Canadian paddlers Will Vyse, Georges Kirijian, and Nolan Aziz are making excellent progress on their enormous 8,000km expedition from Tadoussac, Quebec, to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, on the Pacific Ocean.
Their journey — a mostly northern line that avoids major urban areas — includes sections based on old Indigenous travel ways, but the trio believes that “the whole route has never been attempted.”
The full route. Photo: Canada By Canoe
Manitoba to Saskatchewan
On day 130 of their expedition, they arrived on Reindeer Lake, crossing from Manitoba into northern Saskatchewan. “Manitoba was pretty challenging. We had a lot of really long days and some pretty tough terrain. We’re hoping Saskatchewan gets a little easier,” they said in a recent audio update.
Bushwhacking. Photo: Canada By Canoe
The last few days of Manitoba marked section 11 of their 19 stages. “We began by paddling over to the Burntwood River, near Thompson. From there, it would all be upstream travel for the rest of the segment,” they said. The Burntwood was tough going. “All of the portages had been washed away, overgrown, or simply never existed to begin with, so we had to bushwhack or drag up every single set of rapids.”
They eventually made it to the Rat River, a “less chaotic tributary” of the Burntwood.
Segment 11. Photo: Canada By Canoe
One teammate down
They estimate that the entire journey will take 200 days, though they look to be ahead of schedule. They crossed Manitoba in just 30 days, after taking 50 days for Ontario and 50 days for Quebec.
However, they have (at least temporarily) lost a team member. Their last few updates only feature Vyse and Aziz, with Kirijian missing in action. The team has not commented on the change in their audio updates, except to detail a route change that took them down the entire Bloodvein River to avoid unnecessary bushwhacks with only two team members. The only information they have provided was in response to a social media comment, explaining that they have “had a few injuries but hope to be back together soon.”
Dragging the canoe up rapids during segment 11. Photo: Canada By Canoe
