How to find a partner to canoe to Arctic Ocean
 

If the trip is well documented, how many weeks did previous parties take?

It sounds like there would be opportunities to take a wrong fork or
wrong turn, I would imagine that the maps are not that great in such an
uninhabited area.

There are some other interesting trips that involve portages between
drainages, I think some starting at yellowknife. Pretty amazing what
some of these people did in past centuries.

Richard



Fred Klingener wrote:

"Richard Ferguson" wrote in message
...
How does that trip work? How many months? I am not familiar with the
Rat or the Bell, where are they?

That goes through the country traced by the original Hudson Bay Company
route into Alaska to Fort Yukon in the 1840s and was one of the very
low-success-rate routes to the Klondike 50 years later. Sooner or later,
most of it will be traced with a gas pipeline.

The Rat runs maybe 60 miles from the Peel (between Fort MacPherson and
Aklavik) up to the summit of the pass through the Richardson mountains -
only about 1000' feet above sea level, most of the gain in the 35 or so
miles between Destruction City and the summit. The books I have (more about
that later) say the trip up the Rat takes a minimum of ten days.

If I came down the MacKenzie, I'd certainly want to get a local guide to get
me around the delta.

The summit portages don't seem to be too excruciating - fractions of miles
between ponds and lakes over open country.

The trip on the Bell/Porcupine from Summit Lake on the Bell is 300 mile to
Old Crow, another 300 to Fort Yukon. There's no road to Fort Yukon, so
you'd probably continue on the Yukon to take-out at the pipeline crossing.
The

The route has a fair literature to it, some occasionally in print, some
other stuff readily available in the out-of-print or used sections of
powells, bn, or amazon. The most amazing book (still in print, I think)
tells of the most amazing traverse of the route by a pair of Victorian
ladies from England in 1926 - "The Ladies, the Gwich'in, and the Rat" by
Clara Vyvyan. Some of Eric Morse's books are available too, though I
haven't gotten around to tracking them down. Maybe a late Christmas present
for myself?

Cabin fever dreaming in Connecticut,
Fred Klingener

How to find a partner to canoe to Arctic Ocean
 

The Mackenzie is a big river and it flows fast all the time. You would
be able to cover a lot of distance without paddling. The north end is
interesting as I understand it - lots of shallows and stuff.

It's big AND boring. A big lake with a lot of current.

The Horton, OTOH, is in the middle of nowhere.

Did the Horton last summer, Horton Lake to the ocean in 21 days (it's
about 600 km). It's a Barrens trip, you gotta like solitude and flat
land. It's more about the journey than the scenery. A sat phone is a
must if you're worried about a quick rescue. Temps from 33C to 0C. Some
class 3/4 whitewater in the middle for a couple of days, otherwise easy
class 1 (assuming you're comfortable in moving water). We flew in from
Normal Wells on a float, out to Inuvik from the mouth on a Twin Otter
(wheels). Saw a few other people along the way. It's a lot easier with
an outfitter; arranging those 1-way flights and renting boats gets ugly.

(I'm only lurking here for a while, killing some time, after a long
absence; email if you want more info).

How to find a partner to canoe to Arctic Ocean
 

"Richard Ferguson" wrote in message
...
If the [Rat/Bell/Porcupine] trip is well documented, how many weeks did
previous parties take?

The only book I have in front of me is the Vyvyan book I mentioned earlier.
Their itinerary went like this:

7-7-26 Aklavik - Water taxi up the Peel to Husky Channel, up the Husky
Channel to the Rat, up the Rat to first rapids at:
7-8-26 Destruction City - Up the Rat to:
7-18-26 Summit - Down Little Bell, Bell, Porcupine to:
7-21-26 Old Crow - Down Porcupine to
7-27-26 Fort Yukon

The two women trekked along the Rat while their two guides took the boat up
alongside. They paddled alone from the summit to Old Crow, where they
engaged another guide for the trip to FY.

From other reading, I conclude that this must be about the fastest you could
reasonably expect to make the trip, realizing that heavy rains at the pass
could make the Rat impassable for days at a time.

It sounds like there would be opportunities to take a wrong fork or
wrong turn, I would imagine that the maps are not that great in such an
uninhabited area.

Navigation among sloughs or forks is always more critical with uptripping.
My experience with Canadian maps though has been that they are great
GPS-friendly things - for me far easier to work with than the USGS
counterparts. I haven't seen maps of the Rat, but I would be surprised to
find they weren't great.

There are some other interesting trips that involve portages between
drainages, I think some starting at yellowknife. Pretty amazing what
some of these people did in past centuries.

For sure, and the amazing thing to me is that we're not talking about that
long ago. When my grandfather was a boy, when people wanted to get
somewhere in the North anyway, they either had to pole or line or track or
hire someone to do it for them. Now, anyone who traces any of those ancient
routes is considered crazy.

Fred Klingener

How to find a partner to canoe to Arctic Ocean
 

On Tue, 23 Dec 2003 15:25:46 GMT, "Fred Klingener"
wrote:

"Richard Ferguson" wrote in message
...
If the [Rat/Bell/Porcupine] trip ....
realizing that heavy rains at the pass
could make the Rat impassable for days at a time.

Verlen Kruger ascended the Rat during high water. Anyone
considering the Rat portage really should make an effort to see the
Verlen movie before trying it. Tom McCloud

How to find a partner to canoe to Arctic Ocean
 

This buy Norm Miller paddled the McKenzie solo a couple of years ago.
Here is an article from Paddler Magazine about his trip.
http://www.paddlermagazine.com/issue...rticle_2.shtml

How to find a partner to canoe to Arctic Ocean
 

I did the Horton last year with Nahanni River Adventures www.nahanni.com. My
travelogue is at www.philsego.com

Yes -- I looked into putting together my own trip and outfitting it myself.
But for the few extra $$, the outfitter/guide did all the work. I wound up
partnering with the trip leader, Les Parsons - although partnering with
anyone on that trip would have been fine.

It's definitely worth the trip!

-- Phil



"Richard Ferguson" wrote in message
...
As far as the MacKenzie, I am skeptical about going to Tuk in an open
canoe also. One alternative would be to canoe out to some arbitrary
point where it looks like the ocean starts, and then paddle back to
Inuvik, or arrange a pickup in a boat or even a floatplane. A few hours
in Inuvik talking to people would probably answer the question about
what was practical.

One unusual solution to the shuttle problem involves using Yellowknife
as a hub, taking a bus from Yellowknife to Providence or Hay River, and
then flying back from Inuvik to Yellowknife. Easy if your canoe fits in
a duffel bag. (I have an Old Town 16 footer myself).

Putting a standard canoe on the airplane from Inuvik to Yellowknife is
apt to cost $500 US or so, based on a phone conversation with the
airline, but it can be done. Another option would be to abandon the
canoe in Inuvik. (I think I paid about that much for my canoe, used).

I agree that no one is probably guiding the MacKenzie, too long a trip,
not exotic.

One reason that the MacKenzie river sounds good is that I heard a
lecture and bought a book on Sir MacKenzie, quite a story that even most
Canadians don't know. But there are many other great rivers in the north.

Richard

--------------------------------------------------------

I can't imagine that there'd be too many commercial offerings for such
a trip. Most concentrate on something more exotic than the Mackenzie.
If you launch from somewhere like Wrigley, you could drive all the way
in and skip the flight costs. Return to your vehicle would require
a flight, though. Even if you don't drive, finding a commercial flight
into, say, Norman Wells or Fort Good Hope, and leaving from Tuk would
avoid chartering a float plane. I don't know what kind of service is
available to those towns, though, so it might end up the same $ as a
drop in the middle of nowhere. Also, the tail end, getting to Tuk,
would be a hairy paddle in the Arctic Ocean. I'd do it in a sea kayak,
but not a canoe.

The Mackenzie is a big river and it flows fast all the time. You would
be able to cover a lot of distance without paddling. The north end is
interesting as I understand it - lots of shallows and stuff.

The Horton, OTOH, is in the middle of nowhere.

Victoria Jason paddled the Mackenzie and wrote of it in Kabloona In A
Yellow Kayak. She met a couple of guys in a canoe and described
the trip. One of those guys now works for Mountain Equipment Coop
and lurks occasionally on paddling lists.

If you find someone to go with, be forwarned - they'll be as crazy as
you :-) Good luck - it's a trip I've thought of ever since seeing the
Mackenzie at Fort Simpson (stopover on the way to Nahanni).

Mike