Sifton Lake to Island Above R4 Rapids Hanbury River
Distance: 35km, Lining 1, Rapids 2 – [cumulative total 695.5 km]
InReach: Day 37 Paddled under leaden skies with occasional rain Ran two rapids, 35km Camped on small tundra island in Hanbury R Bugs bad! All well J&K
Camp: 63.649°N 105.955°W
Set out at 8.30am in a crosswind which accompanied us all day finally blowing itself out as we set up camp so we got the bugs in their friendly hordes. This morning we encountered two sections of fast water before reaching the first marked rapid, a class 1+. It was only short with a ledge on the right, we ran the centre sweeping to the right after the ledge. There were a several more sections of fast water before we stopped for lunch and for John to try catching a fish, he had a few bites by was unable to land one.
The river has been very convoluted today with numerous islands and peninsulas protruding into the main stream, the physical nature of the river together with the mist and low light levels has made navigating difficult, several times today we were uncertain of exactly where we were. After lunch we struck an unmarked class 1 rapid in a very narrow passage of the river, this we ran through the centre vee having scouted it from the canoe. We camped on an island a short distance before the next rapid as it will probably involve a portage and this we would rather tackle in the morning.
Fishing at a narrow point in the Hanbury. It is a very small river