Day 1 - July 4
Sunny, 22 degrees C

At 8:00 am, we arrived at the float Base at Air Tindi to unload our gear from the van and wait for the Cessna to arrive back from a previous flight. Debra and Brendan head back into Yellowknife to buy some last minute supplies for the trip while Kyle and help to load the plane once it arrives. We take off a little behind schedule and its not long before the trees dotting the landscape below dwindle to the empty barren lands on the way to the Thelon. The flight is smooth with few bumps until our pilot Darren descends near the Hanbury - Thelon junction so we can get a better view of any animals that might be spotted from the air.

As we pass over the Clarke River, we see a few significant ice fields lining the river with obvious channels cut through them. The landing on the last lake on the Clarke is smooth as silk. After unloading our gear, our pilot wishes us safe journey until we meet again in about a month's time.

After the drone of the Cessna's engines fade in the distance, we begin the process of assembling the seats, decks and thwarts from the 17 foot canoe which we had to remove in order to nest our 16 footer inside for the flight. Once that's done, we make a lunch and head out for a short hike to explore our surroundings. Along the way, we find evidence of old tent rings and a broken spear point. There's also an old caribou skull showing signs of wolf teeth.

Tindi's Cessna Caravan

We head down the lake and soon feel the current in the river speeding us down stream. There are a lot of swifts and easy rapids to negotiate, but nothing that would cause concern. There are lots of fish feeding on the river and the kids are anxious to wet their lines. We paddle for about four hours until we reach a bend in the river with a likely fishing hole and good campsite to stop for the night. Right across from us is a cliff face that's causing the river to turn abruptly and the water at the base of the cliff is deep, promising good fishing. Atop the cliff are the pristine dunes and eskers that add character to the river. It reminds us very much of our trip last summer on the Athabasca Sand dunes.

While supper is prepared the kids reel in Arctic Char, Lake Trout and Grayling - but we keep none. Once the supper dishes are cleaned up, we head to the tent for our first night on the river. It cools down a bit, but its still quite warm.