Leaf River

In 1998 we did a second crossing of the Ungava Penninsula following a route described to us by George Luste.
Starting at Kuujjuarapik, we paddled about 100 miles up Hudson Bay and portaged inland, going from pond to pond and eventually reaching Lake Minto, head of the Leaf River.
The portage route into Lake Minto was my favorite part. It was very wild with a semi-barren landscape and varied terrain. It had a timeless feel and we saw very few signs of recent human activity. In several places we found ourselves camped next to some ancient looking tent rings.
Lake Minto was spectacular, its many islands and peninsulas breaking up its vast expanse. We were windbound there a few times. We once portaged across a peninsula to get to a place with some wind protection for paddling. We managed to paddle for a while but then got stuck again for three days.
Near the end of the lake, we hit the caribou migration and were surrounded by thousands of animals. We then paddled with the herd for several days.
We were able to run most of the rapids on the river and there were very few portages. The bottom of the river is tidal and there are some huge rapids that appear at low tide and disappear when the tide comes back in.
When we were nearing Tasiujaq, we made the mistake of crossing Red Bay instead of following its arc close to shore. The mirror smooth water was soon roiled by a fierce windstorm and we had to battle the wind, waves and tide to reach shore. 
During the final 2 miles we paddled harder than I thought we could.  We set up two of our tents in the shelter of some rocks and were windbound until the next day.  We couldn't set up the third tent because the wind was too strong.
The people of Tasiujaq were very welcoming and we enjoyed spending a few days in the village until our flight out.

All photos by Al Stirt except where indicated. DB - Dave Brown Photo, WS - Wendy Scott photo