Mountain River White Water Rafting, Canoeing: Canada

The Porter crested a mountain peak and the earth fell away beneath us. Looking out the window I could see a small valley open up with a lake nestled in its centre. Punctuated by bays and ringed in willows it was true to its name, Willowhandle Lake. As we circled lower preparing for our landing the peaks that we had been flying over only moments before were now towering above us. We touched the surface and water splashed up from the floats showering the shore in a cascade of water that produced a rainbow of colour. The colours matched that of the flowers that dotted the shoreline, pinks, reds and yellows against the blue of the sky and the greens of the slopes.

After the sound of the plane had died away our group stood among the gear and canoes on the shoreline and marvelled at the sights around us. The plan was to paddle to the end of the lake and portage to a creek ominously called Push-Me-Pull-You. As we arrived at a small stream, no wider than the hull of a canoe, the reason for this stream’s name became clear. I stared in wonder and disbelief at one of the tributaries of the mighty Mountain River.

I spent the evening wandering the meadow surrounding the creek, observing the birds and listening to the sounds of the mountains. Two caribou approached our camp and examined us with curiosity before heading off down the valley. As I prepared for bed under the midnight sun, I was already anticipating what sight lay ahead.

After breakfast we began pulling our canoes down the creek. At first it was tough going, but small trickles would periodically rush into Push-Me-Pull-You gradually increasing its volume until the boats were floating comfortable. It was great fun navigating the canoes through the maze of channels, dodging bushes and negotiating corners. Eventually we could paddle along properly which was a welcome relief as the spring fed waters were quite cold on the feet.

As Push-Me-Pull-You merged with Black Feather Creek we donned spray covers and picked our way through class I and II rapids that wound through short box canyons and rough scree slopes. Occasionally we stopped to fish for trout and grayling in the clear eddies and spotted two big bull moose and one grizzly bear from the canoes. As Black Feather Creek flew into the Mountain River our watery highway tripled in size and the current raced past. The creek was fast, but the Mountain pushed up with its broad shoulders and we felt exhilarated as we were caught up in its current and carried downstream.

The Mountain is a paddler’s dream. Fast current and braided channels at the top of the river test your navigation abilities. Weaving from channel to channel, we would try to choose the braids that carried the most volume and after the first day we became familiar with the speed of the current and experts in anticipating our next manoeuvre. Gradually the gradient increased and we crashed joyously through haystacks on our downward descent.

As the river grew in volume, so did the waves and our confidence and we gladly tackled bigger whitewater. Sticking close to the shore we could easily shirt the largest whitewater but on hot days we would seek the refreshment and adventure of the waves.

The mountain scenery was breathtaking in the upper reaches of the river we paddled down a broad valley flanked on both sides by rugged mountains, painted a myriad of colours and roughly chiselled at their peaks. There were places called Big Red, The Football Field, the Moonscape, and one of my favourites, the Fountain of Youth. Cache Creek, at the mouth of First Canyon was full of hidden treasures bathed in artesian springs gushing with frigid spring water. Paddling into First Canyon creates a doorway into a passage full of sharp angles, swift water and at its exit, our first significant rapid. A sharp bend in the riverbed pushed the river up against a steep canyon wall. We scouted and weighed the pros and cons ... There are times when the best choice is lining this rapid. However the water level was perfect, the day was warm and we were primed so we decided to give it a go. My partner and I executed an enviable back ferry and with a cool splash of water and a rush of adrenaline, turned deftly into the safety of an eddy at the bottom of the rapid.

We rocketed through a roller coaster of big waves and fast flowing current to the mouth of Second Canyon where Battleship Rock lies stranded on a gravel bar. We made this spectacular place our home for the night and took some time to explore the area. The most energetic of our party elected to hike to the top of a peak that looked down on our campsite. From the summit they could view the valley from which we had paddled and what lay in store for us in the days ahead.

At the end of Second Canyon, where the Stoneknife River rushes into the Mountain River, the volume increases once again and silt began to cloud the once clear water. Through Third Canyon we ferried from the inside of one bend to the inside of the other, negotiating some challenging whitewater and catching some air time off the tops of the waves. As we sped toward Fourth Canyon, the river seemed to pick up speed, but the river valley became wider and the wave trains became smaller and fewer. Fourth Canyon was a whitewater puzzle, all right angles and swirling water that was easily solved with the aid of all the skills we had garnered over the past week.

The mountains began to fade and the river changed its personality. Ridges framed the braided channels and water birds paddled about in the back bays as we kept our eyes open for moose. We stopped at the hot springs after drifting lazily through Fifth Canyon and some of us chose to take a soak. We camped that night below the canyon walls, searching the gravel bar for fossils at the mouth of the Ganya River.

The valley opened up as we entered the Mackenzie lowlands and the black spruce dominated the horizon. As East Mountain appeared, the roar of Sans Sault Rapids announced the presence of the Mackenzie just around the corner. We paddled a short distance up the mighty brown river to our final destination. The motor boat ride back to Norman Wells was enjoyable as we settled in to watch the shores of the Mackenzie go racing past. It gave us time to inundate our driver with tales of our adventures and cajole each other about our exploits on the Mountain River. I turned my gaze up to the mountains and I couldn’t help but plan my next northern river adventure.

Reading List

Your guides will carry a small reference library that will include field reference books. Following are some books for winter reading:

How to Shit in the Woods, by Kathleen Meyer. 10 Speed Press, PO Box 7123, Berkeley, CA 94707. This is available from our Northern Best sellers List.
After the Ice Age - The Return of Life to Glaciated North America by E.C. Pielou. This book may be ordered from us.
A Naturalists Guide to the Arctic By E.C. Chris Pielou. The University of Chicago Press. Chicago.

A browse through a bookstore will likely yield many more Yukon-related books.

Nahanni River Adventures, Nahanni offers exceptional expeditions by raft and canoe on the great rivers from Alaska to Nunavut including: South Nahanni River, Tatshenshini River, Alsek River, Firth River, Snake River, Wind River, Stikine River, Burnside River, Coppermine River, Horton River, Mountain River, Yukon River, Taku River, Gataga River and Sea Kayaking and whale watching at Point Adolphus, Alaska, over-looking Glacier Bay National Park.

Our expeditions encompass Nahanni National Park (South Nahanni River), Kluane National Park (Alsek River), Ivvavik National Park (Firth River), Glacier Bay National Park (Alsek River), Herschel Island Territorial Park (Firth River).

Nahanni River Adventures operates in Alaska (United States of America), Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and British Columbia (Canada).

Nahanni.com is the online presence of the company, Nahanni River Adventures Ltd.

Nahanni River Adventures works with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society to ensure the environmental integrity of our wild places.

Neil Hartling, founder of Nahanni River Adventures, is also the author of: Nahanni, River of Gold...River of Dreams. Alaska to Nunavut - The Great Rivers. Nahanni River Guide. These books may all be purchased through Nahanni.com.

Common misspellings of the name are Nahani, Nahannie, Nahanie, Nahoni, Nahonni.
Nahanni River Adventures.