2003 - Lac LaRonge - Churchill River Canoe Trip
Grenfell High School
In June, 2003, I helped supervise a 6 night canoe trip across the northern end of Lac La Ronge and into the Chuchill River.
The students were in Grade 11.
The first few days we encounted some bad weather and tough headwinds. We dumped 3 canoes in some unexpected rapids, apparently some water was let out of a dam upstream and the supervisors who had been on the trip in the past did not know about it.
My canoe buddy.
Drying our gear...
My tent.
Playing in the Little Stanley Rapids.
At the shampoo salon...
Finally, some sunshine...rest and relaxation.
Our team for the contests etc.
I took only a single disposable camera, and missed some opportunites for photos. Here are a few from the net...
We stopped at a former mine site.
Meaning “meeting of the waters”, Nistowiak Falls is where Lac La Ronge drains into the Churchill River. This natural falls, accessible only by plane or canoe, is also one of the highest waterfalls in Saskatchewan.
We rested at a camp just down from the base of the falls after a tough portage.
Stanley Mission - we visited the church & graveyard.
The area was unfamiliar to me. To the best of my recollection, (17 years later) we set out from a Wadin Bay - or somewhere near there, and paddled generally eastward though a maze of lakes and channels to Nistowiak Falls then along the Churchill River to Stanley Rapids, Stanley Mission, and a pick up point.