Clarke River

Day 3:

As we descend the Clarke River, we notice it's more like a mountain river than a barrenlands river. There are many Class I-II rapids that are fun to run.

Day 4:

The Clarke River flows through rugged, scenic country that just begs you to go exploring. The hiking is wonderful with panoramic vistas everywhere you look.

Day 5:

For the most part, the Clarke winds through a narrow, steep-sided valley with scattered clumps of spruce. Beyond the lip of the Clarke valley the tundra rolls on, seemingly forever.

Day 6:

Approaching the Clarke's junction with the Thelon, stands of spruce trees become larger and more frequent.

Day 7:

The Thelon is a big, shallow, clear-water river with a strong current but very few rapids. It's the largest river on the tundra, by far the easiest to canoe, and easily the most magnificent.

Day 8:

The country along the Thelon differs markedly from the Clarke. It's a much larger river in a much broader valley. The scale of the country is huge! You feel very small and insignificant in this big landscape that keeps changing every day.

Day 9:

The Thelon Oasis is legendary as a wildlife paradise, long known to Chipewyan Dene as "God's country" as "the birthplace of animals" and when the world as created as "the place where God began".

Day 10:

There are also many archaeological sites on the Clarke and Thelon rivers where ancient hunters waited for the Beverly caribou herd to cross these rivers on their summer migration.

Day 11:

We’ll also visit late in our trip John Hornby’s cabin, and graves. Hornby, his 18 year old nephew, and another young man died of starvation here in the winter of 1927. The three graves, marked by crosses, are beside the cabin.

Day 12:

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