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...
We continued on down the river looking for the Kendall River, the well-known water route used by Dene and Inuit to travel to and from the Barren Lands and the northeast shores of Great Bear Lake. After about another two hours, by then being well into the evening, we needed to stop, pitch tents and make dinner. We found a rather unsatisfactory spot quite high up the east bank of the river offering rocky terrain and almost no flat ground. Being around 10:00 p.m., our options were limited and this would have to do.
Around 11:30 p.m. a simple but nourishing dinner was made—bacon, eggs and pancakes. Cooler weather appears settling in now and the low clouds are threatening rain. Going through Rocky Defile, my purportedly waterproof duffle bag proved not so waterproof. Hoping to dry out some clothes, I spread most of what I had on the willows behind the camp. About 2:00 a.m. I woke to the sound of heavy rain and wind, at which point any faint hope for dry clothes was gone. The temperature seemed to be mid-30s F (3 or 4 C). Now everything I had, except what I was wearing in my sleeping bag was either damp or soaked. Others were in a similar situation.
Earlier this evening Dwight and Linda called home to Edmonton to see how things were going. They received the sad news that Dwight’s mother had passed away this past Sunday. She had been in poor health, in her mid-eighties, and while her passing was not unexpected, it was a very sad and poignant time. Dwight gathered the family close and shared the news, shed some tears and reflected on a great life and legacy. From an outsider’s point of view, Dwight’s family presents a remarkable testimony to abiding qualities of faith, hope and love that must have been her life.
This news stressed the urgency to make Kugluktuk at the appointed time, yet five days out, Sunday, August 3rd, so the family could participate in memorial services.
All in all, this was a remarkable day given the news from Edmonton, the majesty of Rocky Defile, the caribou and grizzly bear, the eagles and waterfowl, as well as some snow fields spotted on the distant hills of the river valley. Now more than ever we get a cleared sense of the true Barren Lands and arctic.
Here we go, shooting Rocky Refile Rapids...
Nick and Max (above) are the first to tackle the rapid, followed by Greg, solo (left).
Doug and Julia come through next (right), followed by Emily and Karl (below).
Evann and Luke (above and right) bring raft #5 through under paddle power, and Dwight and Ben (below) deftly guide the last boat through.
All make it through Rocky Defile safe and sound, if not more than a little drenched. Five of the six rafts are shown (right) rounding the last bend of the rapid.
The hikers joined up with the rafters as they gathered their senses and regrouped on the beach below the rapids. This would have been a great spot to camp, but we needed to push on and make up time.
Sunday July 8th 1821
Mr Franklin this morning completed his arrangements with the Hook who has agreed to remain with his party on the borders of Great Bear Lake until the month of November that he may afford us relief in the event of our returning by that route….
The hills in the neighbourhood of the Hook’s encampment are more even in their outline that those we had previously passed but there are some high peaks in the direction of the river, some of them obtuse—others short pointed—conical.
The river wound through a narrow pass in these mountains by a tortuous course running generally to the westward but sometimes even to the southward. Just where the river inclines most to the westward the Indians are accustom to make a portage into Great Bear Lake which they accomplish with their families in two or three days. … The exact situation of this portage … is marked by the junction of a small stream [Hook River] with the Coppermine River.
… About 6 p.m. we found some marks that had been made by a band of Indians which on being further examined were found to be quite recent – and soon after, coming to others, still more recent we put ashore, encamped and made a large fire to warn them of our approach—in hopes of obtaining suppose from them. P. 69
Monday July 9th 1821 Coppermine River
The smoke of the Indian’s fire being seen late last night one of the canoes was sent down the river to them and returned about half past one this morning with a small bundle of dried meat….
[Richardson offers a description and analysis of Rocky Defile, one of the most impressive scenes on the Coppermine River, encountered July 9th.]
After embarking we continued to descend the river which was now contracted between lofty banks to about 120 yards in width. Its channel filled with large stones and current very swift. At 11 a.m. we came to a rapid which had been the theme of discourse with the Indians for many days, and we found that although the grandeur of the scene was commensurate with their descriptions yet that their habitual love of the marvelous had enduced them to exaggerate the danger of passing it exceedingly. The river here struggles through a narrow gloomy channel which it has cut during the lapse of ages in the shelving foot of a hill. The channel is bounded by perpendicular rocky walls varying in height from 50 to 150 feet, above which there is imposed an immense body of sine sand. The form of the land here would lead would lead one to suppose that the river, at some distant period, pent in by the rock formed a long narrow lake whose superfluous waters were discharged by a magnificent cascade, and in this opinion is in some degree corroborated by the figure of various sandy ridges and peaks which rise immediately above the rapid to the height of 5[00] or 600 feet—and bear an exact resemblance to the banks of sand which are often found in the borders of a lake. The length of this defile exceeds half a mile and our canoes after a part of their cargo was landed ran through it without sustaining injury.
Soon after passing the rapid we met hunters running up the east side of the river to prevent us from disturbing a herd of musk oxen which they had observed grazing upon the opposite bank. We put them across and they succeeded in killing six of these animals upon which we encamped for the purpose of splicing and drying the meat. P. 70.
The country immediately below the rapid consists of sandy plans which were broken by small conical eminences also of sand and bounded to the Westward by a continuation of the mountain chain which we crossed at the Bear Lake portages and to the Eastward and Northward at the distance of twelve mile by the celebrated Copper Mountains. Pp. 70-71
The plains are crowned by several clumps of moderately large spruce trees (30 feet high) and there is considerable quantity of small dry wood standing on them. The channel of the river lies about 300 feet below their surface, its banks are steep and on a level with the species of syenite projects from under their superimposed bed of sand. This syenite I am inclined to think belongs to the transition series. The beds of the mountain torrents which in various places in this neighbourhood cut through the banks of the river and lined with fragments of variegated and spotted red sandstone composed principally of feldspar. There occurs also a kind of quartzy sandstone, having a coarse texture and greyish white colour which frequently contains enclosed small pieces of the red kind…. P. 71
Monday July 9th 1821 Coppermine River
The smoke of the Indian’s fire being seen late last night one of the canoes was sent down the river to them and returned about half past one this morning with a small bundle of dried meat….
[Richardson offers a description and analysis of Rocky Defile, one of the most impressive scenes on the Coppermine River, encountered July 9th.]
After embarking we continued to descend the river which was now contracted between lofty banks to about 120 yards in width. Its channel filled with large stones and current very swift. At 11 a.m. we came to a rapid which had been the theme of discourse with the Indians for many days, and we found that although the grandeur of the scene was commensurate with their descriptions yet that their habitual love of the marvelous had enduced them to exaggerate the danger of passing it exceedingly. The river here struggles through a narrow gloomy channel which it has cut during the lapse of ages in the shelving foot of a hill. The channel is bounded by perpendicular rocky walls varying in height from 50 to 150 feet, above which there is imposed an immense body of sine sand. The form of the land here would lead would lead one to suppose that the river, at some distant period, pent in by the rock formed a long narrow lake whose superfluous waters were discharged by a magnificent cascade, and in this opinion is in some degree corroborated by the figure of various sandy ridges and peaks which rise immediately above the rapid to the height of 5[00] or 600 feet—and bear an exact resemblance to the banks of sand which are often found in the borders of a lake. The length of this defile exceeds half a mile and our canoes after a part of their cargo was landed ran through it without sustaining injury.
Soon after passing the rapid we met hunters running up the east side of the river to prevent us from disturbing a herd of musk oxen which they had observed grazing upon the opposite bank. We put them across and they succeeded in killing six of these animals upon which we encamped for the purpose of splicing and drying the meat. P. 70.
The country immediately below the rapid consists of sandy plans which were broken by small conical eminences also of sand and bounded to the Westward by a continuation of the mountain chain which we crossed at the Bear Lake portages and to the Eastward and Northward at the distance of twelve mile by the celebrated Copper Mountains. Pp. 70-71
The plains are crowned by several clumps of moderately large spruce trees (30 feet high) and there is considerable quantity of small dry wood standing on them. The channel of the river lies about 300 feet below their surface, its banks are steep and on a level with the species of syenite projects from under their superimposed bed of sand. This syenite I am inclined to think belongs to the transition series. The beds of the mountain torrents which in various places in this neighbourhood cut through the banks of the river and lined with fragments of variegated and spotted red sandstone composed principally of feldspar. There occurs also a kind of quartzy sandstone, having a coarse texture and greyish white colour which frequently contains enclosed small pieces of the red kind…. P. 71
John Richardson offers the desciption of Rocky Defile by the Franklin's Expedition ...
Saturday July 7th 1821 Coppermine River
Hoar frost in the night. Thermometer at 4 a.m. 40 [degrees F].
Embarked a little after 4 a.m. and at 7 came to the Hook’s encampment situated on the summit of a lofty sand cliff whose base was washed by the river. The Hook has only three hunters with him the rest of his band having remained at their snares in [Great] Bear Lake, but the size of his party was increased by Long legs and Cascathry with his family who had preceded us. P. 68