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Route description: Mattawa River
- Posted by
- msandwun
- Date posted
- Jul 29, 2005
- Date last travelled
The race is worth trying, - where else will you see an ultralite C2 racing hull disappearing over a beaver dam and down a small muddy creek, or find yourself frantically paddling to overtake another tandem pair, only to watch as a solo C1 glides by both boats leaving only a smile and a wake in its trail. The distance seems long, about 64 km, and is surprisingly do-able by a reasonably fit paddler. It's worth a go for those that have wondered if they could travel distances considered standard a generation ago. A fast hull is needed for a distance of this length - Weenonah Spirits were popular this last year, and a few Kippiwa's and Nahanni's were present.
As a less strenuous alternative, and for an easy day trip to see some of the highlights of the Mattawa, try the put-in at Pimisi Lake day park accessed from highway 17, about halfway between Mattawa and North Bay. To get here, follow the 17 through Mattawa (about 3.5 hours), and continue for another 20 minutes or so, until you see the sign for the park off on the right. This day park is open from 5 am to 9 pm. Go straight across the lake to the first of seven portages leading north to Paresseux Falls.
These are all short, mostly clear paths with one bouldery section around the falls. All are marked with the exception of the second, which is towards the north and east side of the small lake. At the fourth portage, head into the lake area and turn sharp left, following the lake as it empties through a small swift into a stillwater. There are a couple of areas where granites lurks below, and some caution is needed in a kevlar. Since there is no current, this is not all that hard to do. There are a couple of places where a small swift pours past sentinel rock - just keep to the middle, or lift around since the river is so shallow.
About 200 m from the last of the portage, around the falls, is the Porte de l'Enfer, an old native ochre mine inset to the cliffs ringing the river. If you have a good sense of balance, there's just enough space to picnic on the ledge below the cliffs, dangling your feet above the depths that the river drops off. There is a small campsite just below the falls, with just enough space to swing a cat, and a direct view up to the drop.
This day trip is around 10 km paddling, return, with maybe 2 km in portages in total. A couple of the portages require some dexterity in manoeuring through the rock. For longer trips, there were campsites available all the way down the river. Several groups were encountered doing this run as a 3 or 4 day trip.
