An update for those of you who were following this thread:
My sister and I ended up renting a SOAR canoe from an outfitter in Iqaluit for $200 – about the price of shipping a Pakcanoe there and back. The SOAR is basically a canoe shaped rubber raft, very stable and forgiving, surprisingly easy to maneuver, but a pig to push through the water and a real grunt if there is wind. It was well suited to the fast flowing rocky Soper River, particularly for novice paddlers:
http://soar1.com/soar_16.htm(BTW, we also rented bear bangers and spray and had a SPOT and Sat-phone. Nunavut Parks are still evolving their protocols and this equipment may become mandatory in the future – check before you go. Also, while I’m at it, I’d like to mention that the service we received from Park staff in both Iqaluit and Kimmirut was truly outstanding.)
Only about 60 km of the Soper are considered paddlable – from Joy Mountain down to the coastal community of Kimmirut:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kimmirut-2006.jpgThe twin Otter flight in to Joy was itself worth the price of admission as we stretched the limits of VFR under a low ceiling. That plane landed on a short little rocky sandbar - I could throw a rock from one end of it to the other and I’d have trouble negotiating it with my Jeep! (OK, that’s hyperbole, but still…!)
The Soper is a fast-flowing little river. The run starts with some wading at Joy to get to paddlable water, then a DNR shelf, then flows right along with a number of RII/RII+ rapids, then finally spectacular Soper Falls, the brackish Soper Lake with its high-tide "reversing falls" that spills in salt water, and Kimmirut.
http://www.visualphotos.com/image/2x454 ... erritorialhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soper_LakeRick took a charming Aussie family of 4 and a most pleasant American photographer type down the river in 2 SOARS and a Pakcanoe. My sister and I traveled as a separate party, usually in front of Rick’s group. As a single canoe we had to really lower our risk threshold so we’d hold-up at any “tricky” rapid so we could run them with Rick’s group. The security of having more than one boat (as well as Rick’s expertise) saved my sister and I some time and work lining and carrying.
The Soper River valley is a freaking awesome landscape.
http://nunavutparks.ca/english/parks-sp ... rview.aspxThere were still great chunks of ice in the harbour at Iqaluit when we arrived July 14th and the remnant of a snowdrift in the campground when we left on the 28th! The weather on the river varied quickly and dramatically as it does in the north and the mountains. Turns out that July is their rainy season, and lots of ice at sea this year kept the weather mostly miserable: rain that was sometimes mostly sleet, +3C at night to +7-ish during the day, strong gusty winds. We did have a couple of beautiful sunny calm + 13C partial-days too though.
Also, the Baffin Island mosquitos deserve a shout-out: big, tough and tenacious, they handle the wind and rain and cold like little jet fighters, coming at you mano a mano. I've been around some, seen some "bad" mosquitos, and I was impressed!
The unusual cold kept the Arctic char from running up the river – I caught one small one on the Soper. Partially redeemed myself with a beautiful little 3-pounder later near Iqaluit <smile>.
Rick, t’was a pleasure sharing the river with you Sir!