Well with wife, dog and house in tow, we headed up to the Northwest Territories for one last boating trip of the year on the Slave River. I decided to take the 'scenic' route which didn't really live up to its name unless you consider flat gravel highway's as scenic (for three days straight). I decided to take the waterfall route and was a bit dissappointed when the combined flow of all of the drops I looked at was less than I can pee after drinking a dozen energy drinks. I did manage to run a few lines on one of the drops though (but you will notice the water has a yellow tinge to it...
Finally after driving FOREVER and dodging Buffalo ( a fun game on it's own) we arrived in Fort Smith and the Slave River. Now it seeems that not a whole lot of boaters go up there in mid September but luckily I hooked up (in a totally platonic way) with some of the local boaters and
got the tour of the goods.
Tweaking the Nipple and An evening on the English Channel Photo: John Blyth
The first day was a trip down Molly's Nipple, some Avalanche action and then over to the Edge before a quick rip through The Playground. YUMMY! So I'm sure you've all heard about the wonderful things up there but no one speaks of the dark side. For example the 'mountain' you need to climb back up to your car. Or how about the 45minute flatwater paddle before you actually hit a rapid. Whoever said you can't get lost on a river might try it out here. And then 'finding' the takeout on some rapids - 'Oh just look for the dark green trees' Guess what tips? All the trees are dark green. How about the bugs? I went when they weren't supposed to be bad which means in the summer you probably inhale them while breathing. I guess it's cheaper than buying food. And lets not forget about the town's proximity to NOTHING!
But despite all of these things I'd still go back. Yup, the river is just that good. So thats it for now but stayed tuned for a vid of the aforementioned tomfoolery.
Rush hour on the Highway and Big water = Good times
Later,
Dan Caldwell
www.kayakerslife.com
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