Ron Beck - Northern Canada Canoeing Pages

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Ronald P. (Ron) Beck
80 Esterbrook Road, Acton, MA 01720
Cell: 978-771-5888 Office: 978-266-1300 email: squashtalk@verizon.net

Canoe Exploration, Canada.

Trip Journals: THE RIVER LESS TRAVELED - Exploration of the Caniapiscau River. This in depth story of the 35 day descent from Lac Chambeaux to Ungava Bay, in 1977, is the only published journal covering this remote river. The story touches on the historical backdrop, the intense beauty and hardship of this remote area, and the personal interaction of a group of four, totally isolated in their struggle down 650 miles of turbulent, frigid water.
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Major Trips Led by Ron Beck:

1973: Allagash - St Johns Rivers, Maine
Party: R P Beck

1975: Kekek - St Cyr Rivers, Quebec
Party: R P Beck, J. Chayes,

1976: Attawapiskat River - Ontario. July 30 - Aug 28 1976.
Party: R P Beck, J. P. Stollman, J Blick, W Ambrose, M. McLaughlin
Route: Badesdawa Lake - Otoskwin River - Ozhiski Lake - Kabania Lake - Landsdowne House - Attawapiskat - Along coast of James Bay - Albany.

Summary: This is considered a difficult route, partly because of heavy rapids in the lower river and partly because of its remoteness. Our trip started at the Ignace-Windigo Lake Road. First taking the swift flowing, narrow Otoskwin River, progress was rapid due to very high water in the summer of '76. Then the trip moves on to dramatically beautiful large lakes, including one impressive gorge between lakes. After passing Lansdowne House, in Attawapiskat Lake, the trip begins a series of strong and serious rapids, passing dramatically through a series of sharp rapids and limestone gorges as the river descends past the limestone layers of rock before reaching the flats surrounding James Bay. Because of the generally high water and the rapid current in the lower Attawapiskat, we reached the isolate Cree town of Attawapiskat after only two weeks on the river. We consequently decided to traverse the edge of James Bay traveling to Albany along the bay. This was a chancy decision, as campsites along the bay were muddy and far between, and we were stranded for one dramatic night on the mudflats out on the Bay.

1977: Caniapiscau River - Quebec. Aug 1 - Sept 8 1977.
Party: R P Beck, C M Holland, J P Stollman, W Ambrose.
Route: Lac Chambeaux - Lake Attawapiskat - Upper Gorge - Eaton Canyon - Lower Gorge - Fort Chimo (Kujjuak).

Summary: The Caniapiscau River route, as we traveled it in 1977, can no longer be traveled due to the James Bay Development Project which has dammed and flooded part of the route, diverted the Caniapiscau's headwaters to flow west, and therefore limited the flow of water through the lower Caniapiscau. Consequently, our party was one of the last two or three parties to descend this remote and difficult river in its natural form.

Our trip began on the Cree-run vacation fishing camp at Lac Chambeaux. We then descended a series of large lakes, the largest being Lake Caniapiscau, then the northward flowing Caniapiscau. Our passage involved rapid after heavy rapid, a two-day ten-mile lining at Upper Gorge, a 2-day portage around dramatic Eaton Canyon, constant travel against the North Wind, snowfall on the lower Caniapiscau, several impressive waterfalls, including Shale Falls and Granite Falls, and finally the Manitou gorge before finally reaching the Inuit settlement of Fort Chimo (now re-named Kujjuak).
Trip Journal.

1981: Winisk River - Ontario. Aug 1 - Aug 30 1981. R P Beck, W Taffel, W Gale, W Bigelow.
Route: Pickle Lake - Pipestone River - Wunnummin Lake - Summer Beaver - Webequie - Winisk River - Winisk - James Bay

1982: Severn River - Ontario. Aug 1 - Aug 28 1982. R P Beck, A G Beck, J P Stollman, R Crimi.
Route: Windigo Lake - Windigo River - Sakwaso Lake - Muskrat Dam - Severn River - Ft. Severn - James Bay.

1983: Asheweig to Severn River - Ontario. Aug 5- Sept 1 1983. R P Beck, R Crimi.
Route: Pipestone River - Kingfisher Lake - Asheweig River - Kasabonika - Winisk River - Winisk.
S ummary: This trip is navigates through a remote and little-traveled section of Northern Ontario. When we embarked on this trip, we had no extant published route descriptions to work from, and topo maps led to to question whether there would be enough water in the river to be navigable. All the same, it afforded us an intriguing and challenging route. We decided to head northeast on the Pipestone River, a route that I had first traveled in 1976, and surprisingly, some seven years later, I was able to call on an almost photographic memory of some of the rapid stretches. At Misamikwash Lake, we turned north, and surprisingly easily transferred into the Asheweig River system, with only some short distances of wading with the canoe taking us across the "height of land". From their, we spent a number of beautiful days on the swift flowing, deserted, and interesting Asheweig River. Once the Asheweig emptied into the Winisk, it was several quick days in the fast current down to Winisk, where I made my re-aquaintance with Mike Hunter. Our visit to Winisk ("Weenusk") happened before the flood that destroyed the town and caused its re-settlement about 20 miles upstream.

Canoeing Web Links:

Ottertooth.com
Keewaydin
Jeff Tanz Photos
Garrett Kephart
Canoe Routes - Canada

Northern Web Links:
Quebec First Nation
First Nation Info Project
Chiefs of Ontario

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contact:
978-266-1300 or 978-771-588
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