Description: The Splits
After the whitewater, falls, wilderness, and canyons of the upper reaches, this stretch of river is vastly different, almost disappointing. Perhaps the best part of the reach is that one has time to reflect on all that has occurred in prior days.
Days of Travel
3 days.
Distance
76 miles.
Notable Features
Keep an eye out for bison!
Water Rating
If one is not used to canoeing braided rivers The Splits can poise something of a challenge. Finding the best route amidst the multiple channels requires a keen eye for estimating current, volume and extraneous factors such as sweepers and log jams. Nonetheless, by keeping to the main channel most people will do fine, even if, at times, it seems impossible to determine a “main” channel.
Other Quick Comments
As the valley opens one’s sense speed is fooled into believing that your boat is hardly moving. In fact, there are few stretches in this reach where the river’s velocity drops significantly. For the most part the boats zip along at a reasonable rate. Headwinds can be a factor.
**********************************************************
THE SPLITS JOURNAL ENTRIES
Monday July 19, 2004
Up at 700. Overcast, cool, clouds at about 100 ft over us. Everything in camp has a layer of sand, wet or dry. My tent weighs an extra pound or two. Breakfast is cereal and milk, except for K, who has oatmeal just because it is so wonderful. Packing up in a leisurely way… Bernie (the American who built a Yukon road) and apostles come by at 830 or so, headed up Dry Canyon Creek. We get away on the river at about 915, with the weather slowly clearing. Paddle through 1st Canyon. Musta done 2nd Canyon in our sleep? Lots of picturesque vistas as we float on a big river. Some great scenes with clouds curling below top levels of cliffs. K is down to his last film so I give him one of my last ones.
We reach Kraus Hot Springs at 1330 and leave at 1515. It’s a nice little pool that has been re-arranged a bit so a few people can lounge around in the water. There are some interesting bits of scum floating around in the pond, which is fed by water coming in from a few sources. J expresses great admiration for this spring, as it allows his somewhat weary bones to rest a bit. Gerbiling has its costs. There is a well-maintained cabin and a bunch of weeds and other plants that probably would not occur here but for the springs.
This is about the end of the big canyons stretch of the river and we are entering flatter country. Continue on until about 1730, then pull over as a light drizzle falls. We are about 23 km donwnstream of the Kraus Hot Springs. Crew of 3 Germans passes us in the evening. There are 3 other crews behind us – 5 red canoes guided by Henry, 3 rafts and canoe and inflatable canoe, and finally 2 canoes carrying Bernie and his disciples. Supper is freeze-dried sweet and sour pork, except for M, who prefers a straight rice dish. We are able to dissuade him from shaving his head and donning saffron robes… might be a little embarrassing down river. Camp 15 is at 61 14 9 and 123 43 48, 48 km direct to Blackstone. We could make it there in 2 days but it is more like 100km on the water. Some lazy hairpin meanders are ahead of us, and it will be some serious rowing for the Queen Mary. M says we’ve covered 491 km on the river except for maybe 10km missed when his GPS batteries quit. We are within view of Twisted Mountain. J would have liked another few hours or days at Kraus Hot Springs… some lightning at 1945-2000, then a serious rain a bit later. Everyone takes refuge in tents.
Lots of air traffic today; Twin Otter has gone over a few times and another small plane also. Hope no one is hurt or missing. Plane overhead again at 2030 – later we find out this was a backlog of flights to the Falls, where earlier smoke delayed some flights. More rain overnight.
Tuesday July 20, 2004
Up at 730 or so. Cool, overcast morning. Breakfast is oatmeal and coffee. They are all 2-cup mornings now. Pack up in the usually leisurely way…. And back on the river at about 1000. I row the raft for a while but this does not quite work as J is worried about the raft and I am a bit inexperienced, so J resumes the con after a couple of hours. Fortunately the Queen Mary does not hit any mines or get boarded by desperate pirates on my brief watch.
The river current is still strong, through a stretch called the Splits, where the river braids into multiple channels and then sometimes comes back together. It is not always obvious where the main current runs, or even whether there is a main channel. There are also lots of trees in the river, so despite the lack of white water, some attention still is needed. Once again there is a head-wind at times so the raft requires lots of rowing. Somewhere in the Splits we spot one large bison bull on river left. He is not doing much and is not alarmed by us.
Somewhere around mid-afternoon we leave the Splits behind and are into a delightful series of oxbows of mostly one channel, moving slowly. We float some of this for an hour or so and drift into view of Nahanni Butte. The village is not much to write home about, but the Butte itself is an imposing structure that is on river left for quite a while. We debate stopping at the village site but instead float on the confluence of the South Nahanni with the Liard River, which is very muddy. From here on the river will be a muddy lake moving at a stately pace towards the Mackenzie. A herd of 31 bison shows up on the river bank just downstream of Nahanni Butte on river left side. They plunge in and swim to the other side, with little but their noses showing above water. An imposing sight. A white-throated sparrow has either been following us down the river or there is a good population of them along the river. It sings its sweet summer song every day.
Pull over at 1900 on a sand bar on river right. Good camping spots have gotten scarce. We have a great view of Nahanni Butte across the river. Mosquitoes around but not too bad. The sky has been overcast nearly all day but clear in the evening. Supper is beef stew (freeze-dried) and rice for M, who is showing some faint Buddhist tendencies. Not sure if Buddhists are allowed chocolate bars, beef jerky, peanut butter, cheese, sausage and pilot biscuits, which all figure prominently in the diet. Lots of flights to the Falls because 2 days were lost due to smoke. The tourist companies are catching up. Camp 16 is at 61 3 4 and 123 20 6; we are 58.5 km from our last camp up river and about 40 km from Blackstone. Moose Ponds seem an eternity and half a lifetime behind us.
Bed-time around 2215. J and M report that 4 bison showed up at about 2245 on the upstream end of our sand bar, then swam off across the river. I remember some splashes and snorts but figured it was one of my compatriots. A boat also cruised by at some point in the evening with some chatty folks on board.
Wednesday July 21, 2004
Up at 645. M up early and has pancakes underway. Coffee has to wait as the master chef gives it a lower priority. Possibly because he doesn’t drink it, the bastard. Cool morning, cool enough for a fleece. But mostly a blue-sky day; sun should burn off the low fog. The tents are wet due to condensation overnight.
Leave this last camp-site at about 850; J is already underway with the raft. Paddle for an hour and a half, then float for a while with the fighter craft linked to the mother ship for an hour. We arrive at Blackstone Territorial Park at about 1400. Takes a while to unload the raft, canoes, and gear. We set up for one more night at the campground. M and J leave in M’s Toyota pickup at about 1600 for Ft. Simpson. K and I get camp set up, shower, and spend a bit of time sorting gear. Shower feels very nice indeed. We deflate the raft and take apart the oar-frame. K retires to his tent at about 2000. M and J back at about 2100 with the two trucks. Dusty, tiring drive. The local mosquitoes are a little too affectionate. Lots of raspberries near our camp-site.