Day 11 - July 14
Sunny, 20C

Slow start to the day.

After breakfast, we hike back to the cabin and do some filming. Once that's done, we pack up and head downstream. Around the bend from the cabin, we stop at the junction of a river to do some fishing. We catch a few lake trout, but the fishing isn't great.

Brendan with a "typical" Lake Trout

There's a long, uninteresting stretch of river where we stop several times to check out potential campsites. None are terribly appealing, though most show signs of previous use by aboriginals. There is also evidence of more recent use by modern day travelers as well. The surrounding land is quite flat and swampy. We speculate that the terrain is a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes and our theory was proved anytime we stopped.

We push on because we know there's a nice site coming up where we stopped last trip. Just before we reach our destination, we pull up to investigate another site that shows promise. I'm keen to try this spot as there's a wolf walking along the shore in this direction. It turns out not to be a great spot for setting up camp. There are not very many places to pitch a tent and the only spot the might work has an active den right beside it. We choose not to disturb the wolf and continue on downstream. Our destination is on the left bank of a 90 degree turn in the river. A rock face rises sheer out of the river and there are some very nice flat stretches of tundra beside a creek bed that empties into the river. The last time we camped here, the wind was howling. We were thankful for the shelter offered by this location.

Today was a fairly long one and by the time the tents were pitched and supper was done, it was sunset - and what a sunset it was. The sky absolutely blazed in colour. Kyle and I ignored the call to supper and grabbed the cameras. While we took photos, Deb and Brendan ate supper and went into the tents. After Kyle and I wrapped up, we went back to eat and clean up. As we headed to the tents, the sky was already starting to lighten up again. Days nearly 24 hours long play havoc with photographers intent on filming spectacular sunsets.