Labrador's Eagle River

August-September 2002

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
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by Elle Andra-Warner

The Eagle River, Labrador

Kayaking on Labrador's Eagle River is like stepping out of the box and breaking a geographical stereotype. The river is one of North America's most renowned fly-fishing areas for wild Atlantic salmon, but few know it is one of Canada's newest destinations for kayaking.

It took us almost an hour in a Twin Otter float plane to fly the 150 kilometres (90 miles) from the town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay (pop. 8,000) on Labrador's east coast to our river base for the next five days, the remote Rifflin' Hitch Lodge. We flew deep into southcentral Labrador where there are no roads or villages anywhere in sight.

Rifflin' Hitch Lodge intrigued me because it was designed and built by a woman, Gudrig "Gudie" Hastings from Newfoundland. Six years ago, she and her building crew lived in tents while they cleared over 3.5 acres of land along the Eagle River. Then they choppered in native spruce, pine and juniper to build a grand yet intimate 7,000 square foot lodge (all wheelchair accessible).

My only previous kayak experience was an adventure tour in the British Columbia's Johnstone Strait and Inside Passage. By comparison, paddling on the Eagle River was much less intense-a novice kayaker's dream, and a photographer's delight. The lodge has almost 26 kilometres (sixteen miles) of private river water, which means there is no access to other boaters. No ocean liners, no power boats, no fishing or tour boats, no tide flooding in and out, no riptides, and no whale-watching. A kayaker can simply focus on the joys of paddling.

Paddling and photography are a perfect combination on Eagle River, but even with the relatively calm water the camera still needs to be protected from water and weather elements. Many photographers use hard-bodied camera cases like the Pelican case, but I put my Pentax MZ-5 with 28-80 mm zoom lens with built-in flash in a watertight, hard-plastic container bought in a department store for under $20 (an idea from a pro photo shop). The container fits comfortably between my legs in the kayak for fast and easy camera access.

For a day's paddling in sunshine, I take along three extra films in a small plastic container tucked in a waterproof bag. I shoot mainly slide film, either Kodak professional E100 series (VS or SW) or Fuji Provia 100; on a cloudy day, I use 200 ASA. I'm experimenting with pushing and bracketing film, but generally I set my cameraon automatic and let the camera do the work of finding the right settings. Shooting on automatic lets me concentrate on being creative, rather than technical.

Nature's designs on a sand dune by the river.
Photo by Ell Andra - Warner

Magnificent landscape pictures are a must for the memories, but those sweeping scenery shots tend to lose some of their magical quality on film. After snapping those classic images, I try to look for images that give a feel for the area-something different than the "this-could-be-anywhere- in-Canada" shot. A jutting shoreline. Old abandoned boat. Quirky rock formations. Colourful wild flowers. Solitary tree perched on shoreline. Different angles to a scenic shot. Wildlife. Float planes. Lichen on rocks.

When possible, I try to position people or pets in the image to add interest and perspective, particularly in a scenic shot. If people are prominent in the picture's foreground, I ask if they mind removing their sunglasses so the image will capture their face, rather than the dark sunglasses.

Side trips are great photo opportunities. Our guide told us about an old abandoned trapper's log cabin tucked away in a small bay about two kilometres down the river. The next day, we headed to it. The overgrown trail led to a wacky scene-a photographer's delight: doors and windows bear-proofed with barbed wire; rusty cans from portable stovepipe hung on broken branches; empty marten trap boxes strung between the trees; and a handmade toboggan propped beside the door.

Gudie's son David Hastings foreground with Dan Chaisson from the Newfoundland & Labrador Department of Tourism.
Photo by Gudrid Hastings

Patterns in nature are everywhere and make unique photographic images. We kayaked to an offshore sand dune located downstream about three miles from the lodge. It was a rather surreal scene - a half mile of Caribbean-like white sand surrounded by shallow water and evergreen forest. On the dune, nature's swirling water and wind had sculpted intricate designs in the fine sand. I shot some close-ups of the sand artwork - texture shots that later lookedlike desert images taken from the sky.

Unexpected surprises of nature can be once-in-a-lifetime shots if you are ready. One morning while on the water, someone yelled out "Look!" and pointed to the nearby shore. A small waterspout (a mini-tornado on water) was whirling along the shoreline ahead of us. I pulled out my camera and snapped some quick shots. The swirl was gone in seconds, but using my automatic setting, I had captured some of it on film.

And thanks to the advice of professional photographer Steve Bly who was also staying at Rifflin' Hitch Lodge, I have eased up on my use of polarizers.

"People overuse the polarizer. If you have a good camera and high qualify film, you will seldom need a polarizer" he insists. Skeptical, I did some experimenting and found it to be good advice. During my stay, I did try fly-fishing for the first time. I learned to fly-cast (it's all about technique, not power), read the slick water (whole new angler lingo) and do the easy method of dead float fly-fishing (cast and just let the fly float).

Eagle River is 200 kilometres long (125 miles) and is a unique, varied watershed flowing into the Atlantic Ocean. Some areas are thousands of feet across, while other spots are less than a hundred; fast, white water areas open up into long peaceful stretches. Rifflin' Hitch Lodge is situated almost 37 kilometres (23 miles) from the mouth of Eagle River.

Rifflin' Hitch Lodge is owned by Gudrid (Gudie) Hastings.
She can be reached toll-free at 1-877-433-5461 or call (709) 634-2000. E-mail : info@rifflinhitchlodge.com.