Grand Canyon of the North: South Nahanni River - NWT - Canada (part 2)

 If you don’t become the ocean, you’ll be seasick every day.

Leonard Cohen

Beautiful waterfall along the South Nahanni River
Stopped there for a small break

Bracing oneself to witness towering and sprawling canyons, hot springs, mountains, rapids, wildlife, alpine tundra, deep gorges, and waterfalls still doesn't completely prepare you for what one sees and experiences on the silty water of the South Nahanni River and its surroundings.  Leave the planning to the guides and the enjoying to you.

As a reminder from the previous post; we had to keep an eye out to make sure the fire across the river wasn't getting too close to us.  We ended up staying at camp all night.  We were very lucky.

In the morning, I found thousands of burnt spruce needles on tents, chairs, and along the beach.
  Probably from the fire across the river.

Eagle's nest

Interesting white hillside dotted with spruce trees.

The Dene – The People

Dene comprise a far-reaching cultural and linguistic family, stretching from the Canadian North and Alaska to the American Southwest. In Canada, Dene, which means ‘the people’ in their language, contain a variety of First Nations, some of which include the Denesuline (Chipewyan), Tlicho (Dogrib) and Dinjii Zhuh (Gwich’in – which I encountered in Inuvik on my way to the Firth River, Yukon). Dene are also known as Athabascan, Athabaskan, Athapascan or Athapaskan peoples.

In the 2021 census, 45,895 people identified as having ancestry of Dene origins. In that same census, 405 people claimed Apache ancestry, while another 445 claimed Navajo ancestry. The ancestors of the Apache and Navajo are said to have originated in northwestern Canada and migrated to the southwestern United States by about 1400 BCE. Like Dene in Canada, the Apache and Navajo are generally referred to in some literature as the Athabascans.

As a community, the Dene First Nations across Canada have reached some important milestones. In 1990, Dene languages became the official languages of the Northwest Territories. In September 2016, the Dene Government achieved the right to self-government.

The Dene people inhabit the northern boreal, subarctic and Arctic regions of Canada.  Their homeland reaches the Mackenzie Valley, western Yukon, northern parts of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alaska, and the southwestern US.  They were the first people to settle in what is now the Northwest Territories.  In northern Canada, there were ethnic feuds between the Dene and the Inuit.  In 1996, Dene and Inuit representatives participated in a healing ceremony at Bloody Falls to reconcile their centuries-old grievances.  

Young black bear

Collecting driftwood for tonight's fire.
Unlike the Firth River where we weren't allowed any burning...  

Either Salty or Sweet snacks always available on each raft.  Zoe rowing.

Linear background.

Stopping for a small break.  Sandy riverbank for a change.

The current is too strong so we got out of the rafts upriver and walked a short distance to camp
while the guides brought the rafts down.

Smokey sunrise over creek. 
I watched a mother Dall sheep with her baby walk across the cliff
on the left for about 20 minutes. 
They looked like they were heading to a cave where they are safe and cool.

Called The Gate (1,510 feet - 460m). a famous portion of the South Nahanni River. 
We will be hiking to the top of the left side. 
All life jackets tied to rope holding the rafts so they don't fly away
in wind storm and are easy to find upon departure.

A creek flows into the South Nahanni River before The Gate.

Another view of that clear creek. 
We mostly get our drinking/cooking water from these clear water tributaries
instead of the South Nahanni itself since it is so silty.

Cultural Landscape

Over the last 200,000 years the Arctic has seen repeated glaciation. Each period has left its mark on the landscape we see today. Since the end of the Wisconsin Ice Age, the melting ice allowed the South Nahanni Watershed to host a thriving ecosystem. 

Far greater than the sum of its landforms, Nahanni is a cultural landscape.  It is a place of deep and timeless significance.  Visitors are welcomed to the land by the Dehcho First Nations (public government for Indigenous communities in the Northwest Territories) whose ancestors have called Nahanni home for untold centuries. 

Peace and calmness are palpable once the plane is gone.  Time seems to stand still as you are immersed in true solitude.  You are in the land where mountains ring the lakes, and people have traveled by foot, dog team and moose skin boats. 

As you go down river, splash through wave trains, navigate tricky currents and pick your line through numerous rock gardens.  In calmer sections, take in the scenery and thrill of the sights as your journey ties into truly ancient routes. 

Farther view with Saxifrage in the foreground.

From halfway to the top of The Gate, view of the 'small' rafts.

From even further up.  Very smokey so colors are muted, grainy.

Broken up rocks all the way to the top. 
That very night, I heard a huge rock fall into the river. 
Wondering if it was one of these...

Survivor tree

Going through large crack in the rocks.

Same crack from the other side, when coming back down.

Very smokey but you can still make the color of the very silty river.
So different from the super clear Firth River of the past two weeks!

Natural oily pearlescence on the sandy shore.  Amazing sheen and colors.

Oily sheen with bird footprints.

White Admiral butterflies were everywhere in high numbers.
They often rested on my feet or legs.

Floating through The Gate, looking straight up

Can you say rugged!

So rough

Beautiful waterfall

It almost looks like stacked books.

A lot of tiny fossils in rocks.
Painted Rock Canyon

Still smokey in the morning.

Alluvial fan deposits from a huge storm a few years ago.

Tradition is that people leave something in the shape of a canoe or a paddle
with the names of all who went down river. As far back as the 1960's.
There are hundreds of them in a couple of small cabins.

The canyon is changing but it is still smokey.

Each canyon quite different than the other.  From limestone to slate, shale, dolomite and sandstone, each showing a different version of the relentless force the waterways have on them.

Another campsite, this one near an alluvial fan deposit.

Zoe getting ready to bake rolls

Choice of savory (bacon & cheese, left) or sweet (cinnamon, right)
She is a very talented baker - everything served on this trip made from scratch

My turn to canoe - wearing a yellow jacket in the canoe with Steve.

Canoe stops at fresh water creek to get drinking water. 
Don't even need to filter it. 
Thanks to this creek, the temperature at river level drops by what feels like 10F.

Everyone stopping by to get delicious water.
During summer, river water temperature is typically between 41-50F (5-10C)

Canoeists stopping by for a quick lunch (there isn't enough room for them to camp near us). 
The only other group we saw while on this river.

Kyle and Zoe making pancakes.

Lafferty Creek - small pools where one can swim.  Cool but not too bad.

Lafferty Creek.  Large boulders strewn around the pools.

Lafferty Creek.  
The canyon narrows and there are more small pools beyond.

Another panoramic view of Lafferty Creek area
This is where I was lucky enough to see a lynx while hiking around by myself near camp

This stainless steel 'thing' is our poop container. 
All of it gets taken back out of the park for proper disposal.

Kraus Hot Springs by the South Nahanni River.

Rocks covered with white growth in the hot springs.

Alfalfa seeds

Water 'diamonds' in green needle like grass.

Curious bear standing up to see what is coming down river.

Or do you prefer the sight of a wood bison?

A bit curious, getting closer to the edge

Leaves are already starting to turn orange.  Such short warm season up this far north.

Two sticks to measure how fast the river is coming up after some rain. 
It went up three feet in six hours.  All is well, we are camped well above that.

Last sunrise - end of the trip today.
Saw a moose cross the river but didn't have time to take its picture.

The small red boat is the one I will be taking. 
I, again, prefer to go slower, to see more.  Our drivers are both First Nation.

John Senior, a Nahanni Butte elder is our driver.

Erosion from ice and water - see all of the roots exposed?

Nahanni Butte (aka Strong Rock) across from where we take a plane back to Fort Simpson.
Nahanni Butte - population 87...

The Nahanni River has been used for centuries by the Mountain Dene for trapping and hunting while they were still nomadic.  They would travel down the river each year in handmade moose-skin boats to trade furs.  

Bisons on the airfield

Jenny (and husband to the right) is filling up the airplane after the first flight. 
She will be returning to pick up a second load.
They'll head to Antarctica on an 11 day flight journey
to work there during Canada's winter

I know it was a long delay posting this marvelous adventure.  Writing about it, even this late in the game, allowed me to relive it, savor it again.  I am all caught up until my next adventure which is currently in Tucson, Arizona.