ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Staying young at heart has nothing to do with the age on your birth certificate — just ask Herman Perry of St. John’s.
The retired outdoor enthusiast fell in love with canoeing when he moved to Labrador in the late 1960s. He has been involved in that love affair ever since.
Logging thousands of kilometres on lakes, rivers and sometimes even a portage portion of his travels, Perry plans to paddle from La Loche, Sask., to Fort McPherson, N.W.T., starting in mid-June.
He will cross the 17-km Methe Portage between Lac La Loche and the Clearwater River over the height of land between the Hudson Bay watershed and the Arctic watershed.
In addition, he will paddle the Clearwater River, Athabasca River, Slave River, the southwestern portion of Great Slave Lake from Fort Resolution and then down the McKenzie River to Fort McPherson on the delta.
He estimates the 2,500-kilometre canoe trip will take him about 50 days to complete.
This canoe trip is a continuation from last year of the old fur trade canoe route to the lucrative fur trade country in the Canadian Northwest along a route that at the time — and until the end of the 19th century — was the equivalent of the 401 freeway today for Canadian trade and transportation.
“I am far more fit and healthy than I look." — Herman Perry
Perry loves the outdoors and loves to paddle. He started paddling in the late 1960s in Labrador and at the age of 20 in 1970 convinced his friend, Cecil Reid, to join him for a three-week, 480-kilometre canoe trip from Wabush to Seven Islands.
The remote route he chose through the Labrador and Quebec wilderness had them portage across heights of land several times en route to the St. Lawrence River.
“I am far more fit and healthy than I look,’’ he said.
“Over the years, I have been blessed. Dad kept us nine kids fairly healthy and busy growing up in Labrador and on the Northern Peninsula.’’
There was no sitting around the house — it was outside to play, chores or just being part of nature.
In the mid-’70s he paddled some of the old voyagers’ fur trade route on the Churchill River while living in Manitoba. (Manitoba’s Churchill River is not to be confused with Labrador’s Churchill River.)
Herman also paddled some of the local rivers in Indonesia while living there during the 1980s and ’90s.
“I am thinking this trip should take around 50 days, once I start paddling in mid-June,’’ he said.
“I am hoping my brother-in-law will go with me, but I have a contingency plan for doing this solo as well. There are not a lot of people who can go out there for that long. Some can go for a week, maybe two.”
The trip will be totally self-financed. Perry said getting donations and sponsorships in place is too difficult.
Full support at home
To be able to pack up and go on prolonged journeys like this requires a great support group at home — especially for a wife who is left to care for two children. Through it all and through 48 years of marriage, Sheila Perry said she has grown to accept it.
“As you get older, and the children have moved away, I got very comfortable being by myself,’’ she said.
“Herman worked many, many hours, most times 12 to 14 hours per day in his working life, so I was used to being on my own.’’
The Perrys have two children — Clarence, 47, and Cindy, 45. Clarence lives in Ontario and Cindy lives in St. John’s. Each has one daughter, whom their grandparents swoon over.
Sheila said she always knew Herman would canoe, and at first she asked him to take shorter trips, something he did initially, but his love of paddling started to take him away for longer periods.
“I have to have patience. He wants to do this and, at the end of the day, I know he will be safe.” — Sheila Perry
She said the family has a cabin in Daniel’s Harbour where she likes to go. It is a comfortable place for her, as she has three brothers and a sister there, and it is a simple lifestyle that she enjoys.
“People have asked me, ‘How can you not worry about him?’ Well, you can’t sit and worry for two months. I always knew this was something he wanted to do. We are financially stable enough for him to go and if anything were to happen, it happens. That is life,’’ she said.
“I have to have patience. He wants to do this and, at the end of the day, I know he will be safe.”
His journal write-up on the 2018 trip appeared in the PNL magazine Ebb and Flow.
At 69, Perry says he has another 10 years of paddling in him … for many more extended canoe trips.
“I have a very robust canoe that takes abuse very well. It is a 17-footer, similar to what most people use (17-19 footers). It weighs about 80 pounds,’’ he said.
“I prefer this one over the others I have, as the wear and tear on it is a lot easier.’’
For those who might have questions about some of Perry’s previous canoe trips or his future canoe plans, his email address is [email protected] and his cellphone number is 709-749-8179.
For anyone who might be interested, Perry is looking for a paddling partner for this summer’s canoe trip.
