Natashquan River Journal 2014




The Natashquan River headwaters are located in Southern Labrador just to the East of the Romaine River. We will access the headwater from Oreway on the QNSL Railway Line which is about 5 hours ride north of Sept-Iles on the St Lawrence North Shore.
From Oreway (population 0) we will paddle across Lac L'eau Clair and downstream on Riviere L'eau Clair through Lac Joseph and Lac Atikonak to the height of land portage into the Romaine watershed.

We will travel upstream on the Romaine to the eastern end of Lac Long and via a number of streams and small lakes locate the portage into the Natashquan watershed.

Once on the Natashquan we will have 100km of progressively bigger rapids, chutes and falls, we expect our progress through this area will be slow. The final 300km is relatively sedate, we hope for reasonable current and no headwinds.

Our plan is to start from Oreway on July 7th and finish at the village of Natashquan, a distance of 700km, after 36 - 40 days.





This interactive map shows our basic route. As you zoom in additional detail layers will be seen. You can use the drop down in the top right corner to add or switch to Satellite view. For greater flexibility you can vist the source page directly via the link.

Direct Link To Map Page







This SPOT tracking page shows our current position and track over the past 7 days. the tracking is updated every 15 minutes when we are on the move. OK messages are sent each morning when we leave camp and at the end of the day when we get to the next camp. On layover days there might only be one OK message around 4:20 (if we haven't left by then we are not going anywhere). Layover days may be the result of high winds, lack of energy or a desire to explore off river (we will SPOT if we go off river any distance)

Direct Link To Tracking Page

Check out the water levels from this gauge located about 40km upstream from the mouth of the river

The weather in Oreway should be representative of what we are experiencing for the first half of the trip. In the final week or so it may be more similar to the village of Natashquan