Tatachikapika Lake can be accessed from Hgwy 144, 40 km north of Gogama or 85 km south of Timmins. Logging roads offer access to McChesney Rd and Miskwamabi Lake. There are over 30 sets of rapids on this route and 15 portages that can be either lined, carried, portaged or run. This trip is best made in spring during high water season, as the stretch between (*) Hgwy 144 and the Mattagami River is not traversable some of the time, however, since your gear & equipment transported to Wawaitin Falls, if you wish to continue North, you can continue from here.

Route Information

Start Location (put-in)	kilometers	miles	Days
Tatachikapika Lake to Wawaitin H.P.	115	73	5-7
McChesney Rd to Wawaitin H.P.	90	89	4-5
Miskwamabi Lake to Wawaitin H.P.	80	83	4
McChesney Rd to Highway 144	45	30	2
Highway 144 to Timmins (high water)	35	23	2

Portaging

No. of Portages : 13

Total Portage Distance : 4125m

Average Portage Length : 317 m

Longest Portage : 1400 m

Ratings

River Travel : intermediate

Lake Travel : novice

Portaging : moderate

Remoteness : intermediate

Maps

Federal Too Maps (1:50,000) : Timmins 42 A/6, Dana 42 A/5, Kenogaming Lake 42 A/4,

Mattagami Lake 41 P/13

Provincial Series (1:100,000) : Timmins 42 A/SW, Gogama 42 P/NW

Route Description

Hwy 144 approx. 40 km North of Gogama access road to Tatachikapika Lake, North through Tatachikapika Lake to Tatachikapika River, P 250 m from rapids at bridge, P 250 m L rapid, North to and through Miskwamabi Lake, North on Tatachikapika River, P 1400 m L rapids, P 200 m L rapid, P 100 m R rapid, P 800 m L rapid, P 65 m R rapid, P 210 m R rapid, P 200 m L falls, P 225 m L rapid,P 150 m L rapid, (*) under bridge at Hwy 144, P 1150 m L rapids, P 920 m L rapids, North to Mattagami River, South to Wawaitin Falls.

The largest herbivore in the Boreal Forest and certainly Canada's monarch. It can run up to 55 Km. per hour, swim continuously for several hours and dive to a depth of 6 m. Its long legs allow it easily step over downed forest debris and deep winter snow, the big bulbous nose and lips are perfectly suited for chewing the twigs that make up most of its winter diet and soft aquatic plants in summer. Its habitat is typically associated with northern coniferous forest but it does best in the early successional stages of willows and poplars when located near spruce and cedar stands where it prefers to seek cover. In summer they are often seen in less-forested foothills and lowlands near streams and brushy areas.

The moose is the largest member of the deer family; dark rich brown to black in the upper parts fade to lighter often grayish tones on the lower legs. The head is long and almost horse like, it has a humped nose and an upper lip that markedly overhangs the lower lip. In winter the male looses its antler rack and develops a mane of hair along the spine and over its shoulders to the nape of the neck. Booth sexes usually have a large dewlap or 'bell' hanging from the throat although the male's is usually larger. A cow has a distinctive lighter patch around the vulva and calves are brownish to grayish red born in May after an eight month gestation period.

Weighing up to 270 Kg. it looses 20% - 40% of its body weight during its winter slumber. Most of its diet is plant material like leaves, buds, flowers berries, fruits and roots. Within its territory it has favorite eating places and follows well traveled paths often used as hiking trails. Normally a reclusive animal that will flee to avoid contact with humans, sows will become very protective of their cubs and large males can become aggressive when they feel challenged. If you hear its warning of a foot stamp a throat 'huff' or a champing of its teeth its likely warning you to retreat from its territory. It is agitated and will likely charge if you don't back away as it will interpret this as a challenge. Mismanagement of food and garbage in areas where bears and people occur is a major cause of undesirable encounters.

Much larger than its dark brother, males weighing up to 800 Kg., its diet is almost strictly carnivorous. This enormous giant of the frozen North is uniquely adapted and ideally suited to the Canadian Arctic. Its whitish fur is waterproof and hallow, and acts like optical cables transferring energy from the sun to the black skin which maximizes the absorption of this heat energy. In Ontario, when individuals are on land in the summer, they often use their winter dens again as a reprieve from the heat. These dens were dug into the permafrost layer and stay cool in the summer. This behavior is only absolved along the shores of Hudson Bay, the largest known region for dening polar bears. They do not hibernate and den only from November to January. They eat mostly ringed seals.

Unlike all other of its North American cousins, both sexes grow yearly antlers. Ontario has two populations of Caribou: one in the central forested area the other in the northern tundra. These are much smaller bands than the ones found in the high arctic and the movements of these smaller bands hardy compares to the incredible migrations of their more northerly counterparts. This restless feeder eats mostly lichen but grasses, mosses, mushroom and sedges contribute to their summer diet. Its closest relative is the white tailed deer however the arrangement of its antlers is unique. Calving is in May or June after about 7 1/2 months of gestation. The newborn weigh about 5 Kg. and follow mom within hours of birth. Adults weigh 90 - 110 Kg.

Normally seen in groups of 5 - 20, sometimes thousands gather at the delta of rivers. Its movements are best tracked in reference to the formation and retreat of seasonal ice. The only cetacean occurring in great numbers in Hudson Bay. Often nicknamed 'sea canary' it has a vast array of sounds in its repertoire and the melon on its head is the most sophisticated sonar system of its species. Its vertebrae are not fused giving it the ability to raise its head out of the water and looking around to observe the tourists from boats. This is the only whale that can be viewed in Northern Ontario waters.

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