NORTHERN SASKATCHEWAN CANOE TRIPS: A GUIDE TO 15 WILDERNESS RIVERS

by Laurel Archer
Boston Mills Press, soft cover, 240 pages, $24.95

The major drawing attraction of the Northern Saskatchewan Canoe Trips, is its comparative and comprehensive nature. Canoeists can measure their skill level and the kind of river they wish to paddle against the information provided in the book instead of against the river when it is too late to make another choice. Using the guide, canoeists can select a canoe trip that suits them, easily, cheaply, and safely, and then follow the trip notes as they navigate the river.

The guidebook provides canoeists with detailed route descriptions for canoe trips on the following 15 rivers: Montreal, Sturgeon-Weir, Churchill, Paull, Foster, Haultain, Clearwater, Wathaman, Geikie, Waterfound, Fond du Lac, Cree, William, MacFarlane, and the Porcupine River. For each trip there is detailed information on the river's location, the trip's length in kilometres, the required maps, access to put-ins and takeouts, air service, canoe rentals, and the difficulty and nature of each route, including trip notes providing coordinates for and key details about hazards, rapids, campsites, fishing holes and sites of interest along the routes. Canoe trips are rated according to their comparative difficulty using a graded system, much like downhill ski runs.

The guide also provides canoeists with an overview of the type of river to expect and a summary of the characteristics of the ecoregion or ecoregions the trip is found in. The reader is given the necessary information to choose between a low volume river through the sand dunes of the Far North or a deep, pool drop river through the boreal forest and Precambrian Shield. References, contacts and online resources for finding out more about each river and its geographical region are provided.

North Saskatchewan Canoe Trips can be purchased in selected bookstores, or by contacting the publisher: Boston Mills Press, 132 Main Street Erin, Ontario Canada N0B 1T0 (phone: 519-833-2407, e-mail: books@bostonmillspress.com, or through web site www.bostonmillspress.com).