LOWER MISSINAIBI RIVER:
Thunderhouse Falls

July 11-17, 2010

Skill: Intermediate

One of Canada's great waterways, the Missinaibi flows North, uninterrupted for 350 miles to James Bay. We begin our adventure at the town of Mattice, the halfway point on the river. Together we will explore the first 50 miles of the lower Missinaibi, playing and practising our whitewater skills in Class II and Class III rapids as we slowly make our way to Thunderhouse Falls. A rest day is taken at the spectacular campsite perched 150 feet above the canyon, where time is spent marveling in the natural beauty of Thunderhouse, swimming and fishing. Below the falls, the river drops 300 ft. in a single day, as the Missinaibi plummets off the Canadian Shield and on to the Hudson's Bay Lowlands. Our final night together is spent at Bull Moose Bay, camped beneath the towering clay banks of the Lowlands.

Trip Itinerary

DAY 1& 2:ROCK ISLAND RAPIDS
Rendezvous in Mattice on Sunday evening. After introductions and a run through of the trip, we spend the night in Mattice. Following breakfast at the local diner, we load the boats for the short paddle to Rock Island Rapids. This set of Class II whitewater will be our campsite and training area for the first day. Here we will perfect the paddle strokes and whitewater maneuvers which we will require for the rest of the journey.

DAY 3: KETTLE FALLS
After our warm up, we paddle the Missinaibi, carefully negotiating the technical Black Feather Rapids and splashing through Beam Rapids. The evening is spent camped overlooking the sculpted rock of Kettle Falls, enjoying one of our famous Missinaibi Headwaters dinners, complete with all the trimmings. Campfire tales will inevitably explain the natural and human history of the river.

DAY 4 & 5: THUNDERHOUSE FALLS
Day 4 features a full day afloat as we run countless easy drops. Anticipation mounts as you sense the river rushing towards Thunderhouse Falls.
We pull out well above the falls and begin the 3/4 mile portage to our campsite. Two nights are spent here, at what is one of the most spectacular campsites in Canada. Overlooking the falls and the rock pillar of Conjuring House, one feels the power and magic of this mystical place. The perfect spot for a rest day. NOTE: The August trip has an extended stay at Thunderhouse, then returns upstream to a bush road, rather that portaging to the Lowlands, then flying out.

DAY 6: BULL MOOSE BAY (July Trip Only)
Well rested and well fed, we begin the two portages which carry us past the raging falls and chutes as the Missinaibi crashes off the Canadian Shield. Following Long Portage (a mile and a half) we ride 5 miles of standing waves to Bull Moose Bay. Still excited from the day's adventure, we camp at this quiet widening of the river. In the morning, the plane will arrive with supplies for those who are continuing the two week trip to Moosonee and return the others to Mattice.
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