September Missinaibi River, Day 3

Got the gear down the steep rock incline from the camp site. The day’s weather was misty and threatening. Swamp and Deadwood Rapids easy, just boat scout and run.


You get a choice when you reach Allen Island, to go right or left. We took the left channel and had lunch at top of the portage on high ground (20 to 30 feet above river). Carried most of gear on the long route twice, bypassing all the rapids. Then, on the third trip, eliminated 300 meters of portage. Doug took canoe and one duffle solo down the bottom half of the rapid, meeting Trish at river right at the end. The bottom half of Allen is an easy II any level. But at the low levels we experienced it needed to be run with a near-empty boat.

Wavy Rapids is Cucumber Lite, if you have paddled the Yough in Pennsylvania. It’s a river-wide trough, though it’s no keeper. Taking on some water is inevitable and it rates an easy III , but the nice pool below it makes it a safe run. Got about six inches of water in the boat, but, it was the last rapid before Greenhill.

Camped at the top of the portage at Greenhill. Entry to the site was very mucky. It rained but we cooked with wood fire none the less.

Total miles paddled 16.