Lac Manicouagan

Getting There:

From western Quebec or Ontario, the fastest route is to take Hwy 20 then 132 to Rimouski on the south shore of the St. Lawrence, then take the ferry to Forestville and then Hwy 138 to Baie Comeau.

Hwy 389 starts in Baie Comeau, and is a paved two lane road until km 212 at the Manic V dam, after which it is a well-maintained gravel road. Allow at least 4.5 hours to get to the outfitter from Baie Comeau. An alternate launch point exists at km 288 at a small landing at the SE end of the lake.

The drive up to Lac Manicouagan is possible in any sedan in summer. We made it in a Chevy Cobalt with a canoe strapped on the roof with foam blocks. A spare tire, and extra fluids (coolant, oil, wiper) is recommended. Gas is available every 100km or so, but a jerry can in the trunk is not a bad idea.

We used the directions along the highway at:

http://tlhwy.com/central/hwy389guide.html

They proved accurate and useful. Basic French skills are an asset on the drive up, since a minority of people speak any workable English up here. Patience, gestures, and kindness can work in lieu of French skills.

Access to the Lake:

The people at Poirvoire du Prospecteur (1-600-701-0264) were very helpful, though they speak little if any English. Parking plus launching at the outfitter is a $25 fee with the security that your car is safe for the trip from bears and unkind people. Included in the fee is the option to camp one night at the outfitter’s post. As far as we could tell, they don’t offer any canoe trip outfitting services. The woman at the outfitters recommends a satellite phone, since the lake can whip up storms “comme une mer” (“like an ocean”). The woman also commented that the lake’s surroundings are “heavenly”.

On the Water:

The winds shift often on this massive lake. Light winds along the longer fetches of the lake (~25km) can whip up long, rolling swells up to 1m high. A canoe with plenty of freeboard and rocker is helpful to keep out the water. Knowledge of wind ferries is very useful when making crossings at angle to the wind. Otherwise, it is a big, beautiful stretch of water. If the weather is foul and a headwind whips up, wait an hour or two and the winds will surely shift.

Camping:

As of July 2006, the water level in the Lac Manicouagan Reservoir was about 5m below the maximum water level, as indicated by the lack of mature trees. 10-15 year old trees extended to approximately 2m above the water line, leaving plenty of unvegetated area to set up camp. Abundant driftwood is available all along the shores of the lake.

Camping on small islands in the lake is best to avoid blackflies, bears, and other critters at night.

There are plenty of sandy coves to camp on. A Google Earth image of the lake shows plenty of bright coloured sandy areas on the shores, as opposed to the darker treed areas inland. Camping in the forest is unadvisable in my opinion, due to the risk of Black Spruce falling over in windstorms, and the thick, soft, and often wet carpet of mosses underneath. Obviously, the strictest no-trace camping should be practiced here, since vegetation is slow to grow back that far north.

With such a massive reservoir, rapid changes in water level seem unlikely, though placing the canoe and tent a healthy distance from shore overnight is advisable at least because of large waves.

Geology and Boreal Forest Ecology:

**As an environmental science student, I felt this section was necessary**

Lake Manicouagan is a 214 million year old complex impact structure. The island in the middle of the lake, and the mountain in the middle of that (Mont Babel) was created during the impact event as ground in the middle of the impact area was heaved upwards. The bedrock in the area is an impact breccia, which is a rock made up of fragments melted together during the impact. Hundreds of different types of rocks can be seen as intact “clasts” within this bedrock. As an extra hint, notice how the different rock types weather and erode distinctly.

Mature and possibly old-growth boreal forest can be seen on the islands of the lake. Trees are primarily black spruce, with sparse birch, stunted willow bushes and less common jack pine, red spruce, and tamarack. A thick cover of forest mosses and patches of peat mosses make up the understory, along with Labrador tea, blueberry, and numerous other shrubs.