Planning for Northwest Canada

Planning for Northwest Canada

A Carolina Paddler Article

By Jim and Ruth Mead

Deciding Where to Go and Preparing for the Trip

After posting a series of videos/photos/descriptions of our July 2022 trip on the Mountain River in the Northwest Territories, Canada – I was asked to write an article for the Carolina Paddler expanding on what goes into doing a trip like this.

Each person will have their own preferences and ideas about river tripping. There are lots of books on the subject and plenty of people with more experience doing self-guided trips than me. These are just some of my thoughts after doing five trips in the Northwest Territories (NWT) – all guided, and others in the southwest, Oregon, and the northeast (some on our own, others guided).

Pick a river

We first heard about the Mountain River, NWT in Outside Magazine – the 1993 Trips of the Year issue. We were intrigued and filed it away for future reference. In 1999 we took the leap and did it as our first wilderness canoe trip. At that time there was only one outfitter (Black Feather) offering trips on that river. Our 1999 trip went so well that over the years we looked for other trips with Black Feather, particularly those that were less-frequently run – e.g. The Firth River and a 4-week trip on the Little Nahanni and South Nahanni River.

Some good references about rivers in northern Canada include:

Books: “Canoeing Canada’s Northwest Territories” edited by Mary McCreadie; “Paddling in the Yukon” by Paul Madson; “Northern Saskatchewan Canoe Trips” by Laurel Archer; “Canada’s Best Canoe Routes” and “More of Canada’s Best Canoe Routes” edited by Alistair Thomas. Some books may be dated, but basic info will still be useful.

Online research: https://www.myccr.com/ as well as searches on individual rivers. Up to date info about changes caused by forest fires, floods, landslides etc. can be researched online.

After tentatively selecting a river, do an honest self-assessment

What are your paddling skills and physical abilities? How much experience and on what difficulty whitewater? How much flatwater? What about portaging? Outfitters will often have a difficulty scale based on the amount of experience required. Our outfitter provided good information about the river, how to prepare and what to pack, and screened participants to make sure they were up to the trip.

Are you experienced with paddling a tripping canoe? Big heavy boats are not as nimble and require looking downriver and planning maneuvers, as well as good communication between bow and stern. We lean and throw our weight around a lot more than we do in our regular day trip canoe, a Dagger Caption. If you haven’t paddled a big tandem boat before or it’s been a while, find one to practice with before the trip.

We did some longer portaging 10-20 years ago, but now that we’re in our mid-60’s I’m not keen to carry heavy stuff, or to tackle long, difficult portages. We’ve always preferred to let the water do the work and look for rivers that have mostly whitewater or moving water. When we started, it helped greatly that we both had whitewater experience (class 2-3) and backpacking experience. It has also helped that Ruth and I learned to paddle in a relatively large canoe (16 ft. Blue Hole OCA), and that we have been paddling tandem together since the early 1980’s.

What is your tolerance for bugs, primitive camping, all kinds of weather? Are you OK with sleeping on the ground, squatting over a cat hole and collecting and burning TP, and maybe not washing your hair – for two weeks? We were backpacking before we did our first river trip, so “roughing it” has never been an issue for us. The more you are willing to do without, the more you can get to remote, beautiful places.

And if course, how much time and $ are you willing to spend?

So now you’ve got a river in mind that seems like a good fit

Who will be paddling with you? Do they have the necessary skills? Do they share your paddling interests and approach to wilderness tripping? Can you get along for 2 weeks under a range of sometimes challenging conditions? Crack of dawn vs. a leisurely start? Fancy meals vs. minimalist? Bomb down the river vs. take your time and enjoy the scenery? Paddle more conservatively in cold water/remote locations vs. go big or go home?

Can you find people who will commit to a trip, and have enough boats and paddlers for a margin of safety? On a commercial flight to Fort Simpson – the departure point for our Nahanni River trip – we met a couple who were doing a different trip on the Nahanni. Later we found out that they flipped in one of the canyons, losing their boat and all their gear. Fortunately, between sharing with other participants and emergency back-up gear provided by the guides, they were able to stay warm, dry and fed until the boat and gear were found far downstream a few days later. Until the boat was recovered, they had to spend the days spread-eagled on top of the spray decks of two other canoes to continue down the river. A smaller, less prepared group would have had a hard time dealing with this situation.

How will you get there? How will your gear get there? How will you shuttle? The more remote the location, the more difficult this becomes. Many of the wilderness rivers in north-western Canada will require using a float plane at the beginning, end, or both. Sometimes you can drive to the departure point for those float planes (e.g. Fort Simpson for the Nahanni), but sometimes the town is not reachable by road (e.g. Norman Wells for the Mountain River). Even if you can drive to the float plane base, the amount of time to get there and back will probably double the total duration of your trip. The float plane to the Firth River left from Inuvik but we could have driven there if we wanted to travel the entire Dempster Highway – a lengthy adventure all by itself.

There are great river trips in eastern Canada or the lower 48 where it would be easier to drive to the float plane base (if needed) or the river itself. If you are going to northwestern Canada, then you – and your gear – will probably need to get there via commercial airline. If you are doing a self-guided trip, can you ship your gear and supplies to the departure point? Who will collect and store it for you until you get there? Some items can’t be brought on commercial airlines – bear spray and stove fuel, for example. Sometimes you can get supplies at the town where the float plane is based, but there is no guarantee. If you plan, there may be a local outfitter who will rent gear for a self-guided trip. Note that outfitters sometimes reserve the newest gear for guided trips and use their older gear for rentals.

Ruth and I have always brought all our personal gear – including paddles, helmets, pfd’s, sleeping pads and bags, etc. – as checked baggage in one large duffel, two 60-liter barrels, and a paddle case, plus carry-ons for valuable, essential, and hard to replace items. Group gear like food, tarp, stove, cookware, etc., would require additional checked baggage or shipping.

Guided trip or independent? What does the guide provide? Are they experienced and familiar with the river? How long have they been in business? Do they provide background information for their guides? Guided trips should come with group gear, canoes & spray decks, food, logistics, shuttle, river knowledge, etc. They may also offer some gear for personal use – tents, pfd’s, drysuits, helmets, paddles, etc. – either included in trip cost or for rent. We prefer to bring our own paddles, pfd’s, and helmets because we trust what we have and they fit. We’re happy to use the tent provided by the outfitter – after checking to make sure it’s good quality and large enough – rather than tearing up our own on gravel bars.

A guided trip will have a confirmed date and confirmed participants. We’ve never known the other participants beforehand and have always gotten along well – because we typically share interests and love for wilderness rivers.

Group Decision Making: In addition to handling logistics, group gear and grunt work – guides also handle choices about when to stop for the day vs. when to press on, when to run a rapid vs. when to portage, and similar decisions. Our guides have always been great about consulting with the group, but by taking charge of these kinds of decisions they can help maintain a good group dynamic and take peer pressure off less skilled participants. Some folks like to run their own trip and reserve all decision-making for themselves (and even on a guided trip you are ultimately responsible for your own safety). A guide will also handle the group menu and cooking, and a good outfitter will have no problem accommodating dietary preferences.

How much control you want is something to consider when deciding whether to do a guided trip. An intermediate approach would be if you can find an outfitter who will handle shuttle and provide equipment and supplies, but not a guide – assuming you can find enough people to commit to the trip well in advance.

We saw two other groups (briefly) during our two weeks on the Mountain River. Both were self-guided using rental canoes. They were all Canadians and I’m not sure how much of the group gear and food they brought themselves. Our guide was happy to share river info with them as related to safety, but kept campsite locations, good places to hike, etc. to himself. As he put it – that’s one of the things you’re paying him for and he’s not giving it away for free.

So ultimately whether you decide to do a guided, outfitted/self-guided, or totally self-supported trip is a matter of personal preference, availability of paddling companions, and budget. Also consider whether the logistical challenges for some remote rivers are such that the only way you will realistically be able to do them is on a guided trip.

Chances are there’s a river out there for you that offers tripping possibilities. There are many in the lower 48 and eastern Canada that can be done with a vehicle shuttle. Rivers in the southwest offer wilderness and have few bugs in March and April. There’s even a 4-day inn to inn paddle trip in Vermont if you don’t want to rough it. Days spent on the water, nights at a B&B. However, if you want a unique, wild, remote experience – consider adding something in northwest Canada to your bucket list.

Editor’s Notes: 

On January 18, Carolina Paddler will have a follow up article on Mountain River gear and packing.

The photos shot by Jim Mead used a GoPro Hero 7 black and those shot by Ruth Mead used a Canon Power Shot A1400.