Aug.18: Tufa Mounds and first night on the Nahanni

After a breakfast of coffee, hot chocolate, muffins, yogurt, and Alpen, we packed up and portaged our gear and canoes across to the Nahanni River from Rabbitkettle. At one point I made the mistake of trying to bend down to pick up an fallen paddle...and couldn't get back up. Fortunately Duane was right behind me on the trail and helped me get to my feet again, else I might still be there on the trail, pinned helplessly beneath the weight of my drybag. :-)

Some groups preferred to start further upriver, from the Mooseponds, but that part of the river was recommended only for experienced whitewater enthusiasts. In the first 150 km of what is known as "The Rock Gardens", the river drops over 2,000 vertical feet. Most Nahanni river trips tended to start from Rabbitkettle or Virginia Falls. Our canoe trip would take us eastward through the park from Rabbitkettle Lake through to Blackstone Landing (in Blackstone National Park). From Blackstone, we'd travel by van to Fort Simpson, then fly to Yellowknife, and then back home to Toronto via Edmonton.

Before starting our trip on the Nahanni, our group hiked to the Tufa Mounds (also known as the Rabbitkettle Hotsprings), which are located near the west boundary of the Nahanni National Park. Carl Lafferty, park warden, took us on the hike. Carl was accompanied by a young warden-in-training named Jonathan. It was a great hike, and I found Carl an entertaining and informative guide. The 5 km trail took about four hours and included a ferry across the Rabbitkettle river on a cabled boat. Carl gave us his talk about bears and encouraged us to make a lot of noise during the hike. When things got too quiet, he would occasionally cup his hands around his mouth and make a whooping yell that would echo around the valley. During the hike we saw a snowshoe hare as well as Arctic vegetation such as mountain cranberries, bear berries, sage, and soap berries (also known as Buffalo berries).

The Tufa Mounds are made of a soft material composed of mainly calcium carbonate which has been deposited from the spring water issuing from geothermal vents. Each mound is covered with delicate, scalloped terraces which are so fragile that visitors must take off their shoes before venturing out upon them, and only five visitors are allowed on the mound at a time. Water trickles down over these miniature terraces, and more calcium carbonate accumulates over time. The mounds are scattered with the tiny skeletons of rabbits and other small prey, leftover from meals of eagles and other predatory birds.

The ridges felt good beneath our feet (lots of foot exfoliation!) as we walked over the South Mound. Sadly, the North Mound was closed to visitors because of too much damage caused by previous visits. From the top of the mound, we had a good view of the Nahanni River, with lots of excellent photo opportunities. Several of us were already regretting not bringing more film.

I asked Carl about his last name since I had noticed the name Lafferty appearing quite a bit on my Nahanni map, and he confirmed that places like Lafferty's Creek and Lafferty's Canyon had been named after some of his relatives. Before we left Rabbitkettle, I pulled out my penny whistle and played a tune for Carl and Jonathan as a "thank you" gift. Carl, who is part of a music group, seemed to enjoy my playing and vowed to learn how to play the penny whistle himself. :-)

We had a quick lunch and a swim in Rabbitkettle. It was cold, but not as cold as the river would be. Dave gave us a talk about communication on the river, and how to handle emergencies. We all wore life jackets (they were a must, whether or not you were a strong swimmer or not), and all gear was tied securely into the canoe; you never left anything unsecured, just in case of a canoe dump. I packed my camera in a Ziplock bag, put that in a small Tupperware container, and then packed that in another Ziplock bag. Next time I'll opt for a Pelican case, a waterproof hardshell container specifically designed to protect expensive equipment like cameras.

After what seemed like endless final fidgeting of gear and talking over of last-minute details, etc. (we later came to refer to these sort of activity as "milling" :-)) we finally got on the river!

Jeff and I paddled together; I was bowman, Jeff was in the stern. Although I had had a fair amount of paddling experience, I confess I was terrified for the first fifteen minutes or so. Paddling on the Nahanni was nothing like paddling on Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park. The Nahanni seemed to be a living thing, constantly moving, and unpredictable, at least compared to a flatwater lake. As I paddled, I was constantly aware of water swirling in odd patterns around me with changing currents, boils, and mini-whirlpools. Every few minutes a boil or swirling eddy would catch our canoe and shift it to one side or one side or another. We were constantly making small (sometimes big) corrections in our paddling to account for this. Sometimes we would paddle through an especially large boil and I could feel the canoe lift slightly, the bow shifting as we seemed to "skid" over the water. It took some getting used to.

We camped on the river that night. Since most of the river water contains the Giardia lamblia parasite, we always had to pump our drinking water through a special clay filter mechanism. Al and Lin had a hand pump, a larger version that the one Jeff and I took on canoe trips. It became a ritual for a group member to pump water every morning, and often when we first arrived at a campsite. We needed water for cooking, hot drinks, and for filling our water bottles. Another ritual was Happy Hour, which occurred just before dinner. Al was a potter during the winter, and he had brought small glazed cups which he called "Adventure Cups", each decorated with a different pattern and which we could take home after the trip. As we sipped various beverages from our Adventure Cups during Happy Hour, we'd rehash the day's events as well as discussing upcoming plans. We divided ourselves into two groups, the Wolves and the Bears, and took turns helping preparing meals and cleaning up afterwards.

On this first night on the river, Ginny prepared a scrumptious meal of pork tenderloin over the campfire while Jeff O. served up his appetizer: crackers with cheese and sundried tomato. Dessert: Duane's chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. Before the trip, we were also each asked to bring materials for one appetizer, one dessert, and one liqueur.

Tonight was also marked the creation of the first camp latrine (Rabbitkettle had an outhouse). Basically, a camp latrine consists of two holes. One is for answering Nature's Call, and the other is for toilet paper. After doing your business in the first hole, you use a shovel to add a layer of soil. We'd usually put a tall stick nearby to help the group locate the site, and you could hang your hat or jacket on the stick as a sort of "LATRINE IN USE" signal. Before leaving each campsite, the toilet paper is burned and both holes are filled up with dirt, with an effort being made to replace the top sod plug intact.

Some of you may be shuddering in horror by now, I'm sure :-). To tell you the truth, however, I remember worrying about this aspect of the trip, but didn't find it nearly as bad as I had anticipated. Males definitely did have an advantage over females in this aspect of canoe trip life, however, especially in particularly mosquito-ridden areas. (!) Those concerned about this side of canoe tripping may want to check out a book written on the subject.

Fires were usually confined to a collapsible fire box which we carried with us. The goal is to always to leave each campsite without any traces that we were there. I was amazed at the lack of garbage and other items left behind by previous occupants at any of our campsites...each time we pulled up on a gravel bar to camp for the night, it looked as if we were always the first ones to ever camp on that site.