kickingfrog

Back in 1998 I had an opportunity to go on a 6 week canoe trip down the Horton River in the NWT. The trip would take the 6 of us, 2 kids’ ages 8 and 10, their parents, me and another adult downstream 650 kms to the Arctic Ocean. The husband and wife are both teachers and often spend their summers on long canoe trips that they meticulously plan and research. The intent is to film the trip and sell the footage either as a feature nature show or at the least sell shorter clips to the various nature shows. They offered me a spot. It was a once in a lifetime chance that I could not pass up. The Horton River starts north of Great Bear Lake and empties into the Beaufort Sea at Franklin Bay (No Franklin expedition like stories here). We left Toronto at the end of June and returned in the middle of August. 24 hours of sunlight every day of the trip. We landed in Edmonton in the middle of the night and tried to sleep for a few hours before our flight in the morning. The flight the next day took us from Edmonton to Inuvik had stops in Yellowknife, Norman Wells and one other place that 12 years on I can’t remember. From Inuvik we would take a 500km flight on a float plane to the River. We had built in a few buffer days on either side of our trip in case of weather or what ever else that can happen on a trip of this nature. As it turned out we would need those days at the start of our trip. In 1998 there were a number of fires burning in the north. None near us, but the float planes were being used to fly in fuel and other supplies to the crews working the fires. We spent a few nights sleeping in the camp grounds on the outskirts on Inuvik and then after having to unload the plane because of an emergency call we spent a night in the small parking lot of the float plane base. Campground in Inuvik, Mackenzie River delta in background Float plane base We brought with us all the gear and food we would need for the entire trip with us. Most meals were homemade dehydrated, vacuum sealed food, which we supplemented with fresh fish. The canoes we had were pakboats (brand name) basically these canoes have a frame that is bungee corded aluminum poles with a heavy vinyl covering. The advantage is that these canoes when broken down fit in a large duffel bag and meant that all six of us, our gear, food, camera equipment canoes and pilot would only have to make one trip in and one trip out, saving a lot of money. The down side is the canoes paddle like a... well... like a folding canoe. Now the photos: in 98 I had my father’s 25 year old manual camera. What a tank, it is now over 35 years old and still works flawlessly. I brought about 20 rolls of 36 exposure film, and used most of them. The scans are not the best. We unload our gear and prepare for our journey. We had a satellite phone with us for emergencies, but other than that we would not have any contact until the pilot came back to get us in 5 weeks at the mouth of the river. It rained the first day after we had set up camp. After the rain the sun came back out and we were treated to this... And the trip of a lifetime had truly begun. The upper river held lots of grayling, basically you made a cast and if you caught a grayling you would be able to catch a fish on every cast. If you didn’t catch a fish you moved to the next spot. I don’t remember having to move to the second spot ever on the upper river. So for the first 3-4 weeks we had fish whenever we wanted. We also caught the odd pike, lake trout and Arctic char, but grayling was the staple. As you’ll see in the photos the river changes quite a bit as you near the Ocean. The expectation was we would come across one of the large caribou herds as they moved from their summer grounds to their wintering areas. This would also mean wolves, a classic predator prey relationship. We did not have a set schedule. The intention was to meet the pilot at the Ocean in 5 weeks, although the satellite phone would allow us to change plans if necessary. We paddled most days and took lots of hiking trips away from the river to explore and find signs of wildlife. There were a few places where there was a great spot for the tents and places to shoot. One of our early camp sites up a ways from the river. This stretch was very much canyon like with few good/ safe landing areas and less camp spots. The other 5 people had traveled the Thelon River before (yes the 8 year old had more experience than I did, I could still carry more then he could though). I discovered something that the others had already experienced We called it Ridgeitious. With the rolling nature of the plateaus above the river basin you would walk up a small rise thinking that you would have a great vista once you got there, only to find another small rise obscuring your imagined view. Walk up the next rise and experience it all over again. No one rise was high enough to allow you to see as far as you would think, but the terrain was not “flat” enough to see either. Very frustrating. Caribou antlers Lots of snow/ice in the more protected valleys. This was a warmer than normal summer for the north (remember the fires) Most “days” it was high 20’s and the water was wonderful to cool off in. A midnight dip to cool off after a day of paddling. Some of the wildlife: Wolf prints Grizzly Bear print Golden Eagle chicks Caribou We never did find the big herds and never saw or heard wolves. Muskoxen this was one of our most dangerous encounters. A lone male, he bluff charged us a few times but we backed away and he went on his way. Many days after the lone male we came across this heard of Muskoxen I think there were about 21 of them in total. We did see a few Grizzly bears. This was the only photo I got though, the other times they were either too far away for a good shot or they were too close and we were too busy trying to figure out who would get eaten first. The river changed quite a bit as we went downstream much wider and slower with larger and larger meanders. There was less vegetation as well so the rain we got in the 3rd week really muddied the water. You’ll see at the Ocean there is quite the delta from all of the runoff. Never did find out what the blue stuff was. About 40 kms from the river mouth we were at a meander that took us less than a kilometre from the Ocean. We spent 2 days there and hiked up and over twice to see the ocean and the shore. River on the left, Arctic Ocean on the right. River meanders from the plane on the way out. This was my first live view of any salt water in my life. Franklin Bay on the Beaufort Sea. One of the other highlights of the trip was the Smoking Hills. As I remember it this is an area of high sulfur and as it oxidizes it “smokes”. I will leave the science up to the experts or just look it up yourself. There was no beach but the shore was covered in these pumis like stones. Smartie beach On both of these trips to the sea we saw wildlife only once we were walking back up the hill. A seal The other time it was a group of beluga whales. I cannot find the photo though. Group shot. I was very fit before the trip and never felt like I was starving, but I still lost 23 pounds, 13 pounds of which was muscle. Can you see them? Ptarmigan River delta in the background And from the plane That's all, there are some more photos somewhare, if I ever find them I'll post them too.

Man. I thought the lake was for sale.

Personally, I have used many combinations of lines for many fishing situations. The one I haven't used and don't plan on is....... all 100% flouro. All lines have pros and cons, our task is to find the right line, or line combination, to suit the conditions. 100% Flouro behaves poorly as a main line and its biggest benefit, which is less visibility for a given diameter, is not needed for all the line on the spool. Flouro has a lot of memory and is very springy and while it may stretch more than braid, it won't stretch as much as mono. Good luck with what ever you decide, and please let us know how it goes.

Mountain Equipment Co-Op http://www.mec.ca/Main/home.jsp Le Barons http://www.lebaron.ca/english/main.htm Both have stores in Ottawa and both (as will many others) ship to your door.

You know that guy fishes with fools a lot. "When I lean over with the net, do not lean over to look at what is in the net."

It was a trip I did a few years ago. Horton River, NWT. I've been going through old film and have been putting the shots on the computer.

My flight leaves April 2nd.

The start of March seems as good a time as any for a report of this nature and size. A little tease first. Stay tuned.

Speech from the throne is on as well you know.

Spring can't get here fast enough eh guys?

Wow! Imagine the size of the smallmouth you could catch with crayfish that size. Nice photos.

Considering his poor performance in the Olympics, I'm sure Pittsburgh will be trying to move 87. They might get a late 1st rounder for him.

Yes and the 46 hockey players make up almost 25% of the 206.

The Globe and Mail has an article today that says the Canadian Olympic team sent 206 athletes to the Games and 88 of them won at least one medal. That's almost 43%.

Today? I plan on kicking your tail in June at Lakair!

Seriously you did this again? What a Puckhead!

Now that the Olympics are over I'm planning on heading up to Big Sound this weekend for some ice fishing. Any firsthand ice/snow conditions to report? Thanks

Wow! We are always coming up with new ways to off ourselves aren't we? Sure would be a blast though.

And he has that place in Newfoundland to go fishing.

Atlantic. Someone had to be first, and I am that smart

Stephen Brunt's video essay on these Olympic games. http://www.ctvolympics.ca/video/index.html...amp;PbContext=2

She and Rochette win the first Terry Fox award for courage. http://www.vancouversun.com/Rochette+Majdi...4650/story.html

Despite what some of us might believe, none of us had anything to do with it. But it sure does feel good.

Now I remember why I stay away from the hockey stuff most of the time. Armchair experts. Posted else where: Clueless, if you're measuring a hockey player by goals and assists. Thank goodness you all didn't have a say in picking the team. Stick to fishin'.

Clueless, if you're measuring a hockey player by goals and assist. Thank goodness you all didn't have a say in picking the team. Stick to fishin'.