Day 1 | coppermineriver2014

Day One: Wednesday, July 23rd, 2014 – Rocknest Lake

Due to widespread forest fires, the worst seen in the Northwest Territories in at least 30 years, Highway 3 from the south into Yellowknife was closed this day. These fires burned 3.5 million hectares (or 13,500 square miles). Fortunately, the Goltz family was able to get through with their van and cargo trailer on Monday afternoon. Doug Majaesic and Gregg Providence arrived in Hay River at 7:00 a.m., and Ruth Dubois took us to the Merlin Carter Airport to catch the famed Buffalo Airways 1940s vintage DC3 to Yellowknife. I had the privilege of meeting up with Brad Mapes, a younger colleague of the Hay River/Diamond Jenness High School and President of Aurora Wood Pellets Ltd., a new firm establishing a sustainable pellet producing plant in the south Great Slave Lake area. Among other things we chatted about Bern Will Brown, the noted Canadian northerner of Colville Lake, who Brad had visited not too long ago, but who has passed away at age 93 on July 4th, 2014. I had the privilege of working extensively on Brown’s last book, End-of-Earth People: The Arctic Sahtu Dene (Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2014). In the airport terminal I also chatted for a few minutes with “Buffalo Joe” McBryan, founder of Buffalo Airways, noting I was a childhood buddy of his younger brother, Michael, who was killed in a car crash back in 1970. We reminisced about some of Hay River’s early days in the 1950s and 1960s.

It seemed strangely incongruent to be standing in a bustling little terminal with planes, trains and automobiles close by, realizing later that day I would be on some beach on the edge of the arctic Barren Lands preparing for an adventure of a lifetime.

We lifted off at 7:30 a.m. for a 40 minute flight to Yellowknife, north across Great Slave Lake. Met by Dwight Goltz, we drove down to Old Town for breakfast at the Harbour B&B where the Goltz’ had been staying since Monday. The smoke over the whole area was quite intense, limiting visibility to but a few miles, sometimes less. We did a little shopping for supplies and checked in with Air Tindi. Unloading the gear was quite the procedure, sorting out what groupings would go on which flight, weighing the many pallets to ensure the maximum capacity given bodies and materials for four charters over three days.

Later in the afternoon we went back to the B&B for an early dinner then gathered at the dock for a 6:30 p.m. departure on the Caravan 208. On board was Doug Majaesic, Greg Providence, and myself, with Ted, the Air Tindi pilot, and Luke Goltz acting co-pilot.

The flight north encountered very thick smoke even at high altitude. We spotted many fires north of Yellowknife, some showing intense red-orange flames. Flying through the dense bands of dark smoke at various levels produced a very eerie feeling. Did this foreshadow things to come?

We flew directly over Max Ward’s lodge on the north shore of Red Rock Lake (Ward is a famous northern aviator and founder of Ward Air), and then circled over various spots along the shoreline of Rocknest Lake to find a suitable landing beach and staging area for the trip. We spotted two camps with sets of canoes on the beach—fellow adventurers this late July. After setting down close to a small sandy beach on the shore of the lake at the base of a snaking esker of approximately 50 to 70 feet high, we unloaded the cargo, bade farewell to pilot Ted, and had hopes of seeing three more flight with passengers and cargo over the next two days. We quickly set up camp, tested the water for fish, had a snack and retired for the night about midnight—still full daylight, muted only by the dense smoke shrouding the whole area.

John Richardson, Surgeon-Naturalist with Franklin, 1820-1822.

Chapter Three: "On Snowshoes to Rocknest Lake, June 4th – July 1st, 1821"

July 1st, 1821 Rock Nest Lake

Fine clear weather. Recommenced our journey by dragging the canoes across the ice, into a piece of open water, which the Indian yesterday supposed to be the commencement of the river, but which proved to be merely a channel running across, amongst a range of sandy islands. In the course of the day, we crossed several such channels, making the intermediate portages, often, on detached and fragile pieces of ice, with infinite hazard, not only to the safety of the goods, but even to the lives of the men.

The Indians having conducted us to a deep bay, from which they said the river issues, acknowledged that they had mistaken the route, but Mr Franklin having ascended one of the highest hills in the neighborhood, & discovered another deep bay to the northward -- & two men being sent to explore the passage returned with the agreeable information of having seen the river issuing from its bottom—and we resumed our march after delay of three hours. One of the dogs escaped from us here and went in pursuit of a deer [caribou], to such a distance that we were unable to recover it. Whilst we halted a white wolf chased two deer upon the ice, but was scared from his prey, when just ready to seize it, by the barking of our dogs, otherwise we might have had a liberal share of the products of his chase.

In the course of our march through the bay, we passed close to the foot of the Rock-nest, which in one point of view bears an exact resemblance to the very remarkable hill in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh named Salisbury crags. Toward the evening we embarked upon the river, but had not descended far, before we were obliged to cut a channel through the drift ice, which had blocked up a part of it narrower than the rest. Soon after passing this barrier we came to a strong rapid, which the canoes ran with safety, after being lightened. We then encamped at the mouth of a small stream which issues from a lake that lies at a short distance from the banks of the river. Direct course and distance today NEbE ½ E 4 miles. The Coppermine river at this place is about 200 yards wide, 8 or ten feet deep, with a rock bottom and strong current. Both banks are well wooded, but on the right side, at the distance of a few miles, there is a high range of very barren hills, which the Indians report to be a continuation of the barren grounds. pp. 59-60.

Sir John Franklin, May, 1821

Early Preparation to Decend the Copppermine River

Franklin writes,

“Wednesday 13th - The Men returned from the Copper Mine River having left Dr. Richardson on the borders of Point Lake, where the goods were deposited in the most convenient situation for embarkation when the water opens. Dr. Richardson informs me the snow its till of greater depth in many parts near to his present encampment than it was at any time during the winter about the house, and his Indian hunters suppose the ice will not be removed from Point Lake for a considerable time.

"I therefore think we shall not have to convey our stores along the ice to the end of this Lake because nothing could be more fatal to the prospect of success in out undertaking than any delay after the party & stores are collected there. Every mile gained is important and every hour employed in advancing is of infinite value to persons in our situation, whose time for active operations is extremely limited.

“The reindeer are seen in large bands near to the doctor’s tent, and his hunters killed four on May 10th. I am therefore inclined to hope Akaitcho’s party will furnish us with a tolerably [sic] quantity of provision before we can embark. It seems the female deer and their young only have as yet gone to the northwards, and male remain in the southern woods."