Wednesday 16th July

Crossed Mills Lake. For the first 2 hours it was like a mill pond before chopping up again. Had a snack at a rocky spot. Caught another fish. With my fishing licence costing US$40, I need to get my moneys worth!

Entered the river again, no more lakes, and found another decent campsite. Caught another fish. Hot and calm.
Tuesday 15th July

With less than 3 hours sleep, it was going to be a rough day, but a least the current had increased again. We had about 16km to get to Fort Providence where we stopped for two and a half hours. A friendly dog followed me for two hours and was sitting at the rivers edge when we left.

We paddled another 20kms before stopping on an island just before Mills Lake. And I proved my worth after catching a fish each and donating to the girls to cook. It was a good campsite!
Monday 14th July

Left the Great Slave Lake and entered the Mackenzie River. We were now on our final leg, 1800kms of it.

Our spirits were lifted by an increase in current. It felt good after having no help from the current. With another few kms we would be entering Beaver Lake. Another barrier in our way. We paddled for 25kms and stopping on another island before the big expanse of water.

The idea was was to camp early, try to get some sleep and then cross the lake at night when the wind dropped. By 8.30pm it was calm enough to do the big crossing. The lake opened onto a mill pond and was absolutely beautiful. We were headed toward the setting sun which occured about 11.30pm. The moon came up and the clouds and dying sun made the crossing magnificent. Certainly a highlight!!

We crossed the lake and arrived where the river narrowed at 3.30am. Although it was dark, we could still see. We crashed for few hours, and were up at 6.30am to face another day.

July 2008

Update for Sunday 13th July

Wind was still blowing when we left. It was cold and Alaine, who was in the front was becoming wet from the splash of the waves. It was hard work and our speed was down to 3 - 4 knots an hour.

Finally reached some water where 150 pelicans were floating and bobbing around. We found a camping spot on Island next to an old house. Lots of insects, but was okay after 7 hours of paddling. The girls had blisters and were a little sore. They paddled well.

Update for Sat 12th July

We finally left Hay River on calm conditions, although the forecast was supposed to be 20 knot winds. It was great to be in the water again and have the girls with us. The conversation might be a little better.

After a while we saw a canoeist chasing us. He was a local who wanted to know who we were.

We had calm conditions for about 3 hours. The lake was magnificent and the girls didn't know what all the fuss was about.

Then the wind suddenly picked up and we were headed into quite a rough time. The girls remained quiet. We managed about 23kms till we stopped and called it a day. We had paddled for about five and a half hours!!