Notoriety: National Geographic's top ten rafting rivers in the world
Location: 375 miles northeast of Montreal
Access: international flight to Montreal (not included), flight from Montreal to Sept Iles (2 hours) (not included), helicopter to put in (30 minutes)
Nearest international Airport: Montreal
Trip Length: 8 days (Sept Isle to Sept Isle)
Season: August - early September
Included: helicopter to put in, final evening in hotel, all meals from lunch day one until breakfast day eight
Trip difficulty: moderate
Emergency access: helicopter
Experience level: No previous whitewater rafting experience is necessary.
Age limit: 6 to 78 yrs.
Climate: dry, high seventies during day, fifties at night. Can rain with temperatures in the sixties.
Activities/time: rafting & inflatable kayaking (70%), sea kayaking (30%), hiking (5%)
Whitewater: medium to high volume, technical Class 4 (a step up from the Middle Fork of Salmon). Inflatable kayaking rapids, class 2-4 depending upon guest.
Water temperature: Approx. 68 degrees
Wildlife: Moose, woodland caribou, wolf, lynx, bear and osprey
Forest cover: black spruce, white spruce, balsam fir, larch (tamarack) and lodgepole pine.
Elevation: 1,500 feet at put in. 100 feet at take out
Camps: remote beaches and rock ledges
Group size: 18 - 20 (16 person minimum for private departure)
River rafting history: Earth River made the first raft descent of the Magpie in 1988 with Eric Hertz guiding. Earth River began running the first commercial trips In 1990.
INTERACTIVE ITINERARY:
(click on VIEWS to see photos)
For seven days we explore a wild area few people have ever seen. The whitewater is outstanding and builds in difficulty with the most challenging 4+ rapids coming at the end. For most of the trip, participants will have the option of inflatable kayaking. The rivers numerous class 3 and 4 rapids and warm water make this one of the better inflatable kayaking rivers found anywhere. We will camp on beautiful islands with beaches covered with tracks of moose, bear, wolf and lynx. Clear, star filled nights may include the magical pulsing light of the aurora borealis. Pine trees laden with osprey nests and rocky shores lined with sun-bleached, bone-colored driftwood abound to feed evening campfires. The Magpie's remote falls, deep pools and pristine water make for excellent trout fishing.
DAY 1: SEPT-ISLE / MAGPIE LAKE
This morning we fly (on our own) into the small French-speaking city of Sept-Isle, Quebec where we meet in the lobby of the Chateau Arnaud Hotel. After a trip briefing we board the van for a beautiful one hour drive, along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, past high sea cliffs, remote beaches and impressive waterfalls, to our rendezvous point with the helicopter. One of only two commercially run rafting rivers in the world that are accessed by helicopter, the ride is exhilarating as we glide over remote lakes and wild river canyons through the seemingly infinite, rugged glaciated wilderness that unfolds in every direction as far as the eye can see. We arrive at 30 mile long Magpie Lake where we camp the first night.
DAY 2: MAGPIE RIVER (RAFTING/ INFLATABLE WHITEWATER KAYAKING)
This morning we paddle a few minutes to where the Magpie River spills from the lake. The river is a relatively warm, 68 degrees, due to the top few feet of lake flowing into the river. The day is filled with numerous class four rapids. For the more intrepid in the group there will be a chance to paddle many of these rapids in their own inflatable kayak while being accompanied by a kayak guide instructor who teaches paddling skills and leads the way through the rapids. The terrain varies from old growth boreal forest, to hillsides of thick white lichen, green moss and granite much like Norway. Our final rapid of the day, Marmot (whirlpool), is large, technical 4+. Our night's camps is tucked away in a cove, just below Marmot.
DAY 3: MAGPIE RIVER (RAFTING / INFLATABLE WHITEWATER KAYAKING / STAND-UP PADDLE BOARDING)
Today we run a series a class 4 rapids down to our first impassible class 6 rapid where the guides line the boats around. After lunch we run a few more rapids down to our second class 6 rapid which the guides line the boats around. In the afternoon we float down to camp on a swift current with only riffles. The scenery in this section is stunning, with 1,000 foot walls rising from the boreal forest. There are numerous ospreys fishing in the river. This is the perfect section of river for first timers to try the inflatable kayaks and stand-up paddleboard. We spend the night on a beautiful little island, surrounded by beach, in the middle of a miniature lake. This is the perfect place to try out the stand-up paddleboard.
DAY 4: MAGPIE RIVER (RAFTING / INFLATABLE WHITEWATER KAYAKING / STAND-UP PADDLE BOARDING)
In the morning we raft a series of class 2 and 3 rapids down to 3/4 mile long, class 4, Saxophone Rapid. Above Saxophone is an excellent opportunity for people to try the inflatable kayaks and even the stand-up paddle boards. Above Saxophone, we put people with a little more experience back in the inflatable kayaks. We raft Saxophone down to a beautiful lunch spot on a granite bluff where the river makes two sweeping 90 degree turns affording river views in all four directions. After lunch, there are numerous class 3+ rapids down to a large sand and pebble beach where we spend the night.
DAY 5: MAGPIE RIVER (RAFTING / INFLATABLE WHITEWATER KAYAKING / STAND-UP PADDLE BOARDING) / GORGE CAMP
Today contains the biggest rapids of the trip including double drop (4+), Ledges (4+), 13 foot high Trust Falls (4) and Picket Fence (4+). At nearly a mile long, Picket Fence is the longest, most technical rapid on the river. In the early afternoon we paddle across a lake to the magnificent Gorge Camp for the night. This is one of the most spectacular camps in the world. The camp hangs on the edge of a stunning granite gorge laced with three impassible class 6 cataracts. if there is an aurora borealis that evening it will be in view of the camp, directly over the first falls. The Gorge Camp views are only surpassed by the views from the Falls Camp the following evening.
DAY 6: MAGPIE RIVER (HIKING / SEA KAYAKING / STAND-UP PADDLE BOARDING) / FALLS CAMP
This morning we take one hour hike to the base of the first falls in the gorge. The view is surreal as we stand a mere feet away from the wild maelstrom dropping over one hundred feet in a few hundred yards. There is an incredible place to swim in a calm eddy just below the falls. - While we are hiking and swimming, a helicopter arrives to the camp and portages our camping gear down below the gorge to our final night's camp. Later in the morning we hike down to the end of the gorge and board fast (5 MPH), stable, inflatable kayaks for the two mile lake paddle to the top of 90 foot high Magpie Falls where we eat lunch. Here the entire river hurtles 90 feet of the Laurentian Plateau in a thunderous crescendo of sound and spray. A constant rainbow, rises from the mist and never leaves the falls. We camp on a ledge directly across from the main falls and directly above a second 25 foot falls. This is probably the most spectacular commercial river camp in the world. -- If there is an aurora borealis in the evening, it will be to the north, directly over the falls.
DAY 7: MAGPIE RIVER (SEA KAYAKING / STAND-UP PADDLE BOARDING) / SEPT ILES
This morning we paddle the sea kayaks or stand-up paddle boards down river, with current for 4 miles to the take out where we meet the van. A 45 minute drive towards Sept Iles, takes us to a trail head where we embark on a 1.5 hour R/T hike to spectacular 130 foot high Manitou Falls. In the earlyafternoon we arrive back into at Sept Iles and check into the hotel. That evening we have a farewell dinner.
DAY 8: SEPT ILES / MONTREAL / CONNECTING FLIGHTS
After breakfast, we transfer by taxi (on our own) to the airport for the flight to Montreal and then on to our international flights.
This morning we take a mile hike around the gorge to the sea kayaks and paddle across a three mile lake to Magpie Falls. We camp that night on a flat ledge directly across from the falls. This camp is without doubt the scenic highlight of the expedition. The next morning we sea kayak the final three miles (with current) past smooth granite cliffs and dense spruce forests to the take out. With the vast wilderness to our right and the open St. Laurence to our left, we drive back to the hotel in Sept Iles. That evening we have a farewll dinner.
DAY 8: SEPT ILSES / BACK HOME
Today we take a taxi to the airport (on our own) and catch our flights back home.
From the Northeastern and Southeastern U.S. and Europe the Magpie is faster and easier to reach than any multi-day western U.S. river like the Salmon or Colorado.
There are a number of ways of reaching the starting point including flying, driving or a combination of both.
1) Fly to Montreal which has direct flights from many large U.S. cities. Arriving in Montreal, transfer to the 2 hour flight to Sept Ile arriving the evening before and spend the night in a hotel (on your own)
2) Fly to Montreal a day early and spend the evening in Montreal. Catch the early flight up to Sept Iles the following morning to meet the group.
3) Fly to Montreal a day early and transfer to the short flight to Quebec City and spend the night in the beautiful old section of the city. Quebec City is one of the most beautiful and historical cities in North America. Catch the early flight up to Sept Iles the following morning and meet the group.
(NOTE: All flights from Montreal to Sept Iles have a short layover in Quebec City, so a stop over in Quebec City can be arranged through Air Canada at no additional charge)
4) Fly into Montreal and rent a car and drive up to Sept Iles (8 hours). The southern route is relatively flat along the St. Lawrence River and involes taking an hour ferry. The northern route is spectacular with an impressive, mountainous coast line. There are whale watching tours offered near Tadoussac where the Saguenay River meets the St. Lawrence River. Both drives take you past (or through) Quebc City.
5) Drive to Sept Iles from New York: 15 hours, Boston: 13 hours, Washington D.C. 23 hours, Chicago. Although it makes the drive a bit longer, it is possible to visit the spectacular Gaspe Peninsula and Nova Scotia on the drive.
Flight times to Montreal:
New York (1 hour)
Chicago (2 hours)
Washington D.C. : (1.5 hours)
Atlanta (2.6 hours)
Houston (2.6 hours)
Western U.S. Cities (5-6 hours)
London (6.5 to 7 hours)
Paris (7 - 7.5 hours)
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REFLECTIONS
The following piece was excerpted from The winter edition of the Syracuse University Magazine
Stephen Mahan (right), director of Syracuse University’s Photography and Literacy Project.
Giving voice to city school Children Helping students discover that voice through writing and imagery is Stephen Mahan’s mission. With digital cameras, journals, and a fierce sense of commitment to the students, he helps them learn storytelling techniques and media skills that trigger self-expression, building self-esteem as they explore their outside worlds and inner selves.
Mahan recognizes these students, he says, because he sees himself in them. He was hyperactive, constantly in trouble, and had difficulty paying attention and reading. Eventually, a passion for photography led him to an M.F.A. degree from the University at Buffalo, where he taught photography in a program for inner-city kids. The combination clicked. “I know a lot of these kids have the same difficulties I did,” he says. “If I can make one kid or any number of them feel they’re capable, intelligent, creative and have something substantial to add to the conversation in class, then it’s worth it.”
At Fowler High School in Syracuse, which has a 65% drop our rate, the highest in New York state, that challenge is regularly put to the test. The majority of students come from the city’s poorest neighborhoods. Like many urban schools, the school is underfunded, overcrowded and faces scrutiny for standardized testing performances. 40% of the students are African American and 25% hispanic. There are also children from Bhutan, Nepal, Sudan, Liberia, Vietnam, Iran and elsewhere. At last count, 21 languages were spoken in Fowler’s halls. In this tremendous clash of cultures, Mahan’s program gives students the ability to not only be comfortable sharing their deepest thoughts, but to appreciate others as well.
In the six years Mahan has been doing this, he has encountered his share of stark, honest writing that reflects the all-too-real lives of the students. One wrote about his father’s suicide, others about domestic abuse, street violence, teenage parenting, and homelessness. Most of these kids do not have an outlet for their emotions which causes turmoil. When given the opportunity, they have the ability to dazzle readers and viewers with their rawness and uncommon maturity.
Mahan measures the program’s success in helping the students realize the value of their words and imagery—that they have something to say. It is a way for them to discover they are important. “When the pictures are all laid out on the table, it is impossible to tell which kid has difficulties,” Mahan says, “and that’s what motivates me.”
Shaohong Personal Reflections
It was my first climb on Everest. As I left the last camp at 26,000 feet, to climb to the summit, I remembered the words of my climbing colleagues, “you will come across the dead bodies of many climbers on the way to the summit, it`s really frightening.” That part of the Everest experience isn’t talked much about outside the climbing circles.
Even though I was prepared, it was still a shock to come face to face with this frozen graveyard. If their faces had not been covered in snow, I would have thought they were sitting down taking a rest before climbing onwards. There was not much time to think. I had to reach the summit to complete my work, the first official measurement of Mount Everest in over three decades. As I pushed on, I passed more and more bodies, attempting to bury them beneath thoughts of reaching the summit.
At the third step, of the final pitch, I came across something I couldn’t bury. It was the body of a climber who had just died the day before. I knew him. We had spent the last few days together at camp, talking about climbing and our hopes of reaching the summit. The leader of his expedition had asked us to look out for him because he had not returned the day before. Even if he had still been alive, it would have been impossible to get him down from there.
A few hundred feet from the top, the wind became much stronger and I came to the cross roads many of the inhabitants of this “Dead Zone” had come to before me; continue with the dream or give up and return to camp. I stood there, hesitating for ten minutes before making that decision. I reached the summit, completed the measurement work for the government and made my way back to camp. That night, I thought about all the climbers who never made it off the mountain. I often wonder what makes us risk our lives to climb a mountain?
When I returned home to Chengdu and saw my young son, I said to myself, I will never go back to Mount Everest. But then, in 2008, when the government asked me to be the photographer for the Olympic Torch ascent of Everest, I agreed to go. I guess it’s in my blood – adventure for a lifetime.
“Earth River Expeditions, the whitewater-rafting company that pioneered the first raft descent of the Futaleufu in 1991, has and continues to put up a massive fight. They bought a large amount of land that the power company would have to purchase in order to build the dams and fought the construction of unsustainable development. In 2012, with the profits from their raft trips, they also founded a conservation organization, the Futaleufú Riverkeeper, to work on litigation, community outreach, and other conservation efforts full time. All profits from the trip go toward protecting the river.”
National Geographic Adventure Magazine, February 2013
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