26 August 2010
We have just spent the past six days paddling through a very special landscape. I call it special for two reasons: 1.) it contains vast tracts of intact wild lands and 2.) it possess a stark beauty unlike any other place that Dave and I have traveled in. This area is the Peel Watershed.
To give you a better idea of the area I am talking about, here is a brief description. The Peel Watershed is about 14% of the Yukon Territory. It is the apex of Canada's boreal forest, the northern end of the Rocky Mountain chain, and an unglaciated area known as Beringia. Animals that call the area home include woodland and barren ground caribou, wolverine, grizzly bear, the threatened Anatum Peregrine Falcon, unspoiled aquatic habitat, and many different kinds of boreal song birds. It is the traditional territory of the Nacho Nyak Dun and Tetl'it Gwich'in First Nations. The threats to the area include the extraction of oil, natural gas, coal, iron ore, copper , and other metals. The core wilderness area that CPAWS and many other Canadians are working to protect this 30,000 square km.
Our time in the Peel Watershed actually began while we were hiking through the Tombstone Territorial Park, as we meandered along the headwaters of the West Blackstone River. What started out as a trickle from a high mountain pass has slowly turned into large and often powerful river. Last Thursday we launched our canoe on the Blackstone River (shortly after the West and East Blackstone Rivers came together). The current was fast and the water level was high thanks to a recent 48 hour soaking rain. This fast current meant that our five-day planned paddle on the Blackstone turned into two days. Although it went by quickly, our time on the Blackstone was memorable. Dave and I were awestruck as we paddled through the light gray limestone and dolostone mountains of the North Ogilvie Mountains Ecoregion. This is part of Beringia, that area that was left ice-free during the most recent glacial period. The mountains have been shaped by long periods of weathering instead of glaciers.
The Peel River begins where the Blackstone and Ogilvie Rivers meet. We camped on an island right at the confluence. Here the river more than doubled in size. We suspect that the Ogilvie saw even more rain than the Blackstone, because we witnessed several large trees drift past our camp.
Downstream, near where the Hart River enters the Peel River, we had our first taste of class II rapids. As we worked our way toward Aberdeen Canyon, we paddled class II rapids and lined through or portaged around class III rapids. Ordinarily we would be up for running a few class III rapids, but the high water made the waves in these sections bigger than we cared to paddle through. This section of rapids exists because the landscape changed to sandstone and shale, characteristic of the Eagle Plains Ecoregion.
The approach to Aberdeen Canyon was hard work. We ran what we felt comfortable with, but mostly we lined the canoe along the river's edge. The lining was interrupted by the periodic need to push the canoe over shale ledges. At a lunch/scouting break, I spotted fresh grizzly bear tracks in the mud.
We knew we were near the canyon when the river narrowed down and large rock walls lined its edges. Eventually we reached an spot where it was impossible to line anymore. We needed to portage around the next two miles of river because we wanted nothing to do with the class IV-VI whitewater in the canyon.
Tuesday was entirely devoted to portaging. We packed all of our gear into our Granite Gear Immersion Packs and backpacks-- including strapping our helmets and PFDs to the outside. We shuttled our gear down the rough trail in two separate loads. Dave nobly took on the task of carrying the canoe. This was no easy task. It was a never-ending battle, pushing through the alder and birch branches overhead, while pulling feet around muskeg and out of mud puddles. It wasn't uncommon for Dave or myself to get mired in knee-deep mud. We usually traveled a quarter of a mile at a time. We would drop the first load on somewhat dry ground and head back to get the second.
All of this toil to move our canoe and gear was well worth it. Every once in a while we would catch a glimpse of the churning, roaring river below. The portage trail descended at a break in the canyon walls. Lucky for us, we didn't have to bypass the canyon entirely. We camped high up above the canyon, overlooking a calmer stretch of river. Today, we had the opportunity to paddle below the towering stratified walls of the Aberdeen Canyon. We spotted and heard several peregrine falcons. We enjoyed paddling in the swift current for several miles, admiring rock formations and waterfalls dropping over 100 ft into the river.
The landscape changed yet again as we left the canyon and passed the confluence of the Wind River. Now, we are in the Peel Plateau Ecoregion, witnessing the land that was shaped by the Laurentide Glaciers. Our camp is on an island in a spot where the river widens, broken up by countless islands and gravel bars. As we work our way toward Fort McPherson, we will keep you updated on our observations of this very special and wild place.
The world has very few vast expanses of intact wilderness, where rivers flow undisturbed and large mammals roam at will. This is one of those places, a place I want to return to, a place that should be protected. Right now, prospective mining is a threat to this expanse of intact wilderness. After seeing the area for ourselves, Dave and I agree that this area is worth saving. We strongly urge that it be protected.
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Concept Diagram
