Hi, I was considering a June trip starting in Fort McMurray going down the Athabasca River and then going east along the sand dunes and south shore of Lake Athabasca to Fond du Lac.
I wanted to start June 1st and figured 8 days to Lake Athabasca. But now I'm wondering about ice conditions once arriving at the lake... my worry came about cause of the below wikipedia entry, which has an image of the lake labeled June 9th and there's still lots of ice in the image. It does appear to thaw on the west side first...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athabasca_ ... ncial_ParkSo anyone know when I could expect to find the lake open for paddling? Just wondering if shifting the idea by a week, starting June 8th (arriving to the lake June 16th say) would work or if I'd still be the same issue?
My other question if anyone knows, is just about drinking water or fishing on the Athabasca River, how bad is it that's it's directly downstream from Fort McMurray?, does filtering the water help... or any thoughts, I'm not usually too worried as it'll only be 7-8 days of my life, but wanted to check and get some thoughts.
j.