The journey began Sunday, May 13, 2012. Ryan, Jake, and Adam drove from Duluth Minnesota to Winnipeg Manitoba. They took a train to Jasper Alberta. They paddled 1,873 miles via the Athabasca, LaBiche, Beaver and Churchill rivers to "the polar bear and beluga whale capitol of the world" Churchill Manitoba. They took a train for a relaxing 47 hours back to Winnipeg. 



From Rails to Whales

Pre trip Itinerary    

                                                                                                                         

                                                                                miles per section        total miles
May 12th Jake leave Minneapolis bond for Duluth     
May 13th Crew fills a Nissan Versa to the brim with food

             and gear and heads for Winnipeg
             Happy mother day, we love you all!!
May 14 Crew board a train from Winnipeg to Jasper at 12 Noon    
May 15 Crew arrive in Jasper Alberta and looks for the a   
          big river flowing north
May 17 Arrive in Hinton, Alberta                                                           53          53
May 22 Arrive in Whitehorse, Alberta                                                   120        173
May 28 Arrive in Athabasca, Alberta                                                     228       401
May 30 The upriver battle begins as the group reaches                            30       431
Confluence of the Athabasca and La Biche rivers
June 7 Arrive in town of Lac La Biche all down river from here out              70       501
June 21 Community of Ile a la Crosse, start of the Churchill River               327      828
June 27 Community of Pinehouse lake                                                   148      976
July 1 Community of Missinipi                                                                 97     1073
July 2 Community of Stanley Mission                                                       23     1096
July 5 bypass frog portage (Route Voyageurs took to York factory)               30      1126
July 8 Community of Sandy bay                                                              80     1206
July 10 Community of Pukatawaga                                                            51     1257
July 15 Community Leaf rapids                                                               103    1360
July 22 Missi falls damn (end of South Indian)                                          108     1468  
August 10 Down by the bay arrive in Churchill, Manitoba                            255    1723
  August 14 Board train to Winnipeg
  August 16 Welcome home to Duluth

Disclaimer- These miles are from many different sources and are not necessarily 100 percent accurate they are intent to provide the folk at home with a rough idea of our plans. Likewise the dates are also tentative and are likely to change depending on weather, river conditions and group moral.