In a few days, they’ll push off in their canoe – three women in their 70s – from Norway House, Manitoba, and head north into the great unknown wilderness on the homestretch of their three-year journey from the source of the Red River at Lake Traverse to York Factory on Hudson Bay.

Two years ago about this time, these “Ladies from the River” – as they came to be known – paddled through Grand Forks on the first leg of their journey. They paddled as far as the Manitoba border that summer and resumed their journey in June 2023, paddling down the Manitoba portion of the Red River, north up massive Lake Winnipeg and arriving in Norway House on Sunday, July 2.

They left their 18-foot Alumacraft canoe in Norway House, where it will be waiting for them when they arrive Friday, June 21, said Deb White of Rosemount, Minnesota, who messaged earlier this week to say the final leg of the trip is fast approaching.

As in previous adventures, White will join Anne Sherve-Ose, a Jamestown, North Dakota, native who now lives in Williams, Iowa; and Deb Knutson of Owatonna, Minnesota. The women, who became friends while attending St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, will rendezvous in Winnipeg, where they’ll catch a flight to Norway House, White says.

From there, if all goes according to plan, they’ll arrive at York Factory on Hudson Bay “on or about July 19th or 18th or something like that,” White said in her message.

Getting there won’t be easy. Along the way, they’ll have to navigate or portage around dozens of treacherous whitewater rapids on rugged, wilderness rivers with names such as Nelson, Echimamish – Cree for “river that flows both ways” – and Hayes.

There’s also the threat of bears – especially polar bears, as they get closer to Hudson Bay.

“This is going to be the toughest one,” White said of the Norway House-to-York Factory stretch of the trip. “I’m sure (we’ll be) going through areas with bears and portages and isolation, but I made a commitment to finish and I’m going to give it my best.

“There will be a lot of challenges this year – way more than last year.”

Despite its reputation for wind and rough water, Lake Winnipeg – often referred to as “Big Windy” – treated them quite well last summer, Sherve-Ose wrote in a blog post at the end of the trip.

“The fabled violence of Lake Winnipeg never materialized,” she wrote. “I do not hesitate to claim that it is the most beautiful lake I have ever paddled on in 50 years of paddling. Located elsewhere in the world, Lake Winnipeg would be a prime tourist attraction. As it was, we saw a few fishermen but no other recreational boaters and no canoes or kayaks.”

Paddling veterans

The three women are no strangers to long-distance paddling. As part of a quest to paddle from the Gulf of Mexico to Hudson Bay, they canoed the Mississippi River over a period of 13 years beginning in 2004. Once they reach Hudson Bay, White says, they will complete the connection by paddling from Lake Traverse to the Mississippi River via the Minnesota River.

“We are officially done when we reach Fort Snelling in the Twin Cities – probably the summer of 2025,” White said.

As the trip from Norway House to Hudson Bay draws closer, no doubt tension and nervous anticipation are mounting for the three women.

Because visitors to Canada can’t bring bear spray – or pepper spray – across the border, the women will carry a milder wildlife deterrent, Sherve-Ose says. They’ll carry “Bear Bangers,” which make a loud noise, flash and smoke, and a portable electric fence they will set up each time they make camp.

As in previous years, Sherve-Ose also will carry a Garmin satellite communicator that will allow people to check on their progress and whereabouts. Anyone interested in following their journey can do so at Share.garmin.com/OurHudsonBayTrip or check out Sherve-Ose’s blog at annesherveose.com.

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