I did the miss a long time ago--4 times from mattice to moose river--even salvaged a conoe some poor sole had lost--a bunch of ductape and our group was on our way--rapids were ausome---great fishing---the last trip i took there,i was 21  a group of four of us---thought we were 10 foot tall and bullet proof------wrong-----buddy pissed off conjuring rock--he fell of the cliff at thunder house and survived!!landed in the dryriver gourge==guess he was lucky he was fat==waited till morning to decide iether to go back up stream 50 miles to mattice orhead for moose river crossing---ended up going on-brought him all the way home to southern mich and took him to the hospital---lots of casts---------yes she can be a deadly river------my brothers and i went to missianabi lake provincial park last summer in early july--we decided to stay atwhite fish falls-----awsome walleye and pike-----but didnt hold a candle to BWCAW--fish wise--wildlife wise amd beautiful peaceful campsite wise

Hey ab, did this trip ever happen?
-Just curious...

The May 2006 Field & Stream features Missinaibi. The trip report includes a scary-sounding capsize...lots of fish....sounds like too much fun. I am definitely researching it for a trip next year.

Now if I could only find someone to join me...

The Beaver

paddled miss. solo in August '98 from Mattice to Moosonee.

Low water affects the lower river a bit, but it's not a long stretch--from just above the rr bridge to about a mile below. We had to pick channel very carefully and the stretch by the gypsom(?) caves was difficult. bug weren't a big deal.

It was funny, when I called the MNR and Parks folks they all said just buy Hap's book and that was all I needed. From my perspective they were pretty much right. Hap overweights the rapids a bit but he's being cautious I suppose. I also used some old MNR section maps. got them all in Chapleau.

It was a great time. found myself in between two parties so once I figured out their rate of travel I could spend the days to myself. Lots of good historic places to stop at and ponder, like old HBC trading posts.

Thunderhouse Falls is one of the coolest places I've been too. Definitely plan to overnight there, even though it is only the second night of the trip after Mattice. Lightens the food though, since the next day after that will be total portage and after that the carries are over.

Self-outfitted. Drove to Mattice, took train to Cochrane from Moosenee and bussed from Cochrane back to Mattice.

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I have paddled the Missinaibi from Dog Lake to Moose Factory on James Bay. It is an excellent wilderness trip. We went mid July. Bugs? Yeah, it's WILDERNESS!  If your tripmates areg oing to let a few bugs affect your trip you need different tripmates.

You need skills to negotiate the rapids. This river CAN kill you. Haps book is the best guide and you can use his hand drawn maps to travel the river. There are no UTM coordinates however. I still have my Canadian topo maps and would be willing to sell them if you are interested. Contact me offline with a PM.

Once again the Missinaibi is one of the best river trips you can take in Canada, but it is a serious trip.  BTW, last year water levels got very low after July and the lower river was almost unnavigable.

Feel free to contact me if you have any specific questions.

I have done the Missinaibi twice, from Missinaibi Lake to Moose River Crossing. In thirty years of canoe tripping, they were far and away the best trips I have ever been on.

Mad_Mat has found the best guide book that I  know of. (Missinaibi – Journey to the  Northern Sky by Hap Wilson) This book is complete with everything  you need to know, with the exception of GPS coordinates. It covers from Lake Superior to James Bay. It’s about $13 on Amazon.com and can save you $$$$ on topo maps. It’s also a small price for your life, as the Canadian topo (12years ago) had a portage marked on the wrong side above Thunderhouse Falls. I’m a hardcore kayaker and looking down on this rapid almost made me wet my pants, but not from excitement. The stories are horrible but true. There were several drowning a few weeks before our trip.

We used Missinaibi Outfitters in Mattice to take care of the logistics. Highly recommended, and so easy to work with over a telephone. They have a web site also.

Hey! Mad_Mat have a safe trip. I’m jealous of ya.

Dan

i checked some old pictures and the two trips i made were in the early part of june??
i alway's go to the Q about the 20th of may and the bugs are just starting to get real active.
everybody seems to have a different tolerance to blackflies, even on the two trips i went on i was wearing shorts and t-shirt, sometimes no shirt at all.
i alway's doped up before i left tent in morning and every couple of hours during the day.
my paddling partners usually waited till they had been bit numerous times before doping up.
i'm not a bug expert but i think it's sort of like shark repellant?
once the bugs bite you and draw blood i think the repellant isn't as effective?? just my personal observation!
if your going to be on a lake just pick a point opened to the wind and you should be okay??
i just use Cutters bug dope and only go to the 100% deet in a real emergency??
i also have a set of mesh pants/jacket that i carry.
about $40 at Cabela's.
so far i've never used them or the deet.
i think your personal body chemistry has something to do with it as well??
i read were people take garlic tabs before trips and it seems to help??
i eat lot of garlic(love italian) so maybe that helps??
main thing is don't let them bite the hell out of you before putting on SOME kind of dope.
i think that's the key??
have a good trip and plan on catching some big eye's and monster pike!!!

Do you think Memorial Day weekend is already bug weather?  Talking to my buddy, the plan is to Basecamp on Missinaibi Lake and just fish and tour around the lake.  Beefing up my bug gear would be a good idea anyway, the gear locker is getting pretty well stocked now, so that isn't a problem.

ab

been on missinapi river twice some years ago.
i didn't plan trip as it was another guy's choice of spot's.
remember outfitter dropped us off and we caught the wilderness train back out.
can't remeber details off hand but WHAT i do remember that both times we went was in spring and the black flies cut the trip short both times!!
not my choice but the guy's who planned it!!
even with 100% deet, they couldn't deal with the bugs.
on the lake's it was better but the river sections were bad!!
not to discourage just something to consider??
would look into bug shirt or similar item just in case??

Fantastic, thanks for all the info.  I'll check out out the sites and see what I can learn.  He's talking about doing an easy backcountry camping trip to Missinaibi Lake, which I guess does not involve any of the whitewater.  It would be fun to do a guided whitewater trip someplace like this too.