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I ran across this "old school" -transcribed from VHS - video on YouTube. Perhaps because I'm old, I really enjoyed it. Paddling and portaging through beautiful, rugged country, rarely visited. The tandem paddlers - Alan, Dave, Ann, Wendy - were instrumental, years ago, in starting the...

I always did well with Mepps, like Paddling Pitt. Small for grayling, larger for trout. Maybe a five of diamonds for trout, or pike. These are not sophisticated fish. -wjmc

Access - at the moment, I don't believe Ft. Smith is feasible as an access point for the Thelon, assuming you are intending to use a "hard shell" canoe which would need to be carried externally on the aircraft. There is still a Loon Air in Ft. Smith, but it is now a small, one man charter...

Not to be morbid, but old graves are significant reminders that people once lived - and died - in country we now look upon as wilderness. Graves, adult and child, Roundrock Lake, NWT The Tlicho (Dogrib) Dene from the area north of Great Slave Lake make a point of visiting these old graves...

This old pickup truck marked the north end of the portage between Yen and Fishtrap lakes (just south of Great Bear Lake) in the NWT. Unexpected, as this is about 300 kilometers (180 miles) from the nearest road. It was a relic from the original ice road to the Echo Bay mine on Great Bear...

The old guy - 1999 Swift Raven in Royalite. Capacious, durable, all around boat for lakes and rivers. Not a whitewater boat by modern standards. Has survived many routes which lacked water. Here on Buchanan Lake, Saskatchewan. The new guy, 2023 PakCanoe 15 solo. I am impressed after its...

A most curious cow. Some years ago, paddling on the upper Thoa River in the south central NWT. I had seen a number of moose in this infrequently travelled area, some a little wary, some vaguely truculent. Then I paddled past a point in a small expansion of the river, and spotted this cow...

Funny - opened that site, and it has two photos of different people, both identified as P.G Downes. Neither is Downes - the people pictured are Lopizun and Zahbadese, his two Chipewyan companions on the "Sleeping Island" trip. I agree Sleeping Island is a great read, and his journals are even...

I believe Mr. MacGrady is twitting me over my caption.

Met this friend of Elon's on the Taltson River last summer.

Another Puddle Jumper fan here. Inventive route design, some tough traveling with less drama than many YouTubers. I will confess to having uttered a few impolite phrases myself when tangled in north Saskatchewan alders and old burn. wjmc

Given the trip length of 200 km (193 on the Jackpine site), and the fact that they pass through Eyeberry Lake, it's clear that this trip must have started just below the last falls on the upper Thelon ( a few km above its junction with the Elk river) and ended above the Thelon Canyon. I don't...

In keeping with the Saskatchewan theme - fall colours on Brabant Lake, September 16th. Not a lot of reds in this area, but the yellow and gold of the birch and aspen make a nice contrast with the evergreens.

Also of interest is "Nahanni Journals: R.M. Patterson's1927-29 Journals" edited by Richard C. Davis. Of note, the fact that Patterson did not reach Virginia Falls by canoe and paddle alone on his first journey, as is described in The Dangerous River. -wjmc

Definitely a paddler - we found a note from a group led by Lightfoot in the cairn at Kazan Falls in 1984. And he had done several other northern rivers -wjmc

I think the answer is "yes". Canada's Back River - regarded by many as the most challenging Barren Lands river- has been paddled in a 17' Coleman, purchased at the Yellowknife Walmart. See https://www.rayjardine.com/adventures/1999-Back-River/index.php Hikers and climbers may recognize this...

Possibly an Arctic Hare? They are seriously big bunnies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_hare wjmc

If the coordinates you were given were lat/long, rather than UTM grid, I don't think a map would have been involved or that datum would have been an issue. Pilots looking at paper maps is a pretty rare phenomenon in the north these days. They probably just took a GPS reading at the site, or...

Yes. A friend of mine from Germany was over this summer paddling the Kazan for 7 weeks. And a couple of American paddlers on myccr - Tom-o and Marten - have done extended Canadian trips this past summer. Perhaps you could get in touch with them regarding their experiences? The Canadian site I...