Koangok Narrows, Aberdeen Lake - Peqetuaz Hill, Aberdeen Lake
Distance 31 km [1059 km]
Portage 0 [20]
Very Fast Water 0 [40]
Rapids 0 [36]
We paddled through Koangok Narrows and crossed over to the north shore of Aberdeen Lake. It would have been a sunny day but for the heavy smoke which obscured both the sky and our ability to see into the distance. Apparently there are fires in the NWT.
There was no wind so we made good progress. It is more interesting travelling close to the shoreline and you sense you are making progress. About 11.30 am a head wind sprang up but it was not sufficiently strong to impede paddling. We stopped for lunch on a beautiful white sand beach. Though it was warm enough to enjoy walking in the sand in bare feet there were still a number of snow banks along the beaches. By early afternoon the headwind had strengthened and we were working hard. By mid-afternoon we were approximately eight kilometres short of the end of the lake and decided to camp rather than keep fighting the wind.
Lunch stop at a beautiful sandy beach 15km SW Peqetuaz Hill
Kate set up lunch while John contemplated a swim
One of the few times we have gone barefoot the entire trip
Our camp site on another ‘goose meadow’ was amazing. In front of us was a broad area of cobbles that have been “graded” by rafting ice-sheets. Directly behind our camp was a ‘wall’, several metres high, of small boulders pushed up by ice in winter. Way to the north was the Peqetuaz Hill, a steep hill of sandstone conglomerate. It was a wild and desolate scene which has its own kind of beauty which unfortunately cannot be captured by camera.
Relict ice pushed ridge formed when Aberdeen Lake was higher than it is now
Ice pushed gravel and boulders along the shore in front of our Peqetuaz Hill camp
Camp in the lee of Peqetuaz Hill, Aberdeen Lake