Moose!

Saturday, 04 September 2010 01:26 Written by Dave Freeman

Bull Moose from David Freeman on Vimeo.

Against the current

Friday, 03 September 2010 14:32 Written by Dave Freeman

8-31-10

Paddled 33 miles

It is the last day of August and we made it to the Mackenzie River. It feels good to be ahead of schedule. We had been hoping to get to Fort McPherson by September 3. Nope. We were there on August 29 and 30. We had looked forward to the stop in Fort McPherson, because we had sent ourselves food, warm clothes, and the wood stove. We are ready for fall.

The weather has been interesting today: sunny and clear first thing this morning, but a thick fog rolled in while we were having breakfast. A chilly, but light north wind was blowing as we paddled the last 17 miles of the Peel River. We savored our last paddle strokes that were with the current. We had one last floating lunch to commemorate that. The sun came out sometime after lunch.

The turn to paddling upstream made us a bit nervous, but today was good. We managed to paddle about 16 miles. It wasn't quite as hard as we had imagined. A light tailwind helped. Just enough to warrant using the sail. I'm really glad Dave decided to get that thing. We also have stabilizers, another item sent general delivery to Fort McPherson. They are two adjustable outriggers, attached to the gunnels, running across the middle of the boat. The stabilizers weren't entirely necessary today, but it was nice to try them out in the one foot chop mid-channel.

About an hour before we landed for the evening, the sky clouded over again, threatening rain. We set up camp around 8 pm in a spot where the river tapered down a bit. This spot is also close enough to a stream, so we can get some non-silty water. Dave made a tasty potato, cheese, and ham TVP soup for dinner. Larabars and almond butter for dessert.

After dinner Dave went into the tent to get the wood stove going while I did the dishes. I'm glad that I stayed outside for those few extra minutes, because I saw the most brilliant, clear, colorful rainbow I have ever seen. It arched across the river, reaching the opposite bank that was lit by the golden light of sunset. I walked down the beach to take a photo of the tent and canoe perfectly framed.

I am tempted to imagine that the rainbows are some sort of sign, encouraging us on our journey. After all, this is the third rainbow we've been camped under within 10 days! Then the analytical thought process kicks in and I remind myself that I know the science behind rainbows. The rainbow sightings just mean that we have experienced quite a bit of precipitation in the evenings. Perfect conditions for the sun's rays to be refracted by raindrops. Although I know how they are formed, I still enjoy seeing them and experience that same sense of wonder I did as a kid.

Long day

Friday, 03 September 2010 14:28 Written by Dave Freeman

8-27-10

Paddled 70 miles

Granola for breakfast. The water filter is getting clogged with sediment, dripping very slowly. We'll have to clean it soon. Dave packed the entire canoe while I waited on one darn water bottle!

We got on the water around 10 am. Today doesn't seem as cold. The sky is overcast. Fortunately no precipitation. With the rapids entirely behind us, we switched paddles.  Amazing how light the Mitchell Leader bent shaft paddles are.  We paddled past the Caribou River confluence, where we were told the current would slow. We are still trucking at 7-9 mph. Then we paddled past the Trail River. The sun came out and the current slowed down to a crawl.  Dave pulled out a pile of damp laundry to dry on the spray deck.

We met a German couple in a collapsible canoe, fully decked out in bib drypants and drytops, yellow spray deck on the canoe. They had paddled the Wind River. I bet we caught them because we are paddling longer days. Their plan is to paddle to Inuvik, but they were a bit concerned about the current slowing. I bet we'll see them in Fort McPherson. They probably think we're crazy since we told them our plan to paddle up the Mackenzie to Fort Good Hope.

We paddled some more, relishing the sun that was lasting late into the evening. We actually got warm enough to take off the drysuits. Nice. The gravel bars disappeared along with the current. We ate a second lunch around 5 pm.

Around 8 pm we found a small patch of gravel across from the confluence of the Rogue River. Curry rice with lentils for dinner. We didn't really have a chance to enjoy it because the bugs came out. Upriver, we had been pretty sure that the frost had done in most of the mosquitoes and black flies. That frost must not have occurred here.

We are camped pretty close to the water, in order to set up on the gravel. We pulled the canoe up higher than the tent. Dave joked that if we wake up with the tent awash, we'll just have to drag it up to the muddy higher ground. Not a very comforting thought. Let's hope it doesn't rain much upriver.

Peel Canyon and mudslides

Friday, 03 September 2010 14:22 Written by Dave Freeman

8-26-10

Paddled 60 miles

We left our gravel bar campsite around 9:15. We were looking forward to the Peel Canyon. Gorgeous stratified cliffs again. Our last rapids were just after an S-turn about halfway through the canyon. Rated class II, but it seemed easier than that. Just a wave train to sneak by, while avoiding smacking into the cliff on the right. Big eddies on either side. An icy driving rain started as we neared the top of the rapids. We ran the rapids no problem.

Dave and I marveled at the rock walls as best we could, despite the rain. There was a headwind when we exited the canyon. We paddled along steep banks of layered mud and sedimentary rock. We watched rocks tumble into the water and saw trees strewn in awkward positions as a result of mudslides.

We forgot to dole out our ration of Larabars this morning, so we decided that two lunches were in order. First lunch was on a gravel bar. Second lunch was on the go, as we floated downriver. It sure is nice to take a break and still drift at 6 mph. I'm proud of my latest lunch dessert creation . . . a tortilla with almond butter, banana chips, and chocolate chips . . . mmm . . .

We camped on a gravel bar with trees. This was our first time really seeking a windbreak. We found a nice cozy spot tucked in the alders. The higher ground was muddy. We found big wolf tracks, as well as caribou tracks. While I was inflating our pads and pulled out the sleeping bags and Dave was cooking dinner, I heard a loud, crashing splash. Thinking it was possibly a startled animal, I peeked out of the tent and called to Dave, asking if he saw it. The splash came from a big mudslide down the steep bank across the river. We became accustomed to noises like that throughout the night and next morning.

Back on the water!

Friday, 03 September 2010 14:19 Written by Dave Freeman

8-25-10

We packed up our wet tent and carried the last of our stuff down to the water. This last bit of the trail was steep and muddy. Dave let the canoe slide down the hill. (Of course, we'd only ever consider doing this with a royalex canoe!) A quick breakfast of granola and powdered milk. As we launched, I felt an immense sense of relief. Hooray for getting on the water again!

We were still surrounded by the magnificent striped canyon walls. The class VI rapids were upstream, but the narrow canyon continued for another couple of miles. Beautiful. We saw several waterfalls dropping 100+ feet. Dave spotted an arctic loon. We also saw a peregrine falcon. We paddled through a few wave trains and drops over small ledges. The water was a little squirrely in spots, swirling around in boils and mini whirlpools.

Once we were out of the canyon, the river opened up. The Wind River entered and suddenly the Peel became a very large river. In honor of being done with the rapids, we had a floating lunch. The logic behind this was that the weather was chilly and threatening rain-- so we'd get cold if we stopped. Plus, a floating lunch meant we were still traveling at 6 mph while eating our tortillas and cheese! This reminded me of our lunches on the Amazon-- chowing down on rice and beans while floating downriver.

We paddled through a stretch where the river was wide and braided with countless gravel bars. We chose one of the larger, higher bars for our camp. We stopped a bit earlier than usual to work on the web update. Rain again. That tarp is coming in handy. Maybe the breeze will dry the tent once the rain stops. Time for sleep.

Portaging around Aberdeen Canyon

Friday, 03 September 2010 14:17 Written by Dave Freeman

8-24-10

Portaged 2.5 miles

Portage day. We weren't sure what to expect. A book written about the river reported an 8-10 km portage. So we braced ourselves for 5 miles. However a friend at NOLS and the Austrian fellow with the pack raft had told us that it was shorter. So we were braced for 5 miles, while hoping for fewer.

We packed our gear so we could shuttle it in two sets. The plan was to hike with the first load until we needed a break. Then we would drop that load and hike back for the second. Our food was split between the two loads, in case a bear happened to come across one of our caches. Dave would mark waypoints on our DeLorme GPS to ensure that we didn't lose track of our stuff. As it turned out, the portage trail was pretty easy to follow.

In the first load, I carried a Granite Gear Immersion pack filled with the tech stuff (laptops, cameras, satellite phone, etc.) while Dave had his Granite Gear Access backpack filled with food and other odds and ends. The second load was my Stratus Latitude filled with food, rope, the spray deck, and other random things while Dave carried the canoe plus a light Immersion pack filled with sleeping bags and pads.

If you ask me, Dave had a much harder job than I did. Sure, the trail was well-worn and marked with flagging, but we had to push our way through plenty of willows and alders. We had to choose our footing carefully, otherwise we'd end up in knee-deep mud. Getting out of the mud was complicated by that 60 lb pack or in Dave's case, the royalex canoe on his shoulders.

We slogged through. Shuttling the gear was a slow process. We'd hike for about a quarter of a mile before turning around to get the next load. Back and forth, through the tangles of trees and boot-sucking muck. Hard work. Discouraging at times. During our lunch break I was shocked to learn that we hadn't quite gone a mile yet!

We spent the entire day toiling away. Progress was so slow that we resigned ourselves to the idea that we would still be portaging tomorrow if the portage was indeed 5 miles. Around 6 pm we started to look for a campsite. The trail meandered closer to the river bluff. We observed that we were gradually dropping in elevation.  Could we possibly be approaching the end of the portage?

Just before the beginning of a steep downhill we found what might be our best campsite ever. There was a small clearing in the trees right above the canyon. We had an amazing view of the river from here. We set up the tent, so it would dry a bit while we got our last load. We were about to hike back when Dave said “I can't resist. Let's see if the trail actually goes down to the river.”

Down we hiked and within less than a quarter of a mile we were standing on the pebbly beach of the river, at the end of the portage. Dave let out a shout of joy. We would be paddling tomorrow!

Although the trip with that last load of stuff was through some challenging terrain, it went by quickly and easily, because we knew the end was in sight. At 9:30 pm we finally sat down to a pasta dinner on the bank of the river. Each of us wolfed it down, eager to make up all the calories we had burned throughout the day. I gave Dave a shoulder rub, since he had carried the canoe. Then we both fell into a deep, satisfied sleep high above the canyon.

A challenging day on the Peel River

Friday, 03 September 2010 14:08 Written by Dave Freeman

8-23-10

The approach to the Aberdeen Canyon holds several class II and III rapids. (The rapids in the canyon itself are class IV-VI.) Our day consisted of running, lining, and portaging. The water is still high, making some class II spots more like III and some class III spots more like IV.

One spot full of river-wide ledges was runnable for the first half. We did what we could and then eddied out before the bigger stuff. Lining worked well for most of it. Eventually a large drop required a portage. Not bad. I was excited to find fossils here.

As we approached the canyon, the river gradually funneled down. We were able to sneak along the right side, avoiding some of the large wave trains that were in the middle. Canyon walls rose up out of the ground in front of us. While keeping half an eye on the river, we admired the horizontal stripe patterns in the massive rock walls.

One bit of cliff was not so admirable, because it prevented us from lining a stretch of water we weren't entire comfortable with paddling. A 100 meter stretch of whitewater stood between us and a reasonable landing spot. That 100 meter stretch contained two ledges followed by large irregular waves. We stopped on a gravel bar just above this spot to scope it out. It was clear that we had to stay right. It was also clear that this was bigger than anything we had run on the Peel thus far.

I was a bit hesitant, but knew we could handle it. The eddy and gently sloping shore below made a good spot to pull out. Down we went, avoiding the huge waves to the left. We were still tossed around a bit in the three-foot waves hitting us from all sides. I didn't exactly enjoy being in the bow for this. Each time we went over a ledge, I held my breath and felt the water surge over the bow, roll down the spray deck, then my lap, and up into my face.

After those few intense seconds were over we paddled hard to shore. Our North Water spray deck did its job, keeping out most of the water and keeping us safe. Without it, surely we would have swamped. We landed, gave each other a big hug and bailed a bit of water out of the canoe.

From that point on we lined the canoe for the most part, until the start of the big portage. Lining was difficult in some spots, as we heaved the canoe over rock ledges. Another rock wall meant another brief paddle. Fortunately this stretch was not as big of an adventure as the first. We passed a creek, entering on river right. This was our cue that the portage was coming up soon. More lining. Dave controlled the stern while I controlled the bow.

Rock ledges slanted out of the water at a gentle angle, making a nice ramp up to the start of the portage. This would be camp for the night. Rain showers prompted us to put up our tarp. Since the sky all around us looked clear, we sat under the tarp for quite a while, expecting it to pass over any minute. We were waiting until a break in the rain allowed us to set up the tent. The sun came out but the rain increased.

Once the rain finally stopped I pitched the tent on a rock ledge overlooking the start of the unpaddleable part of the canyon. Big water surged below, making a continual roar. A rainbow formed over our camp, ending in the river. This was a comforting sight after an intense day.

Dave made a huge pot of rice and lentils for dinner. We ate with a view upriver, a chance to see the water we spent the day traveling through. The water glimmered in the setting sun and we congratulated each other for the hard work it took to reach this point.

Paddling rapids on the Peel River

Friday, 03 September 2010 13:58 Last Updated on Friday, 03 September 2010 19:09 Written by Dave Freeman

8-22-10

Paddled 25 miles

Waking up was difficult. It was another chilly gray morning. This meant packing a nice, wet tent. To cheer up we ate a new breakfast concoction: hot, cheesy Red River cereal. Yum! We got on the river just as the rain started.

Now that we are on the Peel River, we have more detailed information about the rapids we will encounter. Today, we would encounter a few sets of rapids. The first class II rapids we missed entirely. I mean, we paddled through not realizing that was it. It was so washed out from the high water. No ledges or anything, just a bit wavy.

For the second rapids we had an audience. A female moose was standing in the willows on an island just below the rapids. There weren't many obstacles here, just a bunch of big water. We picked our route to the left of an exposed rock and then down we went. We bounced around a bit but avoided the biggest standing waves. I waved to the moose as we drifted past her island.

Lunch above the next rapids. This was a good chance to study it out. It looked much easier than the previous rapids. There was a ledge to the right, but plenty of room to avoid it to the left.

The next rapids on our plate were class III. Thanks to the high water levels, we figured that it could have qualified as class IV today. Many ledges broke up a 300+ meter section of river. We lined most of it, but had to portage around one three foot drop. The sun came out while we were working through this stretch. I enjoyed glancing back and seeing the cascading water glowing, back-lit by the sun and still gray sky. Eventually, even the gray burned off.

The sun warmed us up for a while. A rainbow formed downriver. Actually it was a double rainbow. It looked like the end of the rainbow was just to the right of the island we were planning to camp on. As we paddled around the corner, the other end of the rainbow was visible just to the left. Well, that made the decision for us-- who could resist camping directly under a rainbow!?

Cheesy couscous with chicken flavored TVP and corn for dinner. Drizzles on and off despite bits of sunshine. We fall asleep to the hum of the rapids we will encounter tomorrow.