Generally the park wants you to paddle in one direction out of the Fjord. This would require a shuttling of the boats or at least the people to complete. We investigated this but found the number of days that the shuttle ran to be limited and not compatible with our schedule. I also found that the employees making reservations at the park were not strict about the one way direction. These issues as well as the tide timing mapped into the following plan:
Launch at Anse de Roche in Sacré-Coeur on an incoming tide paddling 7 miles to camp at Anse des Îlets Rouges. Launch late morning with an incoming tide 10 miles towards camp at Anse du Portage. Launch very early morning to catch the outgoing tide 13 miles to Anse au Cheval. Launch at a leisurely morning pace to return 5 miles to Sacré-Coeur.
The wild card in this plan was the wind. The Saguenay Fjord is generally about 1 to 2 miles wide and lined with 300 foot steep sides. It is part of what makes it a beautiful place. It also forms a wind tunnel with the wind blowing up or down its length.
We drove straight up to Tadousac in one day. It is about a 10 hour ride without any significant stops. We stayed at “La Galouine Auberge et Restaurant” where we had a wonderful dinner and a fine breakfast. This set us up to be at the launch around 9AM and on the water before 10:30. (We pre-sorted the gear into dry bags in the B&B parking lot.)
The boats packed up relatively easily. Keri felt a bit helpless watching as I stuffed bags into all the crevices of the two kayaks. I wanted to make sure her boat was loaded properly with the weight centered and low in the boat to maximize her stability. She had never paddled a loaded boat.
It was a beautiful warm day with little wind. Even though the water is cold we did not wear wetsuits. This is always a calculated risk you take based on water temperature, air temperature, weather conditions, skills, number of paddlers, and proximity to shore and/or rescue. As we paddled towards Baie Sainte-Marguerite the wind began to pick up in our faces. Keri was beginning to struggle with boat control when suddenly we were in amongst the Belugas. They were popping up all around us as we held our position into the wind with the tide and light paddle strokes.
When there was a lull in the whale surfacing and we started to try and make headway again it became apparent just how much the wind had picked up. It was clear we needed to get going so I put Keri under tow to help make her strokes as efficient as possible (no worries about directional control). We both did some hard paddling until we landed on the NE edge of Baie Sainte-Marguerite. We needed to rest, get some food in us, and put on our wetsuits which we had stored accessibly in our front hatches.
I was concerned. The wind at this point was blowing about 20 knots (as measured by how tightly I had to tighten the elastic cord in my hat to keep it on my head). The waves with an opposing tide had built to at least a 2 foot chop and it was difficult for us to make forward progress. We would seek refuge behind each little point but then as we rounded the point we would be exposed to the worst combination of tide, wind and chaotic waves. Fortunately, our first camp site was closer than I expected and we dragged our tired bodies ashore in a cove protected from the wind.
Our campsite was beautiful. We were the only campers on the six well spaced tent platforms. We cooked up our steaks and potatoes and relaxed in the evening light. I was enjoying myself but I was concerned about the wind. I was tired from the first day’s effort and I knew I would not be able to tow Keri for a second day like I did the first. We discussed this casually and I pointed out that we could always turn back if the wind returned.
The second day started out reasonable but there was already a head wind right from the start. It appeared to be coming across the fjord at an angle so we crossed over to the other side to seek refuge. Unfortunately, as I feared, the wind was coming straight down the middle and riding up both sides as it was slowed ever so slightly by the cliffs. We fought it for a while but I wanted the experience to be fun, not a slog. I chose to abort our planned destination before we were a third of the way there. We would take our chances that there would be an open campsite at one of the three pullouts that were within our reach. Anse à Tidée was the destination of choice.
With the decision made we crossed back over, now with the wind at our backs, to explore some islands on the other side. We sought out eddies to push us against the tide and played in some mini tidal rips. We ate lunch in Anse Gagnon. The gradual slope of this beach combined with the 15 foot tides had us pulling in the boats every 10 minutes. On the crossing back over to Anse à Tidée Keri spotted one lone Beluga.
We were the only campers at this pullout. We began to empty our boats and scope out the prime tent site. Just as were ready to settle in 5 paddlers came around the corner. They were a Maine Based tour group and they had reservations at four of the six sites. Fortunately no one else showed up and we settled in on an upper platform. We let them use the beach and we cooked dinner up by our tent.
Because of our plan change, the paddle from Anse à Tidée to Anse au Cheval was only about 3 miles. These three miles would bring us back by Baie Sainte-Marguerite where we hoped to see the Belugas again. I chose to fight the current around Île Saint-Louis so that we would drift through the whale zone and not have to paddle directly towards it. Unfortunately the currents were strong and pulled Keri’s boat around mercilessly. I quickly put her on tow again to get her around the island. Although the tow helped achieve my goal it was probably a poor decision from the point of view of building Keri’s paddling self confidence. Here we were in flat calm water and I was towing her. We could have just gone with the current the whole way.
We did not see any whales this morning and we pulled into our next campsite at the bottom of the tide. We settled in and I put a long rope on the boat and slowly advanced them with the tide. Through binoculars we kept watch for the Belugas. I was unsure if they showed up each day at the same time of day or the same time on the tide. Our plan was to wait until we could see them and then cross over in our empty boats. We waited until almost 4pm and the top of the tide. (This was later in both day time and tide time than we had seen them the first day.)
Near the mouth of Baie Sainte-Marguerite there were Belugas everywhere. We saw at least three distinct pods and we watched 3 and 4 surfacing simultaneously. We even saw one floating vertically in the water with its head in the air. A tandem kayak passed a few hundred yards from us and a pod of 4 or 5 chased it as it paddled away!
Suddenly, there was a disturbance right off Keri’s bow. She could see the whale passing under her boat. I looked down and could see mom and baby (the young whales are gray) sitting parallel to me about three feet down. The mom swam forward while the baby held position a bit longer.
(head up Beluga, look close)
In the all the excitement I failed to notice how well Keri was paddling. The wind had picked up, there was tidal rip happening, she was paddling beam to the waves, and all the while she was in perfect control. Maybe all the struggling with a loaded boat made paddling an empty boat seem easy? I do think the boat was loaded a bit bow heavy on the second day and paddling in calm water can make every mis-stroke of the boat even worse as the hull is so tightly attached to the water over the entire length. With only a handful of paddles under her skirt she was doing amazingly well.
We got an early start on our final day’s paddle. The water was calm, the sun was warm and it was perfectly relaxing. It was relaxing and uneventful until we heard the blow. Actually we both had heard it a few times before we became aware that a Minke was feeding in the cove in front of us. We sat spinning on the eddy line in front of Anse a Pierrot for at least a ½ hour while the Minke surfaced dozens of times. We saw it roll on its side. We saw its throat pleats and its flippers. Finally it crossed the Fjord to give a similar show to some kayakers we could see on the other side!
(On side, look close)
Our experience on the Fjord was phenomenal. Our whale encounters were unforgettable and the camping was beautiful. Our decision to alter our plans without having the appropriate reservations worked out well. Truth is we ended up doing the same amount of paddling that day but we did it with the wind and without the stress of charging toward a distant destination. Unfortunately it will take some really close encounters to exceed this experience. But I’m very willing to settle for “more of the same”!
Day1, 7.1 miles Day2, 9.3 miles Day3, 11.8 miles Day4, 11.6 miles
1 comment:
Loved to read your travelling adventure! I am planning to do something similar on Fjord Saguenay with my girlfriend. Had you reserved with sepaq?
Thanks!
Arnaud
Post a Comment