Downhill from North Bay
I was able to pull back from the edge. But I still shot 26 miles straight across Lake Nipissing to North Bay. The college students at the Marina let me store my boat while I ran errands in town. I then walked my boat across town to the head of the Mattawa River. A woman layered in enough clothes for winter slowed her beat-up Schwinn to yell, “you’re my kind of man!” as she waved and laughed, showing a few missing teeth. I don’t think she was all there. So, maybe she had a point.
I entered the Mattawa River Provincial Park hoping for the BWCA. There were plenty of portages, but also plenty of fisherman. A kind young couple let me interrupt their date as I searched for a portage. The man showed me the path and helped carry my boat. Then a father and his kids caught me setting up camp and excitedly asked about my gear and gave directions on the next stretch of rapids.
The landscape was primal ad beautiful. But tired of portages in my kayak slippers, I began checking rapids to see if they were passable. I was almost to Mattawa when I approached the Campion Rapids. I searched out a route through the boulders but was slow to turn and got caught on the first rock. Suddenly I was pinned by the great rush of water behind me. My struggles to free the boat just pulled it higher on the rock and angled the cockpit upriver which caused it to flood. In the last seconds before it swamped and flipped, I scrambled out and onto the rock, losing my paddle.
After calming my nerves, I set about the herculean effort of freeing the boat. It felt like lifting a car. But slowly the cockpit emptied. The bow swung around to face downriver and I found a shallow eddy to climb back in. Using my spare paddle to navigate the rapids, I reached the base and found my other paddle in the brush.
That night as I examined the gouges in my boat, I reflected. Life is about calculated risks. Sometimes that’s the joy of it. Anyways, portaging a kayak is a pain in the ass.
August 29-31, 2023
Route Map - Lake Nipissing and Mattawa River
