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Home , Baker Lake (Nunavut), Thelon River

ARCTIC NWT CANOE TRIP July, 2012 PART1

The vast stretches southeast from the delta on the to , with only a few communities interrupting this vast wilderness. The landscape is drained by rivers rushing north past the Arctic Circle that empty into an ice- filled sea between mainland and the polar islands. The primary mode of travel here has always been by water. Even now, the and rivers form the only pathways through the endless expanse.

West of Hudson Bay in the Canadian Arctic lies a matrix of thousands of lakes and tundra twice the size of Alberta. Sweeping north to the polar sea across, the vast spruce forest and barren lands forms the largest single wilderness remaining on the continent. Although the word "tundra" may bring an image of a desolate, treeless plain, the mainland Canadian Arctic is far from featureless and vibrant with life. The area is home to millions of nesting waterfowl and migratory songbirds, and once sustained part of the last, great, migratory herds of caribou Rangifer tarandus, and the predators that follow them. It is also an area where great pristine rivers cut through ranges of rugged hills strewn with boulders and serpentine, sandy eskers left from past glaciation. One of the major rivers that transects this wilderness is the Thelon River.

I had heard stories for years about the legendary Thelon River which stretches 540 miles (900 kilometers) across northern Canadian wilderness. Its source is Whitefish in the , and it flows east to in , ultimately draining into Hudson Bay at . With headwaters in ’s Northwest Territories, just east of the height land that separates the Hudson Bay and Mackenzie River watersheds, the Thelon River originates out of the boreal forest east of and flows east across the tundra and into Nunavut. The river stretches approximately 540 miles (900 kilometers) across habitat that is ideal for migratory herds of caribou, muskoxen, grizzly bear, wolf, and . This territory is the homeland of various Aboriginal societies. Archaeological records show that for thousands of years Aborigines have been dependent upon caribou as the main source food, clothing, shelter, and tools.

The Caribou and have long occupied the sparsely-populated lands around the Thelon. Artifacts of Inuit hunting and travel (including Inukshuk guide stones) are readily observed near the river. Current inhabitants that include descendants of the had moved inland from the Hudson Bay coast after the Chipewyan Dene left the area in the late eighteenth century. While Dene and Inuit traditions were different, the Thelon river remained an important place for both peoples for many generations. At caribou water crossings, hunters and families drove or waited for caribou to cluster and become vulnerable swimming the river where stone tent rings, chipping sites, Inukshuks, caches, and kayak stands are still located. Both the Dene First Nations in Lutsel K’e, NWT, located on the east arm of Great Slave Lake, and the Inuit of Baker Lake, Nunavut, located at the eastern terminus of the Thelon, have indicated that their knowledge, subsistence practices, and cultural memory are firmly connected to the Thelon River. The Thelon River watershed was the last of the large rivers of Canada to be ‘explored’. In 1770– 71, English explorer crossed the Thelon while exploring Canada's northern interior. A first longitudinal traverse was made in the upper watershed in 1899 by the British explorer Hanbury, with a tributary named after him. Canadian naturalist with James Critchell-Bullock in 1923 explored the Thelon River, but died in the cold winter there of starvation. However, his exploration helped establish the Thelon Game Sanctuary in 1927. The area was also explored the next year by the Norwegian explorer and writer Helge Ingstad who went by dog sled to the headwaters of the Thelon (Lynx Lake) together with native peoples from the east end of Great Slave Lake. This he detailed in his book The Land of Feast and Famine. An Ottawa steamfitter turned missionary W.H.B. “Billy” Hoare was hardened by his time in the North and was appointed by the Canadian government to establish the boundaries of a new 39,000-square-kilometre preserve straddling the boundaries of present- day Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The story of Hoare’s 1928 journey across what is now the Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary (then the Thelon Game Sanctuary) is documented in Thelon Odyssey, a reprint of the diary Hoare kept while travelling across the immense and, at the time, poorly mapped landscape. Hoare wasn’t a novice when it came to northern exploration. After establishing an Anglican church in Aklavik, N.W.T., in 1920, he spent three years on a government assignment, tracking caribou 7,000 kilometers by dogsled, foot and canoe across the Barren lands.

In the winter of 1928, Hoare and A.J. Knox left Fort Reliance on Great Slave Lake and ventured across the harsh terrain that had claimed the life of English explorer John Hornby a year earlier. With three tons of supplies, Hoare and Knox fared better, covering 500 kilometers by dogsled and canoe before finally reaching what would become known as Warden’s Grove on the Thelon River in October 1928. Their toil marked one of the last unsupported adventures in the North before airplanes made traversing its expanse easier and changed exploration forever.

The region surrounding the Thelon River is a remote, beautiful and unique portion of the northern tundra. The Thelon River region is North America’s largest tract of wilderness, with the closest settled communities in every direction being over 400 kilometers away. The Dene who lived in the area of the Thelon were known as the Ethen-eldili-dene, or the “caribou-eating people.” The Beverly Caribou herd once numbered a half million animals, that would calve on the east side of Bathurst inlet before migrating south into the Thelon, accompanied by wolves, grizzlies, foxes and raptors. A veritable wildlife extravaganza. Today the herds population has dropped from 279,000 census in 1994 to only a few animals (2018) creating great concern from Canadian biologists who are perplexed by the change. There was declining calf productivity and survival. There are 13 known barren-ground caribou herds. The worst-hit are the eastern mainland N.W.T. Bathurst herd (down 95 per cent) and the Baffin herd (down 98 per cent). Of the latter, only 5,000 individuals are believed to remain. WWF-Canada says another herd, the Beverly, whose range overlaps with the Bathurst herd, may have vanished altogether. Only two herds, in northern Yukon and Southampton Island, are believed to be growing.

I would be canoeing with experienced guide and wildlife biologist Alex Hall who has paddled the Thelon for over 35 years. He informed me before the trip that in recent years he has experienced poor wildlife viewing. There were large numbers of the Beverly caribou herd crossing the river in June, and muskoxen were once frequently viewed there along with an abundance of other species. Have they relocated? No one is certain, but Biologist Alex Hall and our guide on the two-and-a-half-week trip pointed out that the Beverly caribou herd, with a range centered on the Thelon watershed had completely disappeared by 2010. Alex shared he had seen thousands of caribou in the past cross the Thelon River in the past.

This 155-mile-long tundra canoe trip is about as far away from human settlements and roads as you can get in North America. The route would give us varied paddling on lakes, rivers and Canoe route (in red) at the beginning third of the Thelon River. sections of the river with rapids and two waterfalls that will need portages. He assured that we will camp on some of the largest sandy eskers on earth with their oases of spruce forest and sandy beaches. The Thelon is legendary as a wildlife sanctuary with muskoxen, wolf and wolverine that followed the once extensive caribou herds, moose, grizzly and black bear, and birds that include geese, many species of ducks, red-throated and common loon, peregrine and gyrfalcon, bald eagle, arctic tern, jaeger, ptarmigan, and songbirds.

The Thelon is conveniently divided into three sections for canoeing. The Upper Thelon section where we would explore drops 314 feet (100 meters over a distance of 120 miles (200 km) from Lynx Lake to the junction of the Hanbury River north of Eyeberry Lake, our takeout which is just south of the Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary. This section alternates between backwater lakes and slow water to fast with a variety of white-water challenges to run, lined or portaged depending upon water levels. There is one falls that must be portaged. The eastern lower Thelon runs roughly 150 miles (250 km) through four shallow but large lakes to the Inuit community at the west end of . This lower section receives the largest tributaries from the Dubawnt and Kazan Rivers.

About 75% of the Thelon River drainage basin lies south, extending all the way to the northern boundaries of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The headwaters rise at the edge of the tree line approximately 105 miles (175 km) east of Great Slave Lake and flows easterly, gaining volume from large tributaries to the south, then expanding north and again east into four lakes before emptying into Chesterfield Inlet at the NW part of Hudson Bay. The Thelon is unique for Arctic tundra rivers in that the central section just above our takeout has a refuge in a treeless Barren Land of both black and white spruce. This area has been considered an ‘oasis’ of boreal forest within the harsh tundra environments, a haven for wildlife.

I began driving from Seattle the long journey to Fort Smith NWT some 1400 miles (2240 km) that would take me through Kamloops, Quesnel, across the Rocky Mountains north of Jasper, then north to and Great Save lake before turning east to Fort Smith. The town is approximately 190 miles (300 km) southeast of Yellowknife, the territorial capital. I would pass through Wood Buffalo National Park to the east.

I passed through the Fraser Canyon where I camped the first night. The next day drove north to Quesnel and Prince George, turned NE to McLeod Lake, then east over the Rocky Mountains, only foothills compared to Jasper National Park. Began to enter miles and miles of yellow canola fields as I drove through the farmlands of Dawson Creek. Encountered endless farms recently cleared by destroying thousands of square miles of spruce-birch forest. The day was long and after 11 hours of driving north and now just north of Manning I took a road east that led me to the Peace River and Notikewin Provincial Park. Descended from newly converted Canola farms into a spruce birch forest along the river edge. So quiet here except the buzz of flies, the chattering of a squirrel, and the melodic calls of Swainsons thrushes filling the forest. Campsite was clean and only a few mosquitoes.

Alexandria falls of the Hay River, the third highest waterfall in the NWT

July 8, Sunday. Beautiful morning. I drove through spruce and aspen forest until I reached Alexandria falls, a beautiful place where the Hays River flows over a 30-meter escarpment towards Great Slave Lake. The Peace River I camped on last night flows into Athabasca Lake which also outlets into Great Slave Lake, the headwaters of the McKenzie river which flows into the Arctic Ocean. Drove north through the McKenzie Bison Sanctuary, but didn’t see any Wood

Wood bison, the largest North American mammal in Wood Buffalo National Park

Bison, but did come across a pair of sandhill cranes at the edge of the forest and a series of small ponds surrounded by peat bogs. They were feeding on buffalo berry that had ripened. Amazing how these large birds manage to weave through the forest, and pair for life. The

mosquitoes here were really bad as I tried to photograph them, but they were very wary and moved into the forest. Large anvil thunderheads were building up nearby in the heat of the afternoon, dramatic skies. And it’s so hot here, over 33 Celsius or close to 92 F. Many signs of wolf.

Drove next across Wood Buffalo National Park, the largest national park in Canada at 44,807 km², the largest national park in North America and the second largest in the world. No animals but it was in the heat of the day and morning. After several hours I reached Fort Smith, the former capital of NWT, which has now moved to Yellowknife. Finally found where Alex was located and had a good chat. He is a rather tall guy, about 6 feet 3, lanky, but even though almost 70 still in good shape. He picked out a paddle for me, a canvas Duluth bag, and directions to meet that night for the intro dinner. I then drove south on an awful, dust filled gravel road to Pine Lake to see if I could find some Wood bison.

Finally found a herd just inside the forest in dust wallows. It was hot and once I stopped the car, hundreds of these huge horse flies entered the car and hovered at the base of the wagon, like the car was a buffalo. Mosquitoes attacked me as soon as I entered the forest to film them. This herd had lots of females with calves, and closest to me was a huge bull that was standing, panting, and watching my every move through the aspen. He was only 30 meters away, but I kept my distance. These herds initially were hunted down to a few hundred animals 60 years ago, and Parks Canada introduced the smaller Yellowstone herd individuals to increase the herd population, not wise as unfortunately it introduced brucellosis and anthrax into this population, which continues to devastate. Eventually left the herd, and stopped at Sand Creek, a scenic picnic spot.

I however was blessed to be able to explore this remote part of Canada that few ever visit, perhaps only a few dozen people a year. Before I left I read “Discovering Eden: A Lifetime of Paddling Arctic Rivers” by our guide Alex Hall, and sensed he wrote from the heart about the largest single wilderness left on the continent, a wilderness he loves that dwarfs Texas. His descriptions of great caribou herds, bears, musk oxen, wolves and millions of geese and other birds enticed me to come here and explore it for myself, and Alex did not charge me his guide fees to explore along a 155-mile-long tundra canoe trip on the Thelon River.

July 10. DAY 1 So hot last night in the campground. Parked my car at the airport to take our over three-hour charter flight with the group. Overcast today, but a fire haze as forest fires drifting north from the south. The road I drove up yesterday is now blocked with expanding major forest fires. Read my devotions while waiting, about Joseph grafted into the vine of the Lord. This will be my first day in the bush, as we will fly for hours north into a vast wilderness of lakes and tundra by float plane to get to the Thelon River and our put in on Lynx Lake.

Alex instructed us at Northern Air, then together we loaded our Duluth bags, food, and paddles onto three planes: a large De Havilland otter and a Cessna 205, and Cessna 185. Each plane

Spruce forest ½ hour north of Fort Smith with waterfall between the lake, I didn’t find the name of the river.

carried 2 45gallon drums of aviation fuel to cache on a lake en route, so they could make it back. This was a very long flight into the depths of the Barren lands. My pilot Laurie was great, I found out also a strong believer in Christ. He was in his late 20’s with a young wife and a young child. Took off after scattering sandhill cranes off the airstrip, and followed the otter north first over the Peace River and the rapids where pelicans congregate in the rapids, then northeast over endless miles of spruce forest, muskegs, bogs, and countless lakes. After the first hour of flying, we encountered a different topography of barren ridged lines, exposed large areas where lightening fires had burned the forest unchecked in past years. Sandy esker where our first camp is located

Lake just east of Lynx lake, the headwaters of the Thelon River. Our first camp where we assembled the canoe seats, rigging, and sorted gear according to canoe teams, two per canoe. After 1.5 hours of flying, almost 200 miles north of Fort Smith, the landscape changed, with few trees, and long sandy eskers. We had entered the barren lands where lakes were lined with beautiful sandy beaches and what little forest existed in hollow areas and stream valleys was stunted spruce. But we also encountered bright sunshine as we emerged from the smoke-filled forests to the south. Finally, next to the otter, we made a soft landing on a beautiful Lake that was part of the Thelon River system. We taxied onto a very nice sandy beach next to a very large sand esker surrounded by small ponds and green spruce. Here we will set up camp, and organize the equipment and set up the canoes cached here for our first day. Thankfully there was a wind to keep down the mosquitoes. The planes took off to leave us with the Otter circling once, then the pilot dipped his wing in a farewell salute before the droning engine faded beyond the horizon. The silence engulfed us. CAMP 1 Unloaded gear, and spent an hour resting with lunch of rye crackers, canned tuna made in Thailand with cilantro and lemon, sardines, and dried fruits of Costco blueberries and cherries, honey, peanut butter, and a great Lipton powered mango drink that was really delicious. The wind kept the mosquitoes and black flies down, and I was amazed you could dip the pot into the lake and drink pure water. No giardia here. Spent hours helping Alex put together canoe seats and braces on the cached canoes he left the week before, then swam in the refreshing water. That was the best part of the day, relaxing in the cool water of the sanding beach. The water was cold, but not bad, so refreshing after the hot days at fort smith and Wood buffalo National Park.

Explored the sandy esker to the ridge where I could overlook the lakes and ponds to the north. Awesome country when the wind keeps the black flies down, reminding me of parts of northern Lake Superior on the north peninsula form when I explored with my parents as a boy growing up in Michigan. Sand here mixed with pink granite outcrops and boulders and gravel on the beach. The lakes and sky were so blue and the patches of spruce with spreading green mats of crowberry, bearberry, and dwarf cranberry are awesome. Lots of lichens on the ground mixed with crowberry. Cranberries were ripe and deep maroon in color, tart and tasty. Again, such a beautiful day and God blessed us with good weather.

Odd and Chris fished a rapids outlet of the lake and brought back some large fresh arctic grayling. Read James about trials, and I thank the Lord for these experiences. Went for a second swim in camp, and this lake had ice patches only a month ago and now it was so refreshing. So pleasant here and as remote as it’s hard to comprehend how far we are away from civilization. Only contact possible is with a satellite phone for emergencies. Alex made a good dinner of the freshly caught grayling, and a soup of Arctic char, a white meat, and prawn linguini, with fresh strawberries for desert. Breeze kept up so I walked back up to the eskers again for the final evening light. It’s like the alpine meadows at high elevations in Washington, BC or SE Alaskan mountains. So beautiful, the green colors of spruce, red and tan colors from the sandy, wind packed esker summits, and the wonderful blue colors of skies and lakes. I couldn’t help but thank the lord this day.

Wind finally died on the top of the esker by 8 PM, and the mosquitoes and blackflies clouded around us. Ha…had to get my bug shirt on quickly. Alex rigged up a booby trap for bears. He set up trip wires to an airhorn, which would go off if the bear entered the food cache. Hoped it worked. Now in my tent, I killed all the bugs, and look forward to a good night’s sleep.

Camp 1 on first day Thelon upper headwaters just east of Lynx Lake