Retracing the Hubbard and Wallace Saga
Text and photos by Philip Schubert, Kanata, Ontario, Canada (click here to communicate with the author)
I’ve been retracing portions of the Hubbard-Wallace saga for the past few years, doing most of it solo. For an overview of my adventures up to 2006, see my articles in Che-Mun (http://www.ottertooth.com/che-mun/122/chemun122.pdf and http://www.ottertooth.com/che-mun/127/Chemun127.pdf).
The Hubbard and Wallace saga is a story of tragedy, adventure, courage, dogged determination and splendid accomplishment in Canada’s north. It took place in 1903, 1905 and 1913 and then continued to play itself out during the remainder of the lives of the key surviving leaders, Mina Hubbard and Dillon Wallace. A quick search on the internet will tell you about the saga and the numerous books which have been written on it. See the overall map below. Since first posting this I have learned about a website which has pulled together a wealth of information on the saga (click here).
For those interested in the saga and solo travel in the wilderness, the following will lead you to websites with photos and stories on my adventures and misadventures as I retraced portions of the saga (click on the photos below):
My
solo hike in 2003 to the site at the beginning of the Susan River
where Leonidas Hubbard died of exhaustion and starvation in 1903.
Also covered in the website is my solo trip in 2004 over the
front-end of the historic Innu Portage. Dillon Wallace and his
team travelled over this portage as part of their 1905 trip.
(click on
the photo to the left) ;
My
solo canoe trip down the Naskaupi River in 2005 to Seal Lake, which
Mina Hubbard and Dillon Wallace and their respective teams travelled
up in 1905. (click
on the photo to the left) ;
My
solo canoe trip down the first 140 kilometres of the George River in
2006, which was the last stage for the two trips in 1905 as they made
their way to Ungava Bay. Highlights for me were the
identification and exploration of the rapid which nearly cost Wallace
and Easton their lives and portaging past the spectacular Three
Gorges. (click
on the photo to the left) ;
In
2007 I further explored the Innu Portage , after exploring its
front-end in 2004. Its trails, streams and lakes, a total of 62
kilometres in length (39 miles), were travelled extensively over the
centuries as the Innu bypassed the rapids on the lower Naskaupi
River. I felt that I was living history as I went through it.
I've pulled together complete information here for those interested
in revisiting the challenges faced by Wallace and his team in 1905.
(click
on the photo to the left) ;
In
2008 I took on the George River once again solo, this time starting
on the Ossokmanuan Reservoir near the town of Churchill Falls and
making it all the way to Ungava Bay, a trip covering 800 kilometres.
A highlight was seeing the migration of the George River
caribou herd. (click
on the photo to the left) ;
A number of people have expressed interest in knowing more about a couple of innovations by me as I resolved challenges in taking on the saga solo (fire-shield making it easy to cook with wood, simple rudder which replaced the “missing” canoeist, and an emergency back pack which reduced the risk of going solo). I also include a photo of my felt soled wading boots which make it much safer to line a canoe over slippery rocks. (click on each photo below to see details)
