The Boreal River Story Danny Peled and Letha Henry started Boreal River out of a desire to bring people on Canada's amazing wilderness rivers. They wanted to put their experience working throughout the world in adventure travel and education towards creating and delivering one of a kind multi-day whitewater trips with the greatest guides, food, paddling, safety, and the most fun. They were drawn to the Magpie because they knew that people would want to visit a river that was completely untouched by any sort of human activity (no roads going to the river means that the only way there is to fly-in and paddle down), that was absolutely beautiful (think steep forest clad hillsides, cliffs, and waterfalls), that had world class whitewater that is perfect for rafting trips (lots of big rapids, rated amongst the top five rafting rivers in the world), and that was in a unique part of Canada where visitors can't help catch the friendly locals' contagious habit of slowing down to enjoy life (the Cote-Nord of Quebec, a mixture of maritime coastline, fishing villages, and pristine wilderness). Danny has led rafting trips, instructed swiftwater rescue, and guided canoe expeditions across Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Chile, and Costa Rica and Letha has worked as a guide and travel company manager in Canada, Mexico, and Greece, and has taught in Costa Rica and Nunavik. They were now ready to focus their energy on running trips closer to home and from all of this Boreal River was born. Danny on the 'North Shore' of Quebec and the Magpie River: "The people in this region are so friendly, the adventure opportunities varied and beautiful, and the landscape continuously described with the same expressions: vast, untouched, green, mountainous, and full of water. So much water that we are still amazed when we drive down the highway and can’t help but say ‘wow another river’, ‘look another river!' On every Magpie trip, from the moment the float plane takes off, to our arrival at the end of the river by the coast, everyone is enthralled by the landscape, the rapids, and the nature. This trip has challenges and huge rewards and with each descent it seems to get more beautiful and special. We’re looking forward to future seasons and know that this river and the region have so much to offer. Just a few hundred miles from the populated centres of the Northeast lies this area with unique maritime culture, free flowing rivers tumbling to sea, and a vast wilderness. We feel very lucky to be doing this and are excited to share the Magpie River with more people soon." - Danny Peled -

Guides and Staff Our guides are chosen for their passion for sharing rivers and adventures with people. They are skilled whitewater paddlers and well trained and experienced river professionals. They are also excellent instructors, interpreters, cooks, and friends. They come from diverse backgrounds and have guided on rivers throughout the world. Danny Peled Born in Montreal, Danny has been paddling whitewater since the age of twelve. He has spent the last ten years guiding people down rivers in rafts, kayaks, and canoes throughout Canada, the United States, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Chile. He is a whitewater and flood rescue instructor with Rescue3International and an ORCA Moving Water instructor. When not working on programs with Boreal River, Danny can be found guiding rafts and teaching courses on the Ottawa River with Esprit Rafting and leading adventure travel trips with Costa Rica Rios in Turrialba, Costa Rica. His sense of humour, high energy, and experience make every trip he’s part of a great time for everyone. Letha Henry A native of Toronto, Letha has also called Greece, Mexico, France, Costa Rica, and the U.K home. After studying Journalism, she worked as a travel guide and managed a backpackers tour company. Currently developing her teaching career, Letha spent last year teaching English at a local high school in Costa Rica. On river trips, her bright smile and warm helpfulness put everyone at ease. David Boulais - Guide David was born in Montreal but from an early age gained a passion for leaving town and exploring Quebec’s wilderness. After beginning a career as a forest technician he returned to University to complete a degree in Adventure Tourism. David’s love of nature makes him feel at home in the backcountry where he is resourceful and at ease. He works as a forest survival instructor and dogsled guide during the winter, and spends his summers guiding on Québec’s countless rivers. On his days off, you will likely find him on a river, paddling for the fun of it. ‘’Living with nature deepens our wisdom and brings us closer to the truth”. Skip Armstrong - Guide, Videographer Born in Colorado, Skip has been on the water non-stop for the past 13 years. His passion for rivers has led him around the world several times. For six years he shared the natural beauty and whitewater of Costa Rica with hundreds of paddlers as the owner/head guide of Costa Rica Rios. Additionally, Skip is passionate about film and conservation work producing videos for Patagonia, National Geographic and Save our Wild Salmon. His high energy and enthusiasm for whitewater and life in general make him a lot of fun to be around. Calum Hughes - Guide Originally from Toronto, Cal grew up doing long canoe expeditions on the rivers of Northern Ontario and Quebec. A master of the paddle raft, he has worked for years as a guide on the Ottawa and has paddled extensively throughout the Americas. He is a veteran of North Shore rivers, having led two twenty day expeditions on the Moise (the Magpie’s sister river). Wintering in North Bay with his wife Jen and dog Gus, Cal works as a wilderness instructor for youth at risk. Don’t let his humour and easygoing personality fool you, you don’t want to meet this guy on the hockey rink.

Environmental Policy

Like many adventure travel companies we’re faced with a difficult conundrum: by taking people on trips to the world’s pristine natural places, no matter how much we attempt to minimize our impact, we still have an effect on the very nature that we are visiting. At the same time we realize that we can have an exremely positive influence on the region and nature conservation as well.

The key tenets of our environmental policy are:

1. ‘Leave No Trace’ camping

All Boreal River trips follow the ‘Leave No Trace’ camping guidelines. We adhere to the expression, “leave only footprints, take only photographs”. We carry out all of our waste and make sure to leave our gorgeous campsites looking as ‘untouched’ as when we arrived at them. We are very careful to ensure that no foreign substances make their way into the river or forest where they could affect wildlife.

2. Contributing to the local economy through ‘sustainable’ activities

Tourism such as river trips can contribute to the economy of a region without destroying the natural environment for future generations. We operate with this in mind and it affects our purchasing and activity decisions.

On Magpie River Adventure programs, our guests spend the nights before and after the trips in Riviere-Au-Tonnerre instead of the bigger city of Sept-Iles. Riviere-au-Tonnerre is a, small village once considered the crab capital of the world and now with no fishery, is trying to attract travellers. This makes for a wonderful experience, is great for the town’s economy, and creates local pride and attention for the world class Magpie River located in the village’s backyard. *Note - On the West Magpie Expedition, groups spend the first night in Sept Iles and the final night in Riviere-Au-Tonnerre.

The food for our trips is bought locally in Havre-Saint-Pierre - where it is sourced as much as possible from organic Quebec producers - and from a small farmers market outside of Sept-Iles.

We hire drivers from the area, source our transportation logistics from North Shore businesses, fuel up at small local-owned service stations, and our staff and guests visit as many small shops and restaurants in the region as possible throughout the season.

3. Assisting local people in experiencing their rivers

In general we are against the development of massive hydro dams not only because we love to paddle these rivers (though that is a big motivator) and not just because we believe that these runs have great potential for tourism and recreation, but because we think that this type of energy development is out-dated, bad for the environment, and destructive. We believe that these areas will have far greater value to future generations as intact ecosystems than as dam sites. But we at Boreal River aren't scientists, politicians, lawyers, or lobbyists. We are a river trip company. That's why our biggest contribution towards protecting rivers is helping people to experience these amazing places.

The people of the North Shore are very proud of their land and heritage. Many however, have not had the opportunity to paddle the area's world class rivers. We started offering special trips for local people in 2008 and we are trying to make it an annual tradition.

As well, in 2009 we donated equipment to a trip on the Magpie organized by an association of local paddlers (Association Eaux-Vives Minganie), allowing them to bring new people down the river. The group included regional politicians and journalists, and the trip received coverage in major Quebec publications, raising awareness about the plight of the Magpie. We look forward pitching in with the Association's future efforts as well as those of other groups and doing everything we can to help as many people as possible see the Magpie, Moisie, Romaine, Natashquan, and other North Shore rivers for themselves.

4. Contributing to conservation organizations
Many non-profit organizations are doing important work towards protecting the areas where we travel from unsustainable development. Boreal River is a member of ‘1% for the Planet’, donating one percent of our gross sales to non-profit organizations working on local and global environmental issues. This year we are contributing to Alliance Romaine and Fondations Rivieres.

Boreal River's Safety Policy While wilderness river travel contains elements of risk, we operate with the highest level of security on our trips. This begins with our guides’ knowledge of the area, sound judgment, extensive river experience, and understanding that the safety of our guests is always our highest priority. We are proud to lead the industry in our safety standards by maintaining the following staffing and equipment requirements: Every Boreal River trip has a minimum of two guides with: Wilderness First Responder certification (72-hour first aid course). Swiftwater Rescue Technician Level 1 and 2 certifications. A minimum of four previous seasons or 120 days guiding on grade-III or above whitewater. Additionally every Boreal River program has a Trip Leader with: Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician or Wilderness Emergency Medical Responder certification. (150-hour emergency medicine course) Equally important is our annual in-house training during which guides descend the river practicing first-aid and rescue skills and performing emergency scenarios. Boreal River uses the highest quality safety equipment available. Guests are provided with type-5 personal flotation devices and Protec helmets for use while on moving water. Every trip carries a comprehensive first-aid kit, an AED, an Iridium satellite phone for emergency communications, and a Personal Locator Beacon (an emergency signal transmitter to Canadian Search and Rescue) as back-up.