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| As I think I said, the back country (the bush) is still there. Not as wild as when Judy and I used to get dropped in, but still basically the same. The longest trip we had after being dropped into the arctic was 7 weeks. At the end of that time, we were down to sugar - it was in a big chunk so we would re-grind it when we needed it. Of course, we had a moose that we were taking out, and we had finished eating the caribou. And, I can't say that we were hurting, because every day we would go out and pick blueberries for breakfast - and put a bit of the remaining sugar on them. I can't describe the intensity of the taste of the arctic blueberries - it has to be experienced. Oh, and I forgot the arctic grayling.
Canada has some great country. A person has to do his research, however. Some of the country we visited was really remote in Canada. The year after the Great Slave Lake trip, I took my cousin, who had never been on a trip like that, up to Yellowknife. We were dropped a couple hundred miles NE of there and floated the Lockhart River - and got picked up again. We found a few remains of the old Hudson Bay explorer days. Portaged around a waterfall. We had been dropped in with my old Zodiac - the same one as in the pictures. Caught a lot of fish. I'm not too concerned with bears, but maybe that's because I generally carry the .458 Winchester magnum. After using that for guiding, I have a lot of faith in it. A 12 ga. with slugs (NOT 00 buck!) is just fine at close range, however. I had to shoot a bear once with one prior to buying the .458, and it worked just fine. But, again, it is extremely rare that you would be bothered by a bear. The only place that is a bit more questionable is a place like McKinley Park, where the bears don't have much fear - but even then, it is extremely rare. (I did almost get eaten once in the park, however - G)
To me, the arctic is a special place. No trees. Practically unlimited daylight in the summer. (In the winter, I would occasionally jump into the airplane if I had a three or so hours free and ride out to one of the crews just to get up high enough to see the sun in the middle of winter. That made a very big difference in how I felt for awhile.). You can actually drive to the arctic north of Dawson, Yukon. We've been part-way up that road. Not a bad road either. If you are planning to hike and camp way back in grizzly country, when you cross the border make sure to tell them you have a firearm. And, important - when they ask what for, you say - protection from bears.
Anyway, hope you make it up there! | |
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All the talk about fish
