This was the best trip of my life. People who do the Firth River all have different experiences and ours could have been easily tainted and my first statement could just have easily been different if any one of a number of things had happened differently - but they did not: the group was fun to be with for 17 days, the drive was bearable, the landscape was incredible, the river fun but not intimidating, the hiking superb, and, the clincer, the weather was phenomenal (in 12 days we only had two days of rain, the first three days of the trip were spent more in shorts and t-shirts than anything else; we were able to swim in the river and dip in the Arctic Ocean and lie around camp reading in the sun without bugs).
The trip began with 26 hours of driving from Eagle River to Inuvik, Canada (my trip odometer read 2072 when we got home - almost exactly 1000 miles each way):
Our car (there were two other cars we would use to get all nine of us to Inuvik):
The drive (about 1/2 was on dirt roads):
Driving in Alaska in the summer means construction:
A stop in Tok:
Chicken, Alaska - named Chicken because the residents could not spell Tarmagin, I mean Ptarnagin, I mean Patarmagan, I mean the state bird:
Camping along the drive:
The Dempster Highway was beautiful !!
On a hike off of the Dempster:
Forest fires in Canada:
One was REALLY close - flames right along side the road:
There were three free ferries in Canada along our route:
Coming into Dawson City via ferry:
Cueing up for the MacKenzie River ferry:
The gang at the Arctic Circle:
Arctic Circle cheese:
We got to Inuvik mid-day on our third day then checked in with Parks Canada and weighed our stuff at Aklak Air (after repacking some). We were about 1000 lbs over so we had to take two flights in instead of one (this decision was made after much deliberation and calculation - it was simply not possible to loose that much weight and still have the type of trip we had planned for - Todd was not going to give up his second pair of underwear and Adrienne was not going to give up any Nutella). We were able to eat enough to fly out in one flight (shutter was sticking for some reason on these photos).
Off to get weighed:
The flight in ... The MacKenzie River Delta:
Our flight in was amazing !! It was supposedly the best day for flying they had seen in Inuvik all summer. This is a bad shot of a herd of Musk Ox. We made two passes over them; the first was MUCH closer than this:
Our pilots brought us INTO the mountains and river valleys:
The Firth River Canyon from the air:
Looking at the Beaufort Sea and pack ice from the plane:
The airstrip at Margaret Lake - The Put In !! Shorts ! No bugs ! Wahoo !!
By the time the second flight got in, Scott and Tom had already pumped up three rafts and caught a bunch of grayling. The fishing would prove to be outstanding the entire trip. Even floating through the delta, Kathy would still be hooking into grayling on every other cast.
On a hike after setting up the boats:
Aufeis in the distance (upstream of the put-in):
Thrilled to be in the Arctic in shorts !
Margaret Lake (river right) and our camp/air strip (river left - not really visable - there is more Aufeis on a tributary to the Firth that you can see in the distance)):
Now you can see camp with respect to the river and lake:
Cleaning up after the hike:
A ridge line we hiked from Margaret Lake:
And we're off ! Day two but first day on the river:
Life on the Culebra:
Beautiful cliffs in the Aufeis Reach:
Fishing and floating:
An awful backlit photo of a Todd and a grayling:
On the Firth:
Muskeg Cliffs - Todd caught the only Char here although others were seen throughout the river:
Hiking at Muskeg Cliffs:
The fossil hunting was good (Amenonite - sp ?):
Todd and Lisa (note the shorts):
Crooked Creek camp - more sun !
Going for a quick dip on a hot day:
Roughing it:
Flying the kite - Good Times !
A morning cup of coffee in the Arctic heat !
Classic Aufies Reach rafting:
In search of the Caribou Stick Fence:
Crazy damage done by ice at break-up !
Tough to see but we awoke to snow on the ridges one morning:
In the tent:
We loved being in the Puma ! It is dwarfed, however, by Mark's Moravia (the Puma is 11 1/2 feet while Mark's Moravia is 15 1/2 feet):
Upper Sluice camp - the best camp of the trip - incredible tundra bench above this great spot for a kitchen; plus the hiking was fantastic:
Sluice Box camp is in the lower left corner:
On a hike above Sluice Box camp:
Scott and Lisa:
Sheep Slot:
Sheep Slot and Sheep Horn:
Sheep Horn - seemingly benign tongue however it flows directly into the left wall (two rafts bounced off this wall pretty hard, we missed it by mere inches, Todd avoided it by pulling hard from left to right):
Scott and Tom:
The anticline that gave Anticline Camp its name:
Anticline Camp:
Hiking above Anticline Camp - oddly, the hiking on river right where we camped was pretty bad but the hiking on river left looked much better):
A picture of the Firth as it cuts into the tundra (a classic Canyon Reach shot- Anticline Camp is at the gravel bar on the right):
The Firth River canyon as it cut through the tundra:
Todd with Engigistcick in the background:
Engigstcick:
Leaving the Canyon Reach and entering the Delta Reach:
The "Last Mountain Hike" - a bit buggy !
Looking down on the boats from the Last Mountain Hike. Definitely in the delta now !
We all seemed to dread the thought of the Delta Reach - visions of dragging out boats for miles through a wasteland. The Delta Reach turned out to be on e of the highlights of the trip. Because we were doing the Firth at low water, the route was obvious - there was really only one major channel. It was also where we saw a majority of our wildlife - shorebirds, musk ox, caribou, seals, and Todd even thought he saw a sheefish swimming upstream.
The group sees its first Musk Ox:
Here they are as we floated by:
This one walked up the river on the other side of our camp:
The aufeis in the delta had a ghostly appearance - seeming to hover above the horizon. This is called fata morgana:
Floating by the shelf of aufeis:
Adrienne and caribou:
There was some dragging - both on the river and in the lagoon - but not much:
The End (after 2 1/2 days on the spit - complete with seals, more caribou, lots of food, and the Nunaltuk Olympics):
For an even better presentation of our trip, see Tom Palka's site. He did an outstanding job of capturing the trip.
Todd Kelsey also put up a very nice report on his site: Click Here