South Nahanni River N O R T H W E S T T E R R I T O R I E S
THE SOUTH NAHANNI’S canyons are bigger, lon- ger and more impressive than any other Arctic river I’ve paddled. They have wildly varying char- acters, from the powerful whitewater of Virginia Falls and Fourth Canyon to the quiet waters and sheer vertical walls of the Gate and towering buttresses of First Canyon. They are magical to paddle through and better to explore on foot. The whitewater is the real highlight of the Na-
hanni. If you start your trip at the Moose Ponds in the headwaters of the South Nahanni or the Flat Lakes on the Little Nahanni, you’ll have three days of nearly continuous technical rock gar- dens that push what can be done with loaded tandem canoes. For experienced whitewater paddlers, it is kilometres of pure fun. The river quickly grows in volume and below the access points at Island Lakes and Rabbittkettle the ex- citement comes in the form of big waves and increasingly stunning scenery.
Keep an eye out for Two tufa mounds are a short hike away from the
Rabitkettle River. These mounds of sandstone- like calcium carbonate have been built up by hot springs for 10,000 years and are up to 20 metres high.
Don’t forget A wide-angle camera lense. For a day of the best
scenery available to a canoeist you can’t beat the day through First Canyon, starting at Dead Man’s Canyon.
Routes Most People fly from Fort Simpson into one of
five put-in points. For trips of three weeks that start with three days of whitewater put in at the Moose Ponds or the Flat Lakes. The lower access points deliver you to a higher volume river with big waves rather than rock gardens. Outfitters will take people with novice whitewater skills, but the more whitewater experience you have, the more you will enjoy it. From Island Lakes it is three weeks with lots of time for hiking. From Rabitket- tle Lake, and the start of Nahanni National Park, it takes two weeks. For the last two days of the trip the South Nahanni leaves the MacKenzie Moun- tains and meets the Liard River and your pick-up for the three-hour drive back to Fort Simpson.
24 n C ANOE ROOT S fall 2007 TOP PHOTO: IAN SCRIVER/BELOW AND HEADSHOT PHOTOS: MARILYN SCRIVER
MARK SCRIVER has been guiding for Black Feather since 1984. He is the co-author of Thrill of the Paddle and has paddled the South Nahanni, Tatshenshini, Firth, Hess, Horton, Natla, Snake, Mountain, Moisie, Clearwater, Seal and Chuluut Rivers.
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