A trip to the past by CALEB NICKERSON

The Pontiac and the river that marks its western boundary are steeped in history. Before paved roads and cars, the water was the quickest way to transport goods. Rivers and lakes were vital trade routes and transportation arteries.
This summer, one young man with local ties got a first-hand lesson in traversing these ancient highways the way his ancestors did it, by canoe.
Will McLean is a burly lad of 20 years that hails from Toronto but grew up coming to Norway Bay in the summers. He is currently studying at psychology and philosophy at the University of Ottawa.

He is also Métis.
The Métis are a group of people descendant from First Nations and European ancestors. Back in the 1600s, many French Canadian and British fur traders would marry Aboriginal women along the watersheds and rivers they travelled. Over the generations, they created their own culture with traditions distinct from other First Nations and Métis now number around 500,000 across Canada.
As a member of the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO), McLean heard about an opportunity to travel the old fur-trading routes in a voyageur canoe with other Métis youth and jumped at the chance.
“It’s such a long canoe trip and it’s so accurate to their route, I couldn’t pass it up,” he said. “I’ve always been interested in learning more about [my history] and what better way to learn about it than going to live like a voyageur for a bit, you know?
This year, the MNO sponsored a dozen modern-day voyageurs from across Ontario to travel 2,200 km along the Ottawa River and Great Lakes over 89 days. They dressed in traditional clothes and stopped in various Métis communities along the way to learn about, as well as promote their culture.
“It was a hell of a trip,” he remarked with a laugh.
McLean said that he learned a lot about his heritage during the training in the weeks leading up to the trip, but didn’t put in too much physical training for the marathon journey.
“We did a bit of warming up in canoes, not too much fitness though. Just wilderness first aid, learned a little bit about paddling together and headed out,” he said. “We did the training in Midland Ontario then we went to Thunder Bay for a couple weeks of cultural training at Fort William, then to Ottawa and took off on May 23.”
The group made their way up the Ottawa River, stopping in Mattawa before heading west to Lake Nippissing and Georgian Bay, stopping in North Bay, Timmins and Killarney, Ont.
“Six people left throughout so on average we had about 14 folks with us most of the time,” McLean explained. “We had couple road crew though so in the boat it was between eightand 12.”
“[The canoe] was a little bit larger than the ones they would have paddled back in the day. They would have had six or seven crew,” he continued. “Theirs were birch bark, ours was double insulated fibreglass, so it’s a little bit heavier.”
They would average about 40 km per day at a rate of about seven to nine km/h, or 50 strokes a minute.
Having taught canoe and kayak lessons in Norway Bay for a few summers, McLean was already quite confident on the water. However, the group encompassed a broad range of skill levels.
“There were lots of talented paddlers and plenty of people with lots to learn,” he said. “We had ten folks paddling at all times so you’re always picking up slack where it needs to be picked up.”
The group took a break in June to travel around south-western Ontario by truck for community events in places like Toronto, Guelph and Windsor. On June 27 they started up again in Sault Ste. Marie, travelling the shores of Lake Superior to Thunder Bay and eventually reaching their final destination of Kenora on Aug. 18.
McLean said that they encountered a lot of rain for the first stages of the trip, but it petered out and the last two months were relatively dry.
“Having to go through the weather was a really memorable thing,” he said. “Not being able to take shelter under a nice roof and change your clothes whenever you like. Having to sleep on the ground every night was definitely a big contrast and something that I learned a lot from.”
“We slept under the canoe the one night but the bugs were pretty bad,” he added.
Another challenge was being relatively cut off from the outside world. Though he had access to his cell phone for part of the trip, McLean said that there wasn’t any signal for a good portion of the journey.
“Spending four months just totally away from your life, and just having to be a part of the trip for so long, was probably the hardest part,” he said.
Out of all the places McLean visited, he said the serenity of the wilderness in northern Ontario was one of the highlights.
“Lake Superior was a really cool place and a memorable part of the journey for sure,” he said. “Just big, powerful waters and you’re 100 km from the nearest highway at points. It’s the real bush, it’s really nice.”
He emphasized that the trip helped him learn more about his heritage and develop a real appreciation for the way his ancestors lived.
“Knowing that you’re paddling and standing on places your ancestors would have stood, that’s where most of the learning came from,” he said. “It was a crazy experience.”