Hi,

For our 40th birthday our group is looking for a Bucket List style canoe trip to the Yukon/NWT in 2022. Our initial thoughts are Nahanni, Snake or Wind rivers. Looking to seek advice from the experts of this form as to which river you would recommend us to choose.

Here is a little more information on our group:
- We have been tripping together for 15 years, mainly in Ontario/Quebec and have strong backcountry tripping experience.
- I would rate our white water skills as beginner/Intermediate as we have ran White River, Upper and Lower Missinabe, Dumoine, Coulonge, and the Noire Rivers but these were all when we were in our 20s. For the last 9 years we have been sticking to lake trips in Temagami, Killarney and other routes in that area.
- GIVEN THIS WE PLAN ON DOING THIS TRIP GUIDED
- We are all in relatively good shape and are comfortable in the backcountry
- Looking for pristine beauty, remoteness, challenging (but not too challenging) WW and the opportunity for hiking.
- max trip length is 2 weeks

This will mostly likely be our one and only shot at this type of trip so we want to choose the best option given the above.

Any and all thoughts are welcome.

Thanks

Mountain

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Learning to paddle is like learning a language:
It's easy to learn the basics, but will you be understood in a strong wind?

Broken Skull

https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/nt/naatsi ... tiv/15act1

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Learning to paddle is like learning a language:
It's easy to learn the basics, but will you be understood in a strong wind?

If you go to the Black Feather website you’ll find descriptions of a number of Nahanni and other trips. The write-ups - and the additional information if you request it - will give you a good idea of the logistics required, as well as the river running skills involved. Then you have to decide whether you want to organize it all on your own or let Black Feather handle that part of the trip! It ain’t cheap but maybe since it is a bucket list thing, you and your crew can rationalize it!

https://blackfeather.com/canoe/nahanni-river-trips

The 23-day Broken Skull/Nahanni trip is longer than you want but there is an 11-day Broken Skull that sounds incredible and might fit in with your time constraints and difficulty level. The write-up notes that -



You can access the Broken Skull write-up here - https://blackfeather.com/canoe/broken-skull-river

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http://albinger.me/canoe-tripping/

Thanks True_North & yarnellboat.

I'm familiar with the Black Feather website: I came here looking for some insights form people who have been on these rivers.

I never looked into the Broken Skull, looks awesome. A lot of the group members want to do the Nahanni, how does the Nahanni stack up against these other "less known" rivers.

Whichever trip we do choose we will be going fully outfitted with a guide(s)...I know it will be pricey but YOLO

The Nahanni is an amazing river. Plenty of hiking opportunities-mostly up creek beds, a bit of ww, the falls, the canyons. Depending when you go and where you have been in Temagami, you'll likely end up seeing far more people on the Nahanni than you would in Solace/Yorston region of Temagami.

You'll see far fewer people on the Mountain, Snake, Wind or Bonnet Plume River. The Bonnet Plume is a pretty full on WW river and you have to be there when the water levels are right.

Lots of alpine hiking opportunities on the Snake and Wind. The Wind liking see less people than the Snake. The Wind is mostly current.

The Mountain is a nice river. Has the most ww (other than the BP), but the least hiking opportunities.

Have fun planning,
rab

All the rivers you listed will meet your listed needs.
The most important factors for the success of trips are your group and when going guided, who you sign up with.
If you rate your list in terms of priorities: pristine beauty, remoteness, challenging/not too challenging WW and hiking some of the rivers will be more appropriate and the company you work with should be able to match a river trip to your group priorities.

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Brian
http://www.JohnstonPursuits.ca

 

Did you end up doing a trip? We're booked for broken skull/Nahanni next summer so just wondering

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Trip reports from our adventures: https://ssprod.me/trip-reports/list-of-trip-reports/

Mountain. Spectacular, cheaper and far less people than the Nahanni. We found plenty of hiking opportunities. Also an amazing Outfitter at Canoe North Adventure.

Here is my
TR https://www.myccr.com/phpbbforum/viewto ... 24&t=46342

Jim Baird is putting out a YouTube series on his solo trip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lVYI3U6ezg

We did the Elk River with Alex Hall back in 2012. It was amazing and checks all your boxes.

At the time, Alex advertised this as his “secret” River.

Jackpine Paddle is running the trip now.

Here is a link, with a full description of the trip.

https://jackpinepaddle.com/expedition/elk-river/

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morning sun, it's good for the soul

I'm looking for detailed logistics to canoe both rivers in one trip next summer. Info would include flying in and out, time spent on river, type of canoes available to rent, cost, etc. Thanks for your help. We won't be using an outfitter except for gear and accessing start and end of river. Thanks so much!

Sorry, not clear which rivers you are considering?

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Trip reports from our adventures: https://ssprod.me/trip-reports/list-of-trip-reports/