Newfoundland-based adventurer Justin Barbour has no problem recruiting a companion for canoe and packraft expeditions in the wilderness of eastern Canada. His dog, Saku, is always up for an adventure. Finding human trip mates, however, has been more of a challenge. “The trips I do are kind of unheard of here. Everyone thinks I’m crazy,” says Barbour, 31. “I try to get my friends involved but after a day they’re done with it. So I’ve become really content with my independence. When you travel alone no one’s complaining. It’s hard work but it’s worth it. I just started doing it on my own and now I’ve stopped looking for people. I don’t want to sacrifice my independence.”
Newfoundland adventurer Justin Barbour Justin Barbour Barbour insists that Saku, a three-year-old Cape Shore water dog (a retriever breed that’s indigenous to Newfoundland), “provides all the companionship I need.” Saku was an eight-month-old puppy in 2017 when he and Barbour completed a 68-day, 450-mile east to west transit of the island of Newfoundland — a journey immortalized in a popular YouTube series. Last summer, man and dog attempted their most audacious expedition yet, starting at the North Atlantic and traversing Labrador and into northern Quebec by canoe. Barbour and Saku pushed upstream on hard waterways, enduring countless portages, and crossed expansive reservoirs. In nearly three months’ travel they encountered no other humans — until Barbour was forced to call in a helicopter to end the trip deep in the Quebec wilderness when snow, ice and incessant winds arrived earlier than expected, in October.
“Saku is meant to be out there and moving,” says Barbour. Ascending the steep, unforgiving Red Wine River in Labrador, Barbour admits, “I didn’t know if I was going to make it.” He adds, “But when I saw [Saku] going like a mad dog, his tail wagging nonstop, that gave me the motivation to carry on.” Barbour, a certified teacher, came to the outdoor adventure after playing elite-level hockey into his early 20s. He took his first canoe trip in 2012 as an undergraduate student, as a part of his studies in physical education. “It put the hook right in me,” recalls Barbour, who’s also an avid angler. “Then I started reading stories about the old Newfoundland and Labrador explorers, and it was a snowball effect from there.”
Man and Dog: Barbour and Saku in northern Quebec Justin Barbour One of Barbour’s first teaching jobs was in the remote community of Cartwright in coastal Labrador. He conceived his 2017 Newfoundland crossing — the first-ever “by woods and waters” — as a means of sharing the wilderness of his home island to the world. Barbour called the 2018 attempt to transit the Labrador Peninsula from the Atlantic Ocean to Hudson Bay “the perfect challenge for the restless Saku and I [in] one of the last remaining true wildernesses in the world.” Lately, and especially after the success of his Newfoundland crossing YouTube series, with 10 episodes attracting hundreds of thousands of views, Barbour has focused full-time attention on producing videos, social media, writing and speaking engagements. “I just like getting people excited about being outdoors,” he says. “I love it when people say they’ve been inspired by my stories. I want to encourage them to dare to dream.” This fall, Barbour’s looking forward to two new books about his 2017 expedition: a travelogue he authored to be published by Flanker Press, and a children’s book by Newfoundland author Marie-Beth Wright, told from the perspective of Saku.
Barbour’s sense of humor and adventure has made him a popular speaker Justin Barbour This summer Barbour is anticipating more local adventures by packraft in Newfoundland. Meanwhile, he keeps coming back to his unfinished business in northern Quebec. “I just get locked on things,” he says. “There was a week [after ending the expedition] when I was hard on myself. I thought maybe I should’ve brought in a sled and waited for freeze up. Mostly after 83 days I didn’t want to come back to the normal life. But I will get back out there. There will be more trips. I am going to get over this quick.” Follow Justin Barbour (and his dog, Saku) on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. RELATED: – The Crossing: The story of a sea kayak epic across the Straits of Florida – Round the world adventures prepare to tackle the Northern Forest Canoe Trail – More Eastern Adventure: Connections Across Maine Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The article was originally published on Canoe & Kayak
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Newfoundland-based adventurer Justin Barbour has no problem recruiting a companion for canoe and packraft expeditions in the wilderness of eastern Canada. His dog, Saku, is always up for an adventure. Finding human trip mates, however, has been more of a challenge. “The trips I do are kind of unheard of here. Everyone thinks I’m crazy,” says Barbour, 31. “I try to get my friends involved but after a day they’re done with it. So I’ve become really content with my independence. When you travel alone no one’s complaining. It’s hard work but it’s worth it. I just started doing it on my own and now I’ve stopped looking for people. I don’t want to sacrifice my independence.”
Barbour insists that Saku, a three-year-old Cape Shore water dog (a retriever breed that’s indigenous to Newfoundland), “provides all the companionship I need.” Saku was an eight-month-old puppy in 2017 when he and Barbour completed a 68-day, 450-mile east to west transit of the island of Newfoundland — a journey immortalized in a popular YouTube series. Last summer, man and dog attempted their most audacious expedition yet, starting at the North Atlantic and traversing Labrador and into northern Quebec by canoe. Barbour and Saku pushed upstream on hard waterways, enduring countless portages, and crossed expansive reservoirs. In nearly three months’ travel they encountered no other humans — until Barbour was forced to call in a helicopter to end the trip deep in the Quebec wilderness when snow, ice and incessant winds arrived earlier than expected, in October.
“Saku is meant to be out there and moving,” says Barbour. Ascending the steep, unforgiving Red Wine River in Labrador, Barbour admits, “I didn’t know if I was going to make it.” He adds, “But when I saw [Saku] going like a mad dog, his tail wagging nonstop, that gave me the motivation to carry on.”
Barbour, a certified teacher, came to the outdoor adventure after playing elite-level hockey into his early 20s. He took his first canoe trip in 2012 as an undergraduate student, as a part of his studies in physical education. “It put the hook right in me,” recalls Barbour, who’s also an avid angler. “Then I started reading stories about the old Newfoundland and Labrador explorers, and it was a snowball effect from there.”
One of Barbour’s first teaching jobs was in the remote community of Cartwright in coastal Labrador. He conceived his 2017 Newfoundland crossing — the first-ever “by woods and waters” — as a means of sharing the wilderness of his home island to the world. Barbour called the 2018 attempt to transit the Labrador Peninsula from the Atlantic Ocean to Hudson Bay “the perfect challenge for the restless Saku and I [in] one of the last remaining true wildernesses in the world.”
Lately, and especially after the success of his Newfoundland crossing YouTube series, with 10 episodes attracting hundreds of thousands of views, Barbour has focused full-time attention on producing videos, social media, writing and speaking engagements. “I just like getting people excited about being outdoors,” he says. “I love it when people say they’ve been inspired by my stories. I want to encourage them to dare to dream.” This fall, Barbour’s looking forward to two new books about his 2017 expedition: a travelogue he authored to be published by Flanker Press, and a children’s book by Newfoundland author Marie-Beth Wright, told from the perspective of Saku.
This summer Barbour is anticipating more local adventures by packraft in Newfoundland. Meanwhile, he keeps coming back to his unfinished business in northern Quebec. “I just get locked on things,” he says. “There was a week [after ending the expedition] when I was hard on myself. I thought maybe I should’ve brought in a sled and waited for freeze up. Mostly after 83 days I didn’t want to come back to the normal life. But I will get back out there. There will be more trips. I am going to get over this quick.”
Follow Justin Barbour (and his dog, Saku) on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
RELATED:
– The Crossing: The story of a sea kayak epic across the Straits of Florida
– Round the world adventures prepare to tackle the Northern Forest Canoe Trail
– More Eastern Adventure: Connections Across Maine Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The article was originally published on Canoe & Kayak
For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!
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Skiing in Japan Is Back Again—and the Powder Was Worth the Wait
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Ocean Rower Fiann Paul Completes Most Grueling Expedition
Snowmobile-accessed Ski Touring in Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana
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