This was the cross-country skiing trip organized by Tuckamor Trips in cooperation with Moose Cree First Nation. Tuckamor's original itinerary stated that:
Although the Cree wonÂ’t likely be skiing, they will provide support on this trip. We will start the trip 88 km from Moose Factory on Onakawana River railroad bridge and ski down the Abitibi River to Moose River, then down Moose River to Moose Factory. We will be staying in woodstove-heated prospector tents and sleeping on spruce boughs. Food will be both traditional Cree and regular white man. We will ski without sleds about 25 km per day for 4 days. The Cree, who will spend time with us explaining their culture, hunting and fishing methods, will also transport our gear so we only have to carry day packs on the trail. The skiing is relatively easy and the interaction with the Cree is tops. A real cultural/cross-country ski experience that you will remember for a long time.
The trip includes a return ride on the Polar Bear Express from Cochrane to Moosonee. We will spend the first and last night in their cultural centre in Moose Factory.
Overall, we have spent 7 days skiing and travelling:
Day 1 - by Tuckamor van from Ste-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec to La Sarre, Quebec
Day 2 - by Tuckamor van from La Sarre, Quebec to Cochrane, Ontario. There is no road North from Cochrane. However, there is train connection to Moosonee. The train is called the "Polar Bear Express". We took this train to the place where it crosses Onakawana River. There were 4 Cree Indians waiting for us there and from that moment on they took care of us.
Day 3 - skiing from Onakawana River
Day 4 - skiing further
Day 5 - skiing further
Day 6 - skiing to Moose Factory
Day 7 - by cars from Moose Factory over the ice bridge ( Moose Factory is an island) to Moosonee, from Moosonee by Polar Bear Express to Cochrane, Ontario. From there by Tuckamor van to Ste-Agathe-des-Months, Quebec.
On day 1, February 20, 2000 in the early morning hours we met at Ste-Agathe-des-Monts: 11 trippers and our leader, Bill Pollock. We came from different parts of North America: me, Anita, Kevin and Reinhard from Ottawa, Ontario, Bill Pomper from Connecticut, Foxie, Ken, and Brittany from Salem, Oregon, Patrick from Seattle, Washington, Francis from New Jersey and Pierre from Morin Heights, Quebec. The youngest participant was Brittany - 12 years old; Patrick was not far behind (15). I am bit older.
We travelled by Tuckamor van to La Sarre, Quebec, where Richard Perron (a second guide) lives. We spent the night in the beautiful Viking house, in the woods, overlooking the lake.
Tuckamor van in La Sarre
We left the Viking house early in the morning for breakfast in La Sarre's Tim Hortons. Then we continued west to Cochrane in Ontario. On the picture on the right you can see Francis, Patrick and Bill Pomper as they leave the Viking house to load the Tuckamor van. As you can see, there were meters of the snow in La Sarre at this time of the year.
Leaving Viking house
Once we reached Cochrane, we had some time to explore the town. I went out with Anita and Kevin. Here you can see me with Kevin at Cochrane's "Statue of Liberty". The name of the bear is Chimo.
Cochrane
We then loaded all our gear into the famous Polar Bear Express, and left for Onakawana. We played a famous Slovak game called Lorum. I have to confess, I lost. Had we played for our valueables, I would have lost all my gear. The only thing I can say on my defense - Kevin would have lost even his underwear! The star of the game was Pierre (not shown on this picture). The guy has a gift for the game. He can smell cards from far away and is able to learn any new game in seconds.
Loading the train
Lorum party
You can see Pierre on this picture on the left. Once the train got closer to Onakawana, we moved to the baggage car to get all our gear once the train stopped. At Onakawana, there were four Cree waiting for us: Philip, Clarence, Bill and Logan. On the right side you can see us at Onakawana camp after train left.
Getting closer
At Onakawana
This is our camp on Onakawana River. As you can see, Bill Pollock & Richard brought along a portable washroom, with a nice red colour. It was very pleasant to use it!
Portable washroom
Camp Onakawana
Cree provided us with their traditional food.
One of the Cree customs (way of life) is never to grow the animal for the meat. They consider it as disrespect to animal and the Creator. Animals must be hunted or trapped. After they are killed, the Cree symbolically give thanks to the animals for giving up their lives to feed the the man.
On the left you can see Anita being served by Philip. On the right side it's me, Bill Pollock, Foxie and Philip after we washed the dishes.
Cree food
In the teepee
This is the picture from inside the prospector tent. Every evening, after the darkness fell, we had a lesson by Philip about the Cree life, customs, beliefs, history, presence and future, about the injustice which was done to them by white men. On the very left you can see the face of another Cree, Clarence Trapper.
Lessons
In the morning we had breakfast and packed all our stuff and tents into the sleds. The Cree then transported everything to the next campsite. For this they needed two trips (it was a lot of luggage to carry!). We carried only our daypacks. The original plan to ski down the Abitibi River was changed because Abitibi has been flooded by the water from the Hydro dam. We now had to ski beside the railroad to Moose River and then continue down the river.
Cree Bill
We started skiing from Onakawana, a camp beside the railroad, on the west side. It was bit monotonous.The day was very warm, as you can see Bill Pollock was in his traditional shorts. Great legs! Bill is an extremely good skier, he is able to reach the frontrunner, then turn back, get to the end of the pack and then again turn forward and get to the lead.
Skiing beside the railroad
Bill Pollock
About 2 km before Moose River crossing field narrowed. From there until Moose River we skied on the railroad. This is the sign marking 1,609 m from Moose River. On the picture you can see Foxie, Brittany and Bill Pomper in the distance.
Approaching Moose River
There is a small settlement at the Moose River crossing. We had a lunch prepared in one of the houses. The family living there wasn't home at the time. They were ice fishing about 1 km down Moose River. When we continued skiing down the river, we met them later on our way (picture on the right). We said "Migwatch" ("Thank you" in Cree languagee).
Lunch site
Cree family
We spent the night about 7 km from the bridge camped directly on the ice of Moose River.
Camp on the Moose River
Below, on the picture with the snowmobile you can see Clarence and Francis at the camp. Clarence is the Cree living in Moose Factory. He works as a tourism officer for Moose Cree First Nation. He was with the Canadian Navy for 3 years and he was stationed during that time in many places of the world. I was especially interested to hear about Singapore. Clarence is the proud father of a 3 year old boy (boy met us at the last banquet at Moose Factory). Francis is a nice wise man from New Jersey. He had travelled all over the world and Nepal and Tibet hold the special place in his heart. He was a very nice person to talk to about philosophical questions and to meditate with. Due to his steadfast refusal to eat meat (he is vegetarian) Cree called him "Budha", although I must stress here: Francis is strong and devoted Christian. Well, you missed a lot, Francis. Cree cuisine is excellent!
On the right there are Philip and Logan in front of the teepee. Logan was the youngest of the Cree - 16 years old. He is studying in the high school at Moose Factory. He is avid hockey player and wants to become a bush pilot. One interesting thing I noticed, which shows how hard it is for Cree to protect their culture: although other Cree talked to Logan in their Cree language, Logan replied in English. He is learning Cree in school, and, obviously, he is able to speak (he taught me a few words), but he prefers English. Reminds me how my kids lost their ability to speak Slovak...
Clarence and Francis
Philip and Logan
Day 4 was nice and warm. It was also the shortest skiing day, only about 18 km. We skied to the unfinished Cree Youth Camp on Otakwahegan River. The pools visible on the picture are now hard-frozen ice.
Skiing from the camp
Our gear was transported by the Cree on snowmobiles. Each of the Crees had to do two sojourns from one camp to another.
On the right side Logan and Clarence stopped on their way back at skiing Reinhard.
Transporting the gear
Snowmobiles
Richard
Here I am on the picture on the right side. Notice the water bottle I had carried on the belt in front. It proved to be the excellent protection of a certain important part of my body, especially on the Day 5 when we skied against the sharp and cold wind.
Lester (me)
This is our camp on the spot where Otakwahegan River joins Moose River. Moose Cree First Nation built a educational center here for the Cree youth three years ago. The spot is beautiful. Unfortunately, they did not have enough finances to finish it. So it stands there, half built, waiting either to be finished, or slowly deteriorate...
Cree Youth Camp
Richard & Francis
Bill Pollock, Richard and Reinhard in from the Cree youth cottage. Soon after this picture was taken, Richard took a special "Arctic Hazelnut" from his backpack and gave it to me. So I cracked it open - you don't even want to know what was inside! If you ever happen to go on the trip with with Richard, don't forget to ask him for an Arctic Hazelnut!
In front of the building
Patrick and Logan inside the cottage. Finally these two male teens started to talk. First it was something about sports. Strange, Patrick does not play hockey. What's worse, hockey is almost unknown in Seattle, Washington, where Patrick lives. Weird, these Americans, eh? However, hockey is the No. 1 sport in Moose Factory and the village of less than 2000 people has supplied several players to the NHL in the 20th century. From this moment these guys became loyal friends. Logan showed Patrick how to operate the snowmobile. They ran all around the camp and further. From this day on, Patrick was the fastest skier and finished always first (actually he finished first also on this Day 4, so he was the fastest skier on 3 out of 4 skiing days). Immediatelly after he reached the camp, he hopped on the snowmobile and they did wild races with Logan.
Patrick and Logan
Cree Bill, Philip and the rabbits. For this dinner we had really excellent rabbits. You can see them on the table getting ready to be skinned. Philip is one extraordinary chef!
He is also great teacher. This evening he and Clarence taught us some very important words in the Cree language.
I slept in the cottage this night. It was quite good to get the sleeping bag bit dried up. Next day we were to wake up very early (Philip the chef at 4:30am, the rest at 5:30am) because we wanted to start earlier than usually - Day 5 was the longest day of our journey.
Bill and Philip
As I got used to warm weather of the last two days, I started to ski in my long underwear only. What a big mistake! The weather was very cold, misty and all day long we were heading against the wind. After a few hundred meters I was in full dress. Here is Reinhard also putting something on. It is about 7:30 in the morning.
The distance for Day 5 was about 31 km.
Cold and misty morning
This is a brief break - nobody wanted to stop for a longer time in this wind. You can see the facial mask (now pulled down on my neck in the photo) - it was a great part of my equipment. I was thinking - wind actually was not as strong as it is here in some winter days. We were very lucky with the weather.
Lester in the wind
We had lunch in the small nameless bay between Nipiminanak Bay and Makishibayau Bay on the opposite side from the spot where Abitibi River joins Moose River (see the map). Suprisingly, this place was quiet and windless. An excellent lunch spot. However, just few meters outside the bay, the wind was unpleasant. The Cree brought us food and set up the canteen.
Lunch break
To get the water for soup, Clarence stepped boldly on the thin cracking ice, cut the hole in the ice and fill the pot with brownish liquid.
Clarence
Here is Anita trying to catch on camera the moment of Clarence falling through the ice. She wasn't lucky, the ice didn't let Clarence through. Anita was with Kevin the best skier on the trip (apart from the guides), excellent singer and an excellent person!
Anita
Clarence was the only Cree who tried on cross-country skis here. You can see how it went.
Clarence skiing...
...and falling
Finally, after 31 km, here is our camp on the island. Boy, was I happy to be there! It does not look like an island on the map. It is possible that there are marshes around it and it is a real island only in high water levels.
Camp on the island
There is the permanent tent frame on the island, so Cree put the tent on it. The problem was that the floor was covered by a thick layer of frozen ice. After they started the fire in the stove, the ice slowly changed to water and they were in the deep pool. Fortunately, there was a large bed frame, so they did not have to sleep in it. As you can see, there was not too much open space on the island. Once the snowmobiles were parked and tents and teepees built, there was not too much free space left, as was Philipp to find out soon. But otherwise the island was completely protected from the wind and opened to the west and sinking sun. We enjoyed beautiful evening.
Camp
Sunset on the Moose River. After the sun went down, Philipp as usually walked around and talked to us. While turning, he did not notice the snowmobile, hit it hard with one knee, bounced off and stepped out of the trail into the deep snow. He sank deep and fell on the side, twisting both of his knees. He is not a light man, and it was not easy to get him out. He was in big pain and could not walk any more. Bill Pomper, veterinarian, had examined him and he decided it is better to wait until the morning and then we will see, maybe it is not very bad. So we put Philipp to the bed (to be exact: on the bed frame over the melted pool of water).
Sunset on Moose River
This night Bill Pollock, Richard, Pierre and me (all the guys equipped with a pee-bottle) slept outside under the sky. The night was very cold, temperature sank under -20C, but it was good, because at about 11pm the northern lights (Aurora Borealis) came. I have seen it several times before but never as strong as this time. I had to wake up some guys around. Later that night I had to wake up Pierre because he was snoring too loud.
Our bed
This was the coldest morning we had on our trip. The temperature was about -20C. Philip could not walk in the morning and was in pain. Richard and Clarence called for the rescue using a satellite phone. Rescue rangers came and took Philip by a helicopter. Poor Philip! I speculated whether it would be possible for us to visit him in the hospital once we reach Moose Factory.
This day we started to ski through the woods, for about 6 km. Here we are crossing North French River, at the point where it joins Moose River. Ice ridges were everywhere. the day was cold, but there was no wind as the previous day.
Crossing North French River
Lunch
Moose Factory
There are two churches on the island. Both are now Anglican. On the left side is the older one, originally Catholic. It is famous, because one flood (which must be here often in the spring, when the ice clogs the outlet of Moose River to James Bay) moved the church two km down the river. Cree then moved it back (I would like to see how they did it!) and drilled holes on the floor of the church, so that next flood would not lift the church up and move it again.
First church
Second church
This is me after the trip, in Cree Cultural Center. You can see on my face, that it was not an easy day.
Two bears
That's me and my buddy Clarence in front of Cree Cultural Center.
Lester and Clarence
Our last supper in Moose Factory. To our big suprise, with the generous use of painkillers, Philip was able to walk on crutches, and he prepared for us an unforgettable last supper - the dishes of Arctic Char and Sturgeon. You can see Philip chatting at the very end of the table beside the stuffed polar bear. On the very left in front is Clarence's young son.
This night we slept in Cree Cultural Center.
Last supper
In the morning on our last day we were driven by the Cree on some cars through the ice bridge to Moosonee. There we had breakfast in the restaurant, and continued to the railway station. There we said "Good Bye" to our friends and left from Cochrane. When we were in the train, it started to rain heavily. We were just thankfull for the weather we had on our trip!
On the picture below you can see from left to right, standing: Reinhard, Patrick, me, Clarence, Philip, Richard, Bill Pollock, Cree John Richards, Foxie, Francis, Pierre; kneeling: Ken, Brittany, Anita, Kevin, Bill Pomper.