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Contents

Pages 1 to 3:  Introduction and History
Pages 4 to 6: Maps
Pages 7 to 11:  North West River and Grand Lake
Page 12:  Naskaupi River
Pages 13 to 14:   Red Wine River
Page 15:  Red Wine Valley
Pages 16 to 18:  Highlands
Page 19:   Hubbard Monument
Page 24:  Visitors to monument.
Pages 26 to 28:  Evacuation from monument
Pages 29 to 31:
Innu Portage
Pages 32 to 33:
Useful information for canoeists and hikers

 I had just finished recording the names in the aluminium battery box and was just getting out my satellite phone to call my wife and reassure her that my trip had not been a failure after all, when I heard a helicopter approaching.  It was moving slowly and then seemed to hover to the east of me, approximately where I had set up my tent.  Then it began moving west towards me until I had my first view of it, a Jet Ranger.  I was standing at the edge of the river and it hovered in front of me.  I felt sure it was looking for me, but why?

It then slowly descended down to the level of the river until it seemed to be just touching the boulders out in the middle of river.  With the engine and rotor still racing, a door opened and someone looked down.  The door closed and the helicopter rose up.  I thought it was going to leave without me being able to find out why it had come in the first place.  But no, it went overhead and then started descending again, behind where I was standing. 

I walked away from the river to a clearing behind me and could see that it was descending over an open area in the woods, a hundred or so feet away.  It was swampy and, as the helicopter got close to the ground, the downwash from the rotor began to churn the water lying in shallow pools.  Again the door opened and someone looked down.  Then, the helicopter again rose up.  That’s it, I thought, it will be gone now without me finding out what this has been all about.

I was wrong.  The helicopter again flew over me and began to descend once more over the river in front of me.  This time it was oriented differently as it neared the boulders.  Finally, it seemed to be in contact with the boulders, engine and rotor still at full speed.  The door opened and the same person looked down and then closed the door.  I held my breath.

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