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Labrador 2011: The quest for Hubbard's Mountain

On July 9 Robert Irwin and Philip Schubert leave Vankleek Hill for Labrador. They plan to drive along the Trans Labrador Highway to the Orma road, just east of Churchill Falls. If the road is passable they will make their way slowly north to the edge of Windbound Lake where they will launch two solo canoes equipped with spray decks. They will then paddle a circuitous route to Mount Hubbard. The plan is to use an array of islands along the way to hide from the winds and thereby minimize the risk in crossing this large body of open water. The goal is to climb the mountain that became the turning point in the ill-fated Hubbard expedition of 1903.

This will be the two paddlers' second attempt to accomplish this goal. If all goes as planned this year, Robert & Philip will install a granite plaque on the mountain top, to commemorate the place where Leonidas Hubbard and his remarkable guide George Elson, finally saw Michikamau, the vast "inland sea" only vaguely described in native legends.

For safety Robert and Philip are equipped with satellite phones, SPOT trackers and a Personal Locator Beacon. Each day they will update their position and provide details of their trip.

You can follow the trips here:

 

Where are Robert & Philip today?


July 9, 2011         And they're off ....

Robert & Philip        Robert & Philip

... on their way to Labrador


    July 11, 2011 (PM)
    Latitude: 54.09602     Longitude:-63.10535
    Travelling to the put-in the roads were better then expected.

    July 12 and 13, 2011
    Latitude: 54.09608     Longitude:-63.10535
    Days 1 and 2 - stuck at the put-in because of weather.

    July 14, 2011
    Latitude: 53.97424     Longitude:-63.12036
    Finally got paddling today, we are taking a slightly different route to avoid winds.

    July 15, 2011
    Latitude: 54.00064     Longitude:-63.30609
    Paddeled until late afternoon, reached take-out for Mount Hubbard

    July 16, 2011, mid day
    Latitude: 53.99091     Longitude:-63.32617
    We hiked up from the bottom to the top of Mount Hubbard. We installed the granite plaque we brought
    with us to commemorate this important site in Canadian history.

    We hope this will now become a destination for other paddlers.

    July 16, 2011, PM
    Latitude: 54.00043     Longitude:-63.30615
    Back at the take-out, the bottom of Mount Hubbard.

    July 17, 2011, PM
    Latitude: 54.09611     Longitude:-63.10641
    After a big day's paddling, in some wind and weather, we made it back to the car.



Check out the trip photos and details here ...