Daily Trip Log Reports

July 19: day eight
Another perfect day in paradise. The sun breaks in a clear blue sky with little breeze. There are mare's tail clouds in the upper atmosphere hinting of rain, but it's beautiful now. Across the bay, three Bald Eagles cavort in the sky. It's hard to appreciate how big they are until a seagull comes up to give them a piece of its mind. Compared to the eagles, the gull looks like a sparrow.

The first glimpse of the Athabasca Sand Dunes is spectacular. Without warning, the dunes appear like magic as the Williams River rounds a bend. See More Photos!

Daytime temperatures for the entire time we've been out have been in the mid-20s and the humidity has been minimal. So far the weather has been great. The water is a little cool for swimming, but it hasn't stopped the boys. Once they're in all the way, they enjoy it. 

Another great thing has been how few bugs there seems to be. We've had a few locations where the blackflies or mosquitoes have been pesky, but overall there have been very few biting insects to complain about. We haven't used bug spray or our bug jackets at any time. Just after the sun goes down, the mosquitoes come out in force, but generally that's so late in the day this far north that we're normally in the tent.

As we work our way down the Williams River, we encounter lots of rapids that are not marked on the topographical map. The Williams has a lot more water in it than the Carswell did, so we usually have enough water under the canoes to make it down a stretch without having to get out and wade. The rapids are not dangerous for the most part, but they are very technical requiring a lot of travel from one side of the river to the other to stay in the deep, safe channels. Many of these sections are several kilometers long and are a lot of fun. One ends in a tricky section and we decide to wade down that last stretch. There's a nasty drop at the bottom which is rock filled and very likely to damage canoes.

The end of this day featured a really pleasant run on a long stretch of river that ends in a sharp left turn. Not long after rounding the corner, we catch our first glimpse of the sand dunes. Rising sheer from the river is a wall of white sand, about 100 feet tall. We arrive in the evening when the light is low and the long shadows across the drifts of sand is very beautiful.

July 20: day nine

We must have spent more energy yesterday than we thought, everyone is very reluctant to get out of their sleeping bags. There's no hurry to get underway today and our campsite is nestled in a nice stand of jack pine so the tents are in shade.While breakfast is being prepared, the kids finish their jobs early and spend some time inventing a batting game. The equipment for the game is simple - a suitably thick branch culled from the forest floor and as many jack pine cones as they can lay their hands on. The rules of the game are simple, whoever can either bat a cone all the way across the river to the other side, or whoever can make a cone do the most interesting spin gets to sit out doing dishes. The sound of pine cone cracking against branch seems to go on forever. Dad tries his hand at the game for a bit, but he's no match for the kids. In the end, Brendan wins the challenge because he both hit a cone the farthest and also managed to make one skip across the river.

Once we pack up and head out, we round another corner in the river and find yet another unmarked rapid. This one is an easy run and we eddy out a little down stream so we can hike on the dunes for a bit. There are a few interesting tracks in the sand, not the least of which was a couple of sandhill cranes that went for a stroll together. It's a fascinating landscape that looks completely out of place in this northern forest. 

Once we're back on the river, it doesn't take long before we run into yet another unmarked, significant rapid. By this time, we starting to make jokes about the cartographer who was responsible for this fiasco. There are a few possible routes down, but we don't like the looks of any of them and decide to line the canoes down the left bank. Lining can be at least as dangerous as running rapids if its not done properly, but both Debra and I have been teaching white water paddling for many years, so we've got the technique down pat.

The river continues to dish up many more rapids, most of which are pleasant entertainment. None are hard when handled with skill, but all have spots that could cause problems if the canoes are not controlled well. This is especially true since the river is so shallow and our canoes are so heavy.

We dipped the fishing lines in the river a few times and had the odd pickerel follow a lure to the canoe, but none took the bait. Nobody complained as the appetite for fish hasn't yet returned.

Kyle and Bendan Paddle along one of the quiet stretches between the rapids. See More Photos!

Towards the end of the day's stretch, we get to the next large section of dunes. It is significantly larger than the first section. Rolf and the boys head out to explore for a bit and strike out for a large dune visible on the far horizon. After about two hours, they return, indicating that they weren't able to reach their goal. As they got closer, it became apparent the dune is much bigger than it looks which makes it seem closer. Perhaps we'll all try to hike out again.

We're hunkered down in the "office" again and I'm typing in the dusk. A few black flies followed us into the tent (no problem because they don't seem to bite in an enclosed space). A more difficult problem is using the computer with the blackfies in the tent, they're crawling all over the computer screen and I'm having a hard time finding my cursor!