, ducks, pelicans, and loons. One day we spotted eleven bald eagles including several nests occupied by baby eaglets, beautiful symbols of the wilderness.

Wildlife sightings on our route were somewhat disappointing: only two bears and two otters. Maybe we were too noisy. But the sheer number of spiders in certain locations was amazing, they seemed to be hanging from every available willow limb. Fortunately, they bore us no malice but we double-checked our tents and sleeping bags before crawling in. The cuisine provided by our New York chefs attracted an unusual number of curious bees to our campsites. And while portaging Dipper Rapids some irritable hornets took offense and we quickly obeyed orders to evacuate their territory.

On Primeau Lake we stopped at a cluster of cabins and had an interesting conversation with a young Cree fellow who told us that most of the natives have moved off the river and into the larger settlements. His dogs, including a small poodle and a very large German Shepherd/wolf cross, were obviously happy to see us. The young man made the comment that fewer canoeists were traveling his area of the river in recent years.

Fishing success on the Churchill was only fair, always enough to eat but no big ones that we could talk about as having alluded our angling skills. However, a 48-kilometre stretch of river was loaded with fish, dead suckers floating on the surface and almost all the same size, probably the conclusion of their natural life cycle.

- Branimir Gjetvaj

The character of the river gradually changed from a poplar-covered clay shoreline to increasing outcrops of the Canadian Shield as we neared Pinehouse Lake. A 1914 account of exploration described in Angus Buchanan's book 'Wild Life in Canada' paints a perfect word picture of the nature of the Churchill: "Throughout its course the Churchill River is an extraordinary series of wide lake expansions linked together by gateways and glens of magnificent river where waters gather in indrawing volume to enter, and hurry, and tumble, and roar in their wild escaping onward, ever onward to the next lake, and the next, in their incessant, time-set-journey to the Sea".

Suitable campsites were usually easy to locate and we gave a descriptive name to each. Kinapik Island camp was definitely one of our favorites - a huge rock outcrop 15 metres high covered with jack pine; flat on top and gradually sloping to Snake Lake. Our evening there was memorable with a warm swim and lingering conversation as Ol' Sol gradually sank in the clear western sky; an utter sense of contentment filled us on our island kingdom.

A few campsites were remembered for a unique experience there, like the camp we reached on an island in Sand Fly Lake just before a vicious storm hit. Gale winds and rain lashed us for several ours as we huddled beneath our dining tarp. Supper was a challenge getting a fire going long enough to cook and then managing to get the spoon up to our faces before the wind blew the soup off. A near disaster was averted by the quick hand of our youngest trip member when he grabbed an airborne tent. Our chef was not to be outdone by a mere gale and we enjoyed apple pie baked in the reflector oven as planned.

Another highlight of our journey was a climb up a steep ridge on an island in the centre of Black Bear Island Lake, a large lake filled with hundreds of islands, some of which have their own little lakes on them. The view was awesome, a wilderness panorama of lake, blue sky, and pine-covered islets in every direction - the Canadian Shield in all its glory. The words of Isaiah came swiftly to mind; "Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out the heaven with the pan, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance" (Isaiah 40:12). Our trip also included a few downers: a freak capsize that spoiled some film, a nasty fall by one of our group that could have easily been quite serious, and a hand that was bitten by a jack fish.

	- Branimir Gjetvaj

With over twenty sets of rapids the Churchill offered us plenty of challenge as we scouted and ran or portaged these obstructions. Descriptive place names on our topographical maps became alive as we progressed downstream: the Marshes of Haultain; Snake Rapids; Needle Falls; Silent, Birch, Trout, and Mosquito rapids; and the Lake of the Dead. Several of our trip members demonstrated advanced whitewater skills, providing the rest of us with some great photographs. And each of us had a rapid or two that etched itself into our memory. I distinctly recall a nasty looking ledge in Crooked Rapids that greatly assisted my draw stroke from the bow. The most spectacular white water was encountered in the Donaldson Channel, continuous heavy rapids that end in Sluice Falls. That mandatory portage of one kilometre is an alternative to the much longer portages on the more popular route around Great Devil and Little Devil rapids.

Antiquity seemed to catch up with us on the portage trails as our footsteps followed the moccasins of the early Indians and the Fur Trade Brigades of the l8th and 19th centuries. With a little imagination we could at odd moments catch ourselves slipping back in time, our Royalex canoes transformed to birch bark, our paddles hand-carved black spruce, and our cargo a large bundle of furs.

As we spent our days enjoying the song of the paddle, the comradeship of tripping partners, and a closeness with the Creator, a sour note was sometimes heard as we pondered the future of the Churchill River wilderness. With the approach of the 21st century, the destruction by the bulldozer, uranium mine, and hydro dam is not far away as many interests look to the North for short-term gain. The sentiments shared by Sig Olson over 35 years ago in his book 'The Lonely Land' have been prophetic as development continues at a rapid pace in northern Saskatchewan. In recent years the move to designate the Churchill as an official "Heritage River" has met with great opposition from those elements that would exploit the environment. Those of us who have heard the song must speak up for our beloved river before its wildness is forever destroyed by ignorance and greed.

We fully expected to see other canoe parties on the Churchill and yet we never passed a single canoe. That was a very pleasant surprise and the absence of garbage was encouraging, especially in the more heavily traveled portion below Black Bear Island Lake. Although a lot of canoeists have run the Churchill since Olson's 1955 trip, this great historical river is still uncrowded and largely unspoiled. Our 1989 trip proved in every respect to be one of our most enjoyable and rewarding.

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