Paddling from BC, Canada to PEI, Canada. Possibility??

Wilderness Tripping
#1

Hello,
Does anyone know if this would be possible at all? All useful informations are welcomed! :smiley:

Thanks

#2

Anything’s possible with enough time and money. You’re going to have to narrow this one down to some specifics, as the question is too big to answer simply.

#3

I’m looking for a recommended path mostly? Not looking to accomplish this in 2019, it will take time to prepare and train properly. But has anyone done it here? Would love some tips.

#4

I really don’t think there is any route that would take you over the Rocky Mountains by river. There are no waterways that penetrate that natural barrier. The map in this first link shows the major drainages across Canada. The dividing line between the Pacific drainage (orange) and the Hudson Bay drainage (blue) is the central elevation of the Rockies. All the rivers to the west of the Rockies flow west to the Pacific and those on the east flow towards Hudson bay. It would be a hell of a portage to get a boat from one drainage to another. Bear in mind that the lakes and valleys in the Canadian Rockies are around a mile in elevation.

https://www.ec.gc.ca/eaudouce-freshwater/default.asp?lang=en&n=D72B6AF9-1

This guy paddled from the eastern slopes of the Rockies to Lake Superior before running out of time. but once you hit Superior you can go through the Great Lakes to the Sainte Lawrence River and then to the Maritimes and PEI. You can read his blogs to trace his route. He had a lot of portages. Many of the major rivers have multiple dams along them. This paddler had gobs of experience. How much have you had? This would not be a trip for an amateur.

https://terrybolland.wordpress.com/across-canada-expedition-stage-1-north-saskatchewan-river/

#5

@willowleaf

The OP didn’t specify the route must be overland. I was thinking about the northern sea/ocean route. Cargo ships and tankers do it all the time, I’m sure. :smile:

#6

Read Kabloona in a Yellow Kayak by Victoria Jason
Her voyage was by sea from Churchill to the Beaufort Sea and took three years
You will need more time to get to PEI
the tidal flats can wreck you
Now more sane people choose an inland route Mike Ranta has canoes across Canada several times
https://warrioradventures.ca/blog/2019/2/11/mike-ranta-a-true-canadian

#7

Strange that nobody has mentioned this yet:
Freya and Fylkir are doing it as part of their trip around North America.

(Well, Freya are. Fylkir will have some gaps in the track, I believe.)

#8

Yes, it is possible. McKenzie went as far as the monument on Dean Channel , western BC. His route over I do not know , at Kimsquit I am uncertain of the river, Dean River heads east and south and I think it is the Kimsquit river that heads north. The people at Hodsons Guiding Service may know. The people at Western Canoe and Kayak have a canoe that has made the entire trip, they can likely direct you. When you get to Lake Superior, and then down to Lake Huron, look east and south to Severn, the Severn Canal services from Georgian Bay to Lake Ontario. Newfoundland is the farthest east of Canada.

My suggestion would be do it in several chunks and years, and cheat just a bit, go downstream.

I have done a substantial small bit of the Lewis and Clark route, and all of Powell’s route, some parts of each more than once. Canoed and camped at river side 200 nights in the last three years. Five separate trips.

#9

You could always follow Freya’s route:
http://freyahoffmeister.com/expeditions/north-america-2017/press-release-na/

She is doing it two different ways, both the northern route (north west passage) and the south route (Panama Canal). She already lapped South America, so if you didn’t want to do the canal, you could check out her info on that trip and add that part.

#10

Yes been done a few times. Joe Oblenis paddled across Canada in 2004. Some guy from Poland kayaked from Pacific BC to Newfoundland in 7 months in the mid 1990’s. Others have taken a route that veered in and out of the US and back into Canada, some ending in New York City rather than the northern PEI etc.

#11

Route would be Alexander Mackenzies route which I think Joe O’ paddled

#12

David Thompson Brigade has also done this . . . as has David Thompson. The Clipper Canoes website has a couple trip reports under “stories”.

#13

I would start with the early Fur Trade routes. They are pretty well documented. Trips like Vancouver to York Factory on Hudson Bay.

Then you could review some modern long distance paddlers like Verlen Krueger and Gary McGuffin. They have paddled across Canada, but it took 2 seasons.