Nahanni
River
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| Dates: |
July 19 to August 5, 2004 |
| Location: |
Nahanni National Park, Northwest Territories, Canada |
| Those Involved: |
Pete, Mark, Laura, Miles, Sarah, Ryan, Stuart and Tracy (5 Brits, one colonizer, and two Canadians) |
| Duration/Length: |
16 Nights on the Water |
| Weather: |
Clear and warm for the most part - some rain and wind towards the end. |
| Activities: |
Whitewater canoeing, hiking, camping among other things... |
| Relevant Links: |
Thanks everyone for a great trip. Hope you all had a good time. - RS
Photo credits to Ryan Strom, Stuart
Arch, and Miles Tindal.
Getting There |
Getting to the Nahanni river was a trip unto itself. Between picking up the brits and getting them put through the MEC gauntlet, packing and driving for 24 hours to get to Fort Simpson with 5 A-Type people, it was quite a journey.
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Getting There Part Deux |
Once in Fort Simpson, the logistics were far from over. The challenge was getting all of our gear, 4 canoes and a bunch of alcohol into two float-planes. One twin-otter was able to carry 3 canoes, 6 people, and all their gear and food. The second plane, (which I skillfully pulled the short straw to ride in) carried one canoe (tied to a float) and two people and gear.
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Finally There - Mosquito Infested Rabbitkettle Lake |
The float plane took us from the Mckenzie River (near where the Liard flows into it) to Rabbitkettle Lake where we unloaded everything that we no longer had a choice of leaving in the van. Rabbitkettle Lake - although it had two great warden types, tuffa mounds nearby, and being a beautiful (and warm lake) - was infested with mosquitos.
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On the Upper River |
The upper part (above Virginia Falls and below Rabbitkettle) was quite slow and relaxing - a good lead-up to some whiter water to come later. A fair bit of wildlife a some fizzling wildfires.
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At Virginia Falls |
Virginia Falls is the center point of Nahanni National Park. It's the second and last portage of the route which had us drinking and eating in excess the night before we were due to make the trip. Sunblood mountain was across the river from the campground and the portage take out was less than 50 meters above the first ripple of the Sluice Box Rapids into which you would get sucked and certainly die if you messed up.
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