Meet the river
Meet the river: Madawaska Gentle Moving Water
4-Day Madawaska Gentle Moving Water Trip
This 4-day canoe trip was originally touted as our flatwater trip, but our dear guests have since lovingly renamed this “gentle whitewater.” This section takes us on a journey with our home river — the Madawaska — in the heart of Algonquin territory. This gem holds a special place in many paddlers hearts for being a very “friendly” river to learn and grow with. We’ll begin our journey within the Lower Madawaska Provincial Park at Buck Bay and end in Griffith, travelling with a calm river flow, around cascading waterfalls and through playful swifts.
On Day 3, there’s a rest day for us to enjoy Crooked Rapids, a campsite nestled amongst small islands and hypnotizing currents. There is an opportunity to take a hike to the top of Blueberry Hill to see a more expansive view of the river valley and stretch our legs. The pace of this trip is beautifully gentle, allowing for lots of space for fishing, playing, swimming and deep, sacred rest.
Recommended Skill Level I-II
This trip is designed for beginners paddlers with no requirement for you to have experience paddling in canoes or camping. We’ll teach you! We have found that having some experience sleeping in tents and camping can make your experience more comfortable, as it allows more space in your nervous system to take in new information and be able to relax when we’re in camp! Don’t sweat it if you don’t have any experience, as we see our role as supporting you to learn and enjoy time with the river and the Land. If you’re feeling unsure if this trip is for you, contact us for more information. but our job is to support your learning, so don’t worry!
TRIP FLOW
Pre-Trip: intentions
After booking, take some time for yourself to reflect on what inspired you to join this trip. What are you hoping to learn or experience? What relationships do you hope to nurture? (e.g. With yourself? If so, which parts of yourself? With other women+? With the land?)
Two weeks before our trip, we’ll meet virtually to chat about our weekend together and take the time to answer any questions. This will be your chance to introduce yourself, share your questions, concerns, fears, hesitations, excitements, hopes, and intentions for the trip. When you share your intentions, it gives the rest of us an opportunity to support you.
Remember that at any point before the trip, you are always welcome to call Braiding Rivers with any questions or concerns.
DAY 1: settling
We will meet at our respective locations, where we will leave our vehicles for the duration of the trip. Once we’ve met each other, we will load up all of our gear and either take a van shuttle to our starting point, or launch from where we’ve parked.
Our first afternoons are spent getting to know each other, the river, learning how to paddle and enjoying our beautiful campsite.
DAY 2-3: The journey
Every day will look a little bit different depending on the weather and river flow. We will usually aim to be finished drinking coffee, eating breakfast and packing up camp around 10 AM. Don’t worry, paddling in the morning is beautiful - you won’t regret it! Generally, we aim to eat dinner between 6 and 7 PM, and spend our evenings in a variety of activities - music making, story telling, learning, crafting and connecting.
Our days are gentle, with lots of time to swim, fish and relax in between sites. Depending on your trip, there may be portages, optional hikes, or rest days. Everything else is a negotiation between us and the water. Every trip is different with a unique collection of women+ with unique visions for their time with the river.
DAY 4: going home
We finish our trip with a shorter day, aiming to reunite with the outside world sometime around lunch. We will unpack, enjoy a last celebratory meal together, and say our goodbyes mid-afternoon, leaving directly from our cars to our respective homes!
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