From time immemorial the Cree people of James Bay have travelled across the snow.
Snowshoe Expedition Across James Bay - 11+ Days
Kyle will take you on this 100-mile snowshoe expedition from Moosonee, Ontario to Waskaganish, Quebec, retracing his great grandmother’s footsteps. You will be sledding back after your snowshoe adventure. The trip may end up being extended if there are weather delays. Available start March 25, 2025.
This expedition is personal for Kyle and he is inviting you to join him on this once-in-a-lifetime journey. His great grandmother snowshoed and dog-sledded from Waskaganish to Moosonee to start a new life. She also continued travelling up and down this route as she worked as a traditional midwife and delivered over 80 babies along both sides of the James Bay coast. Now decades later, he will be retracing her steps for the first time. He is a Canadian Forces Ranger, but more than that, he is a local Cree who was born on this land and has walked it these past 30 years. Like his ancestors before him, he knows how to keep you safe in the -40° weather, bitter north winds and with polar bears for company. He will hunt and fish as you go, making sure you are well provisioned. You are in good hands!
Trapping Expedition: Walking the Trap Lines – Seven Days
Your seven day adventure will start and end in Cochrane. You will travel to and from Moosonee on the Polar Bear Express train. Truly a bucket list trip complete with dining car and old-fashioned comfort with five hours of remarkable landscapes that gradually transform the further north you go! You will see how animals are trapped for both their fur and meat and participate in all aspects of this traditional Cree way of life.
This is the deep freeze of all deep freezes. Temperatures can reach -40° and the bitter strong northern winds are challenging, though the cover provided by being in the bush reduces their severity. This expedition is not for everyone! You must be fit and willing to push yourself to snowshoe miles each day. Part of your traditional indigenous cultural experience includes ice-fishing for your meals, supplemented with rabbits that are trapped along with other small game that Napoleon or Kyle will harvest during your stay. You will also learn how to make Bannock over a campfire.
Each morning you will experience the sunrise on the expansive snowscapes of James Bay, the very edge of the arctic ocean. The dry cold and crisp night air is ideal for viewing the Northern Lights and with seven nights up here, chances are you will have several chances to be awed by these mesmerizing skyscapes!
On your first evening in Moosonee you will be treated to a Cree feast, accompanied by cultural wisdom and stories shared by a Cree elder who will also lead a smudge offering that everyone stays well and safe in the days to come. Finally, as the evening winds down, it will also be your first opportunity to see the Northern Lights.
On your first morning in Moosonee, and for the next two days, you will go out with Napoleon checking the traps and then when you are back at the camp you will participate in skinning and drying the furs. On day five you will again check the traps, but this time gather tamarack boughs for making tamarack geese, a Cree cultural craft. On day six you will be guided in making your own tamarack geese by a local craftsman. On day seven you will wrap up your fur and crafting activities and catch the polar bear express that evening. Your furs will be mailed to you once they are fully cured, but you can take your tamarack geese with you.
For more details click here.
Northern Lights
This is the deep freeze of all deep freezes. Temperatures of -40° with bitter strong northern winds make trekking here something only the most hearty or adventurous are eager to take on. However, the dry cold and crisp night air is ideal for viewing Northern Lights and with 11 nights up here, chances are you will be repeatedly awed by these mesmerizing light shows!
This eco-tourism adventure is not for everyone! You must be fit and willing to push yourself hard to snowshoe 10 miles a day. A second guide will go ahead by snowmobile to prepare the camp each night, cutting holes in the ice for fishing, cutting wood, starting the campfire and woodstove.
Each morning you will experience the sunrise on the expansive snowscapes of James Bay, the very edge of the arctic ocean. Each evening you will have the opportunity to be awed by the Northern Lights as the dry cold, crisp night air is ideal for these colourful dancing displays!
For more details click here.