If you had only paddled to Churchill will forever be an if. Great story telling..
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Happy Birthday, Grace Kelly (1929-1982)! 🕛Ⓜ️🪟👑
Seal River in Northern Manitoba
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Thank you for taking the time to wright and publish your trip report.
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We did not, which was an inexcusable oversight on our part. We should have offered Jack at least $150.00 extra. On the other hand, people that Jack picked up could stay for free. Jack picked us up.
There had had been some feuding between Jack and Mike. Jack had his shack before Mike got government funding to convert an abandoned facility into a lodge. Or so I have heard. Then Mike started inviting canoeists up to the lodge. They sometimes stayed at Jack's without paying. Jack suggested to Mike that he buy the shack. Mike declined. Jack was not happy, which is why he said we couldn't stay if he wasn't picking us up.
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An excellent read Michael, thank you for posting it here. I was checking the site all day long at work waiting for the ending. I haven't enjoyed a TR as much since Alan's trip. I am hoping you have some more write ups up your sleeve!
dougd
dougd
What a fantastic read! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great read! Thanks. Your experiences on Hudson Bay further support my previously stated anxieties. The coast around the Tha Anne/Thlewiaza rivers don't seem to be as forbidding as what you showed further south, and polar bears are less numerous up there. (I did have a bigger gun, though! 45-70). But still........
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I do have more trips, Doug. Three weeks on the South Nahanni River. Thirty-seven days on the Thelon River. Four weeks on the Anderson River. Three weeks on the Snowdrift River. All of these are in the Northwest Territories. None of them have the drama of Plans A & B, though. Just begin paddling at the put-in. Stop paddling at the take-out.
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I do agree with you, Mason. It would likely have been unwise to have paddled to Churchill. We probably could have made it, but the shoreline would have made the trip unpleasant. And we might have had to take turns sleeping, to guard against polar bear attacks. Not very much fun. But still....
Wonderful trip report and wonderful pictures. The discussion of your decision-making and second-guessing was fascinating. Wondering about the route not paddled. Thanks!
More please, sir!!! (good use of exclamation marks)
More please, sir!!! (good use of exclamation marks)
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Way too many exclamation points. Modern writers would disapprove.
I just knew there were going to be more bears. But keeping a Plan C up your sleeve was a neat trick. Didn't see that one coming.
Glad for a happy ending though. And way beyond glad you shared it with us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Glad for a happy ending though. And way beyond glad you shared it with us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A wonderful read for those of us who weren't there to help you with the portages. Any other trips in your archives that you'd care to share?
Tony
Tony
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Yes, Tony, I do have other trips in my archive that I would very much like to share. Kathleen and I used to give quite a few slide shows when we lived in the Vancouver area. Below I have provided our blurbs that advertised/promoted these presentations. Do you, or anyone else have any specific requests? I would like to post again in January, to begin the new year.
The South Nahanni River: A Canoeist’s Mecca
The South Nahanni River enjoys a worldwide reputation as the premier wilderness water adventure. Virginia Falls (twice the height of Niagra), canyon walls rising 1000 m (yards) above river level, geological formations that escaped recent glaciation, and abundant wildlife enhance the region's sinister reputation for danger, as evidenced in place names such as Deadmen's Valley, Headless Creek, Funeral Range, and Broken Skull River. Share the personal experience of 3 weeks and 567 km (350 miles) on this exciting river, and discover why Nahanni National Park was the first natural area declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
(Note: This was our first extended canoe trip, and we did not keep diaries. There is not as much detail as in our other possible postings here on Canoetripping.)
Join Michael and Kathleen’s quest for isolation, beauty, solitude and adventure as they travel alone across the Barren Grounds of the Northwest Territories and Nunuvut, between Great Slave Lake and Hudson Bay. Their journey down the Thelon River begins camped amid the decaying ice of a new Arctic spring, and ends 37 days later as they harvest blueberries before a final descent to Baker Lake at the head of Chesterfield Inlet on Hudson Bay. Come share their enthusiasm for Canada's north, and experience why this vast region has been designated a Canadian Heritage River.
Join Kathleen and Michael as they paddle away from their extraordinary 5 months of winter solitude in a one-room cabin north of Great Bear Lake -- 100 km (60 miles) north of the Arctic Circle. Share adventures of exploration far beyond their snowshoe trails and the isolated community of Colville Lake. Visit traditional Dene and Inuit sites and historic Fort Anderson. Enjoy the scenery and rapids of Falcon Canyon. Most of all, though, experience the freedom of paddling for 4 weeks beneath the midnight sun, 600 km (370 miles) to the Arctic Coast.
This 330-km, 4-week canoeing adventure begins in the Barren Grounds, at the source of the Thelon River. Instead of descending east to Hudson Bay, however, join Kathleen and Michael as they paddle north -- deep into the vast tundra of Lynx and Whitefish Lakes. Share the challenge of finding a westward route over the height-of-land into the Mackenzie drainage system. Experience the surprise of disappearing rivers, and the comfort of drifting lazily through open forests of spruce. Feel the joy of living in primeval beauty, surrounded by the wild isolation of this less-traveled and little-known region of northern Canada.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to spend a winter, living in a one-room cabin north of the Arctic Circle? If yes, then you don't want to miss Kathleen and Michael Pitt's slide show. On January 31, 1999 they flew out of Inuvik, at -40[SUP]o[/SUP] C, in a Twin Otter loaded with 6 months of food and gear. Two hours later they landed at Colville Lake, 150 km (90 miles) north of Great Bear Lake, and 40 km (25 mile) from the nearest community of 90 people. From then until breakup on June 15, they enjoyed absolute silence, winter camping, snow shoeing, thousands of caribou, idyllic isolation, and the explosive return of birds in the spring.
(Note: Obviously this last presentation is not a canoe trip, but many people on this website share our passion for isolated, unpeopled landscapes.)
The South Nahanni River: A Canoeist’s Mecca
The South Nahanni River enjoys a worldwide reputation as the premier wilderness water adventure. Virginia Falls (twice the height of Niagra), canyon walls rising 1000 m (yards) above river level, geological formations that escaped recent glaciation, and abundant wildlife enhance the region's sinister reputation for danger, as evidenced in place names such as Deadmen's Valley, Headless Creek, Funeral Range, and Broken Skull River. Share the personal experience of 3 weeks and 567 km (350 miles) on this exciting river, and discover why Nahanni National Park was the first natural area declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
(Note: This was our first extended canoe trip, and we did not keep diaries. There is not as much detail as in our other possible postings here on Canoetripping.)
Three Seasons in the Wind: 950 km by Canoe Down the Thelon River
Join Michael and Kathleen’s quest for isolation, beauty, solitude and adventure as they travel alone across the Barren Grounds of the Northwest Territories and Nunuvut, between Great Slave Lake and Hudson Bay. Their journey down the Thelon River begins camped amid the decaying ice of a new Arctic spring, and ends 37 days later as they harvest blueberries before a final descent to Baker Lake at the head of Chesterfield Inlet on Hudson Bay. Come share their enthusiasm for Canada's north, and experience why this vast region has been designated a Canadian Heritage River.
Northern Neighbourhoods: To the Arctic Coast Down the Anderson River
Join Kathleen and Michael as they paddle away from their extraordinary 5 months of winter solitude in a one-room cabin north of Great Bear Lake -- 100 km (60 miles) north of the Arctic Circle. Share adventures of exploration far beyond their snowshoe trails and the isolated community of Colville Lake. Visit traditional Dene and Inuit sites and historic Fort Anderson. Enjoy the scenery and rapids of Falcon Canyon. Most of all, though, experience the freedom of paddling for 4 weeks beneath the midnight sun, 600 km (370 miles) to the Arctic Coast.
The Snowdrift River: An Eventually Gentle Journey
This 330-km, 4-week canoeing adventure begins in the Barren Grounds, at the source of the Thelon River. Instead of descending east to Hudson Bay, however, join Kathleen and Michael as they paddle north -- deep into the vast tundra of Lynx and Whitefish Lakes. Share the challenge of finding a westward route over the height-of-land into the Mackenzie drainage system. Experience the surprise of disappearing rivers, and the comfort of drifting lazily through open forests of spruce. Feel the joy of living in primeval beauty, surrounded by the wild isolation of this less-traveled and little-known region of northern Canada.
Colville Lake -- A Winter Sanctuary
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to spend a winter, living in a one-room cabin north of the Arctic Circle? If yes, then you don't want to miss Kathleen and Michael Pitt's slide show. On January 31, 1999 they flew out of Inuvik, at -40[SUP]o[/SUP] C, in a Twin Otter loaded with 6 months of food and gear. Two hours later they landed at Colville Lake, 150 km (90 miles) north of Great Bear Lake, and 40 km (25 mile) from the nearest community of 90 people. From then until breakup on June 15, they enjoyed absolute silence, winter camping, snow shoeing, thousands of caribou, idyllic isolation, and the explosive return of birds in the spring.
"It was as though the world and been newly created, and we were its first and only inhabitants. Life was stunningly beautiful -- every moment of every day."
(Note: Obviously this last presentation is not a canoe trip, but many people on this website share our passion for isolated, unpeopled landscapes.)
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How about all of them?
Dave
Dave
I'm with Abenakiregion on that. Post all of them!................Tony
I'd like to see you post the Colville Lake winter trip in January because I think it will make me feel better about the winter weather I'll be experiencing at that time.
But like the others have said they all sound great and I'd be happy to read any/all of them!
Alan
But like the others have said they all sound great and I'd be happy to read any/all of them!
Alan
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I always intended to eventually post all of them. I was just wondering if people had any preferences for which one they would like next. I guess they don't.
As you suggest, Alan, the Colville Lake story might be a good one for January. But it's not about canoe tripping. Would this not be like hijacking the website? I wouldn't want to be seen as doing that!
As you suggest, Alan, the Colville Lake story might be a good one for January. But it's not about canoe tripping. Would this not be like hijacking the website? I wouldn't want to be seen as doing that!
