Nahanni

I had been planning this trip for sometime.  A couple of white-water courses, COVID delays, but finally made it.  Caught a direct flight from YVR into Yellowkinfe, had a nice bannock breakfast wrap at Birchwood Coffee and headed back to airport for short flight to Fort Simpson.  There the rest of the paddlers convened, met our guides and sorted out gear.  Unfortunately, I forgot to pack my single malt, so chose to go on the second flight and see what was available in the liquor store in Fort Simpson.  Luckily they had an Oban, but paid the price of our second flight being cancelled due to smoke.  That night there was a lot trepidation as to whether our pilot would axe the next days flight as well.  The next morning, he decided it was worth giving it a go and we did indeed land above the falls to join the second half of our group. 

The first couple days were some short hikes around the falls and some paddle refreshers.  Then we set out on the portage.  Was actually quite a reasonable portage, with a long boardwalk section.  We finished early, geared up our canoes and set off.  Forth canyon was one of the tricker sections of the trip.  Water was lower at this time of the year and everyone made it thru.  Our first campsite was Vera creek. 

The next day was a bit colder and rainy, but still a very enjoyable paddle through the beautiful pulpit rock and the gate where we had lunch.  Our destination that evening was painted rock canyon. We had further days at Dry Canyon creek, Lafferty creek, finally at last camp.   The canoeing through first canyon was utterly spectacular.  We had a brief stop at the hot springs, and pulled out at Nahnni butte and were shuttled back to Fort Simpson.

Enjoyed a nice group meal watching a fine northern lights display before flying home the next day. Enjoyed a few hours exploring yellowknife imbetween flights (Fishy people was a great spot) with some new friends.

Somehow Nahanni managed to live up to all the hype and expectations.  The scenery was varied and beautiful.  There were only bugs at the last campsite.  The cooking (which I did not have to partake in) was better than expected (only 1 portage makes a big difference)  and the Canadian/Nahanni River team was great.  I thought the whitewater was approachable, less technical than Stikine but perhaps would have been a different story at higher levels.  Overall 7 nights in the wilderness was a wonderful reprieve from reality and a beautiful finish to one of our best summers.