Moisie River

With the dawn of the 21st century, eastern Quebec's Moisie River is still a frontier waterway. Plunging steadily down for 416 kilometres from the Labrador Plateau to the shores of the St. Lawrence River, dropping over 600 metres from headwaters to mouth, and draining 19,200 square kilometres of boreal highlands, the Moisie is Quebec's longest and largest river. Its furious rapids, tunnel-like canyons and towering cliffs have been immortalized in the books and journals of those who have conquered them. Its twists and turns beckon enticingly to seasoned paddlers looking for the ultimate whitewater high and the supreme test of their skill and endurance. Yet few belong to the exclusive club that can claim its conquest - a descent of the Moisie is not a trip to be taken lightly. Neither is its legendary run of Atlantic salmon, full of fight and feistiness. An angling expedition on the Moisie remains the consummate fishing trip, a trip back in time where cold, clean waters still run thick with robust, trophy-size fish. For the Innu, however, "Mish-te-shipu," the "Great River," was more than an entertaining one-way ride to the sea or a haute-holiday at a wilderness fishing camp. Its turbulent corridor, carved into the wall of forest that crowds its riverbanks, was a vital upriver route to the land of the caribou and the rich, interior world of a peaceful, ancient culture.