Day 22 – Tues. July 26: still Mission Island
Weather – cloudy, foggy, miserable, cold, buggy
Distance – still km. 580 – 0 km.
Everybody hurriedly repacked to be ready for the 5 people leaving. We had to go through all the kitchen stuff & reorganize for having only 4 people, we had to go through the First Aid stuff that Gene had – I did this since I already had a lot of first aid stuff….simply added some of Gene’s. Gene’s first aid gear had all gotten wet in their big dump, so we strung it around the tundra tunnel in an effort to dry it.
In addition, we went through all the food to reorganize that also – we all needed more meals since there would now be only 4 people cooking instead of 6. And we went through our personal gear in an effort to reduce our load a bit. I think we all found a few things we could send out.
Kind & helpful Bob also consented to taking out my muskox skull & caribou antlers & attempting to get them home.
When the plane arrived we had to carry everything up the big hill & over to another spot on the island. So over we all went.
Linda disembarked & the other 5 got on with all their gear.
We decided to not head on down the river today, but tomorrow. So Linda, Hendrik & I then went for a beautiful & interesting hike around the island. Allan couldn’t come because of his feet…he stayed at the campsite & washed himself & his laundry. When we returned, I did the same.
Day 23 – Wed. July 27: Upper Garry Lake>>Garry Lake
Weather – warm, muggy, buggy – later sunny with white clouds, no wind to speak of
Distance – km. 607 – 27 km.
Up at 7 a.m. we still had lots of packing & organizing to be done….so we didn’t get on the water till 10:45 a.m. Once underway, we paddled very steadily till close to 6 in the afternoon. There was almost no wind which was a very good thing since we needed to do long traverses on Lower Garry & Garry Lakes. We didn’t take my suggested route (which minimized our time in the open lake) but it was OK because the lake was very, very calm with almost no wind or even breeze. At first we had a slight breeze & then later a slight cross breeze.
Tonight for the first time we had a sunset & it was an absolutely gorgeous sunset. All 4 of us took a lot of photos. Gradually, the nights (dim light) are increasing in length. Until today we had such cruddy weather that you couldn’t tell if there even was a sun or not!
We’ve got quite a nice campsite tonight – on a rocky piece of island with ice flat areas & not too full of goose droppings!
Day 24 – Thurs. July 28: Garry Lake>>>Lower Garry Lake
Weather – Beautiful, sunny, almost windless day – buggy of course –very, very very buggy!
Distance – km. 636 – 29 km.
This was another day of lake travel. It took us just under 3 hours to break camp this morning. We finished paddling Garry Lake & then went through an extremely mini rapid & then entered into Lower Garry Lake, which is the longest of this chain of lakes.
At lunch we stopped at a beautiful sandy spot with a cairn on the top of a sand/stone hill (esker). We walked up there & were treated to a spectacular view!! And then noticed some tent rings on the lower part of the other side of the hill…possibly about 5 or 6 ancient ones. Very interesting. There was even a hearth – pointed out by Linda.
We are camped at a no-so-great site, tonight, but it’s OK.
There was another beautiful sunset tonight – golds & mauves.
We saw at very close range a yellow-billed loon – the largest of the loon family & we also heard sand-hill cranes. I’m hoping to actually see one soon! We also saw & heard red-throated loons.
Day 25 – Fri. July 29: Lower Garry Lake>>>>Buliard Lake
Weather – another beautiful day, started with a bit of wind & then eased off.
Distance – km. 668 – 32 km.
Today was a better take-off time – it took us about 2 ½ hours to get going. We spent pretty well all day paddling through Lower Garry Lake & fortunately the wind that had started in the morning pretty well dissipated. So we made a long mid-lake traverse instead of following the shore. The water was quite still & had some incredible blue reflections in it.
We stopped for lunch at a point that turned out to be beautiful….sand & stones mainly & beautiful view. We also spotted some rock ptarmigan while there – 3, I think.
As we paddled in the lake we saw millions of bug corpses & along with them we started seeing numerous fish fins.
A number of times we heard sandhill cranes in the distance….I really hope I actually see one!! And again we saw 3 yellow-billed loons & a few red-throated loons.
Finally we exited Lower Garry Lake via some small rapids & entered Buliard Lake. We are camping tonight in George Drought’s “Great Site”. And it is beautiful….there are many high hills from which you can see 360 degrees..Spectacular! But the actual site where the tents are is not so wonderful.
Day 26 – Sat. July 30
Weather – another gorgeous sunny day! I wonder how long the weather will hold – & no wind to boot!
Distance – km. 694 – 26 km.
Today was quite a busy day. We crossed the rest of the southern end of Buliard Lake & then re-entered the river proper & ran quite a long series of rapids for the next few hours. Some were class 3. We also lined/lifted/carried a Class 4.
After lunch (oh yes, we saw a rock partridge family with babies!) we passed a junction of a lot of fingers of water, wended our way through them & then paddled in a quite amazing area of sand. It looked 8” deep – but was actually 3-4’ deep. And there were may many patterns of sand underwater. Plus we saw maybe 10 very large fish (maybe 2’ long). It was very beautiful. And the water was 100% clear.
Our campsite tonight is on a sand/gravel bar, so it’s not anything special.
Day 27 – Sun. July 31: Upper & Lower McDougall Lakes
Weather – a repeat of yesterday
Distance – km. 723 – 29 km.
Today was our best day yet for animal viewing – First we startled a wolf who dashed across the tundra & then stopped & watched us & peeked from here & there. He was not white, but rather a muted gray.
We then spotted a larger herd of muskoxen – 13, I think. We paddled close to shore to try to get photos. One of the bulls charged another bull while we were watching. Just as we were leaving a caribou trotted into their midst, limping strongly. It appeared that he was attempting to find safety in their midst.
As we passed from Upper McDougall L. to Lower we heard these loud strange noises. They turned out to be a family of loons!
AND…we saw 3 eagles, a longspur & quite a few terns, including some chicks on the shore.
There was lots & lots of lake travel today with little or no wind, so again we were lucky!
Day 28 – Mon. Aug. 1: Rock Rapids & CARIBOU HERD – describe
Weather – warm, mostly sunny
Distance – km.732 – 9 km.
It didn’t take us long to reach Rock Rapids, only 2-3 km. from our campsite. We were able to run the first couple of rapids just with water scouting – our hopes were high for zooming right through. HUH!!! After that began the “fun”!
At the top of the rapids was an island – according to the notes on George D’s map he had taken the right channel, but he suggested checking out the left channel….so we got out at the island to scout on the left channel (where George D. did not go), climbed a quite high hill & were treated to a wonderful 360 degree view! However, there was no way through on the left channel. So we looked carefully to try & find a safe route (something like George’s) on the right channel, but none was to be found. So….we ferried back to river right on the Right channel & proceeded to spend most of the rest of the day lining. (Portaging left channel probably would have been the better choice, in retrospect.) On the left channel were 2 major rapids, both un-runnable & it would have been safer, shorter time-wise & easier to portage across the island to below the rapids.
Mid-way down the lining it became necessary to portage our gear about 200 m. on a very steep & rocky slope & lift the boats over the rocks. This was extremely difficult.
FINALLY, the job was done & we crossed the river again, had a short gorp break (we skipped lunch) went down a bit further & stopped for the day. Everyone was totally done in!
We decided to camp in a little bay that was just off the river on river left. Just at the entrance to the bay were about 200 caribou, some in the water wading or drinking & most on the shore. This is the most caribou I have ever seen at once!!
The little bay was quite mucky & dirty (we thought from caribou) so we went over to the far side where it was marginally better. The campsite was not good, but it was flat. Just after we had put up the tents & tundra tunnel, we noticed a lot of caribou coming. At first we thought it was the herd we had seen at the entrance to the bay, but as they kept coming & coming we realized it was part of the main herd. The caribou kept coming for a couple of hours at least as we watched in awe & amazement. They all went across the bay (why, I don’t know…they could have walked around it) & then proceeded to go right by our camp! This was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. The trip could have ended at this point & I would have gone home happy. We later estimated that somewhere between 3000 & 5000 caribou must have gone past us. I was curious what herd these were part of so upon my return I researched a bit online & determined that they most likely were part of the Ahiak herd.
What had looked like a desperation campsite turned out to be filled with wonder for us!
Day 29 – Sun. Aug. 2:
Weather – good – warm, some bugs, some sun, some cloud, not much wind
Distance – km. 740 – 8 km.
Today was another long & eventful day. At the crack of dawn Hendrik whispered loudly from outside the tent to stick my head out…there was a wolf who walked right through our camp – about 40’ from our tent!!! He wasn’t as white as most of the wolves that we’ve seen – I think he was following yesterday’s caribou herd.
Just before breakfast when everyone else was in the tundra tunnel & I was still outside, I noticed a herd of muskox traveling the same route as the caribou last night. I quickly called the others out to see – there were 17 in total, split into 2 groups & they all walked across the water (even though they could have gone around the bay). It was a wonderful sight! They came really close to our campsite & just paraded on by.
Finally we hopped into our canoes, hoping to zoom down the next section of rapids. George D. & group had managed to run most of it so we assumed we could too. Nope! No such luck! So we ended up running a smidgen on river left, portaging maybe1 km. On river left from near the top of rapids to a bay on RLK, then lined around the point. A possible route to run would have been to get far out on RR where there was still water & then follow a tongue that went by the confluence. It was decided this was too risky because of the width of the water at this point (rescue would be impossible) & speed of river & roughness of confluence. Finally around 1:30 p.m. the lining was done & we paused to have lunch. In retrospect, it might have been more efficient to simply have portaged from our campsite across the peninsula.
We then continued on down to Sinclair Falls, which was quite beautiful. There is a HUGE volume of water coming over the falls. This was a short, maybe 100 m. portage over smooth rocks. At the bottom of the portage was a snow strip – actually snow-compressed to ice strip with marvellous brown patterns on it.
We then paddled a few more km. downstream & set up camp.
We also saw an eagle (golden?) & a lot of nice flowers….Arctic poppies, arnica & many others.
Day 30 – Wed. Aug. 3
Weather – cold, windy, raining
Distance – km. 740 – 0 km.
We woke up to terrible weather & everyone was exhausted from the last 2 days. So we had a lay-over day – did laundry, washed, slept, ate etc.
Day 31 – Thurs. Aug. 4: Between Rock & Escape Rapids
Weather – started with rain, rain, rain….we woke in a marsh – Finally, rain stopped but there was a BIG wind (head wind, of course).
Distance – km. 762 – 22 km.
We were up at 6 a.m. this morning but everything was sopping wet, so it took quite a long time to break camp – 3 ½ hours approximately.. Where we were camping had turned literally into a marsh….it was awful.
During the night last night we heard a couple of wolves howling in the distance & around 3-4 a.m. we heard a mewling by the tent. Upon peeking, we discovered a rock partridge just a few feet from us.
Anyways, once we finally managed to get on the water, it was a great battle against strong headwinds – it took us 2 hours to go 5 km. We then stopped for an early lunch & pushed for another 5 km. FINALLY we turned south & had the wind directly on our backs. So, at long last, UP went our sails & we FLEW the next 5 km. – till we had to turn again. We then battled our way again northwards.
We paddled through what looked like a giant lake – but it remains nameless….just a huge widening of the river, I guess – but it appears on the map to be about 16 km. long & 2 km. wide!
En route we saw a couple small groups of caribou. Outstanding was one large proud caribou with a huge rack standing on the crest of the ridge. You could see his profile & he was truly magnificent. We also spotted 2 wolves running full out on the opposite shore. The first one was larger & faster. They ran a very long ways!
We also saw a yellow-billed loon at our campsite, some Canada geese & some small shore birds, perhaps semi-palmated plovers.
Everyone is exhausted tonight – it was a very hard day!!!
Day 32 – Fri. Aug. 5: Escape Rapids
Weather – gray, cold
Distance – km. 775 – 13 km.
The day started out with crossing yet another huge unnamed lake – this one about at least 15 km. long by about 2-3 km. wide. We crossed somewhat diagonally, which still meant about 7-8 km. of open water. Again, luckily wind was not a big problem. Once we re-entered the river proper, we arrived at the head of Escape Rapids.
We ran the first little bit sneaking down river right & pulled over into probably the strongest backwards flowing eddy I’ve ever seen – it was actually a rapid running upstream! We pulled out to have a good look – & the rapids were awe-inspiring – but definitely not runnable either….first there were some massive keeper holes, big enough to suck in a bus & then huge rapids for the next couple of kilometres….way, way too big to run at these water levels. At this point George D. had ferried across – so after a lot of discussion Hendrik & I decided to do the ferry. We paddled the eddy upstream & used its momentum to bash through into the main current, peeled in & then headed left hard as we could, keeping our eye on the big holes below us. We got to a pool of somewhat calmer water finally & then continued across paddling as hard as we could. It was maybe a km. across the river at this point, quite a long hard paddle! Once on the other side (river left) the plan was to line a short distance….maybe 300 m. & then run the rest. But once we got to the other side we could not see Allan & Linda. I was quite concerned because if they had been swept down the river, it would have been game over. At first we thought that perhaps they had headed upstream further so as to give themselves more room in which to make the maneuver. Finally after about half an hour, we spotted them high on the ridge on the other side…after watching us they decided to portage this section. Well, it was impossible to get back to where they were & we knew they would be the rest of the day portaging so we finished the lining, snuck down the left side of the remainder of Rock Rapids & then ran the last rapid which was just below Rock Rapids. This turned out to be much bigger water than we had anticipated, but we made it. We then crossed over to river right & camped at the first possible spot.
That night dinner was very meager – basically a repeat of lunch, since our pots & pans were with Allan & Linda. They apparently finished the portage around 8 p.m. & dined on granola bars – they were too tired to cook anything.
So, that night was spent in 2 separate campsites – we could see them with the binoculars.
Day 33 – Sat. Aug. 6
Weather – cold, very windy, some drizzle, smidgen of sun.
Distance – km. 799 – 24 km.
This morning found us in 2 campsites so we had a very hurried “re-breakfast” & Hendrik then walked back to where Allan & Linda had spent the night…in case he could help. They had managed to finish the portage so he helped them lower everything down the high cliff/embankment. They then ran the bottom rapid & met up with us.
By the time we all were together & ready to go the wind was blowing extremely hard. We set out anyways straight into a headwind & 2 hours later had managed 4 km. (with HUGE effort). Waves were quite high & rough – lots of white caps & breaking waves. We stopped on the lee side of an island, had lunch & set out again, this time with slightly less wind. This made paddling considerably easier.
We ran a swift & a rapid & then hoisted our sails (having reversed direction by now) & whipped down about 7-8 km. In less than an hour. It was great (other than the fact that my hands were frozen!!)
Tonight we are having major tent-zipper problems!! Gr-r-r-r-r!!!
We spotted a rough-legged hawk & a lone caribou today.
Day 34 – Aug. 7: Sandhill Rapids, Rock Rapids
Weather – windy, gray, dull
Distance – km. 825 – 26 km.
We saw a lot of caribou swimming across the river today – first while we were paddling & then later while scouting rapids (Sandhill Rapids? – check) we hiked quite a long ways & on our return we saw a lot of caribou swimming across the river. They swam amazingly fast!! Hendrik & I tried to paddle across the river to catch up with the first group & take photos, but the second we stopped paddling to get our cameras out, the caribou got way too far ahead.
Later in the morning we came to Wolf Rapids & even though we saw that George D. had run it, when we saw it we were sure we’d be portaging again. There was a huge almost river-wide ledge – like a falls, maybe 7-8’ high so we scouted just to have a look on river right as the river went round a bend to the right. To our amazement there was the largest & fastest tongue that I have ever seen! It fell off dangerously on the left like a falls but it was wide enough that we could safely enjoy the ride. So we swooped down – best ride I ever had.After the big swoop we immediately were into giant waves coming in all directions. As we fought to keep upright we noticed on the cliff to our right about 4 muskoxen hanging their heads over the top watching us! Had we not been otherwise occupied it would have made for wonderful photos & movies!!!!
We stopped early because of strong headwinds.
Day 35 – Aug. 8: Mt. Meadowbank
Weather – not bad – started out cloudy, but became partly clear with a bit of sun
Distance – km. 855 – 30 km.
Shortly after leaving this morning the river became very constricted & we found ourselves in water that was very boily, whirlpooly & wavy. We kept to the left shore, more or less as we went through this section. We then continued northwards, fighting a strong headwind the entire way to Mount Meadowbank. We spotted Mt. Meadowbank yesterday even & today we had it in our sights all day long. It truly did appear to be a mountain – it’s amazing how you lose your sense of perspective here in the open tundra!! For about the next 15 km. We headed north – the river looked like very long lakes here & pretty well everywhere was at least 2-3 km. wide. Again, no name for lakes. Midway up we passed another constriction in the river & an island in the middle. There was a boulder field to the right channel, so we chose the left channel.
Eventually we arrived at Mt. Meadowbank, did not climb it (as I would have liked), but instead landed across the river where we could see an old trapper’s cabin high on the hill. We landed & climbed up to investigate it. Garbage was strewn everywhere, including old runners from a sled & many empty barrels in a large heap. The cabin was in a severe state of disrepair.
Eventually we left the cabin & continued on down the river. At this point we rounded a big curve & were headed southeast. We were able to fly our sails for a while again (only the 2nd time on this trip….& it was to be our last time also!) & about 7 km. further we headed in to shore to make camp.
Day 36 – Aug. 9: Water Survey Cabin
Weather – cold, cloudy, windy, sun occasionally broke through
Distance- km. 883 – 28 km.
Today was a pretty long day with lots of effort expended to put in the miles but all we managed was 28 km. At the beginning of the day the wind was at our backs, but that soon changed to a headwind.
We stopped for a while today at a water survey station – this was very modern with all kinds of fancy-looking electronics & a cabin which was in excellent shape – & locked, so we couldn’t go in. However, we could see through the windows.
We also saw a bull caribou swimming in the water with an incredible rack – we tried chasing after him as he crossed the river, in order to get photos & movies, but we couldn’t get close enough. Throughout the day we saw many caribou & semi-palmated sandpipers.
The decision was made by the group (more than a little distasteful to me) to get up even earlier – at 5 a.m. in attempt to put in more time on the river. Otherwise we simply will not be able to make the distance before our time is up.
Day 37 – Aug. 10:
Weather – started out cold & cloudy, gradually warmed & cleared, light breeze turned to light wind
Distance – km.921 – 41 km.
Today we got up at 5 a.m. & managed to get on the river by 7:25 – this must be a record – & then stopped around 5 p.m. It was a long day! It takes longer than normal because of the tundra tunnel – but none of us want to forego it.
We ran a few sets of rapids – not difficult – we water scouted. Mostly we encountered very strong boils, whirlpools & eddies. One eddy that we pulled into we actually got out of our boats & pulled the canoes downstream to get out of it….it was more a rapid heading upstream than anything else!
As we paddled along we spotted a lone muskox in the middle of the rocks on a hillside – nothing could have looked more “Arctic” than this! It was wonderful! We also saw a single lost caribou swimming in the river & later on in the day a mother & calf crossing the river. They got caught in the rapids but managed to get out. What a dangerous life they lead! And we spotted various other caribou in singles & in small groups both on the river & on crests of hills, silhouetted against the skyline.
We are seeing many many sand & clay eskers (large) & tons of rock-strewn hills. And we are still seeing some flowers – in particular, we could see bright yellow arnica in the rocky hills along the shore & even some fireweed in beautiful patches in the rock hills.
And we saw several small flocks of semi-palmated sandpipers.
Day 38 – Aug. 11: S – Rapids, Beautiful Sunset
Weather – windy, cold, cloudy
Distance – km.949 – 28 km.
We crossed the Arctic Circle today!! This was the first time for Hendrik…..we would have thrown him into the water to celebrate, but it was rather cold.
A few kilometres after we started today, we arrived at a rather scary set of rapids. I was not keen on running it because it looked like a dangerous first move without any extra room for error & a giant keeper hole if you missed. However, since the other 3 seemed confident of it, I agreed to go (against my better judgement). We came down the first part of the rapid keeping extremely tight right – this part was ok. Next we needed to go out a bit into the river & then cut diagonally right very fast just below some exposed rocks & paddle fast enough that we would not land in the giant hole just below the exposed rocks. The current was also very fast here….Anyways, we made it ….but just barely…the stern of our canoe was mere inches from the hole. Hendrik thought I hadn’t noticed! HAH!!! This was probably our closest call in the entire trip – given a choice, I would not run it again under the same conditions.
Once past the hole we moved into calmer water – momentarily & then into giant waves coming all directions. We backpaddled & braced our way through these for a couple of kilometres & then gradually the river smoothed out. Just as we were starting to be tossed about in the waves we noticed some muskox on the cliff above us, peering down!!! What a perfect – & close – opportunity for video & photos. However, unfortunately, we were otherwise occupied.
Other highlights of the day included – a dead caribou bull, large rocks with guano painting them all over & a rough legged hawk. We also saw a lame caribou bull & several other caribou.
Again we could not make great distance as we would have liked because we fought a strong headwind all day.
Tonight was the second sunset of our trip & it was SPECTACULAR!!!! I took many photos of it, as did everyone else.
Day 39 – Aug. 12: Whirlpool “Rapids”, McKay Peak & Franklin Lake
Weather – low, misty clouds & high winds which gradually turned into medium winds & mainly sunny
Distance – km. 964 – 15 km.
Today we struggled all day against the wind & therefore did not manage to make much distance, but at this point every kilometre counts, so we kept moving in spite of the slow pace.
Our first obstacle was Whirlpool rapids – since it was a “named” rapid on our maps, we expected to see something to warrant the name – however, after careful scouting on very scenic rocks we saw that there was NOTHING!!!! We could see Mount McKay on the other side…but again it wasn’t much to see. Perhaps at some other water level there might be some whirlpools there…..So we hopped back into our canoes & just headed down the canyon….it was quite scenic. At the end of the canyon area the river opened into Franklin Lake.
We stopped in a fairly protected spot for lunch (since it was so windy) & as we sat there eating our food a weasel scooted by on our right, not very far from us. That’s the first weasel I’ve ever seen.
After lunch we continued pushing into the wind – Allan & Linda headed out further into the lake, but H & I did not like the 4-5 foot waves out there, so we hugged the shore. Suddenly in swerved Allan & Linda, Allan swearing away. We couldn’t figure out what was wrong until we got closer to them – apparently as they crashed in the waves Allan’s seat suddenly broke & he was sitting on the bottom of the canoe. He was not a happy man!!! We concocted a makeshift support for his seat out of rope & away we went. The seat tilted slightly backwards (which we could not fix) but other than that it was fine & held till the end of the trip.
We are not seeing much wildlife anymore – today we saw only a few stray caribou. I think they know it’s high time they were further south!
Day 40 – Aug. 13: Franklin Lake, Franklin Falls
Weather – muggy, buggy & still this morning – gradually freshened up to partially sunny, slight breeze & a zillion black flies – later in the p.m. some wind & a lot colder
Distance – km. 996 – 32 km.
This morning there was a wolf right in our camp – he was gray, mixed in colour.
We continued paddling through Franklin Lake. The scenery was a combination of sand bars, gravel bars & eroded rock. We found a beautiful lunch spot – it was a long spit at the end of a long sand bar. We could see in all directions. Unfortunately perfection was marred by swarms of black flies.
We saw a fair number of interesting birds today – a couple of loons, 2 sandhill cranes, a duck who put on his broken wing act for us, many gulls & even a female snow bunting.. And we heard a falcon – I didn’t actually see it though.
The last major rapids on the river is Franklin rapids – I happened to notice on the map a possible alternate sneak route to avoid the rapids themselves. Just before the rapids begin there is a deep wiggly bay (UTM 702 302) which we followed down to the very end. From there is a short portage of about .5 km., another skinny bay & then liftover of about 50 m. that puts you completely below all the rapids at UTM 722 293 & back on the river.
We walked back upstream to have a look at Franklin Rapids/Falls & they were pretty hairy There were big unavoidable ledges, & it was very bony & rough. We were glad that we skipped this & took the alternate route.
All in all we made good time today & we are inching steadily forwards towards our goal.
Day 41 – Aug. 14: Final 2 rapids, Inuit Caribou Fence
Weather – still in the morning & most of the day – about 50%sun in the morning & warm…it got cooler at lunch (with clouds) & then warm again. Some light wind came up late in the afternoon.
Distance – km. 1028 – 32 km.
This morning we finished the last of the rapids on the river. For the first H. noticed an alternate easy way down – a mini sneak route just off to the right. We had to line/hop for about 5 m., then hopped into the canoes & wound our way down a creek with a small liftover at the bottom. Again, this was much easier than the rapid we avoided. (UTM 736 285) – I think we are wearing out!!
Just at the bottom of this we pulled over & discovered an Inuit caribou fence!! This was extremely interesting & impressive!! Apparently they built these to guide the caribou to where they wanted them to go.
Across from this caribou fence there was a fishing camp with about 8-9 buildings. Other than the water survey cabin, this was the only sign of modern times on the entire river.
The very last rapid was quite easy – we dodged a few rocks, went through a large whirlpool & splashy waves – hit our planned route perfectly! This was a great way to finish the last of the rapids on the river.
Following this the river again opened up into a giant lake-like area which continued for many many miles. Fortunately we had no wind at all & we glided through the water watching almost surreal reflections which looked like a blocky impressionist painting. I took many photos. The ‘river’ at this point is wider than Franklin Lake!!!
At one point when we paddled through a fairly narrow area, a seagull was extremely upset at us & repeatedly dive-bombed my head. He came to within 1-2 feet of hitting me so I finally put up my paddle to encourage him to not come so close. He must have come by at least about 10 times before he gave up – I suppose he thought he chased us off! We also heard & then saw with the help of our binoculars 2 sandhill cranes. And many sparrows & longspurs are starting to flock together to fly south. You can really tell that autumn is well underway here.
We are almost at our destination…except for the minor fact that we don’t know exactly where that is!!! Calls to Boris are currently in progress.
Day 42 – Aug. 15: X Marks the Spot
Weather – cold, windy, cloudy
Distance – km. 1035 – 7 km.
In the morning cloud was on the ground swirling around with the sun occasionally peeking through. The wind quickly picked up & we had to fight quite hard to make forward progress. We also had to cross the river to get to the pickup point -–when we talked to Boris apparently we were going to be picked up by a float plane – so Boris told us to stop anywhere. Accordingly, we stopped at a point that George D. had marked on his map as a “Pick-up Point”. It had a sandy fairly free of rocks approach & looked pretty good. There was no point in pushing onward to get to the cabin, since he was supposedly coming in with a float plane.
We took apart our boats & ate & ate & ate. We also discovered that the tides reach here. Where we had paddled the canoes in – it was now exposed, bare & muddy. We were all surprised that the tides reached this far.
We saw a large snow geese flock of maybe 40-50 geese. It was pretty impressive!
Day 43 – Aug. 16 : Twin Otter
Weather – cold, windy, foggy
Distance – km. 1035 – 0 km.
Well, Boris had a change of plans & for half of the day we discussed back & forth about how we were getting out (all via my satellite phone – not knowing how long the battery would last!). Boris told us that it was now a tundra tire plane & he couldn’t land where we were. We hunted for a landing spot, but none was long enough. We told him we did not want to put the boats back together AGAIN at this point.. This went on & on & finally Boris told us that he couldn’t possibly get us out today. On our final call, H. told Boris that one of the crew (me) had a compression injury in the arm & could not paddle any further. It was too complicated to explain the actual problems with my hands. So we all cancelled our plane flights (via my mother to whom we gave all the information).
We then went for a hike for a couple of hours (except Allan because of his feet).
In the evening we were cooking dinner & what did we suddenly hear…the roar of a plane!!!! We ran outside to look & lo & behold it was a Twin Otter!!! Well, you never saw a camp come apart as fast as this one did! The pilots even helped us. Finally, about 10 p.m. we took off & flew to Baker Lake. Boris had 2 trucks there to carry us & all our gear to the lodge & dinner was even waiting!
Personal Note: I had a terrible episode with my right arm about 3 or 4 in the morning. I woke up suddenly to the most unbearable, excruciating pain imaginable & could not sit up. I was completely dizzy & nauseous & almost fainted completely – probably from the pain I realized later. It was rather scary. I took a couple of Ibuprofen & don’t know if they helped or not – I probably should also have taken some Tylenol 3. It took about ½ – 1 hour for the pain to subside & a couple more hours before I felt near normal.
Physical Problems on the Trip
Allan – feet
Me – hands –
Hendrik – hands –
UTM Coordinates for Campsites – see next page
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 | “ |