Pukaskwa Self-Reliant
Pukaskwa Self-Reliant, what does that mean, and what is Pukaskwa? Pukaskwa is a National Park on the North East shore of Lake Superior. Pukaskwa, for us, is our favorite paddling trip in Ontario. The Pukaskwa Coast accounts for half of this paddling trip, which is from Hattie’s Cove to Michipicoten River. If you check out the video above you’ll see that words cannot do justice to the beauty of Pukaskwa! It’s 180 kms of pure wilderness. It’s a shoreline of secluded cobble and sandy beaches, pristine rivers, cascading waterfalls and rugged terrain.
So, what’s the self-reliant part?
Well, as you can see from our website, we teach many levels of Paddle Canada courses, right from complete novices up to Level Three Skills. Having taught the Level Two course, we find that our graduates may need a little more practice before progressing to their Level Three. We also have so many paddlers who are interested in heading out on an extended trip; who would like the challenge of an extended trip but need a little more expertise in tripping before attempting it alone. This is where the idea for the Pukaskwa Self-Reliant Trip emerged. What if we created a kind of tripping course for those interested in learning the skills of expedition tripping and ran it in the most secluded, most breathtaking section of the Great Lakes we know? Of course it would be Pukaskwa!
Plan
We’ll have two meetings ahead of time, (or if you’re not in our area we’ll have an extended phone session!) At the first meeting we’ll provide valuable planning and packing strategies. We’ll discuss the gear you should bring, what’s necessary and what to leave behind. We’ll discuss how to pack for such an extended trip and how to create a menu, measure portion sizes, transport perishable foods and incorporate non-perishable foods into your menu for the second half of the trip.
Prepare
At this time you can opt for either being completely self-reliant meaning bringing all your own food, gear, cooking, and camping equipment, or you can partner up with someone and share your equipment list and food. This shares the gear amongst more people and makes packing a little easier. We’ll also discuss our route and everyone’s trip expectations, the most important part of any successful trip. At our second meeting we’ll ask you to provide your menu and gear list so that we can identify any potential problems and suggest alternatives.
Pack
We’ll meet at Rock Island Lodge at the mouth of the Michipicoten River in Wawa in the late afternoon on Sun Aug 22, where we’ll camp on the beach and enjoy a delicious beach BBQ. Monday morning we’ll enjoy breakfast in the lodge, pack our gear and be shuttled to Hattie’s Cove. From there our adventure begins!
Paddle
We’ll be on trip from Mon. Aug 23 to Fri. Sept 3 at noon, or twelve days! The trip is achievable in ten days but we’ve made it twelve so we have a couple of spare days for exploring and skill development. We’ll practice level two and level three paddling skills, rescue scenarios, navigation skills and weather interpretation. We’ll also have an extra day at Dennison Falls to hike up to the falls and swim or catch a fish or stand under a waterfall! We ask that all participants on this trip either have their Level Two skills or have taken a Level Two skills course. If you only have Level One Skills but are a strong paddler we’ll ask that you come out on a paddle with us and have a discussion with us to determine your suitability for this trip. Our goal is to provide a trip for paddlers where they can enjoy Pukaskwa with paddlers of similar ability so that no one is a hindrance to the group. If you are wondering how you are going to be able to get to Wawa, just let us know, as we will be trying to arrange car pooling options with the group.
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Dates: August 23rd - September 3rd 2010
Cost: $1200 + tax