Day 11 and 12 Heavy Rain, 40mph Winds and Cold

After a nice first night on arrival in Longue Pointe ,and about 3 o’clock in the morning , most of us woke up to the sound of fierce winds and heavy rain. Getting weather updates in this area of Canada is difficult, but as we found out a strong cold front had moved in during the night bringing massive driving winds and an arctic blast of air this Pennsylvania team had prepared for , but was not quite ready for , at least so soon. Brewing in this weather was definitely out of the question as the rain was nearly horizontal, and the high for the day was in the low 40′s. The team soon realized we had ventured into the unknown. for the next 36 hours with only a small hour-long break, we all did our very best just to keep warm and try to keep our gear as dry as possible. Our camp was set up literally on the shoreline of the bay , in fact we were only about 25 feet from the breaking waves of arctic waters. Our spirits stayed strong and we worked as a team to help each other through the difficult times, this was a true test of spirit.

As we squinted out on the rough sea’s of the bay , we all reflected on the story of Captain Belcher’s journal in 1852-1853, of how the men of the 19th century had it much more difficult than us, we faced rain and mild temperatures compared the brave sailors who faced -40 degree cold and high seas , 6 months of darkness and traveling to the unknown parts of the Northwest Passage, this helped our spirits and gave us new respect for those so brave. We came on motorcycles and trucks , and could really pack up and leave at any time, none of us were really in any danger of loosing our lives. The sailors of the Belcher mission were not so lucky, when your on a ship in the cold north seas , there is no getting off and seeking shelter…

We did share a common remedy for the unpleasantness of the journey however, in the bow of our trailer, we carried our own Arctic Ale to make the journey more comfortable and it gave us hope for our success. After day two of the rain and cold we had heard from some Cree who had visited us that the weather may get a bit better on Saturday morning , this was our one chance to complete our mission. The Cree fishermen were extremely friendly and inspected our brewing equipment and listened to our story with much curiosity. They were interested in the fact that we had brought water from the Ruppert River to brew our ale , I think they thought we were crazy too , but they wished us luck and said they would be back to check on us . Saturday could not come soon enough , we started to get weary and it took it toll on everyone. Two days in these conditions are difficult to simply brew beer , my team stayed tough with words off encouragement from our emails and Facebook friends ….we thank you all for getting us through. Saturday our satellite goes down for the next four days…

Before the storm :

Day 10 Our Final push North !

We set off this morning after an incredible show of Northern Lights at our campground in Radisson Quebec. The road to the shoreline is paved for about 75km , then we split off the beaten path on a logging road. Our final destination is a small place north of Chisacibi the Cree village of about 3000 Cree and Inuit native Canadians. The weather today started out very cloudy and after about ten minutes we hit major winds. John and I where hit with difficult cold, wind and rain and our bikes leaned into the wind to keep them pointing straight. 20 minutes more and we were drenched and needed to pull over to change clothes and warm up.

We are now two bikes and two trucks and things seemed to be smoother without the added stress that comes with three riders and impatience.

As we turned on the logging road we passed winter camps of the Cree , abandoned shacks with snowmobiles and sledges in the yards, and ever shack has a Tee-pee. The trip to the shoreline was tough riding with washboard sections and deep loose stone and sand with is very difficult to keep the bike straight and upright . ( by the way , Chris has fallen on his bike only once, John = not yet , but Chris’s BMW GS is very heavy and he was tired …wink ) .

After 100 km, we reached Longue Pointe , not on many maps , it is the furthest you can possibly drive in Northern Quebec , and right near where the Hudson Bay and James Bay meet , officially in the Arctic and officially in the Nunavat Territories, we have left Quebec .

The long road broke and the landscape has changed again , the feel of the arctic is now in our faces, and in our spirits. The shoreline is amazing with almost no trees and huge granite slabs. The area is dotted with beautiful flowers and ground covers , pools of iron rich water dot the ancient scenery. We have made it ! This is were
we will brew our 19th century ale !

Day 8 and 9 , Radisson Quebec

The final push up the James Baie road led us past incredible power lines and distribution plants. Radisson is a workers town for HydroQuebec the energy company who controls most of the land other than the Cree and Inuit Indians. We are so far north , that almost no one speaks French anymore. mostly English and Cree. At the top of the town is a series of dams along the Le Grande river. One of the largest rivers in all of Quebec.

After traveling in the cold and the long road to Radisson, we opted for a good night’s rest in a motel. The town is very small )less than 1000 people with only one gas station and one place to eat.

Tonight Dick Gethin has informed us with much surprise that he was abandoning the journey and heading solo for home, he had enough of the trip. Dick’s plan was to leave the next morning by 6AM.

The rest of us gathered our spirits and renewed our resolve to complete the mission as planned. The next day we realized that much-needed to be done with the brewery and quite honestly we were all in too much shock to travel to our final destination . A second day was spent in Radisson, this day was used for final preparations , and relaxing before our most difficult push into the Canadian arctic region , Longue Pointe . Chris had taken a trip alone and visited Chisacibi a Cree nation of aboriginals who have a large settlement along the banks of the Le Grand River. Permission was granted to perform our brewing, camping and filming on Cree owned land.

Tomorrow we will move the team to our final destination , where the James Baie and Hudson Baie meet .

Day 7 East Main & The Rupert River

Spent the night at East Main ( which is river that leads from the wilderness to the James Bay) A quick setup of camp and food for the first time today , we had a weird feeling about this place, something was scary about it. For one, we were forced to pitch our camp under some enormous high-tension power lines. second , as soon as we had finished eating, the winds and heavy clouds rolled in . As it started to rain, we all opted for bed rather than stay up and fight the wind and rain . About two hours later, all hell breaks loose with a terrible electrical storm… crazy lightning and heavy thunder. Then it happened…a strike so close that even with eyes closed the light of the strike exploded in our heads, hiding in a thin tent with torrents of wind and rain the feeling was so terrifying we had thought the world was ending. After hours in this storm, we packed our wet belongings and raced to leave at first light in the morning.

A dream comes true today , our team has made it to the majestic Rivere Ruppert. The Ruppert is a wild and massive river that comes out of the Canadian Shield ( a place where the great glaciers began many years ago) . The Ruppert has been under pressure from a diversion back in November 2009 that destroyed the normal and natural flow for power of a hydro-electric dam. Despite the diversion , this river is most amazing !, guessing it drops 75 feet in a couple hundred yards, the main site is the Oatmeal Falls, the roar of the water takes your breath away and the whole area is simply stunning.
As planned we gathered water from this river to use in our Arctic Ale, water from Canada , grain from England and hops and yeast from the United States…the ingredients of the beer and the application of fire, practicing alchemy to make our ale

Day 6 Val’d Or and the Magic Lake

Heading out of Tremblant, we set our sights on Val’D Or, Quebec. The road is filled with farms and magnifcent vistas, the smell of the country air is so much more apparent on a motorbike than a car.

The group of travelers are starting to gel nicely and the miles are adding up. A new discovery is made around each bend in the road and the feeling and excitement of the trip is on the minds of us all.

The magic lake is filled with mystery and beauty, we met Johnny DiamondBoy …a Cree elder who caught 4 gigantic Sturgeon fish, he explained to us that the Sturgeon are a gift to him from his mother the lake……. He didn’t really understand our journey of the Arctic Ale , but said we will be blessed by his people.

Day 5 Mont Tremblant and Good Byes

Our journey continues from Gatineau to Tremblant thru wild mountain passes and twisty roads north and East.
We had several friends from the start of our journey but by the time we reached Mont Tremblant we only had Mrs. Bowen and Chris’s children Alex, and Sarah on the first leg of our travels.

After several days on the road and some camping and motorbiking, Mont Tremblant was a welcome stop on our mission north.We had arranged a visit to the ski resort “Mont Blanc” , owned by some friends of friends ( the way the whole journey has been ). Staying at a condo was a very welcome respite from the challenges of camping and paying for showers and that smokey smell of the fire pit.
Another challenge was the ever need for electricity for charging film equipment and the ever demanding world of the 21st century and the annoyance of modern conveniences.

The condo was great , a Swiss chalet in the Quebec countryside, three bedrooms, a fireplace and a steady supply of power.

Sad eyes welt up when Leslie,Alex and Sarah where ready to depart from the team of travelers, this was the last contact the team would enjoy from what was a vacation gone mad.

We all miss our families and no matter where we travel, people are all the same, we all need to eat,we all need to sleep and we love our children.

after today, our journey alone as 7 begins , and there is so much more to share, my blog here is two days behind….stay tuned !

Day 4 Gatineau and BDT !

Spent the day in Ottawa and then dinner and a brewery tour at the most amazing place.

We were excited to meet our friends at a brew pub named Les Brasseurs du Temps in Gatineau Quebec. I was in contact with one of the owners Marc Godin and his head brewer Dominique Gosselin , these guys are passionate about their beer !

Dominique and Chris share secrets about beer !

Marc explains the history of their brewery and that it was located along “Brewery creek” in the time of the 1800′s for Irish immigrants to enjoy beer while construction of the local canal. (Canadian Irish Pub ?)

Marc was so excited to meets us and explained that our journey to the north was simply another example of passion for a drink that we both share, these guys poured their heart and soul into this place, but explained that our journey just seems more extreme than his in the eyes of the public.

Marc with an old photo of the original brewery in the late 1800′s.

Absolutely amazing range of beers for such a small brew-house, 9 BBL’s if I can remember correctly. Dominique is a major talented brewer and so proud of his creations , we loved every beer we tasted, and when we were finished with the tour, he greeted us with a Pale Ale that had 300 lbs of Raspberries and dry hopped with Centennial hops…truly a fantastic ale , Dominique’s special and favorite creation , he called Fruit beer for Men …it was sensational !

The Alchemy of Beer ! ( in their museum )

Thank you BDT for your hospitality and excellent Ales !
We will be back for a visit !