Voyageurs were the persons who engaged in the transportation of furs by canoe during the fur trade era. Voyageur is a French word which literally translates to “traveller”. They are legendary, especially in Canada and are often celebrated in folklore and music. 

In line with the David Thompson celebrations – Thompson first arrived in the beautiful Athabasca Pass in January, 1811 – some intrepid and adventurous modern day voyageurs are taking to the waters with a brigade that will travel from Jasper to Emerson Creek Bridge, approximately 40 kilometres downstream from Hinton. The trip, to take place Aug. 18 to 21, will see 14 crews paddle the 130 kms of river in the same fashion as the voyageurs of the 1800s. 

Rick Zroback, organizer and co-chair of the Athabasca River Voyageur Canoe Brigade (ARVCB), says the 14 crews are comprised of teams from Vernon B.C., Moosejaw, Sask., Fort McMurray, Rocky Mountain House, Edmonton, Canmore and Fort Saskatchewan. There are also two Jasper teams, four Hinton teams and one team from Brule.

Zroback, of Hinton, participated in the 2008 David Thompson brigade that paddled from Rocky Mountain House to Thunder Bay, Old Fort William.

“I put on three presentations in Hinton and Jasper,” says Zroback of the trip. “It was a trip that was second to none.”

Last November, Zroback and Lorraine MacKay, co-chair, decided to organize a brigade starting in Jasper and paddling  to the Emerson Creek Bridge.

“We’ll be dressed as close as we can to the voyageurs in the 1800s,” says Zroback. Things won’t be quite as hard as they were back then. “We have ground support and lighter equipment and our food will be there.”

Voyageurs typically ate two meals per day. Most of their diet consisted of a few items from a short list of food used for provisioning Voyageurs. One was pemmican, consisting primarily of dried meat (pounded into small pieces) mixed with fat. Another was Rubaboo or other dishes made from dried peas. It was more prevalent to include salt pork in the eastern routes. When travelling, the Voyageurs did not have time to “live off the land” by hunting or gathering. 

From 1812 to 1815, Zroback says the Athabasca was the main corridor to the Columbia River and to the fur trade.

“It was the Trans Canada Highway,” he says.

At a recent practice out by the airfield, teams from Jasper, Hinton, the Motley Crew team from Moosejaw and the Ceyana Canoe Club from Edmonton were all out getting their “feet wet” for the upcoming brigade.

“Most people here have paddled smaller boats, but not the Canoe Du Nords,” says Zroback. “These canoes are replicas of boats used in the fur trade. Of course they are much lighter and made of kevlar or fibreglass.”

Canoes used in the 1800s were made of Birch bark over a wooden frame. The “North Canoe” or “canoe du nord” was about 25 feet long, about four feet wide and weighed about 300 pounds. These canoes would carry just under 1 1/2 tons of cargo. The North Canoe was primarily used for interior routes that did not include the Great Lakes.

On May 14, the ARVCB teams spent the day learning how to manoeuvre and paddle in unison and get used to working as a team. Zroback says the two key people in the canoe are the stern, who controls the steering, and the bow who sets the cadence. On average canoes have six people in them, but there can be up to eight or 10. 

Ted Bentley, a member of the Ceyana Canoe Club of Edmonton, started paddling in 1963. He raced marathon events for money starting in 1964, ‘65 and ‘66. Bentley was also on the trials team for the Centennial Voyageur Canoe Pageant across Canada for the centennial.

“After almost 40 years, 30,000 km of paddling, putting on the white water nationals, being an Alberta whitewater champion, much ocean paddling, and leading the 2008 David Thompson Brigade of 314 people 3,100 km and 65 days, I have learned to paddle,” he says.

Bentley is also participating in the ARVBC and shared his expertise with his fellow brigadiers at their recent practice. 

“The most important paddling technique is risk management and safety planning,” he says. “The Athabasca is a fast, cold, high volume, challenging river through relatively undisturbed conditions. In some parts it is a long walk out if you lose a boat.”

Bentley says that being able to “read the river” and see where the best and safest place to be on the water is, takes constant focus – looking down stream 100 to 500 metres – and planning.

“Being prepared to stay with your buddy boat for mutual assistance is fundamental to safety,” he says. “Wildlife concerns are another example,” he says of the types of things paddlers might encounter on their four-day trip. “Bears will be with us, and in camp at night you have to be aware that the cougars are wearing lipstick.”

Jokes aside, Bentley says the Jasper area and the Athabasca River is the best big canoe paddling place he knows of. As far as the trip being challenging, he says that if the wind is up, Jasper Lake and Brule Lake will be hard work.

“If there is a head wind or a lot of sand in the air that could be quite nasty. Also if there is rain with the wind, hypothermia is a concern.”

Bentley says that the upcoming trip is quite straight forward assuming the group has good weather.  

“Rick [Zroback] has done a fine job of planning so that things will be safe, exciting and a great chance to interact with the communities from Jasper to Hinton.”

When he is asked why he was inclined to participate in the ARVCB, Bentley says that the area from Jasper to Hinton is great.

“The people in the communities are interesting and fun to do events like this with,” he says. “The support from the local businesses and towns is great. The Fur Ball last January was a very well done event and I think the Athabasca Brigade will be just as much fun and a lot more sunny. And it goes on for four days. Speaking as a guy from Edmonton, I admire this event a lot.”

Herb Robinson, captain of the Jasper crew, says that he was asked to organize the Jasper team through his role on the Jasper-Yellowhead Historical Society (JYHS). He says it was a nice fit for the society to get involved and he has already recruited a few more JYHS members to join the paddle.

Robinson says he has some experience paddling, but not much in a canoe and not in a brigade at all.

“I’m quite excited about it actually,” he says of the ARVCB. “The Jasper crew does have a few experienced paddlers that have participated in brigades.”

Robinson also participated in the recent practice and learned a few valuable lessons about paddling.

“I learned not to get cocky in the boat,” he says chuckling. “We managed to topple ours.”

Robinson says he really likes the fact that paddlers will be simulating some of what voyageurs may have experienced in long-ago brigades.

“It’s the closest that many of us will get (to that experience),” he says. “And it’s the kind of thing that some of us might not get to do again.”

Robinson says he finds organizing the boat the most challenging aspect of the upcoming brigade and is not as concerned about the river. He is looking forward to the hard work and the celebrations in the three communities.

The Jasper team is short a few paddlers at this point. To get involved, contact Robinson at herbr@telusplanet.net

Lorraine MacKay, vice chair of the ARVCB society, says she contacted Zroback in November 2009 to discuss the possibility of doing a brigade in 2011, in partnership with Jasper and the commemoration of the bicentennial of David Thompson’s travels through the area in 1810 – 1811 (and finally in 1812). 

MacKay says the event is also coinciding with the centennial of the community of Hinton in a combined celebration on Aug. 20 

“Rick had done a presentation at the Hinton Library on his trip on the 2008 Brigade and his enthusiasm at that presentation encouraged me to speak to him about doing a brigade here in the Hinton area,” she says. “The brigade has of course become a reality and will provide a legacy that recognizes the importance of the Athabasca River as the main artery of the fur trade and the voyageurs that followed after David Thompson’s initial travels in the Jasper/Hinton area.” 

MacKay has paddled all of the rivers in this area, including the Athabasca from the falls down, the MacLeod, Wild Hay River, Smokey River, Maligne Lake in Jasper and numerous lakes in Yellowhead county. She says this event will help to bring the recognition of the time that David Thompson spent in this area. 

“This great explorer is highlighted in other areas of Alberta and into British Columbia, but until recently the importance and acknowledgement of his journey through our area has not been identified, interpreted or commemorated,” says MacKay. “The gathering of paddlers (experienced and new paddlers) to take part in the brigade will allow the organizers in the three communities of Hinton, Brule and Jasper – along with Yellowhead County and Parks Canada – to showcase who we are and the significance in the development of our area thanks in a great part to the fur trade and the journey of David Thompson through the Athabasca River valley.”

For more information, visit the ARVCB website at www.voyageurbrigade.org

“I could carry, paddle, walk and sing with any man I ever saw. I have been twenty-four years a canoe man, and forty-one years in service; no portage was ever too long for me, fifty songs could I sing. I have saved the lives of ten voyageurs, have had twelve wives and six running dogs. I spent all of my money in pleasure. Were I young again, I would spend my life the same way over. There is no life so happy as a voyageur’s life!” ~Unnamed voyageur