A Trip to the South... of James Bay

Before arriving to Moose Factory, I knew one thing I wanted to check off my list: visit the bay. My first week here, I was fortunate to receive a snowmobile tour of and around the island ... & I later suggested to Jacob that we bring the other nursing student, Michaela, for a similar trip. He, coincidentally, had an even better idea - which was to take a longer trip (one and a half hours each way to be precise) to his pastor's camp on the shores of Southern James Bay. So Monday morning we woke up early and met up with John (the pastor of Cree Gospel Chapel where Meg & Jacob are regular attendees). From left to right is Michaela, John, and Jacob preparing one of the snowmobiles for our adventure.

To get to the camp, we crossed the river into Moosonee and trekked up the winter road that leads to Attawapiskat. Eventually, we turned off the road onto what seemed to be an unmarked trail down which John led Jacob and I on the other skidoo behind him. This part truly felt like we were in the middle of nowhere... and the interesting part is that this route to the camp is only accessible by snowmobile in the winter. Access in the warmer months is solely by boat, or even fancier, chartered helicopter. I hope you appreciate the next picture because my hands really suffered being removed out of my gloves to take it.

Arriving at the shores of James Bay, trees and bushes began to clear and hopes to see a polar bear arose. John, however, made it very clear that although quite unlikely, we really did not want to see a polar bear. He explained that polar bears live mostly off catching seals, but would not resist another source of protein if it just so happened to wander into its territory (mainly sea ice). So I guess I have mixed feelings about seeing one now. Nonetheless, even from a distance and on a cloudy day, the bay was absolutely beautiful. Having been born in Vancouver & raised in Thunder Bay, I have a natural tendency toward large bodies of water... & find their shores to be one of my favourite places to be.

Just around the corner was the camp - which to be completely honest was not exactly what I was expecting... I laughed when John asked me, "what were you expecting, the four seasons?". So if you think Thunder Bay's camps are low-key compared to the greater Toronto's so called cottages... think again. In the picture below you might be able see that the buildings are pretty simple in design and all have tarps for roofs. John expressed gratefulness for simply being able to pitch a camp in this location, which is officially part of another local elder's trapping grounds. John explained that natural landmarks are used to distinguish between one's own trapping area and another's. It was so neat to discuss and imagine all of the history of traditional activities, many of which continue to this day. The "cook tent" that sticks up behind some of the buildings in the forefront of the picture below (a close up of which is also included) is used to cook Canadian geese - their main sought after prey today.

To the right of the cook tent is the main cabin... again, nothing fancy, but actually quite cozy on the inside and more spacious than you might have imagined. There was enough room for an area to prepare food, a few seats, a fireplace, and two queen-size beds.

As expected, it was quite cold inside upon our arrival... but in roughly thirty to forty-five minutes we were warming up by a hot fire, drinking tea and eating homemade soup. After snowmobiling for one and a half hours in -20 kind of weather with constant wind blowing against us, the warmth felt pretty darn nice. And I have Jacob to thank for the dry wood that he chopped during his last visit and John for the fireplace that he built with his own hands many years ago. I do love the outdoors, but I can't deny that there is also something so wonderful about cozying up inside after working up a winter chill.

A bit later, we paused relaxing at the camp to go check out the bay up close... and by that I mean snowmobile right passed and probably about a mile out from the shoreline. The winds had calmed slightly and my hands had just came from being warmed by the fire, so taking these pictures wasn't as bad as the one earlier on. You can get a pretty accurate idea of my view driving out onto the bay in the next picture... which depicts the ice and sky as nearly continuous. There was also quite a bit of fog all along the body, making it hard to see what was coming up next while snowmobiling - but I guess the only things we really would have run into would be a raised patch of ice or by some miracle a polar bear.

Eventually we chose a spot to stop, which felt even more like the middle of nowhere. Standing in the middle of James Bay also gave that vibe of being in the (Sub-)Arctic, which I have been in all along... but something about seeing miles of open snow and ice was kind of surreal. There was no other person (or animal) in sight... and it was almost as if we were the first to ever walk where we were.

I really like the next two pictures I took while at the end of our time on the bay. The first one is everyone else with the snow machines and the continuing water behind them, and the second one has the south-western shoreline in the background. I was really fortunate to spend the afternoon with these three and have John open up his camp for our use... I probably would have been starved and chilled to the bone without that benefit. After these last shots we went back to the cabin to enjoy a little more time inside.

Before leaving his camp, John talked with us about some of his childhood growing up in Smoky Falls (north of Kapuskasing) and being brought to the residential school in Moose Factory. It is one thing to learn about the history of First Nations peoples in school or through independent study, and another to speak directly with someone who holds their own first-hand experiences. The more I hear about the environments and incidents that took place in these schools, the more my heart breaks for the victims and survivors, as well as their children and grandchildren, many of whom continue to face the impacts of inter-generational trauma. John's story, however, is quite fascinating. Despite his hardships, he still came to encounter God, who has loved and healed him through and through. As mentioned, he is now the pastor of a local church in Moose Factory and blessing many people through his ministry. In summary, God was able to take something broken and make it beautiful.

I look forward to other adventures exploring the great outdoors and opportunities to learn more, especially from local First Nations people. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you are interested in pursuing an experience similar to mine. Sending love from the true north!