23 August 2006     We Made It!

The crew paddled onto the beach of Churchill, MB near 8:00PM on 23 August 2006.  Over the previous 84 days we had crossed three provinces, a continental divide, more than 60 portages and paddled 3038 kilometres.  There were times we wondered if it would be possible to reach the destination.  But through it all we insist that Voyage to the Bay 2006 has been the most incredible experience of our collective lifetimes. 

Continue to check back on the website for further trip journals, trip reports on the Lower Churchill and Beaver Rivers and for presentations by the various members of the expedition.  Thanks for your support and we look forward to hearing from more fellow paddlers.

In more ways than one the last day was monumental in the scope of the trip and in the accumulated experiences of our lives.  We woke at 5:00am on a high bank overlooking an unnamed rapid a few kilometers above Redhead Rapid.  For the first time we experienced the sensation of slipping our feet into frozen shoes and shuffling through frost laden branches as the morning mists slowly lifted.

Our plan had been a early and quick start to the day.  In our hearts however, I think we were all a little reluctant to begin the last day of our trip.  The routine of waking up, stuffing sleeping bags, collapsing tents, creating breakfast, carrying boats to water, consulting maps and loading canoes has become so familiar that it is no longer a chore.  It is simply the way we live our lives.  As our First Nations friends along the rivers have told us, “It’s good to live on the land.”

Our description of the last three substantial rapids (Redhead, Running Landing Place and Limestone Rapids) was a little disconcerting.  Our experience with the only trip report available was that that of dramatic understatement.  In this case, the comment was simply that at these three locations ‘large standing waves present a challenge.’  With these thoughts in our minds we quietly slipped onto the water and approached each corner with caution, slipping from eddy to eddy and constantly aware of the building speed of the river.

At each successive corner we would carefully scan the water horizon for sign of the large standing waves and then ferry to the shoreline that appeared to offer the safest passage.  Where we presumed Redhead Rapids to be located we were able to slip quietly along the shore and then confusion struck.

From the map reading we determined that we were now downstream of Redhead Rapids and Running Landing Place Rapids and we had yet to experience any large standing  waves.  We began to question our navigation skills, yet everything about the landscape suggested that we were correct.  We continued to move forward even more cautiously, in case our map reading skills were at fault and because the current was now moving us downstream at 10-12 km/h without paddling!  We simply were not interested in being thrown into a significant rapid at that speed.

We soon passed Limestone Rapids and on far river-left we finally glimpsed what we agreed were large standing rapids.  These were easily avoided by following along the opposite shoreline.  Despite the exhilaration of running rapids, each one of us was visibly relieved to successfully see the downstream end of the last marked rapid for the entire trip. 

As continued paddling downstream our GPS routinely clocked our speed at 16-18km/h while paddling.  This was fortunate for us as we had 85km to cover in our last day on the water.  The weather co-operated beautifully with our plans, clear skies, the slightest or breezes and warm sun shining down on the land.  As the river spread out into the marshlands that lead up to the shore the current slowed and finally stopped as the Churchill River faced its last obstacle before reaching the sea.

Just upstream from the townsite is a navigational wier that crosses the entire river.  This also necessitated our last portage of the entire trip.  As we carried our packs and canoes down the rip-rap dam we were inspected by several seals who then circled us as we paddled towards the townsite.

During the last two hours of paddling we finally spotted one of the creatures that we had been anticipating for months.  Over the entire surface of the bay in every direction that we looked was a constant shimmer of mist from the spouting of beluga whales.  As it was rapidly approaching evening we refrained from paddling towards the middle of the bay and stayed closer to the North shore and watched.  But the closer we came to Churchill, the closer the belugas came to our canoes.  Until we felt as if were truly being escorted on our final kilometers of Voyage to the Bay.   At times each canoe would be surrounded by 3-6 whales surfacing within a couple of metres of either paddler.

Now I must admit, that despite the excitement of seeing the whales I was personally a little apprehensive about the proximity as they were easily as long as my canoe and certainly more at ease swimming than myself.  The first few close encounters were breathtaking events, but as I began to realize that how curious these creatures were and that they were truly following us on our journey I began to relax and enjoy these breathtaking experience from another perspective.  This was incredible!

The animals followed us until we were nearly on the sandy shoreline and then veered off down the coast.  With some excitement and a little anxiety over the end truly being in sight we paddled the final few metres to shore, took the celebratory photographs, and made our way to the Bear Country Inn.  Here we were treated like royalty, slept in real beds (although some still chose to sleep on the floor) and prepared for our reintegration into society.