The Twilight Zone

Monday, July 28th, 2014

After the kind of wet day we’d had yesterday and a good evening visit, we decided to get up and out a little later, so we were on the water by about 7:30am. The day’s paddle took us into what we were calling, The Twilight Zone. This was a section of the river that was not represented in maps in Michelle Swallow’s book, The MacKenzie River Guidebook. Somehow, this section of about 30 minutes of longitude was not there, so we paddled on trying to keep an eye ahead for sandbars and islands.

We paddled into The Twilight Zone with a combination of that Scottish Mist from above and steam actually rising off the river because it was so cold. Through the day it rained in varying amounts down over our three canoes and it soaked us and chilled us. In a way, the weather set up some kind of combination of bitter determination and desperate resignation in most of us that we would bull our way through these last stretches of the mighty MacKenzie River on our way to Inuvik.

After about three hours of paddling, we pulled ashore for a bio break and Merle quickly got a fire going. At that point I could barely get my fingers to move I was so cold. Having had these 12 or so operations on my fingers and hands over the last several years means the circulation is compromised at the best of times. Based on yesterday and today’s paddle, I’ve determined that I’ll do something like this trip again, but not in a climate where my hands can get so cold and hurt this much.

After half an hour’s warming, we climbed back into the canoes for another three to four hours paddling into the steam and mist to reach Tsiigehtchic. We had done about 55km when we pulled into the mouth of the Arctic Red River where we were met by Anita, who works for the local tourism group and just happened to be at the river at that moment. We piled into here truck and she took us the short ride up the hill and into town to either the Northern Store or the Tourism Centre where we could warm up.

We arrived on the MacKenzie River side of the village, but the boat ramp area is a few hundred yards up the mouth of the Arctic Red River.

<img src="https://mackenziedehcho.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/dscn4414.jpg

Looking up the hill toward the little village of Tsiigehtchic.

A little warmer and with a snack from the store in our stomachs, we walked back down to the windy, bald, open boat launch area where we were to camp for the night. The wind was at us again with a vengeance but we were feeling better and got tents set up and dinner made, canoes pulled onto the shore, fresh water into our storage containers, and lunches planned for the next day.

Our camp site kitchen at Tsiigehtchic.

Gene wandered over to a small camp on the shore close by, where a family was preparing their fish catch for the day. He brought one back that he’d bought ($20.00 for a dried and smoked Cony fish) and it was very tasty indeed.

The fish camp belonging to the MacDonald family.

After dinner, Bob, Richard and I went over too and chatted with Nellie MacDonald who, with her family, were gutting, filleting or stripping, and then drying and smoking the fish – White fish and Cony fish. The remnants of the dried fish carcasses are used for bait on one of their winter trap lines for Martin. Bob bought a fish and there was some discussion about stopping here on the way back to BC for some more.

Cony fish and White fish.

Cutting strips of fish for drying.

Strips of fish and filleted fish on the drying racks.

Bob was invited into the smoke house and Nellie showed him the different kinds and sized of fish she had for sale.

Once the filleted fish are dried and smoke, the skeletal part is cut off and saved to use as bait on the family’s trapline as bait for Martin.

We’re prepared as much as we can be for the next two day’s paddle. I’ll have on all the warm clothes I brought with me and hope there is no wind. It will be cold though and it may go down to zero Celsius at some point over the next two days – according to the weather forecast that is always posted in the Northern Store for all to see.