PADDLING FOR HOME
Quebec family on 4-month trek
More than four months since they started their journey, Benoît Gendreau-Berthiaume and Magali Moffatt finally caught a glimpse of home.
Reaching the town of Mattawa, Ont., last weekend — and the Ottawa River that straddles Ontario and Quebec — they commemorated their return to La Belle Province by pulling out their Fleur-de-lis, then snapping a quick selfie with their five-year-old son, Mali.
The end is in sight, and it’s mercifully downstream. Having pushed their canoe out of Edmonton’s Capilano Park on May 2, the family of three will now see Montreal within a comfortable 10 days’ voyage.
In Thunder Bay, Ont., when they last checked in with the Journal, they were in far worse shape. After a hellish trek along the 13.7-kilometre trail that makes up the Grand Portage, Gendreau-Berthiaume discovered he’d had a tape worm. The hobbled, poison ivy-riddled crew was demoralized to the point of nearly breaking, at least until they had a chance to recharge during a visit with Magali’s parents.
Since then, they’ve sliced a path across a placid Lake Huron, stopping for delicious fish and chips in Killarney. They enjoyed a leisurely pace on the scenic French River, a delta with gorgeous white pines, narrow channels and picturesque campsites everywhere. They’d pull over to swim two or three times a day.
“You could have gone a thousand different ways up the French, there’s not one specific way,” Gendreau-Berthiaume says. “Sometimes, it was barely wide enough for just the canoe. Every bend of the river, you’re like ‘we won’t fit.’ There’s always a place just enough for the boat.”
The only hiccup came on Lake Nipissing, right before North Bay, Ont. After a big traverse, and predictions of light winds, they fought for 90 minutes against 50 km/h winds hitting their canoe sideways.
“We keep saying this — ‘these are the biggest waves so far,’” Gendreau-Berthiaume says. “Hopefully, that’s the last time we’ll be saying that.”
They ended up giving up and headed ashore. They walked the last two kilometres along the shore, spotting placards marking the route of Samuel de Champlain.
As on other legs of the trip, they’ve met old friends and fascinating strangers along this portion of the route. On Lake Huron, they spotted a strange hybrid of paddleboat, sailboat and kayak. Its owner Marcus Pukonen is on a five-year expedition to circle the planet without the use of motors, a trip that will also see the Toronto native cycling, canoeing and crossing Winnipeg on a pogo stick. At another point, they met a pair of avid paddlers, strangers from Montreal who’ve followed their progress online then ventured out to join them for a couple of days.
After a long trip, they’re excited about getting home. Mali has spotted school buses and is asking about school. Gendreau-Berthiaume isn’t sure how he’ll feel when he reaches Montreal, but life on land will take some adjustment. He’s looking forward to kayaking for leisure in a smaller boat less weighed down by gear. They also have to get their new life sorted near Gatineau, Que., where they’ll need to find a place. Benoît still has to submit a final version of his dissertation, the project that brought him to Edmonton.
We keep saying this — ‘these are the biggest waves so far.’ Hopefully, that’s the last time we’ll be saying that.