After a good night sleep and our gear being almost dry, we head out towards Chibougamau QC. There we will have to take our first decision on the trip.
Heading on
to Matagami, the official starting point of the James Bay Road and mostly paved, or taking the North Road, a logging road – 100% gravel, meeting the JB Road at about km 275.
Acceptable weather with a few showers and the fact that due
to a public holiday we wouldn’t meet any logging trucks, we decided to get our
first “off road” experience. This also meant that we would have to camp
somewhere along the road.
On the way to Chibougamau we saw the first Black Bear of the
trip about 100 yards from the road, as much as it is a great experience to see those "omnivores", I hope
we can maintain that distance.
The road was in very good conditions, hard packed and
few spots with soft gravel. When riding these roads you have to “program
yourself” that once you feel the front wheel starting to wobble – shift weight
back and throttle up. It’s counterintuitive, but it lifts the front wheel
slightly and you glide over the rocky surface. Slowing down will make your
front wheel dig in and you go down worst case. At 50 to 60 mph the consequences
can be catastrophic.
After about 340 miles we made it to Rupert River and decided
to camp right here.
The Rupert River is one of the largest in entire Quebec running about 370 miles (600km) from Lake Mistassini into the James Bay. I read about it being diverted as part of one of the hydroelectric power projects, but the rapids still look very impressive to me.
The supposed to be camp site was closed and didn't look very inviting anyway so we decided to camp right on the platform overlooking the cascades. This turned out not to be the smartest choice.
We lit a fire, hoping it would help with the thousands of
blackflies and mosquitos that were all over us.
The little Fiskars Hatchet worked really well - cutting firewood, driving tent pegs in or taking a snag down, as you can see - I won't leave the house without it anymore. (thanks Scott!)
The conversion of my Trangia
cooker to propane was another good decision (thanks Greg!) – boiling water for our dry frozen dinner and a cup of coffee in no time.
The falling
temperatures were amplified by the wind that had set in – at least the bugs
were gone, but it was time to seek shelter in the tents and sleeping bags.
Odometer
reading
Today:
341.7 miles
Total:
925.4 miles
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