Where is Robert?

This site has been set up to keep family and friends up to date about where I am and how my trip to the Hubbard Rock trip is progressing. At the bottom of this page, thanks to Silvia’s efforts, you will be able to click on a map showing my most recent campsite and read my latest observations.

Why a solo trip? That’s easier to explain than the question I hear more often: “why go there at all?” But more on that later.

This trip didn’t begin as a solo it just ended up that way. Several people were scheduled to join me and then had to cancel. I felt the trip was inappropriate for a couple of others who wanted to come. Solo trips have a unique appeal which I’m looking forward to in this case but I’m not one of those zealous soloists who believe it’s the only way to go.

Satellite phone service, especially in river valleys, is problematic so there will be days without any updates. I’ve been a long-time Globalstar customer but their satellite network has become increasingly unreliable. I only discovered how bad things were, during a couple of canoe trips in northern Ontario last month when service was generally unavailable. I’m therefore grateful to Adam Lewis, Qaujimautik Systems Inc., who managed to get me an Irridium sat phone on short notice. I will still have the Globlstar as a backup and I will also be carrying a personal locator beacon (PLB) purchased previously from Adam. A detailed plan has been filed for this trip with the Canadian Beacon Registry.

As family and friends know, I’ve been canoeing in the wilderness for decades and have paddled in Labrador (including Grand Lake and the Naskaupi river) before. Some of what I will be doing this time, should therefore be familiar. This is however the longest solo trip I have attempted and it involves a mountain climb as well as a 20km hike through some rough terrain. And I’m not getting any younger, so this will be a challenging adventure.

I plan to leave Vankleek Hill July 12 and reach Baie-Comeau, Que., the first night. I should arrive in Labrador City July 13 and Happy Valley-Goose Bay July 14. It’s a beautiful part of the world. As veteran New Brunswick canoeist and fellow Labrador-enthusiast Rory Matchett wrote me recently: “That country keeps tugging at your heart to go back again.” That fact and the compelling pull of the Hubbard legend are the only answers I can come up with for those of you who have so many times asked: “why are you doing this?” If things work out as planned I should reach the remote Susan River and the rock where Leonidas Hubbard died. I may also be able to bring back the first photos of the area following the forest fire that went through in 2003.

Weather permitting, I should put my canoe in the water at North West River July 15. I’ve allowed 30 days to explore the area but as with any wilderness trip I’m equipped with supplies for a much longer period to allow for adversity.

Philip Schubert’s website provides a detailed account of his 2003 trip to the rock as well as some excellent historical and geographical perspective: http://magma.ca/~philip18/Hubbard-Rock.html

Until he was air lifted from the area due to the fire, Philip managed to take what might be the last photos of the rock before the intense burn changed the way things originally looked back in 1903. I want to thank Philip for his generous help with my trip planning.

Photos of the trip

Where I am on: