Podcast #4: Nicolas Roulx – Akor Expedition
Canoe crossing of Nunavik and the Torngats—and big plans for the next trip
Hear about Akor Expedition’s incredible trip in 2018—65 days travelling incredible backcountry in the land of the Innu, Naskapi, and Inuit.
You can listen by hitting the « play » button in the audio player below.
The Akor folks like big expeditions—and they’ve got a massive one in the works for 2021
…they’ll attempt a complete crossing of Canada from the northernmost point to the southernmost point. 8000km over 7 months—self-propelled by ski, canoe, and bike.
But if you’re not sure if they can do it, you’ll feel more confident once you hear about their last trip: in 2018, departing on June 7th from Shefferville, Quebec, they crossed Nunavik and the Torngats by canoe.
They learned from the local Indigenous people along the way. People who inhabit the territory today and whose ancestors lived in these areas for thousands of years. In Akor-founder Nic’s words: « They know their land so well, they know their land much better than I know my neighbourhood [in Quebec City] ».
The crew of 6 accomplished their impressive trip in 65 days:
– dragging across frozen lakes
– paddling down the massive and icy George River
– dragging and lining up the Koroc
– portaging an interior passage of the Torngats
– running the Palmer River to the Labrador coast
– and finishing things up with a 500km paddle on the ocean to the village of Nain, Labrador
Polar bears were a big concern (« we felt like prey… »)
You’ll hear some great stories—about the challenges and fun along the way. Nic talks about their goals for collecting data for scientific research. And educating people in the « south » about the « north »: at the time of this recording in November 2019, they’d presented to over 7000 people at more than 50 talks since returning from the trip.
Ready for a dose of inspiration and adventure? Akor’s moving full speed ahead.
A short and incredible video of Akor’s 2018 Nunavik & Torngats expedition:
Links
- Akor website
- Akor Facebook
- All podcasts page – The Boreal River Show
- Boreal River Rescue – rescue training
- Boreal River Adventures – international river expeditions
How to listen to The Boreal River Show
You can listen to the episode by clicking the « play » button in the player above or by downloading it in Apple Podcasts, or any of your favourite podcast platforms like Spotify, Stitcher, or TuneIn & Alexa
We’ll be releasing a new episode every month with some extras thrown in from time to time.
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