Nunavut and Labrador Overland

Was thinking about a driving trip to James Bay and wading in to the water to be able to say that I had been in Nunavut. Would that do the trick? Is the boundary the shoreline?

Also thinking about driving overland to Labrador City. Anyone have any experience with this? I know there is a lot of gravel road and boredom. If the road quality is good, the gravel would not bother me--have driven the Campbell Highway and the Liard Highway in YT. Both were excellent roads.

I did the Trans Labrador Highway last year. Here's a link to my trip report:

http://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=3594.0

James Bay straddles the Ontario and Quebec border south of Hudson Bay. The nearest Nunavit territory to James Bay is about 500 miles north.

If you went to the very northern tip of Labarador, then 100 miles across the Hudson Strait would be Nunavut (Baffin Island). Not sure where the official boundary is, but if you wade into the water, you can say you were in Nunavut and nobody will argue. Then you can turn 90 degrees to the right, wade a few more feet, and say you were in Greenland, which is only 500 miles away.

All the islands in James Bay are part of Nunavut. If it's winter, just walk across the ice to the nearest island.

Apologies for reviving an old thread.

Just got back from driving the Trans-Labrador highway.
Flew to YQB and made the loop from there in the reverse direction from the trip taken by ghYHZ.

Day 1 YQB-Beaupre (a short drive, since we arrived at YQB in late evening).
Day 2 Beaupre-Baie Comeau
Day 3 Baie Comeau-Labrador City
Day 4 Labrador City to Happy Valley-Goose Bay
Day 5 Happy Valley-Goose Bay to Forteau
Day 6 Forteau-Gros Morne NP (with side trips to L'Anse-au-Meadows and
St. Pierre en route). Day began with ferry from Blanc Sablon to
St. Barbe.
Day 7 Gros Morne to Port-aux-Basques and then overnight on ferry to
North Sydney.
Day 8 North Sydney to Fredericton with a dinner stop in Shediak to eat
at the Tate House (where we had dined and spent the night 13 years
earlier).
Day 9 Fredericton to YQB

Great trip. 2800 miles (4500 km). Cheapest gas $1.28 in Fredericton. Most expensive gas $1.53 at first gas south of Cartright Junction. Would love to spend more time at Gros Morne NP at a future date. No problems at all with this trip. Segment from Happy Valley-Goose Bay to Red Bay was very dusty. You could always tell when someone was coming from far away by the huge cloud of dust up ahead. Speed limit on the highway was 70 which no one obeyed. In general we drove 100 and we were frequently passed by cars and trucks going even faster. Highest posted speed limit on paved roads in Labrador (at least that we encountered) was a frustratingly slow 80.

We did not camp. Accommodations included a ski condo (Beaupre), hotels, motels and a couple of B&Bs.

Best parts of trip: Gros Morne NP, meeting people at the B&Bs. Great weather except for rain at Gros Morne. No black flies. Never had to use our insect repellant. Being able to say "we've done it!"

Most disappointing aspect: Never saw a moose or a carribou.

Day 6 Forteau-Gros Morne NP (with side trips to L'Anse-au-Meadows and
St. Pierre en route).

should be "St. Anthony". St. Pierre is on my wish list, though.

Day 8 North Sydney to Fredericton with a dinner stop in Shediak to eat
at the Tate House (where we had dined and spent the night 13 years
earlier).

Should be "Tait House" or "Maison Tait"

Can you tell us more about Gagnon, QC? Is the main street really the only street that remains? Google Maps does show a few roads, but the satellite image resolution is no good in that area.

Is it easy to get to the abandoned airport of Gagnon? How much of the airport's surface is still left?

On one of ghYHZ' pictures
http://picasaweb.google.ca/ghCBNS/Tr...eat=directlink
I do see a black hut in the background at the airport. Any other buildings or shelters anywhere?

When I was there two years ago......only the main street remained. You’re driving through miles of wilderness then all of a sudden......a wide four-lane boulevard, curbs, sidewalks, grassed median. No building, nothing.....but it was a busy community 40 years ago

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ddietle...7618657151039/

You can still see the alignments of the side streets but they’ve been bermed across at the intersections to prohibit entry. Dangerous pits, old cellars etc. You can still drive into the mine site and see the tailings and settling ponds.

The airport is a few hundred meters in from the main road (just north of the town) and the asphalt surface was in good shape when I was there. It appears it might still be used occasionally (I’m guessing: Dept Of Natural Resources) There’s no fence or barriers preventing you from driving in from the main high, across the apron then up and down the runway. I checked the Nav Canada site but “YGA” is no longer listed. And you can see the outline of the old terminal which once served Quebecair flights.

I remember the stretch of road...they have done a thorough job of removing the town!

Why did they do that?

There are many ghost towns around the world.

Gagnon was a mining town....once the resource was exhausted and the mine closed, the townsite was abandoned.

But I think what sokolov means is, why was the townsite virtually wiped clean? You could abandon a town but still leave buildings standing, to let nature take its course.

It was a company town.....virtually all the buildings were owned by the mining company so I imagine it was liability. For example in the time frame the town existed there was probably asbestos used in the construction.

........Better to give nature a clean slate!

Is it really clean start? What about the warning of cellars or other holes left behind?

It seems odd that they would not have been able to find a buyer for the town, maybe at $ 1 (still cheaper than dismantling), with the road already "on the horizon" and a functioning airport.

Wouldn't that have been a great place to shoot movies, at least in summer? Or to train for house-to-house combat? Or train rescue dogs or whatnot.