One Warm Line:
Coppermine River by Raft, from Rocknest Lake to the Arctic Ocean,
July 23rd to August 3rd, 2014
Fifteen intrepid souls embarked on an adventure to raft the wild Coppermine River through Canada's Northwest Territories and Nunavut to the Arctic Ocean. Here is our story set in historical context...
Day Six: Monday, July 28th
Gregg was up first at around 6:30 a.m., got the camp fire going and made coffee. Others woke up over the next two hours. Linda and Carina made a lovely breakfast of pancakes, whipped cream and grapes. We broke camp by 10:30, earlier than the usual 11 or 11:30. One of the difficulties of a large party of 15 with a lot of gear is breaking camp and quickly getting an early start.
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Doug, Carina, Linda and Julia lead the charge today on the next leg north on the Coppermine River.
We met rather flat water for the first several hours that enabled up to use the kickers and to make up a little time. It was really a lovely morning, quite sunny and temperatures in the 15 C (60 F) range. The many geese and swans on the river were molting and could not fly. They seemed especially threatened as we passed by and would frantically paddle towards shore as fast as they could then scramble up the steep banks and take cover in the shore willows.
About 3:00 p.m. a north wind kicked up and travel quickly became miserable with spray into our faces. This was especially problematic for Greg and I in our small zodiac that sat very low in the water. At various times the strong wind produces whitecaps on the river that made the spray even more heavy. After a few hours of this, now sitting in cold water up to our knees, both Greg and I were chilled to the core. I began to experience hypothermia by 5:00 p.m. and had no option but to head to shore to warm up. Greg quickly got a nice fire going, and others, too, took advantage of the heat.
After warming up a little, and with a snack of trail mix prepared by Linda and Carina (a welcomed treat the whole trip), and most adding one or two more layers of clothing, we headed out on the river for a few more hours. Thankfully, the wind died down somewhat, but our soaking feet and legs still made traveling uncomfortable. We spotted an attractive camping site on the west side of the river, beached around 7:00 and set up the tents, the “meeting canopy” and the ever welcomed “comfort station.”
The comfort station, so I understand, was a “must have” for the ladies.
This camping spot had lovely clay soil that, as Nick remarked, was soothing on the feet. Buy this time in the trip, being in and out of the water several times every day, sustaining cuts and bruises on legs and feet, it was welcomed to have clay to walk on rather than slippery and sharp rocks. Dwight had sustained a particularly deep and colorful bruise on his leg in negotiating the rapids a few days ago, but it seemed to be healing up.
Greg built a fire and a few went fishing to supplement our dinner of sausage and pasta. The grassy meadow west of the campsite contained many types of animal scat, mostly caribou, it seemed. The evening sky was partly cloudy which made for some colorful display. Given the poor weather—the cold and rain experienced earlier in the day, we all felt a little beat up, but we did make good progress. Having the most attractive campsite so far on the trip, our spirits were high. Folks went to bed around 11:00.
We probably have crossed the Arctic Circle at this point, but by this late day in July, we did not experience 24 hours of sunshine, though it was twilight throughout the night.
Dwight, God love him, took on the responsibility of emptying and cleaning the facilities each day.
John Richardson, Surgeon and Naturalist for the Franklin Expedition writes:
Thursday July 5th 1821 Coppermine River
The people returned with the meat, after midnight, and have been employed all the morning slicing and drying it. Sterna hirundo [arctic tern] killed today.
p. 65.
Friday July 6th 1821
The Hunters having received a further supply of ammunition set off in the night time in two small canoes and at half past five in the morning we followed them accompanied by Akaicho, White Capot, and the Hermaphrodite. Morning cold and cloudy. After ascending a series of rapids and passing the embouchure of the River of the Fairy Lake [Fairylake River from Takiyuak Lake], a pretty large stream whose banks are said to be much frequented by Musk oxen, the River became wider and less rapid and its sandy banks were more continuous. As the day progressed the woods became thinner and more stunted and in the afternoon the barren hills approached the river’s edge. …
The medium breadth of the stream may be stated at 300 yards but in the rapids it was diminished more than one half.
In the evening we approached several ranges of hills, which were from 12[00] to 1500 feet high and lay nearly parallel to the river or about NW true. … Large beds of green stone also occur in some parts of the range—but perhaps these rocks are subordinate to the clay-slate which exists here in considerable quantity, having greenish colour and a continuous pearly lustre. p. 66
The Hunters killed a rein-deer in the morning which we picked up as we came along. One of them, who was walking along the shore afterwards fired upon two (Grizzly) brown bears and wounded one of them which instantly turned and pursued him. His companion put ashore to his assistance but did not succeed in killing the bears which fled upon the reinforcement coming up. p. 67
Situation of the mouth of the Fairy Lake River which flows from the Eastward & is about 100 yards wide, but shallow… p. 67.