The idea of going on a Nahanni canoe trip had come up years ago; Jeff's father wanted to go, but Jeff was too young. I knew very little about the Nahanni River, and confess I had to do some research to even figure out where it was! Our plan was to do a trip on the South Nahanni River, starting with in the borders of Nahanni National Park in the Northwest Territories. Only a thousand people tend to visit the 18,400 square park each year, and access to the park is limited by the Canadian government. The Park can only be reached by air or water; there are no roads going into the area.

Jeff and I had already met most of the other people in our trip group before we set off for the Nahanni. The twelve on this expedition were from wildly differing backgrounds and levels of experience: Jeff, me, Jeff's parents, Lin Ward and Al Pace (Canoe North guides), Dave Hibbard and Karen Bergman-Illnik (Nahanni Wilderness Adventures guides), Frebis Hoffmeyer and Duane Falk, Signy Farncomb, and Jeff Osborne. The trip was a joint venture between Canoe North and Nahanni Wilderness Adventures. Lin and Al had had experience guiding on the Snake River (Jeff O. had been on their trip last year). Karen and David had Nahanni experience...this was going to be Dave's 39th trip on the Nahanni River! I found it reassuring to have so much experience in our group.

Lin and Al had organized several meetings with us before the trip to discuss the itinerary, equipment, and so that group members could meet each other; we would hook up with Dave and Karen once we got up to the Northwest Territories. At the meetings, I could sense all of us sizing each other up...we would all be spending two weeks in close quarters, after all, and probably under extreme conditions. Who knows what group dynamics would be like by the end of the trip?

Packing was a challenge. On the one hand, I wanted to take as little as possible so we'd have less to carry. On the other hand, I didn't want to be caught out on the river without a much-needed item...there weren't going to be any stores around from which to restock! We had also been told that temperatures could range from freezing up to sweltering, making packing even more interesting. I found myself agonizing over little details. Travel-size toothpaste or regular? Two pairs of socks or three? How many extra batteries should I bring for my flashlight?

We finally ended up at the Toronto International Airport, and met up with a few other group members before flying to Edmonton. I bought a couple of magazines during the hour and a half we waited in the airport for next flight. The flight to Yellowknife was shorter and in a smaller plane; there were only two other passengers outside of our group. We all pressed our faces to the windows as we passed over the dark outline of Great Slave Lake far below. Very strange to see so few signs of civilization (Lake Ontario would have been aglow with city lights by that time of evening). We landed in Yellowknife at around 10:30 pm (12:30 am EST), where we ran into Jeff Osborne, another group member. We were relieved to see all our gear arrive intact; it would have been a major problem if it hadn't. A hotel shuttle took us to the Yellowknife Inn. After a long day of travelling, we were all bushed and went to bed almost immediately.