Nicholson Lake - Dubawnt River, 2km Below Snow River Confluence
Distance 27km [583km]
Portage 0 [12]
Very Fast Water 2 [30]
Rapids 3[22]
We woke up to every canoeist’s least favourite thing, a headwind. It was bitterly cold as we packed up and set off against the wind to cover the five kilometres we were not able to do yesterday. Once we reached the river proper we had another morning of rapids. There were three main ones the longest being on a double S- bend of over two kilometres. They varied from Class 1+ to Class 2+ and on two occasions were split by islands in the river. Both these times we went RR avoiding large holes and huge waves. The significant thing was the extremely fast current and to quote Bill Laymen [2002] the river was “really hauling ass”. Certainly if you were to go in you would be swept away forever. At the foot of the rapids was the ruin of a cabin and a grave.
Lone above ground grave beside an abandonned cabin below exit rapids from Nicholson Lake, in permafrost below ground burial is almost impossible
The country today has been awesome, a beautiful gorge with steep sides opening into wide open vistas then steep rocky hills and small clumps of spruce with the river sweeping through it all. Just before entering our first rapid we saw our first caribou, standing proudly alone on the hillside. We also had banks of ice and snow on either side of the river, appropriate considering the very cold day.
Black spruce still manage to survive in occasional small clumps
Isolated clump of black spruce
About 2.30pm we came to a lovely beach camping spot and as I was soaking from the waves washing over the canoe in the rapids we decided to stop early. It turned out to be a fortuitous decision as almost immediately the wind strengthened and it started to rain. To make matters worse, I lost my foothold on the rocks and fell into the cold water. Despite the lack of trees John managed to rig up a clothes line and by dodging the showers we managed to get things pretty dry. Great finish to the day when John caught a 5kg lake trout, our first, which made a delicious meal.
Camp Day 25, in a land of no trees, clotheslines are a bit more of a challenge
The fisherman
Cooking the catch