Nahanni Moose Ponds Diary

13 July to 3 August, 2001


13 July Day 0

Six of us (Andrew, Lisa, Lew, George, Joe and Paul) arrive at the Moose Ponds after a 2 hour 15 minute flight. We look about for a camp site, and find one about 200 meters from our landing site. We set up camp with a beautiful view of Mount Wilson. It rained in the evening, and low clouds prevented the other six from arriving. We had a late supper of corn and soup, with fruit cake for dessert. After a round of cappuccino, we retired for the evening.

14 July Day 1

We got up at about 7. There was low cloud, so the others could not get in until this lifted. Before the others got up, Andrew and I saw a large bull moose swim across the pond, leaving from near where the plane landed, and crossing to a point directly across from out camp site.

After breakfast, we spent some time paddling and practicing strokes. In a couple of hours, we heard a plane in the distance, and paddled back to the camp site. The other six, Adam, Bob, Joyce, Victor, Wendy and Marilyn arrive. We had a sandwich lunch, with fresh peaches. At about 3:20, we practiced our paddle strokes again, and learned how to do the "righting pry." (We also hope we don't need to use it.) We had supper after a couple more hours, and spent another night under Mount Wilson.

15 July Day 2

We start down the river today, after breakfast, about 10:00 AM. We saw a moose in a pond beside the river, swimming. The river has a gentle gradient, narrow and winding through bog for about 4 km. We then hit a series of increasingly difficult (but not too difficult) rapids for a while. We have lunch, and then come to a few more rapids, more serious and with more water flowing than the previous, but still not highly technical. Spray skirts are wonderful! Each canoe has the gear for the paddlers, and two barrels, and one or two other common items. We get as far as the "thread the Needle" rapids, which is a wild ride - a narrow entry, big waves, holes, rock avoidance) Everyone took some water, and we had to bail or dump the canoes afterward. We camped just below this rapid, on an island at about 5:00 PM. The camp site was nice and level, but the bathroom facilities were hard to find. It was a great day of canoeing.

16 July Day 3

We started around 10:00 AM, and got into light rapids immediately. A number of the heavier ones later required bailing. Notably, we couldn't identify many of the rapids by name, and did not have much opportunity to get out and scout.The second last rapid, Hollywood, was the most dangerous, but not highly technical. It had a large rock with no passage to the left, and large standing waves. A good line was available on the right, and we came through dry; an excellent run. Looking back upstream from the bottom, the channel to the left of the rock was quite dangerous - a rock strainer. "The Sequel" was a very interesting run, starting with some rock avoidance, and then passing over a hole, and some big standing waves on the left. We skirted those on the right, and had a clear path near the cliff, until a rock jutted out in the channel creating a jet and some large standing waves. We managed to move to the left just enough to avoid this rock, and ran through the right side of the standing waves. We then eddied out into the pool below. After this, there were a few small rapids, but no major thrills. We continued to the end of the white water and camped at a point where another river flowed in, around 5:00 PM. This was the single most exciting day of paddling we experienced.

17 July Day 4

We started paddling at 10:00 AM. There was no white water, but the river gradient was steep, and looked to run downhill. We paddled "inside corners" for safety, to take advantage of the slower water. The scenery was spectacular, with a different view of the mountains virtually every paddle stroke. We camped at 5:00 PM by another stream, Bologna Creek. there was little wildlife, but lots of tracks, moose and caribou. After supper, about 8:30, three of us, Andrew, Wendy, and I, went for a short hike (2 hours) over a rise at the back of the camp ground. The walk afforded an excellent view of part of Bologna Creek. We saw a small waterfall, and a chute below, but could not get down to the area, because of a steep, undercut cliff. A plane landed on a lake on the far side of the Nahanni while we were hiking. On our return, we had tea, and later turned in. It was a very warm night. We are rather ahead of schedule (Andrew said we could be at the falls in 2 days, if we wanted). In the morning, we will hike, and have a short paddle.

18 July Day 5

When I got up at 7:30 today, Lisa was also up! We had an excellent breakfast; fritatas, Red River cereal, and rice pudding. After some discussion, 8 of us decided to hike up the "mountain" behind the camp site, Bologna Ridge. Bob, Joyce. Lisa, and Adam stayed behind. Lew and George found a log to place across the small brook we had to cross, as a precarious bridge. After climbing for about an hour, Joe and Marilyn branched off to look at the creek we had seen the previous evening. The remainder kept climbing. We proceeded up to near the tree line (but were well up on a scree slope, in the area we were climbing). The view was spectacular. We saw the lakes inside the river where the plane had landed, and both a cabin and a canoe in the distance. We ate a sandwich lunch, drank some water, and refilled our water bottles from a container Andrew had carried. We walked back down, and crossed the log bridge again. We got back at about 3:00 PM, and saw a couple of kayaks and a canoe go past. The others left immediately to paddle down to Moore's cabin and to look for the hot spring, but we took a few minutes to load up the canoes and get ready. Wendy and I paddled the "kitchen table" (as we had begun to call Joe's and my canoe) since Joe had left with Marilyn. We had a sudden shower just before reaching the cabin, which had a number of paddles with names of previous visitors. We spent some time looking for the hot spring, without success. We then continued down river into the area where we could get our first view of the Cirque of the Unclimbables. At about 7:00 PM, we camped on an island beside the Vampire Range. We speculated that the name came from the sharp peaks and the red color of the rocks. Supper was salad, lasagna, with caramel pudding for dessert. Altogether it was an excellent day; we had a good hike, saw interesting scenery as we paddled, and had a spectacular view from our campsite. But for the brief shower, the weather was excellent.

19 July Day 6

We left our campsite with the spectacular view of the Vampire Range earlier than usual - about 9:45 AM, after a breakfast of freshly baked muffins. We canoed, drifting and paddling, past many spectacular peaks, until about 12:30 when we "rafted up" for lunch. This didn't work out, so we went ashore and lunched on pasta salad and hummus. Earlier, we passed two German kayakers, who later passed us, and then camped near our evening campsite. We also saw the paddlers (two kayaks and a canoe) who had passed us the previous day. They were camped at the trail to Glacier Lake, a hiking approach to the Cirque. We continued drifting and paddling past more spectacular scenery, the sun blazing down on us, until about 4:50 when we entered the National Park. We camped on a sandspit beside a clear, flowing stream in full view of the Rabbitkettle Mountains. We are a short paddle from Rabbitkettle Lake, and intend to get an early start in the morning to see the tufa mounds, and to swim in the lake - the water is supposed to be much warmer than the river. Today was so hot that everyone is really in the mood for a swim in the morning. Supper was salad, corn bread, and chili.

20 July Day 7

We got up early, about 6:30, for a breakfast of pancakes. We left our campsite at about 8:30 to paddle the short distance to Rabbitkettle Lake. The hike to the tufa mound was scheduled for 8:30; we had thought is was to be at 9:00, but the warden, Sharon, took us there anyway. She was staying at the cabin with her fiance, Sean, for 10 days. The hike to the tufa mound was interesting; we had to cross Rabbitkettle River by a boat (a scow) tethered to a line. The tufa mound itself was spectacular, and the warm water pool (perhaps 10-15 m deep) is clearly the "kettle" in Rabbitkettle. The tufa itself is shell-like, and fragile, and we walk on it in small groups, barefoot. Along the trail, the mound can be seen from a distance with the Cirque as a backdrop. After the visit to the tufa mound, we had a swim in the warm waters of the lake. It was good to feel clean again. In fact, the day was so hot that everyone had several swims while waiting for the plane to arrive with Shelley, and our fresh provisions. The twin Otter arrived at about 3:45 with the other party, and the plane carrying Shelley and our provisions arrived about an hour later. We greeted Shelley, said goodbye to Lisa, and after hugs all around, packed the 3 new barrels of food out the 700 m. to our canoes, loaded up, and drifted down the river to a new campsite a few km. away. It, too, was a sandspit, surrounded by mountains, and we had a leisurely supper of cheese casserole and chocolate cake. Shelley brought chocolate which she shared. We sat around chatting in the shade of the tarp for several hours, and turned in about 11:00 PM. It was one of the hottest days of the trip so far, with continued bright sun and cloudless skies.

21 July Day 8

We awoke about 7:30, and it was already obvious that it would be another hot day. We had a slow breakfast (2 pots of coffee) and cinnamon rolls. There was also the usual assortment of fruit, refreshed by yesterday's provisions. The cereal course, Cream of Wheat, did not meet with Andrew's expectations, and was fed to the fish. After taking down the tents, cleaning up, etc. we departed at 10:20, leaving another spectacular campsite. We paddled and drifted - mostly drifted - for a couple of hours, heeding Andrew's warning that it would be a "slip, slap, slop, and slurp" kind of day. Shortly before lunch, Shelley notices a moose peering out from the trees. Victor claimed it was in response to his whistling. Lunch was bagels, salami, and cream cheese, with cookies and Fig Newtons for dessert. After lunch, Adam broke out the frisbee, and we played for a while on the sand. Frisbees don't float well, it seems, and the sun had our reactions a bit slow. George reported that the mosquitoes in the woods were fierce, and others confirmed his observation. We resumed our paddling and drifting, rafting up for a while and then drifting again. Victor and Andrew had a diving contest from their respective ends of the canoe, with backflips and (attempted) handstands. Some time later, Wendy also took a dive. At about 4:30 we arrived at Flood Creek, and set up camp. The sand was still a bit damp, and it was obvious that the area had been flooded until recently. Several of us washed our clothes, and had a dip of sorts in the creek. (It was no warmer than the river.) Today rivaled yesterday's temperature, and Adam and Andrew again rigged a fly for shade. Victor began fishing, and caught a small greyling which he placed in a small weir he had previously constructed from stones in a small rivulet. After admiration from all interested, the fish was released unharmed. Marilyn requested that Victor catch her breakfast. Around 10:30 in the evening, the mosquitoes began to attack in earnest, and we turned in. In the following morning, the mosquitoes were the worst so far, and Andrew made a spectacular exit from his tent.

22 July Day 9

Another bright, clear morning. Everyone awoke about 7:30 for an earlier start than usual. Breakfast was toasted English muffins, with assorted toppings - peanut butter, honey, and jam. The first pot of coffee was spilled, but the second was excellent, if a bit rushed. The remnants were placed in a thermos, and provided a bit of a treat later in the day. We paddled and drifted from about 9:30 to 12:30, then rafted up for lunch. Shelley spotted a bear, and later in the day we saw a young bald eagle in a nest, and near our evening campsite there was an adult bald eagle. We camped in an oxbow lake about 10 km above the falls, in a beautiful meadow with a small, clear stream nearby. the lake was warm enough for comfortable swimming, and everyone had a dip. There were no flies in the evening, and it was a very pleasant campsite. We stayed up until midnight to watch a spectacular sunset, the clouds growing redder and redder until those directly overhead were glowing. For a while, the distant mountains in the East were illuminated with a red glow. We turned in around midnight.

23 July Day 10

We had strawberry pancakes for breakfast, and it looked like it would be another hot day. We left camp a bit late, and paddled the short distance to Virginia Falls. The bald eagle was back in its perch on a tree in the oxbow lake, and posed for photographs. We continued the short paddle to Virginia Falls, and found campsites (and toilet facilities!), and proceeded to claim our campsites. The food was placed on elevated ramps, to discourage bears. Most of us opted then for a short hike, to Meringo Falls. Wendy navigated with map and compass, a trip of about 1.5 hours through light brush. The falls were impressive, carving a small, deep canyon in the valley. We spotted a few fish in the river, and Victor fed some bread to them and they rose once or twice. Several people had a dip in the water under the falls, and we all had a picnic lunch. Wendy then navigated directly back to our camp site, by dead reckoning. We had a supper of bean dip and spaghetti, and then had a quick look at Virginia Falls and the Sluicebox Rapids, and, after a speedy return led by Joe, went to a lecture by one of the park interpreters. He was a DE Cho Dene, and talked about their history and about his experiences growing up while living off the land. He served Labrador tea, which was nice, and his talk was rather political. After this, we retired early.

24 July Day 11

We had intended to get up early and hike up Sunblood Mountain, but it rained during the night, so we didn't get up until about 8:30. We had a breakfast of cinnamon rolls and coffee, and 7 of us, Joe, Lew, George, Wendy, Andrew, Adam, and Paul, packed a lunch to climb Sunblood. We set out at about 10:20 AM, with orders not to return until about 5:00. (The remaining paddlers were going to cook supper.) After paddling across the river and hiking for about half an hour, Andrew and Lew broke away from the rest and made it to the top in a total time of about 1 hour 45 minutes. George and Adam took about 2 hours 15 minutes, and Wendy, Joe, and I about 2:30.

We wandered around the top for an hour or so, and saw three Dahl sheep. We also saw a pica and an arctic ground squirrel. We had a picnic lunch of cheese, salami, tortias, gorp, nuts, etc. We could not get a good view of the river or our campsite from the top, because it was too foggy. We did have a clear view at times on the way up, and again on the way back down. In fact, we were able to see the entrance to and exit from Fourth Canyon.

The hike down was actually more difficult than the hike up; somehow the trail seemed steeper and slipperier. At the bottom, we then followed a trail along the left side of the river for a view of the Sluicebox the Falls. The view was quite different than that from the other side. While we were there, we saw a helicopter fly up the river valley, below our vantage point. Also, we could see that the others had carried a canoe and two barrels across the portage.

When we returned across the river to our campsite, we found the others preparing supper. We had tortias with rice, beans, and a spicy tomato vegetable sauce. Dessert was brownies, and it was all quite good. After dinner, the park ranger gave us a short talk on the geology of the area. She was rewarded with a brownie (and agreed to mail a letter for Adam.) After this, we met Lisa's group, and were pleased to see her again.

It rained after supper, but it was no problem because we were already set up from the previous day. Someone suggested a card game (Euchre), and Adam, Andrew, and Wendy offered to teach me to play. Andrew and I crucified Wendy and Adam in a game - we beat them 3 to 1. We turned in around 11:00.

25 July Day 12

We arose about 8:30 again. Breakfast was Red River cereal and toasted English muffins. Victor was the first up, and made coffee. We had some rain, bit it cleared, off and on. Tarps are wonderful!

We portaged our gear in approximately 1.5 hours, with almost everyone making two trips. We then started down Fourth Canyon by dragging the canoes part way up the river, and then front ferrying to river left immediately. We avoided the rapids - really only large standing waves - by ferrying back and forth across the river to negotiate turns on the inside, far from the canyon walls. It was an interesting, and fast, run; we covered 7.5km. in about 18 minutes.

We stopped for lunch at Meringo Creek, and had another picnic style lunch. We then had another short (in time) paddle to Clearwater Brook, where we camped on a sandbar island. There were no flies, but we had heavy rain after the tents were set up. We all waited it out under the tarp. Supper was lasagna and salad, and both were quite good. After the household chores were completed, Andrew and Wendy demolished George and myself in Euchre 10 - 7 and 10 - 2. We decided on an early evening, so after hot chocolate with Baileys, (complements of Wendy), we all turned in. The evening turned fine, and some of our things dried out.

26 July Day 13

We slept late again today, until about 8:00 AM. We then had a leisurely breakfast of bacon and muffins. We got away about 10:40, and proceeded to the figure 8 rapids. Andrew and Adam decided that four boats would run it as one set, and that they would return as stern paddlers for the other two boats - Bob' and Joyce's, and Joe's and mine. The first four ran successfully, with Lew and George crossing the eddy line early, and sitting on a boil for a few moments before they could get the canoe going again. Wendy and Marilyn followed a similar line but missed the boil and came through easily. Adam and Joyce skirted the left edge of the big waves all the way down, and had a good run, as did Andrew and Victor. Andrew and Paul ran next, and dumped in the last of the big waves. The swim and rescue were interesting; Paul drifted down by the wall and swam into an eddy - not a very stable one - and was picked up by Adam and Lew, and carried on their deck as they raced after the canoe. The canoe was rescued by attaching a throw line to it (actually, a string of 3 lines) and paddling hard for shore where we got anchored to something solid and the canoe swung in. It had drifted a total of about 1 km. Both the rescue and rescued canoes were left there on shore, and we all walked back up river to the others. Both Andrew and I each lost a paddle.

Andrew decided to try again, this time with Bob, and to take the canoe further up the river to where the earlier (successful) runs had started, to get a bit further to the left before hitting the waves. (We had just ferried out from the top of the eddy.) They also dumped, in exactly the same place. This time, rescue was quicker because Andrew attached a throw line to the boat (and stuffed his paddle inside as well.) Bob swam to the top of the eddy and got up on the rocks, and was rescued by Adam and Wendy. With all boats now below the rapid, and 2 exciting rescues, we had lunch. It was quick, and with what was on hand. Andrew had made Logan bread the previous evening, and that was the major component of lunch. It was delicious. The four canoes then paddled the four paddlers from the two canoes down-river down to their canoes in the next eddy, as deck baggage. Joe went with Lew and George, and Paul went with Wendy and Marilyn.

We then paddled down-river to just past Mary River, where we set up camp. On the way, we had a bit of heavy rain, but the weather cleared and we had an excellent evening. We played Euchre before supper, and Wendy and Adam beat Andrew and Paul. Supper was rice, cornbread, and chili, with cheesecake for dessert. After tea, we sat around and chatted in little groups, and turned in about 11:30 after watching the sun set. The moon was visible as a half moon, although it was still a bright evening.

27 July Day 14

We arose about 8:30 or 9:00 after a night of rain. Breakfast was pancakes and cereal, with coffee as usual. We got a slow start on the river, leaving about 11:00 AM, to paddle to Pulpit Rock. After we arrived, we hiked to the top, following a well worn trail. The view was spectacular. On our return, it started to rain. We ate lunch, a salmon salad with soda bread, in the little camping area around the base. We then left in the rain, and paddled another couple of hours to our next camp site at the other end of Third Canyon and the end of the Funeral Range, and the beginning of the Headless Range. The scenery in the canyon was spectacular, and we had time to look around. From the gateway by Pulpit Rock to our campsite we were surrounded by high, sharp mountain cliffs and could see many spires, caves, etc. The rain prevented us from taking many pictures, but the view was amazing.

We camped on a gravel bar, as usual, and the rain stopped in time for us to put up tents and get supper. Several of us - Lew, Joe, Wendy, Adam, Andrew, and Paul, scrambled up the hill at the back of the campsite to a cliff overlooking the campsite and providing a view of the "big bend" further down the river, approximately 1 km. away. We also had a view of the start of Second Canyon.

After returning, we put the kettle on and had cocoa or cappuccino, or a mixture of both. We turned in at about 11:00.

28 July Day 15

We again left late, about 11:30, after a breakfast of cinnamon rolls and coffee. We paddled into Second Canyon, and paddled and drifted to Prairie Creek, where we were to camp for two nights. I taught Andrew, Adam, and Wendy to play 120's (pronounced "hundred 'n twenties") with considerable help from George and Lew. Adam and I played as partners against Wendy and Andrew. After a late evening, with several cups of tea, the score was 1 to 1. We turned in about 11:30.

29 July Day 16

We got up at about 8:30 and had a breakfast of pancakes with real maple syrup. We got ready for a hike up Prairie Creek. It was an interesting walk; the creek has to be crossed several times, and the current is strong, and cold. The hike takes us over a "silt plug" which changed the course of the creek some time ago. It is heavily wooded, but the trail is clear. a short side hike brings you to a peak from which much more of the creek can be viewed. The approach to the trail over the silt plug requires one crossing of the creek. We had lunch on the far side of the plug, and some of us later continued further up the creek. At the next crossing, Joe was swept off his feet, and Lew, George, Andrew, Wendy, and Paul continued. Lew and George climbed to a height above the creek, and Andrew, Wendy, and Paul continued up the creek, crossing it several more times. On the way back, we walked through the little canyon beside the silt plug which we had hiked around earlier. (The current was too strong to wade upstream.) After returning, we again played 120's, and Andrew and Wendy won.

We had as supper of tortias, refried beans, and a spicy tomato mixture, with rice. Wendy made brownies for dessert, and Adam made soda bread for lunch the next day. It rained heavily for about half an hour (while we were playing cards) but the tarp protected us well. We discussed how we would spend the next few days, without consensus, and turned in at about 10:30.

30 July Day 17

This was our second morning at Prairie Creek. We had a breakfast of rice pudding, Ryevita crackers, jam, peanut butter, and honey. Some of us dressed in neoprene again, and left at about 10:30 to paddle to Lafferty's Creek. After about 1 km, we came to George's Riffle (Cache Rapids). Wendy and Marilyn went ahead to take pictures and a video, and Adam and Shelley made a spectacular run through the center of the riffle, with the canoe shooting into the air from some of the big waves. Everyone else paddled on the left side of the riffle, edging the large waves. It was still an interesting run, because you could edge out as far as you liked and have an interesting ride. After everyone successfully traversed this rapid, the paddle to Lafferty's Creek was through the spectacular scenery of First Canyon. We spent much of this time rafted up. A small black bear was spotted on river left, and we stopped to fill several barrels with water at White Spray spring.

After arriving at Lafferty's, we had lunch. It was soda bread, cheese, sausage, cream cheese, etc. with granola bars, etc. for dessert. After lunch, we took a hike up the creek bed, and found an interesting trail through the woods. Victor and Marilyn hiked up to a cave in the wall of the canyon, and we spotted a number of greyling in the pools in the brook. Our camp site was right under the "sheep cave" but there was no obvious approach to it.

Supper was spaghetti with Tabouli salad. Dessert was brownies. The evening was quite warm, after a very warm day. Wendy, Adam, Andrew and Paul had another game of 120's, with Andrew and Paul victorious. We turned in about 10:30, after watching a motor boat, likely from Nahanni Butte, travel upriver.

31 July Day 18

We left the campsite at Lafferty's at about 10:15, intending to eat breakfast at Kraus Hot Springs, a few km. down the river. We had coffee before leaving, and were bringing freshly made cinnamon rolls for breakfast. We all ran Lafferty's Riffle just to the left of center, for a last run on the large waves. Adam and Shelley paddled down first to photograph us all, with Shelley doing the video. It was a nice run; the last real rapid on the river. Shortly after, we came to Kraus Hot Springs, where we looked at the paddles in the cabin, and left ours, carved by Lew, there. We then got into the spring, and ate our cinnamon rolls, had coffee and a floating fruit plate, and soaked. The hydrogen sulphide smell was not bad, and we stayed in the 38 - 39 degree water for about an hour. It was after noon when we left, and we paddled for a couple of hours before pulling over for a lunch of soda bread (decorated with a paddle, by Adam), sausage, and cheese. We also had gorp. After lunch, we paddled for another couple of hours, and camped on a gravel bar about 3/4 of the way through the flats. Supper was fettuccini alfredo (with feta cheese added) and a caramel upside-down pudding was dessert. It rained sporadically in the evening, and there were a few flies. After dinner we played 120's again, this time the 5 person version (called railroad, or cutthroat). Lew, George, Adam, Wendy, and Paul played, and Wendy won. We turned in at about 10:00 because the wind died down, and the mosquitoes became fierce.

1 Aug. Day 19

We left the gravel bar at the flats at about 9:00 - the mosquitoes were fierce. In fact, we didn't have breakfast because we didn't want to be breakfast for the little demons. Shortly after we set out, we rafted up, broke out the Coleman stove, and made coffee, and fried bacon. Adam did the coffee spin. We also had Logan bread, with honey, peanut butter, jam, etc. It was good to avoid the flies, and the current was drifting us along at about 4 km. per hour, so we covered some distance as we ate.

After breakfast, we had a short paddle to Nahanni Butte, where we visited the general store (and a flush toilet!). There was no ice cream, but we all had cokes (actually, Pepsi). Victor and George had another breakfast of bacon and eggs, and others had chips and coffee. Andrew and Adam bought some provisions for breakfast the next day. We then left Nahanni Butte and paddled for a few minutes, then rafted up and drifted into the Liard River. At the crossing, we all "touched paddles" over the canoes. The Liard is even more silty than the Nahanni, and we were happy to have the water from Clear Spring.

We also rafted up for lunch, with Logan bread, cream cheese, etc. and then paddled for a while to Swan point. Here we shared the area with 6 or 7 buffalo, including a buffalo calf. There were no flies initially, although they did find us later in the evening for a short while. We cooked our last supper together on the river - a chicken stir fry and a vegetarian stir fry. Later we played cutthroat, and Wendy won again, this time taken out by Adam on a 30 for 60 bid. We then sat around talking, and the wind came up and took away the flies. The wind continued to rise, and we has to make sure the tents were well staked. It rained a bit after we were in bed, but the wind had the tents completely dry in the morning.

2 Aug. Day 20

We got up at about 8, and the light breeze was just enough to keep the flies away. Lew reported that they were fierce in the woods. We had a slow breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and coffee. Wood was damp and scarce, but we did get a good fire going and the cooking was done over it. The buffalo were gone, and we didn't see any of the Trumpeter Swans for which the point was named. We departed at about 11:00 for Blackstone Landing, and again ate lunch rafted up. The current was not as strong, but we did cover some distance. We arrived at Blackstone Landing at about 2:00 PM, and looked around for about 1.5 hours. We admired the showers, but nobody ventured into one. We left for the short paddle to Lindberg's at about 4:00, and arrived at about 4:15. We then unloaded the canoes, separated the gear, and got our cabins. Lew, George, Joe, and I shared the 4 bed cabin, Victor and Shelley, Bob and Joyce got the "honeymoon suite", with 2 double beds, and Wendy and Marilyn shared the cabin with 2 single beds. Andrew and Adam shared another cabin.

Since it was Joyce's birthday, we all got together in the dining area (cabin) and sang Happy Birthday. There were lots of balloons, and Andrew and Marilyn played the piano. Supper was meatloaf of moose and caribou, with garden salad from Sue Lindberg's garden. There was turnip with nutmeg, and potato salad as well. The food was excellent. After dinner, we chatted for a while, and retired at about 11:30.

3 Aug. Day 21

We got up at about 7:30, and went over to buy some books and T-shirts. Breakfast was at 9, and coffee, etc. was made on an outside fire. The Lindberg's dog, Gypsy, wanted to play with a stick, so we threw it a few times until she lost it, and then we went in for breakfast - fresh boiled eggs, coffee, etc. (The rooster had woken us earlier.) We then loaded the canoes and gear onto a trailer, and took the taxi (van) back to Fort Simpson, about 180 km. away. The trip lasted about 2 hours, and we had to take a ferry across the Liard River. After reaching Fort Simpson, we unloaded the trailer and gear, and went off to lunch. After lunch, we went to the airport, and Lew and George were able to get a flight out. Adam had been scheduled for a flight the next day, but found that there was no such flight. He ran back, packed, and also made the flight to Yellowknife with us.

Lew and George were also able to get a flight to Edmonton from Yellowknife, and stayed with George and me that evening. We had ice cream and hot wings at the hotel. The next day, Joe went to the airport at about 6:00 AM, and Lew, George, and I went a bit later. We all caught an earlier (for Lew and George, 3 days earlier) flight (8:10) to Toronto, and again made an earlier connection from Toronto to St. John's, arriving home at about 11:00 PM.