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About
Missinaibi Headwaters Outfitters
Missinaibi
Headwaters Outfitters has been taking adventurers from around the
world down Canada’s greatest canoeing and paddling rivers
since 1990. Located in the heart of the world’s largest game
preserve, We run high adventure river expeditions, instructional
programs and family canoe-camping adventures on 20 wilderness rivers
throughout Canada. Since these rivers run through untouched wilderness,
expeditions use bush planes or trains to access the waterways. Canoes,
loaded with a week’s worth of gear, are the ideal vessel for
these wild rivers; light enough to portage the stunning waterfalls,
yet stable enough to run easy rapids.
Canoe
instruction is built into every trip and participants soon learn
how to negotiate rapids up to Class III. Missinaibi’s certified
guides and instructors ensure that paddlers are challenged; yet
kept safe at the end of a day on the river. At day’s end,
camp is set next to a waterfall, tents are pitched and the guide
prepares a delicious and hearty Canadian meal for your enjoyment.
Since many trip participants want the authentic experience, all
are invited to assist with the camp duties. Missinaibi Headwaters
uses only the best equipment available and take great pride in offering
exceptional wilderness experiences. Their guides, professional paddlers,
teachers, naturalists, authors or photographers are second to none
and will charm, entertain, and enlighten your journey.
Our
Base Camp
Missinaibi
Headwaters’ base camp is located in the heart of the Chapleau
Game Preserve - 2 million acres where wildlife has been protected
since 1925. As the only outfitter in the Preserve, we have a wild
world at our doorstep. From our base, you can paddle 3,000 miles
of wilderness waterways, all the way to the arctic waters of Hudson
Bay. Our staff will make sure that you are looked after, and have
everything you need for your trip. Matt Howell, MHO's Director will
be able to answer any questions about food, equipment and booking. |
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Our
Guides
At
MHO we understand that the most important factor in the enjoyment
of an expedition lies in the quality of the trip leader. We are
very proud to have the highest standards for our qualified, professional
and experienced guides. Our leaders have certification in Canoe
Instruction, River Rescue, Wilderness First Aid, CPR and all have
a minimum of 8 years commercial guiding experience. Guide
to Participant ratio is 1:5. Maximum group size is 10 participants,
2 guides. |
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Matt
Howell
Matt
is the head honcho for MHO. Young, energetic and extremely
friendly, Matt will do everything in his power to help you
have the best wilderness experience imaginable. While he may
not have domain over the weather, he can suggest the perfect
trip for you, and make sure that all the little details are
worked out. Matt's experience in corporate event planning,
and his love for the canoe and the outdoors makes Matt ideal
adventure director.
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Dave
and Julie Morin
Past directors and founders of Missinaibi Headwaters. With
over 8,000 km of commercial guiding experience, Dave and Julie
remain very involved with the company, and will be out on
the rivers again soon. Dave and Julie are now managing the
Wilderness
Adventure Lodge, on Lake Kipawa.
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Greg
Meredith
A professional naturalist and outdoor education teacher
based out of the Guelph Lake Nature Centre, Greg adds his wealth
of knowledge of the natural world to his trips. His extensive
guiding experience, 12 years as a trip leader with the Federation
of Ontario Naturalists, is apparent as he describes the flora,
fauna and the aquatic environment of a river. Greg is past director
of the F.O.N., Canada's largest naturalist organization and
is a Senior Resource Interpreter with the Grand River Conservation
Authority. Watch for Greg as "The Leech Hunter"
in a Discovery Channel feature on the Missinaibi this winter. |
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Fred
Neegan
To
paddle with Fred is to experience the living history of the
Missinaibi. Fred is a 73 year-old Ojibway-Cree, a man who has
lived his entire life on the Missinaibi River. There is no other
living human, without exception, who knows more about the river
than Fred. When he says he knows every rock, he means it! His
traditional family hunting grounds are above Thunderhouse Falls,
and for him a paddle down river to Thunderhouse is like commuting
to work. Fred still keeps an active trapping cabin on the river,
and when he is not playing Ice Hockey or leading canoe trips,
he can be found at his camp near Alice Island, or greeting paddlers
in the town park in Mattice. |
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Elizabeth
van Ryn and Bruce van Ryn-Bocking
Liz and Bruce live in Guelph, Ontario and have paddled rivers
as near as the Magnetawan River near Parry Sound and as far
away as the George River in Northern Quebec and the Pacuare
in Costa Rica. Seasoned campers and wilderness trippers, they
love the north and are excited to guide for us this July. Elizabeth
is the former Director of Canadian Wilderness Trips, a wilderness
adventure company, and Bruce and Elizabeth have spent over ten
seasons hosting whitewater canoeing workshops on the Magnetawan
River through their company Hemlock Grove. In their “real
lives” Bruce is a human resources consultant and Elizabeth
is a manager in a busy mental health service. |
Bob
Fisher
For
years Bob has led canoe trips throughout Ontario under the
banner of his own company, Up the Bay. A skilled paddler,
naturalist and gadget man extraordinaire, Bob adds
certain civility, we'll say, to the wilderness. Always with
a cautious eye to safety, Bob balances the element of risk
with safety. You are in excellent hands on one of Bob's trips.
In the winter Bob leads backcountry ski excursions in Central
Ontario, and works to develop alternative energy products.
If you are interested in Bob's "soft adventure"
weekend excursions on Georgian Bay, visit his site at www.upthebay.com |
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John Ritter
John
has led trips for MHO for the past 4 summers in the role of
Staff Guide. A skilled and talented canoeist, John's passion
is for whitewater play. While he can't cartwheel his Liquid
Logic C-1down the Missinaibi like he does on his home river,
the Ottawa, he can sure make rapids in a Prospector look easy.
His campfire cooking skills will have you cartwheeling! In
the off season John works in outdoor adventure retail, manages
a reforestation operation, and continues his studies at University. |
Paul and
Eddy Morin
Well,
perhaps these two guys don't have all the required guide certifications
(yet), but they help us out on the Family Canoe trips by assisting
the other children on the trip. Part of our MHO family (literally)
they have grown up paddling the northern rivers. While they
spend most of the season at base camp, they are most at home
in a canoe or kayak, paddle in hand or pack on their back. |
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Chapleau, Ontario, Canada 1-705-607-0276
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