Paddling Canada's Subarctic

With more and more people thirsting for adventure, some ill-prepared canoeists are venturing onto the barrens. This land, although gorgeous beyond belief, is mercurial in nature, and her daughters, the rivers, don't suffer fools gladly. If you have never ventured onto the tundra, consider a guided trip, or start off with a river like the Thlewiaza where you are in and out of the tree-line and never forced to paddle big open lakes or violent dangerous rapids. A river like this is a good place to shake down your outfit and practice for a longer more remote barrens trip. Good river descriptions can be found for all the major arctic rivers but the Thlewiaza in the book Canoeing Canada's Northwest Territories: A Paddler's Guide by Mary McCreadie (Hyde Park, Ontario: Canadian Recreational Canoeing Association).

Travel guides are available from the arctic tourism offices for Northwest Territories (800-661-0788, 867-873-7200) and Nunavut (800-491-7910, 867-979-6551).

Time to Travel
Start your trip as soon after ice breakup as possible (about the first week of July) but phone to ensure that you aren't going to find solid ice. You should try to be off of the river by mid-August, which is the beginning of fall and when the weather can become a problem.

Safety
You will meet few, if any, other people on your trips. Don't count on any help and plan in what I call a "double-redundant" fashion. In other words, have backup plans in case your primary safety plan doesn't work. For example, I carry a VHF radio to talk to airplanes. I have an extra battery for it, and if it fails I have a Personal Locator Beacon, which can be used to summon help in the event of a total crisis.

Permits and Regulations
No river permits are needed. However, you will need a fishing license. Check to see which areas the river you choose to paddle flows through. On our Thlewiaza River trip I needed Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Nunavut fishing licenses. Be sure to register and deregister your trip with the local Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). If you are using an air-charter company to start your trip, give them a detailed itinerary as well.

Wind and Weather
Be exceedingly cautious of any large lake crossings, as the wind can spring to gale force in seconds, turning lakes that were as smooth as mirrors into violent storm-tossed oceans. A spray cover is mandatory in my opinion; not just for the rapids and the huge lakes but for those days when it's pouring rain and ready to snow—Yes! It can snow on the barrens in July. The water is freezing cold; any swim here has the potential to end in a fatality and hypothermia is a constant threat. Be prepared for the possibility of freezing temperatures at night and hot days with swarms of mosquitoes and blackflies.