After a long, cold, dark winter of skiing on the frozen ocean I am finally paddling again! When you’re out in -40ºC it is hard to imagine that you’re sliding on 2 metres of ice with water flowing beneath you. About a month ago now I left Wemindji for Toronto for the two week long hunting break. The week before leaving, Caroline, Inese, Ronalds and myself made a trip to James Bay by ski. We crossed about a kilometre of ice after 10 kilometres of skiing through forest to get to a small island. The sun was already out in full force resulting in severe sunburns due to our negligence. Caroline and I stayed the extra night which was well worth it. The evening was calm, quiet, sunny, and spent beside a warm fire. Have a look at the photos below.
Flying South to Toronto, I could tell the ice would be late getting out this year. Everything was frozen solid still without a sign of moving water. My thoughts were confirmed on the flight North where everything looked about how I had left it. Normally, I would be able to get out kayaking on the river for about 6-7 km the first day back. This year was about 1.5 weeks later than normal. Just last weekend I finally made it out to the start of the bay. Temperatures have steadily improved, reaching the low 20’s already, unseasonably warm. As a result, the bay is beginning to open up quickly making for some excellent James Bay kayaking. This weekend, Caroline and I will head out to a small island to camp. Saturday night is supposed to be a fantastic meteor shower which we will have a clear view of. Sounds like we will be laying down on the flat rocks in our sleeping bags admiring the spectacle of star dust colliding with our planet’s atmosphere. Definitely going to be a great weekend of paddling by day and resting by night.
Most notable of spring in Wemindji is the return of obvious signs of life. Hearing the first bird chirp in eight months is quite a magical moment, hard to explain to someone who hasn’t experienced it before. James Bay also happens to be on a significant migratory bird route for birds travelling back North after winter, including a number of threatened and endangered species. On our paddle last weekend, we spotted two Sandhill Cranes, a pair of Black Scoters, and about 10 long-tailed ducks. The following day, I added a loon to the list. We are both very excited by the prospects of a great birding season here and will be taking a local field guide and a good pair of binoculars out on our paddles. The photos below were borrowed from the web, but are accurate to what we observed. Credit to the photographers is given.
Long-Tailed Duck
gsschneiderphoto.com
Black Scoter Mating Pair
Dr. Howard B. Eskin
Sandhill Crane
Joseph C Boone
Updates on TriWaters Tour 2015:
Our expedition has made some significant progress lately. We have been featured by one of the best outdoor paddling sport magazines in the world; Adventure Kayak Magazine who will be following the progress of the expedition throughout. The Kayaking Daily and Paddling This Week have also both featured us. Our team leader in South Africa has been asked to interview for an excellent Podcast; Inspiring Adventurer. And we have grown our social media following substantially. That’s not to say that there isn’t more to be done though. If you haven’t already, drop by our Facebook, Twitter, and Website to help spread the word for us! We need all the support we can get.
Updates on PEI: From Source to Mouth:
I recently formalized PEI’s Chef Ross Munro through his company Culinary Adventures as an endorser of my 2015 circumnavigation of Prince Edward Island. He will be providing invaluable feedback on my route, assist in the promotion and delivery of workshops, and help spread the word for me. His pioneering work in the farm-to-table movement is outstanding and the philosophy of his company Culinary Adventures inspiring. I would highly recommend checking out his website to learn more about what it is he does. Better yet, join him for dinner after foraging and harvesting your own meal!
Yonder Ambassador:
I have recently been named a Yonder Ambassador for the innovative mobile-based app called Yonder. Essentially, it’s Instagram for lovers of the great outdoors, but with a few extra features setting it apart. They allow you to see other Yonder App users near you, geotag all your own photos, and best of all, when you post to Facebook or Twitter, your photos appear on your wall and newsfeed instead of only a link! This is not just another useless app with a small following, Yonder has a truly impressive amount of followers, all of which share your love of the outdoors. Check them out!
trayban 