Those looking down on the rapid thought most of it could be traversed by raft but that the bottom section of about 100 yards would be too risky, especially with cargo.  Even the upper reaches would be tricky with much weight on board, so it was decided to portage some of the more delicate items such as guns, ammo and some duffle bags.  The most intrepid of us would pilot the rafts to a pool area on the east side of the river just above the final drop, portage all the cargo carried on the rafts to a rocky beach area below, then carry the rafts and kickers over to this landing area as well.

 

Much of the cargo was unloaded on the west side of the river above the falls before they were taken through the upper rapids.  We portaged a great deal from this initial docking area over the path on the west side.  The path was a little challenging as it reached a height of approximately 150 feet and covered a distance of a mile or more.  In hindsight, it may have been a mistake to lighten the rafts so much. 

 

It was tricky negotiating these turbulent waters as I could see from high on the west side cliffs one or two of the boats getting thrown backwards then hitting some of the white water.  Maintaining control was a challenge.  As it turned out, with the rafts so much lighter than what we were used to, they handled very differently than when fully loaded. I saw Doug come through with the first and largest raft and at one point, right in the middle of the melee, the boat was flipped around. Thankfully he was able to correct it quickly, but it was disconcerting to see this happen nonetheless.  Three rafts were brought through and docked in the east side pool.

 

My job was to get as many photos of the passage as I could.  This was not easy since I was unable to get close to the water’s edge and had to get the shots from a considerable distance.  Having a telephoto lens may have helped, but at this distance, and with the speed of the rafts ripping through the rapids, and with poor lighting, the images would not be good (my feeble excuse).

 

After the first three boats were carried over the rocks to the calm waters below the falls, Doug came over to the west side of the river bringing those who would take the final three rafts through the same route.  They hiked the trail back to the crest of the falls and piloted the final three to the east side pool area.  Those of us on the west side were ferried over to the east to help portage the remaining gear on left the shore of the upper pool area.  As it was getting late into the evening, we also began setting up camp.

 

Dinner was underway by 10:00 p.m.  Greg had been given a very large white fish by some Inuit who were spearing and casting for arctic char and other species on the west side just above the final drop of the falls.  To me it looked like an inconnu (or “coney” as they are called colloquially), but apparently in waters directly emptying into the ocean, this rather large type white fish species exists.  It probably was in the range of 10 pounds.  Given the history of 1771 and the bad blood between these two aboriginal groups, there was a certain poignancy to this exchange—a gift of an Inuit to a Dene.  Thankfully all that history is now well behind us.

 

About the time to retire for the night, around 12:00 a.m., the wind came up and the rain started and lasted all night.  This was the last kick in the pants, as it were, weather-wise.