Description
This will be our Trail Blazers Club offering of 2025! This is a brand-new trip offering for us, but follows in the vein of our successful Pontax River trips from 2015, 2017 and 2023! We have wanted to head back to this part of Northern Quebec ever since, and we’re excited to have the opportunity again! Since this is a new offering, we can know for sure what we will encounter (see Trail Blazers Club note below). And this is why it is very important for all participants to bring forth a positive, flexible and team focused attitude for all of our long expeditions. This has a big river feel in a stark landscape. With the thick Black Spruce forest lining the river quickly opening up to the muskeg barrens on the plateaus, there’s no mistaking that you’re in the far north!
When we’ve travelled this region in the past, we’ve called the river bank plateau campsites “Field of Dreams,” because you can see endless firewood and the stars are just phenomenal.
This side of the James Bay coast is much steeper than the Ontario side. That means big rapids, and lots of them. Skirting right beside or sometimes right over big volume rapids you can feel the spirit of the frozen lands beneath you. When the wind blows, she blows hard up here!
Nearing the ocean, we start to see signs of life other than the moose or fox. Cree trappers and other locals often travel up the coast and short distances inland looking for firewood or travelling to their camps.
This is an incredible adventure that will challenge you, reward you and enrich you.
Trail Blazers Club 2025!
This is our Trail Blazers Club expedition for 2023! It will be long, the arctic winds off the ocean can be brutal, and the route is unknown to us, down a remote stretch of frozen river. You will need to come with a flexible attitude for this trip, and be prepared for a number of challenges, and possibly even re-routing if ice conditions or other challenges dictate! But the rewards of joining us for a trip like this and not knowing what’s around the next corner can be incredible! See our Trail Blazers page for more info.
Please Note: This trip starts and finishes in northern Quebec and participants are responsible for their own travel costs. There are daily flights from Montreal into the region. There will also likely be ride sharing options available with us or other participants. Exact community TBD.
Doug Cirelli –
I participated in my second LOTN trip of the season, travelling 2 weeks (140km) along the Pontax River from the James Bay Highway to Rupert Bay, and finally to the town of Waskaganish, Quebec. Words cannot describe the beauty of the region we travelled, from the dense black spruce forest, to the spectacular ice formations along the rapids, and meeting a curious fox as we had lunch.
Getting the opportunity to walk under the northern lights as we travelled the river before sun rise was a once in a lifetime experience that is beyond description and is not something I had every expected to do in my lifetime.
Feeling the arctic wind on our faces as we entered Rupert Bay and travelling along the coast to Waskaganish was an amazing end to a great adventure. The town of Waskaganish was welcoming and I enjoyed my time meeting local’s and learning about their history and traditions.
Through Dave’s leadership, our group of snowshoers learned to work together towards our common goal, and became an efficient, experienced group. It can be difficult to take 13 strangers and turn them into a cohesive unit, but through Dave’s guidance the group became strong and reliable.
I will always recommend LOTN to anyone interested in winter travel by snowshoe, and I would especially recommend a trip down the Pontax River!