The George River Expedition: September 1 – September 18, 2006

The George River arises from Cabot Lake in northeastern Quebec near the Labrador border. It flows 350 miles northward paralleling the Labrador border and the Torngat Mountains (highest North American range east of the Rockies) before emptying into the eastern side of Ungava Bay along the far northern edge of Quebec in the region now called Nunavik. It is home to the largest caribou herd in the world, bears, wolves, golden eagles, and an awesome fishery of salmon, trout and arctic char. We will be keeping a particularly sharp eye out for wolverines. Not thought to be in the region we saw tracks and two members of the crew sighted one on our second night out.

The Smithsonian's Arctic Studies Center (ASC) at the National Museum of Natural History became involved in the summer of 2004, as the project continued to develop. Dr. Stephen Loring who is on the 2006 crew suggested the George River as a destination as he has been doing research in the immediate region for nearly thirty years. In order to insure a safe and effective expedition this year we ran a 180 mile (290 km) recon from Indian House Lake to Kangiqsualujjuaq ten miles in from Ungava Bay in September 2005. The trip was fantastic with Northern Lights, caribou and bears almost every day and night.

The George River is nearly ideal for the centerpiece expedition of "Visions of the Boreal Forest" Artists Deep in the Northern Wilderness. While the George is a large powerful river with frequent rapids, they are not generally technically difficult. The river provides shelter for the extension of the boreal forest into the tundra. The tendrils of the forest wend their way up into the tundra hills providing picturesque vistas for miles upon miles. Innumerable waterfalls tumble down from the heights emptying the myriad lakes of the tundra. Not only is it an ecological interface between forest and tundra, but a cultural one as well between the Innu and Inuit.

Because the estuary section was determined to be too risky for our full crew, we will be flown out from Helen’s Falls south of Kangiqsualujjuaq after a run of 140 miles. This will allow for over a week of painting, photography and exploring and a relaxed pace.