Thaidene Nene National Park

Day 3:

Eileen lake is, by far, the most beautiful large lake in the Barren Lands. The terrain is very hilly and there are lovely sand beaches in many places.

Day 4:

Although we'll be paddling twenty miles through Eileen Lake, there are no big crossings of open water - thanks to many islands, points, and bays.

Day 5:

We continue to paddle in a breathtaking beautiful area of small interconnected lakes, sandy eskers, and big tundra hills.

Day 6:

Up to 50 muskoxen were spotted on this trip in 2019, in 4 herds, 2 of which practically wandering into our camp! The timing of the trip is at the height of the breeding season for them. They utter low, grumbling roars that carry for miles if it isn’t very windy.

Day 7:

At many of our campsites, we’ll come across a lot of archaeological material – primarily arrowheads, spearpoints, and stone knives, some of which may be thousands of years old.

Day 8:

Today, Thaidene Nene National Park is uninhabited and remains of the most remote areas of pristine wilderness left in the world. The nearest towns and villages lie hundreds of miles away in every direction.

Day 9:

There is decent fishing almost everywhere on this trip, and in a few places it’s really good. Arctic Grayling, Lake Trout and Northern Pike are available!

Day 10:

We are likely to see moose, grizzlies, black bears, tundra wolves and wolverines. Most tundra wolves are white in colour so they are easy to spot this time of year in the green and red tundra colours.

Day 11:

White sand beaches line these small interconnected lakes and old-growth spruce trees are scattered along the lake shores. We plan to spend the entire Day 11 hiking in this exquisite Shangri-La and looking out for muskoxen.

Day 12:

Our float plane arrives around noon to take us back to Yellowknife. We say goodbye to this land of remote tundra lakes, and abundant wildlife. Back in Yellowknife, we meet up for a farewell dinner and cold beers (after hot showers)!