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Welcome to the expedition journal pages. What follows below are the journal entries of the team members. Click the RELOAD or REFRESH button on your browser for if you have visited recently. Updates are expected weekly.
| Thursday, June 1, 2000 at 15:53:43 |
| Webmaster: The trip is scheduled to begin this Saturday, June 3 |
| Friday, June 2, 2000 at 16:02:42 |
| Webmaster: final test of land line connection through expedition equipment |
| Friday, June 2, 2000 at 15:41:52 |
| Webmaster: Final test of satellite uplink |
| Friday, June 2, 2000 at 18:27:10 |
| In less than 12 hours Maura and I will be on a westbound flight to Winnipeg. If all goes well with the Canadian/Air Canada merger tomorrow we will make the 11:45am bus which will take us from Winnipeg to The Pas, Manitoba where we will be reunited with our canoe--MARIGOLD! From The Pas we will drive 12 hours further north to our put-in--the community of Southend on Reindeer Lake, SK. I just finished a crash course in photo/text transmissions via satellite phone, lap top, digital camera and solar panel. Thanks to Michael Colautti CANADA BY CANOE has an official web site which I will be up-dating on a weekly basis. I'm off to $pick up a few remaining parts... |
| Sunday, June 4, 2000 at 21:15:29 |
| Here we are 2 hours south of Southend, SK...camped for the night at Churchill River Outfitters on Otter Lake. Tomorrow morning we will take one last shuttle to Reindeer Lake--woohoo!So far, so good. Maura and I took the 6:45 am flight from Toronto to Winnipeg (thanks to Canadian Airlines/Air Canada), then jumped on a Grey Goose bus headed north. By 9pm we arrived in The Pas, MB and stood in awe of the silence--even downtown! Weird to think we were downtown Toronto 13 hours earlier. We were greeted by Rob Pennor---Marigold (our canoe) spent the winter with Rob's friend and colleauge Ron Scott--and spent the night at Rob and Joanne's home, who were kind enough to feed us as well! Asleep by midnight...This morning Charlie Mott drove down from Flin Flon, MB, picked Maura and I up and drove us 8 hours north to Missinepe...As I write, the sun is shining (and doesn't set until 10:30pm!), the bugs aren't out, and the wind is sleeping. We're convinced it's going to stay this way (hee, hee).Tonight Maura and I will re-pack our gear one last time. The only thing I seem to have forgotten (so far) is my toothbrush (oops), but remembered to pick one up in Flin Flon.One last night to enjoy the comforts of the indoors...Until tomorrow... |
| Wednesday, June 7, 2000 at 16:33:40 |
| Webmaster: NOAA and NASA have issued a Geo-Magnetic Storm warning for the next few days. This disturbance should provide excellent auroras in much of Canada, but it may also disrupt satellite communications severely. It may block the team from data-transmissions until the storm passes. For more information you can visit Space Weather |
| Friday, June 9, 2000 at 17:38:38 | |
| Day 3 It seems like our shuttle from Missinipe to Reindeer Lake was weeks ago...we're already loosing the ability to keep track of TIME. The last few days have been...well...FREEZING! Believe it or not we're sharing our beach (yes, there are beaches in northern Saskatchewan) with several large patches of snow. But the cold keeps the bugs away a little bit longer. We've covered almost 120 km over the past three days despite a steady headwind. By tomorrow night we should be sleeping somewhere in Swan Bay--our last night on Reindeer Lake before navigating the 80km stretch between Reindeer and Wollaston Lake. Fortunately water levels are high so we shouldn't have too much trouble (knock on wood). Nothing epic yet...except the rumour we heard at Missinipe about a polar bear sighting north of Wollaston Lake! We asked the 'official/warden' in the Southend District Office about it and he just laughed--nothing but black bears around here--however, a polar bear was spotted last spring in the area. Now our fears turn every ice chunck we see floating in the distance into a polar bear :( Well, I'm exhausted! Strange to go to bed when the sun is still shining! (I think it sets around 11 pm and rises around 3 am). Still making the transition from downtown Toronto to the solitude of northern Saskatchewan. Just a quick hello to friends and family down south! Thinking of you often! 100 more days to go! Goodnight! |
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| Monday, June 12, 2000 at 20:50:35 |
Webmaster: More solar flares are on the way, due to strike on June 13, again transmissions may be interupted.  |
| Tuesday, June 13, 2000 at 23:38:08 |
| Day 9The last 3 days have been gruesome: cold, wet and upstream.It took us 13 hours to wade/track/portage up the Swan River and another 10 hours to wind our way up the first half of the Blondeau River. Today we waded or tracked up the remaining 4 rapids on the Blondeau before portaging 800 m into unnamed lake #1. After a few more boggy portages we arrived here on Middle Lake by early evening (another 10 hour day). On the second last portage of the day, as we were picking up our second load (we have to make two trips every portage), we heard a few branches snap and, sure enough, a big black bear appeared--only about 20 ft away. Unfortunately he was more curious than afraid, but he eventually took off after we ROARED and banged the canoe a little louder. We completed the portage in record time. A forest fire swept through this area not too long ago, so we've been paddling through a completely charred forest---a tree planters dream land. At first it feels a little bit depressing, but there is soo much beauty in the newly emerging forest. The last few days have been a welcome break from wind and big lake travel, but we're sincerely looking forward to getting to Wollaston Lake tomorrow (hopefully). In potentially 3 days we will be arriving at Wollaston Lake (the community) to pick up food shippment #2. :)Goodnight! |
| Saturday, June 17, 2000 at 09:04:16 |
| Webmaster: An update was received June 16, but the transmission was corrupted. |
| Monday, June 19, 2000 at 06:52:10 |
| Day 11 Two days ago we made it through the dreaded 'fireswamp' (the section between Reindeer and Wollaston Lake). We survived the Muskeg Portage which lives up the name--2km of swamp. Yesterday we paddled almost 40 km and camped 4 km south of Wollaston Lake (the community). We arrived in town early this morning and we're instantly greeted by John Elander and his parents (Peter and Lily). They're treating us to a dinner of caribou burgers, a first for both of us. Thanks to their generosity it has been easy to prepare for the next leg of our journey. Although it has only been two weeks since we left home, we are greatly appreciating the good company. We expect it will take us just over two weeks to paddle the rest of Wollaston Lake and down the Fond-du-Lac river and will then pick up another load of food before paddling the south shore of Lake Athabasca. Time for burgers...gotta go. |
| Tuesday, June 27, 2000 at 08:03:38 |
| DAY 21 Greetings from Black Lack on the Fond du Lac river, SK. The last week has been challenging: rain, thunderstorms, cold, bugs, portaging, wading, and lining down rapids. This morning we spent 2 to 3 hours bushwacking around Burr Falls. However, we have had some incredible moments as well. The highlight of the week was discovering the hot shower at PILOT LODGE. Gord and Glen and the fishermen from Minnesota were more than welcoming...shared stories and a fresh fish (walleye) dinner. We're embarrased to say we didn't bring a fishing rod along this summer, but we've decided the best way to fish is by sharing other people's catch (hee, hee). Highlight #2 was running into ICE on Wollaston Lake. The wind had pushed a 2 km wide chunk of ice into the shoreline we were following, but fortunately two fishing boats came along and cut a path through for us. As for wildlife, we saw another black bear (from the canoe), moose, otters, loons and even swans! Well, time for bed. Goodnight! |
| Saturday, July 08, 2000 at 8:56:21 | |
| Day 32 We arrived in Stony Rapids nine days ago--on my birthday. It must have been birthday luck because we ended up going for a ride in a helicopter and catching a bird's eye view of Elizabeth falls on the Fond du Lac river. From Stony Rapids we decided to paddle the north shore of Lake Athabasca as it offers more protection from the northwesterlies, but sad to miss the SAND DUNES all along the south shore. The north shore reminds me of Lake Superior: lots of rock/cliffs, but also white sand beaches. The sun has decided to shine this week (woohoo!), but the recent lack of rain hasn't been much help to the firefighters in the area--there are several large fires all along the north shore. Maura and I paddled right by a small one the other day, but since then we have only had a couple of smoggy days. We managed to check out Uranium City--a modern ghost town. The population was up to 5000 only 20 years ago, but as the mines dried up it dwindled to about 150 people. It was strange walking down the boarded up main street and past the empty, brand new (and now vandalized) high school. Two days ago we were windbound (for the first time!) in Camsell Portage (population 35!) and we both fell in love with the place! Incredibly generous people (thanks Claire, Phillip, Mary, Tokoman, and Pearl). Now we are potentially 3 days away from Ft. Chipewyan where we will pick up more food before getting on the Slave River. Looking forward to seeing white pelicans again in Ft. Smith and buffalo as we travel the east border of Wood Buffalo National Park... |
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| Thursday, July 13, 2000 at 15:55:02 |
| Webmaster: I will not be available for the next two weeks to update Erin's site. She will be able to transmit a diary log, but not any pictures. Subscribers to the mailing list will also not receive any updates as well. I will be leading a team across Gros Morne National Park, and the results of that expedition will be posted in the fall. See you in August. :) Michael Colautti |
| Saturday, July 15, 2000 at 22:52:16 |
| Day 40 We are on the SLave River!!! We finally left Fort Chipewyan, the odlest community in Alberta after a full two days. We were soon to be considered as locals. Lake Athasca treated us well with few wind days and lots of sun. It's a beautiful paddle along the north shore with the Canadian Shield and sandy beaches. Thanks to Bob and Cathy in Chip who welcomed us into their home with warm showers, pizza and warm hospitality. It took us a day to paddle on Riviere Des Rochers before joining the fast current on the Slave! Quite exciting to be on such a huge waterway! We will most likely be in Fort Smith by Monday, which is much sooner than originally expecteed. We've had a great day relaxing, reading and hanging out at the forestry cabins at Demicharge Rapids. We have seen a couple white Peligans since we have left town and today a wolf who visited our site. We are hearing noices in the bush so we will write from Fort Smith. |
| Sunday, August 6, 2000 at 20:16:55 |
| DAY 57 First, I apologize for the lack of updates over the last two weeks. The computer has been feeling a bit sick lately combined with the fact that the sun wasn't out long enough to charge the batteries (arrgh). But all is well now--the computer seems to be behaving today.So now I must fill you in! The rest of the Slave River continued to be very silty and lined with steep dirt banks. Not much in the way of camping, but we enjoyed the current (7km/hr) and saw peregrine falcons and several bald and golden eagles (parents AND their young in the nests!). When we arrived in Ft. Resolution (where the river runs into Great Slave Lake)--we discovered there was a Dene celebration under way--Treaty #8 centenary commemoration. On the evening of our arrival we participated in a drum dance, mesmorized by the sound of the drums and the beautiful faces of the elders. In Ft. Resolution we met a young german couple (Jens and Marion) and their dog Hushum who were also on a canoe trip (Ft. McMurray to Hay River) and decided to join forces until Hay River. Although we only had 150 km to paddle from Ft. Res to Hay River it took us almost a week due to the unfavoured mix of shallow water and high winds. BUT the change of pace was welcomed and the company was fantastic! After 2 windbound days on Fish Point we decided to go for a night paddle when the wind died down one evening. It took us four hours to paddle the remaining 20 km to Hay River. When we started the paddle that night the sun was just setting and the bulldogs (hoarse flies) had just gone to sleep. The water was full of large, rolling swells and by 1am there was only a streak of pink light on the horizon. We even caught a glimpse of a few STARS as the clouds parted for an instant. By 3am we are sitting around a fire on the Hay River beach, sipping tea and watching the sun rise. Yestersday we all moved camp to the campground after waking up to a boiling hot tent. We hitched into town (as Hay river is VERY spread out) to do laundry and met Paul McAdams again! Maura and I met Paul in Ft. Smith and thanks to his kindness and generous spirit we got to see more of Wood Buffalo National Park, including BISON!!!!!! Unfortunately there is an outbreak of anthrax in the park and more than 40 buffalo have died already :( Luck would have it that Paul was on his way to Edmonton and offered Maura, Jens, Marion and Hushum and ride! This morning they all left around 8:30am and I'm left to wait for Pam to fly into town tomorrow afternoon. Maura is starting school soon--which is why she is leaving early--and Pam just quite her job and is making her way up north! The both have to deal with a bit of culture shock--one to get used to the city again and the other to get un-used-to the city! As I write the SNOWBIRDS are performing up above! (hopefully the show ends before my bed time)...Well, I'm off to re-pack our food barrels and read my mail! |
| Sunday, August 6, 2000 at 20:17:53 |
| Day 61 Pam arrived safely in Hay River August 2nd and we spent the following day re-organizing the gear and catching up with each other--we hadn't seen each other for almost 3 years!!!! It has taken us 2 full days to paddle from Hay River to Beaver Lake and already we're getting into a new groove. We endured a massive thunder storm last night and at times it felt as if the thunder was causing the earth to tremble beneath us. This morning we woke up to a strong headwind, but decided to give paddling a try. AFter 2 hours of paddling and gaining only 5 km, we decided to sit it out on shore for the afternoon. Hopefully the wind will die down this evening so we can get a few more hours of paddling in. Can you believe we are only 20 km from the start of the MacKenzie river????? If all goes well we should reach Ft. Providence some time tomorrow (or this evening?) and then only another 1500 km to Tuktoyaktuk! We're hoping the current will prove to carry us approx. 10 km/hour which means it will take us 3-4 weeks to paddle the entire river. BUT we're trying not to have any expectations because the weather still remains an unknown...Now that it is August the days are growing slowly shorter and the cool nights provide perfect sleeping conditions. Even the bugs are starting to disappear now (woohoo!). The blueberries should be making an appearance soon too...Well, I off to read my book and wait for the wind and waves to settle down. |
| Thursday, August 17, 2000 at 11:40:32 |
| Day 73Greetings from the MacKenzie River! 500km down, 1000 to go...Yesterday we made it to Wrigley--a small community found on a high bluff in the heart of the Franklin Mountain Range. After leaving Ft. Providence we spent a few days passing through a shallow, swampy section of the river, but 118 km north of Ft. Simpson we suddenly entered a very mountainous region and we drifted in awe of the Nahanni and Camsell Ranges. North of Wrigley the MacKenzie has narrowed to about 1-2 km in width, forcing the current to pick up a bit. However, water levels are definitely low as fall quickly approaches and the current isn't as we expected. As it is, we are averaging 65-70 km/day and every other day the northwesterlies seem to blow up, providing us with an gruesome headwind. It feels like summer has already left. The last week has been FREEZING! Apparently it went down to 1 degree C the other night and the snow on the mountains seems to be creeping lower and lower. BUT, this morning is both warmer and sunnier (maybe 10 degrees C)--perhaps we were just in a cold snap??? The race against winter has begun! Pam and I have met up with two paddlers from Smithers, BC and we have travelled together now for the last few days. We're all hoping to reach Ft. Norman in 3 days and then we are officially HALF WAY down the MacKenzie river! |
| Friday, September 8, 2000 at 21:28:45 |
| DAY 77Windbound only 20 km south of Norman Wells (arrgh). We spent the last two days windbound in Ft. Norman---a Dene community of almost 500 people located at the confluence of the Great Bear and MacKenzie rivers . After spending a sleepless first night on the main beach (it was a friday night) Pam and I checked in with the RCMP where we met Cst. Anna Marie Mallard. Thanks to her kindness we spent the next evening around her kitchen table eating a home cooked meal and even got to do laundry, and sleep in a real bed for a change. I'm starting to feel a bit impatient with the weather. So many unknowns!!!!! Oh well, time to enjoy my book and even write a few letters... |
| Friday, September 8, 2000 at 21:29:15 |
| DAY 83 Only 150 km south of Artic Red River--the 2nd last community before we reach Tuktoyaktuk. The current is slowly winding down as we move north of the MacKenzie range and begin to wind our way through the delta. The fall colours are spectacular: gold, crimson and burnt orange. It's strange to think we are still paddling north, especially every time a flock of Canadian geese flies southbound overhead. Over the last two weeks we've been windbound about one in three days, so we've started to set our alarm for 5am every morning. BUT it hasn't rained in a few days and the sun even made an appearance this evening (although even with the sun we are dressed for snow). Highlight of the day: Pam and I stopped to check out a small cabin next to the river and as we were pulling up to the beach we saw a large white wolf! She ran up the hill and into the bush when we stepped out of the canoe, but she reappeared once we were up at the cabin. For about 5 minutes we all stared at each other, with only 20 ft of space between us, before she wondered off again. |
| Friday, September 8, 2000 at 21:29:51 |
| DAY 90 Emotionally exhausting day. Pam and I paddled 45 km, with the help of a mighty tailwind, and camped where the East Channel of the MacKenzie Delta spills into the ARCTIC OCEAN. We hiked up to the top of a hill, sat down, and stared out to sea! We can practically taste the finish line--55 km to Tuktoyaktuk! Hopefully the seas will remain calm and see us safely there. For now, it is enough just to sit and absorb the beauty and start digesting the overwhelming flow of emotions. The treeline ended shortly just north of Inuvik, so our perception of depth has been thrown off--you can see forever! With all the fall colours, it's like standing at the edge of an orange desert. Amazingly, the temperature has increased over the last two days providing us with a couple of hatless/gloveless days. Well, time to rehydrate yet another meal of veggies and pasta and crawl into my tent here on the shores of the Beaufort Sea(!!!)... Day 92 TUKTOYAKTUK! Yesterday morning we woke up to a thick fog and managed to paddle 35 km before a strong east wind picked up and forced us off the water. For once, we were actually gratefull to be windbound only 20 km from TUK because we couldn't help but sit and enjoy our last afternoon in the tundra. This morning we had a 6am start to ensure a calm paddle to Tuktoyaktuk. Again, to our amazement, the sea was absolutely calm and a full rainbow appeared which we took to mean a 'job well done'. By 10 am we were standing on the beach in front of the Tuktoyaktuk RCMP buildings. We must have looked completely dazed and confused as we stood on the finish line trying to articulate our joy and sadness. It was too early to crack open our celebratory bottle of champagne, so we set off to wonder the town...So, here we are in Tuktoyaktuk, still digesting the enormity of this journey, thinking back to April 26th 1998 when Marie and I first set out on the St. Lawrence river. This thought strikes me the most: even though the original dream takes on a very different shape in reality, if you honour the foundation of the dream, then you've already crossed the 'finish line'. 'Everyone must believe in something. I believe I will go canoeing.' --Paul Thoreau |