Horton River Canoe Trip
Canoe trip down the Horton River, all above the Arctic Circle in the Northwest Territories of Canada, from July 26 thru Aug 22, 2016. We paddled 395 miles, which was about a quarter million paddle strokes of amazing experience. Our group included: Rich Henke, Brian Elliot, Steve Cochran, Louisa Bonnie, & Greg Scarich in 3 inflatable canoes.
We saw 12 grizzlies, including 5 cubs, about 80 caribou, 1 moose, innumerable birds, a pod of beluga whales including 1 baby, and 0 other people. We slept across the river from a pack of wolves one night, who all howled several times. We saw lots of their tracks, but never any of them.
We had days when the high temp was in the lower 40s, and about an equal number in the upper 70s. We had rain, including a little sleet, 3 days with some nasty wind, and frequent sun. I did, fortunately, bring enough clothes for all of it.
We camped, in descending order of my personal preference, on: sand, small pebbles, slabs of rock, medium sized rocks, tundra, and mud. The tundra was "interesting", the mud was not. I wore a sleep mask to bed every "night", because it never got very dark.
We each brought all our own breakfasts, lunches, and snacks, plus 4 complete dinners for 6 people. So every 6th evening I cooked dinner for the group. And, just to help calibrate you on the type of trip this was, we brought (and drank) 27 liters of wine!
Read MoreWe saw 12 grizzlies, including 5 cubs, about 80 caribou, 1 moose, innumerable birds, a pod of beluga whales including 1 baby, and 0 other people. We slept across the river from a pack of wolves one night, who all howled several times. We saw lots of their tracks, but never any of them.
We had days when the high temp was in the lower 40s, and about an equal number in the upper 70s. We had rain, including a little sleet, 3 days with some nasty wind, and frequent sun. I did, fortunately, bring enough clothes for all of it.
We camped, in descending order of my personal preference, on: sand, small pebbles, slabs of rock, medium sized rocks, tundra, and mud. The tundra was "interesting", the mud was not. I wore a sleep mask to bed every "night", because it never got very dark.
We each brought all our own breakfasts, lunches, and snacks, plus 4 complete dinners for 6 people. So every 6th evening I cooked dinner for the group. And, just to help calibrate you on the type of trip this was, we brought (and drank) 27 liters of wine!
