Back River Summer 2005 Trip Report
Trip members
Upper Only:
Bob Bignell
Gene Chorestecki
Doug Bell
Daniela Kosch
Stephen Catlin
Lower Only:
Linda Gordon
Upper & Lower:
Allan Jacobs
Hendrik Herfst
Marilyn Sprissler
General
After nearly a year of planning logistics, reading books, figuring out meals & equipment, dehydrating food, figuring out about boats, payload etc. etc. etc. we were finally ready to head to Yellowknife. I flew out of Ottawa, & the rest of the group of 8 flew from Toronto, with the exception of Gene who was coming from Texas.
The plan was to divide the river into 2 major parts – Upper & Lower, the mid point being Mission Island on Buliard Lake. Eight people were going to paddle the Upper & then 6 the Lower – with 3 flying out at Mission Island & one flying in with a re-supply of food. The plan changed somewhat so that only 4 of us paddled the Lower.
We all flew in from Yellowknife to Jim Magrum Lake with Air Tindi, so as to avoid days of dragging & portaging. This cut about 51 km from the total length of the river. And Boris Kotelowetz from Baker Lake organized our pickup from the end of the river (just above the Hayes R.) – we flew out with a Twin Otter from Air Tindi.
July 4 : Flight from Ottawa to Yellowknife
Finally with 4 large overstuffed bags, I flew from Ottawa to Yellowknife. These included my personal pack, a food barrel, a 115 l. Seal-line bag of food for the 2nd half & canoe paraphernalia & the Pakboat in its bag. I was charged about $53 & change for the 2 extra bags, which was fair. I flew from Ottawa to Iqaluit, had a short wait, then from Iqaluit to Rankin Inlet, another short wait & then finally to Yellowknife. I was hoping that someone would be there to pick me up since I could not carry everything on my own, but no one was there. So…I called a taxi, specifying that I needed a large one so they sent a van. I then went to the B&B (Ptartan Ptarmigan) where almost everybody else was. I quickly re-packed bags as Air Tindi wanted to pick them up that evening & then we all went out to dinner at the Wild Cat Café. We met several other canoe people who were preparing to head out on various rivers.
Day 1 – Tues. July 5: Jim Magrum Lake
Weather – cloudy & cool, a few sprinkles
Distance – km. 51 – 0 km. travelled
Finally the actual start of our trip!!! Boyd did not pick us up from the B&B so we took a taxi to the docks. Air Tindi had a walk-in cooler so we put our food that needed to be kept cold in there. All our other re-supply food bags were marked & left with Air Tindi.
Bob & Gene had organized a rental canoe for the trip but on trying to put together the rental Ally (precursor to the Pakboat) boat, we discovered a couple of the tubes had holes in them, others were bent quite badly & it was VERY old & had no sponsons. So we ended up taking a hard-shell instead – a Canyon Esquire, which will be flown out at Mission Island. At that point, the plan is for Bob & Gene to use Doug & Daniel’s 16’ Pakboat.
We flew in to Jim Magrum Lake….thus missing the first 51 km. The top part of the river actually starts at Sussex L. & includes Muskox Lake, but this first part apparently includes more dragging through rocks than paddling so we decided to forego that part. The flight in was uneventful – about 1 ½ hours from Yellowknife. As we flew over Muskox Lake, we could see a fair amount of ice, so we were doubly glad we had decided to skip that part. It was quite windy when we landed at Jim Magrum Lake, but therefore we were not bothered by any bugs.
We put our tents up, tundra tunnel up (which George Drought very kindly lent us) & with great effort managed to put our canoes together. Unfortunately one of the rivets holding the U-brackets holding my seats was knocked loose in transit with the airlines….so already we are using our duct tape supply for repairs. For good measure Hendrik & I decided to duct tape all the seat joints.
In addition, Stephen’s brand new expensive bent-shaft paddle was broken on the flight to Yellowknife. He whittled a piece of wood to re-join the 2 pieces of the shaft – most ingenious!…and then duct-taped the 2 pieces even more tightly together.
Day 2 – Wed. July 6: Jim Magrum L – Gold L.
Weather – beautiful, crispy sunny day
Distance – km. 69.5 – 18.5 km.
It took us a long time to get going this morning – we had to first figure out how to fit all the gear into the canoes – NOT an easy feat! & second, we had to put on the sprayskirts. This turned out to be a major problem for Gene & Bob – they had some cruddy old sprayskirt from Boyd, meant for a 16’ canoe, I think. Because of the poor fit, both Bob & Gene were unable to sit/kneel in the normal fashion.
The first rapid was supposed to be runnable, but for us, it wasn’t. There was a large ledge to start off with – & where we figure George Drought ran it, there was not enough water for our PakCanoes….we did not want to be dragging a long ways on a rocky bottom., Hendrik & I ended up portaging it. All in all, at least 2 – 2 ½ hours were lost here.
Next came some swifts – easy & then a small fun rapid which we simply water-scouted.
Day 3 – Thurs. July 7
Weather – started out nice & sunny for about 2 hours & then deteriorated to cold, very windy, raining. Surprise, Surprise!
Distance – km 82.5 – 13 km.
We struggled against wind all day today & after a huge effort made about 13 km. progress. Much of the river that we paddled today was wide enough to be considered a lake.
The highlights were 4 muskoxen & a peregrine falcon. Hendrik went chasing after them but wasn’t able to get closer – they took off. He did find a wonderful clump of muskox fur – kinickinick, Daniela says.
We also came upon Robert Perkins’ tent, stopped & got him out of bed & chatted with him a while. I think he had the right idea today – to stay out of the weather!
Tonight we were VERY VERY glad to have the tundra tunnel.
Day 4 – Fri. July 8 – same spot
Weather – MISERABLE – windy, rainy, coldish all day long. In the evening it started to clear.
Distance – km. 82.5 – 0 km. travelled
Since none of us felt like going out & fighting the wind in the rain, we stayed put. Most of us snoozed in the afternoon.
Hendrik & I had a short hike in the evening – saw a long-tailed jaeger, which was his first ever! We also looked at some birds.
Day 5 – July 9: Malley Rapids
Weather – windy beautiful day
Distance – km. 116 – 33.5 km.
We got up at 5 a.m. (UGH!) & because of the difficulty of landing & launching, we could only do one boat at a time (shallow, rocky shore). So departure time was 8:45 a.m. We had several swifts & one actual rapid today (maybe a 2 or 2+). Hendrik & I managed to hit the one rock we didn’t want to, but managed to stay upright.
Robert Perkins passed us in the morning early (we were still on shore) & then we passed him later in the day…..he had erected a lemonade stand immediately below the one bigger rapid…..with a sign on his wannigan advertising “Lemonade – 5 cents a glass”. J
So we all enjoyed some lemonade & chatted for quite a while. Yummy!
We then continued on for about another 8-9 km. to Malley’s Rapid (NOT a rapid….barely a swift & according to Allan, not actually Malley’s).
We saw a beautiful white wolf today. Hendrik says it’s not an Arctic wolf, but a tundra wolf & that Arctic wolves are only on the islands.
Day 6 – Sun. July 10
Weather – sunny, windy in the afternoon; couple of small scattered showers around noon.
Distance – km. 152 – 36 km. travelled
Today we got up at 6 a.m., a slight improvement. But it still took us forever to get on the river. It was buggy this morning but gradually cleared as we got going on the water.
We hit quite a few rapids today – the first was the biggest – about 3 km. long & fast & bouldery. It was far too long to scout so with some trepidation, we went. About one third of the way down we got hung up on a rock hidden under the surface (same direction as the current) & couldn’t get off. Eventually we got off by Hendrik rocking the canoe sideways, which I did not like, but it worked. The rest of the run was quite a wild run. Doug & Daniela ran the centre line which had a lot of big waves, but apparently was much safer & easier than the route we took down river left. It was shallower close to shore & far more bouldery.
There were maybe 4-5 other sets of rapids, all of which were shorter & easier.
We travelled most of the day with Robert Perkins…He was glad to have us near as he went through the rapids….apparently normally he would walk most of them because of the danger with having no backup.
The wind picked up in the afternoon – Most of the group wanted to stop ….so we did. Bob caught a big fish (8-10 lbs.) & cooked it up along with the regular dinner he made. It was scrumptious, needless to say.
We then paddled again in the evening for about 2-3 more hours – the wind had died down completely & of course the mosquitoes recognized this golden opportunity & were out in full force. Both Gene & Hendrik took the opportunity to paddle Robert’s “Loon”, so Robert paddled first with Bob & then with myself.
When we finally stopped, we threw up the tents & dived in.
Day 7 – Mon. July 11: Beechey Lake
Weather – hot & sunny
Distance – km. 190 – 33 km. travelled
We travelled fairly steadily down the river & eventually made a start at 50 km long Beechey L. We were very fortunate not to have strong headwinds today.
Day 8 – Tues. July 12: Beechey Lake & Beechey Cascades
Weather – sunny & warm (hot!)
Distance – km. 218 – 28 km. travelled
Today was a very busy day We continued on down Beechey Lake – had about 30 km. to go. We had a great tail wind all day – & therefore rolling waves to surf on. We stopped at a gorgeous site for lunch – sand cliffs with many different types of flowers & spectacular views in all directions….and to top it off – a wolf den.
After lunch we continued to fly down Beechey Lake to the end. We then commenced a grueling portage – about 3 km. over hill & dale – through bogs, tussocks, tangled willows etc. – all in order to avoid Beechey Cascades, which at the current high water levels would be totally impossible to run. It was probably about Class 4/5 for most of the approx. 3 km. We have more portaging to look forward to tomorrow!
Day 9 – Wed. July 13: Beechey Cascades – portage
Weather – again sunny & windy (& tail wind)
Distance – km. 242 – 24 km.
Portage Day! – This morning & last night were NOT FUN!! We continued the 3 km. portage over bog, Arctic willows general tundra. It took us till about 1 p.m. to finish it. I (& everyone else) was exhausted – we then continued on down the river till about 6 p.m. & set up camp on an island. Apparently we were on a tern’s turf. Every time we walked back & forth from tents to canoes he attacked us & shrieked at us.
Tonight I had the pleasure of having a ‘bath’ using Stephen’s “Susie net”. It was extremely awkward & probably took 3 times as long but it did keep the mosquitoes at bay & I didn’t get one bite! It is, however, quite the operation to undress, wash clothes, wash hair, wash body, rinse hair, rinse body, dry body, & walk back to my tent, all without accidentally pulling the net off & exposing oneself to the hordes of hungry mosquitoes! Apparently I was the subject of much laughter as I drifted back to the tent wearing the Susie net – from then on known as the “Burka”!
Day 10 – Thurs. July 14
Weather – muggy, cloudy >>>light wind & sunny>>>>showers
Distance – km. 274 – 32 km.
Today was another beautiful day. It started off overcast, mosquito-y & still. Gradually it cleared, the sun came out & a mosquito-chasing wind came up. It was perfect.
We hit lots of rapids (swifts/”encouragements”) that did not require scouting (just water-scouting). Bob & Gene went over a ledge on river left accidentally (about a 3’ drop) & filled up with water, but didn’t dump. Needless to say, the rest of us headed over to river right where there was no ledge.
Scenery is gradually changing – lots & lots of big sand eskers, cliffs & dunes.
In the afternoon, clouds threatened all around us so we pulled over about 4:30 p.m.
Day 11 – Fri. July 15
Weather – windy, rainy cold miserable
Distance – didn’t travel, still km. 274
Today was a completely miserable day so it did not take much for us all to vote to stay put. Some of us went out for a hike – Daniela found some edible mushrooms so we all helped her collect them for dinner that night. As we were all returned to the tundra tunnel, we found that 2 kayaks had arrived at our site – we invited them to come up, get dry & have some warm drinks & food. They had thought about stopping a little ways back but decided to persevere in the cold & wind. They, however, also found it too much to travel in the wind & cold & so had decided to stop when they spied our tents. Their names were Hans & Hans! One spoke quite good English & the other almost no English.
The rest of that day & the evening they regaled us with tales of their adventures. They have been kayaking together for 40 years now & been in many large open ocean kayak races. They also joined us for dinner that night. Since it was Doug’s birthday, Daniela made a birthday cake for him.
Day 12 – Sat. July 16
Weather – sunny cold north wind
Distance – km. 323 – 49 km.
We paddled long & hard today, rising around 6 a.m. & paddling for about 11 hours. We made excellent time, paddling close to 20 km. in no time at all. We also paddled through massive sand flats, which at this water level were underwater. This meant we zigzagged our way down the river, always looking for the darkest water, hoping there would be enough water to paddle in.
We passed a series of major rapids – about 7-8 km. going from swifts to Class 3 with flat stretches in between. We managed to sneak & line & run everything on river right.
Throughout the day we spotted 3 caribou – one wolf with a caribou! And another caribou who was limping badly – unfortunately soon to be dinner for some lucky wolf.
Day 13 – Sun. July 17
Weather – Gorgeous, sunny, brisk, cool-like October,
Distance – km. 360 – 37 km.
We did lots of steady paddling today – started late (about 11 a.m.) & stopped a bit late (about 7 p.m.) The scenery is quite beautiful – tons of huge sand hills & eskers.
We also saw a golden plover today & a black & white plover. They were beautiful.
There are sand hills on the shores & sandbars in the water everywhere now. We spent a lot of effort again today, trying to find where the channels were…still managed to miscalculate & as a result had to drag the canoes quite a long distance to get to paddle-able water.
Day 14 – Mon. July 18
Weather – Ho Hum! Another beautiful day!!
Distance – km. 399 – 39 km.
This was another beautiful day of canoeing….we even had a slight tail breeze. Lunch was eaten on a beautiful sand/rock spit with tons of lupins tucked into the rocks.
Day 15 – Tues. July 19
Weather – NOT GOOD – rainy, cold,WINDY
Distance – km. 404 – 5 km.
Well, we did not travel far today at all. We set off late – around 11 or 11:30 a.m. with more or less a tail/side wind. As the river turned it became a fairly strong headwind with good size waves. We battled our way for about 3-4 km. & then came into shore – Gene & Bob were struggling terribly with their Canyon Esquif – it has a very high rocker & does not track well at all.
We therefore stopped at this point at a beautiful, large sand dune area, put up the tundra tunnel, ate soup and lunch & waited for the wind to die down (it didn’t).
Some of us went for a hike & it was gorgeous….lupins, wind-sculpted sand sculptures & beautiful grasses. I took quite a few photos. There were also a lot of beautiful grasses – we looked up one that we had seen a lot of – it looked like little wheat stands & was called Beach Lyme Grass. We also saw an area that was like a long wind tunnel area.
After the hike we sat some more in the tundra tunnel. After a while Stephen went out to check on the canoes….we heard footsteps running back to the tundra tunnel & Stephen announced that Gene & Bob’s canoe had been blown off the beach & completely across the river to the other side. Fortunately, it was still sitting there, so Hendrik & Stephen set off on a rescue mission. It didn’t take them long at all & soon they were back with the Canyon Esquif in tow & no gear lost.
Day 16 – Wed. July 20
Weather – drizzly, cloudy, windy, COLD
Distance – km. 432 – 28 km.
Today was an eventful day. It took us a long time to get going – it was cold, wet & miserable & everything took longer. Finally around 11:30 a.m. off we set into a strong headwind which we fought for a long time.
First we ran several swifts with no problem & then finally we came to Hawk Rapids. This is a series of about 4 sets of rapids – only 1 was of much concern. Two boats ran far right & then scouted some of the big waves. The other two boats ran on the big tongue & then right.
Hawk Rapids Canyon was a beautiful canyon area that extended a couple of km. The sand hills & dunes that were everywhere further up the river have now pretty well disappeared & stone & rock have replaced them. Hendrik spotted a peregrine falcon & we also saw a number of snow buntings (white & black).
Shortly after Hawk Rapids came a twisty section on the river involving fairly serious boils & whirlpools. We were sailing down it, no problem when Hendrik said “Where are Bob & Gene?” (they had been right behind us) Well, at first we couldn’t see them & then suddenly H. called out “They’re in the water!!”. Because of the strong river current, we had to wait until they floated to us before we could help them get out…..so as a result they were in the icy water a very, very long time. Gene was attempting to hold on to his paddle & his canoe & pull them in to shore, but by the time he got to us he could scarcely move. Gene was wearing no neoprene & has very little body fat so after approx. 15-20 minutes in the water was extremely hypothermic – stage 2 & shivering violently & uncontrollably. The entire lower half of his face was blue. We took off his wet clothes & put on dry warm clothes & sleeping bags & put our bodies next to him to warm him up. Eventually he warmed enough to continue a short paddle further down the river…it was impossible to camp where we were since it was a steep rocky shore. It took about 1 ½ hours to warm him up.
Bob was also in the water for an equal period of time, but physically wasn’t nearly in as bad of shape – he did have on neoprene & he has more body fat, which in this case was helpful. However, he was very upset about the incident.
LESSON LEARNED: STAY TOGETHER!!!!!!!!!
Day 17 – July 21`
Weather – another miserable cold, windy cloudy day – drizzly off & on
Distance – km. 469 – 37 km.
We left late (as usual) again – around 11:45 a.m. & paddled till around 5:30 p.m. very steadily. There were lots of swifts with boily areas….through all narrow sections. We passed lots of nice rocky areas & saw a lot of old unmelted snow.
We also spotted another small herd of musk-oxen – 4 or 5. One of them was part way down the stoney hill & nimbly climbed to the crest. It’s amazing how easily they climb – like mountain goats. (later I read that muskox are related to mountain goats in part).
We also saw a number of Arctic loons & a couple of ravens.
Day 18 – Fri. July 22
Weather – cold (but not “quite” as cold), windy, cloudy, drizzly off & on
Distance – km. 489 – 20 km.
And yet another late day. We had further delays today – Allan’s foot was badly swollen so it needed to be wrapped. Then we had a meeting in the tundra tunnel – the main announcement was from Bob – he & Gene have decided to fly out at Mission Island (our mid-way point) instead of staying for the entire trip as originally planned. They feel they are a liability to the group. I will be sorry to see them leave since I really enjoy their company. Plus, that will leave only 4 of us for the Lower Back, which is not nearly as safe. However, there was no question in the minds of any of the remaining 3 paddlers that they wished to continue. (Hendrik, Allan & myself – Linda is to join us at Mission Island & we need to tell her about the change).
We saw a red-throated loon today & Hendrik spotted something white high up on the river bank. He looked & looked at it & suddenly realized it was a muskox skull. So we paddled in to look at it closely – it’s beautiful!!! – must weigh 20-30 lbs. Hendrik did not want it for himself, so I took it.
We also saw a beautiful King Eider Duck who was with about 20 other ducklings & probably females.
We fought a headwind in the later afternoon for about 2 hours. We would have preferred to continue but were persuaded to stop.
We also saw a close-up jaeger, some cormorants & some scoters (common).
And – we also picked up a third caribou rack which Bob was delighted to take.
Day 19 – Sat. July 23: Pelly Lake
Weather – cool, sunny brisk morning, clouded over during the day, some drizzle, eventually a bit of sun again late in the day (early evening).
Distance – km. 529 – 40 km.
Paddling was excellent today – we had more or less a west wind all day which helped us progress. Water was quite calm. We’ve been paddling through’ GIANT sandbar areas, all of which are submerged so it was quite tricky to find the correct passages. We constantly had to hunt for darker-looking water.
We saw a lot of wildlife today – cormorants, 5 long-tailed jaegers, 2 white wolves running in front of 2 dashing grizzlies (well off in the distance). Not all of us saw the grizzlies (I didn’t). In addition we saw a number of red-necked loons.
We have noticed that the azaleas & moss phlox are fading quite quickly now.
Day 20 – Sun. July 24: Goose Poop Island
Weather – windy, cold, drizzly off & on, mostly a tail wind
Distance – km. 549 – km. 19.5 km.
Up at 6:30 a.m. (my watch was set for 6 a.m. but I was too tired so I ignored it). Amidst showers, bit of sun, cold, rainbow we hurriedly got ready – We were on the river by about 9:25 a.m. It was fairly difficult navigation but we eventually found our way. It was complicated by the fact that Bob & Gene followed the shoreline closely (took them way out of the way) because of the difficulties the Canyon Esquif has with tracking. We attempted to keep close to them & upwind so as to minimize the effect of the wind & waves.
We arrived at the Pelly Cairn & stopped for a look. The approach to the landing was an unbelievably clear channel, but when we got on shore there were masses of goose droppings
We did spot 4 muskoxen on the shore this morning & tonight a red-throated loon was crying.
We did not get as far as we wanted today because of the wind & waves.
Day 21 – Mon. July 25: Mission Island
Weather – some wind early but none later; cold cloudy miserable
Distance – km. 580 – 31 km.
In the morning the wind was blowing & there was some chop on the crossing we needed to make. Most of the group wanted to BACKTRACK to the Pelly Cairn & get picked up there!!!
After a big “discussion” with everybody except Hendrik & me wanting to stay put on “Goose Drop Island”, we finally persuaded everyone to give the upcoming almost 4 km. crossing a go. I traded bow spots with Bob so I paddled with Gene in the Canyon Esquif. The crossing was made with no problems – and the wind actually eased as we went
We had another long open exposed crossing in Pelly Lake – the lake at this point has 4 arms, forming somewhat of a cross & the intersection of the arms is about 3-4 km. If there had been a north-south wind, it would have given us a lot of problems. By this time though the wind had abated.
Finally, we entered Upper Garry Lake & then had about 7-8 km. to go to Mission Island. Again the weather & winds cooperated as we paddled in the exposed waters of Upper Garry.
When we arrived at Mission Island lo & behold the 2 Hanses were there waiting for us with hot peach tea. What a treat! They had to cut their trip short for business reasons, but plan to return next summer & do the lower half.
UTM COORDINATES FOR CAMPSITES
| CAMPSITE/DAY # | ZONE | UTM COORDINATES | |
| 1 | 13W | 572 804 | |
| 2 | 13W | 704 905 | |
| 3 | 13W | 756 010 | |
| 4 | 13W | “ | |
| 5 | 13W | 898 233 | |
| 6 | 13W | 925 538 | |
| 7 | 13W | 172 514 | |
| 8 | 13W | 380 363 | |
| 9 | 13W | 509 291 | |
| 10 | 13W | 789 215 | |
| 11 | 13W | 204 250 | |
| 12 | 13W | 204 250 | |
| 13 | 13W | 515 341 | |
| 14 | 13W | 788 548 | |
| 15 | 13W | 801 568 | |
| 16 | 13W | 904 754 | |
| 17 | 13W | 225 789 | |
| 18 | 13W | 342 895 | |
| 19 | 14W | 728 158 | |
| 20 | 14W | 916 135 | |
| 21 | 14W | 197 099 | |
| 22 | 14W | “ | |
| 23 | 14W | 437 068 | |
| 24 | 14W | 674 123 | |
| 25 | 14W | 892 205 | |
| 26 | 14W | 049 273 | |
| 27 | 14W | 155 148 | |
| 28 | 14W | 196 076 | |
| 29 | 14W | 250 079 | |
| 30 | 14W | “ | |
| 31 | 14W | 371 159 | |
| 32 | 14W | 448 202 | |
| 33 | 14W | 613 155 | |
| 34 | 14W | 817 195 | |
| 35 | 14W | 976 366 | |
| 36 | 14W | 199 394 | |
| 37 | 15W | 712 682 | |
| 38 | 15W | 787 926 | |
| 39 | 15W | 766 079 | |
| 40 | 15W | 724 288 | |
| 41 | 15W | 992 324 | |
| 42 | 15W | 013 394 | |
| 43 | 15W | “ |