13 Jul

Posted at 16:58h in Blogs Only
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Our last day of paddling the Thomsen River is here. Our pick-up isn"™t set for 3 more days, but we have chosen to arrive at our last camping spot a little early to be on the safe side. This will give us some extra time to explore on foot, and most importantly, not risk missing our pick-up if heavy winds move in and keep us off the water. In the remote wilderness, it's always better to put the odds in your favour and not push lady luck too much. We had been exploring the idea of moving further down-river to another...

12 Jul

Posted at 14:59h in Blogs Only
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The beautiful weather is holding up. With all the wind, rain and clouds in the first part of the trip, this sunny break is all the sweeter now. A leisurely breakfast is followed by our most relaxed day paddling yet. At one point, we drop Ryan off to climb a nearby hill to film from a great vantage point. We need a big shot of us canoeing down the river, showing how small we are in relation to this vast landscape. Once in position though, some clouds move in. Carl, Anthony and I pull onto a sandbar, and relax in our...

11 Jul

Posted at 14:02h in Blogs Only
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What a glorious day! The sun has come out in full force at last, driving the temperature up to about 12 degrees celsius. Just as nice, a light wind has stayed with us as well, keeping most of the mosquitoes busy with something other that trying to drill into my skin. The combination is a perfect mixture for something much needed on a trip like this: a bath! It's not a leisurely activity per se, with a glass of wine, candles and bubbles, but there is nothing quite as refreshing in the wild as that feeling of cold clean from a...

10 Jul

Posted at 19:31h in Blogs Only
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Up a little early today, at least by this trip's standards. 9am and we knock back breakfast, load up, and start hiking. Our destination is a bridge about 4 kms away, a place called Head Hill. With an incredible number of muskox skulls and other bones in close proximity, it's a unique place. No one seems certain why they are there, but I'm told that most of the bones date back to the 1850s. We come close to getting soakers through the wet ground in the first half of the trek, then begin our accent. Not that big a hill...

09 Jul

Posted at 19:29h in Blogs Only
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Today is another great day for travel. It's overcast, cold and windy and we press on down-river. It's a very short paddling season up here and we"™re told the water levels are particularly low this year as well. We"™re made aware of this as the canoes scrape bottom through some tricky shallow spots. Again, we pass by another attractive looking painting area, but press on. The weather removes the temptation to stay and paint for a while, as the light is rather flat and there's no sign of the sun. Thirteen hard-earned kilometres later, we arrive at the confluence of...

08 Jul

Posted at 19:13h in Blogs Only
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Packed up camp and moved down the river again today. This has been a sweet spot, but there are many places to see yet, and miles to cover. Wind has been the strongest yet, and after two hours of paddling we haven"™t covered much ground. But we have made it to a small creek mouth that flows out from Char Lake, so we pull over as hiking to this body of water is on our to do list. We"™re hoping, naturally, to catch some Arctic char. Two and a half kilometres take us over a rise with numerous muskox skulls...