My Northern Adventures: Destination The Eastern Arm of the Great Slave Lake.

in #ecotrain6 years ago (edited)

Before becoming a homesteader in the Maritimes I called Canada's far North my home.

The most exciting of my travel adventures all originate in the North. I thought it would be fun to share a bit about my past adventures in the North. These experiences helped to shape who I am today.

This story is about our trip to The eastern arm of the Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada. I had the great fortune of being invited to catch a ride on a float plane and spend the weekend in a hidden place called Trappers Bay. This is a trip that not many get to make.

This is a place of solitude. You are completely alone with nature and that kind of silence is true gift.

About the Great Slave Lake

The Great Slave Lake is the 10th largest lake in the world. It covers an area of 27,200 km2. Its frozen for 8-9 months of the year so its a dangerous lake, hypothermia is a real threat. Its extremely important that you come prepared with the appropriate survival kit.

The Great Slave is the deepest lake in North America at over 2,000FT deep.

Fish Monster Lore

Huge 90 pound fish have been pulled from this lake and there is talk of lake monsters living down in the deep abyss.

There have been many reported sightings of a sea creatures over the decades. In Lutsel K'e the Chipewyan appease a nameless creature by boating past the creatures spot in silence while paying respect to the lake with tobacco offerings. source

Some time in the mid 90s during a recovery operation to located the body of a man who had fallen through the ice, two of the three divers reportedly saw a large animal which was described by one of the them as having an alligator like body with a head like that of a pike. The divers surfaced to ask the other Search and Rescue workers what it may have been, but no one knew. They again made their way to the bottom in search of what they had seen, but this time the sediment at the bottom had been stirred up making it impossible to see. The body of the man who had fallen into the water was never found. source

One of the most credible sightings took place in 2004 when a Roman Catholic priest, Father Jim Lynn, looked out from his home on the shores of the Great Slave Lake, near Yellowknife, and saw a strange object trailing a small speed boat across the lake. Lynn grabbed his goggles, curious as to what the object was. He described what he saw as a large dragon headed creature that rose six to eight feet above the water and moved at a very fast rate of speed. source

Float Planes

My son and I flew in on a small Air Tindi float plane, I am guessing the flight is somewhere around 350-400 Nautical miles from Yellowknife. My husband and some friends had boated in earlier in the week. The boat ride is quite an adventure, with a lot of shallow spots and rocks jutting here and there you've got to be really tuned in.

We hitched a ride on the plane that was flying in to pick the guys up my husband had boated in with. It would just be the three of us for the weekend.

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Riding in a float plane is an interesting experience. Watching the water quickly close in on you when coming in for a landing, is a very new sensation, you mind worries a little but the plane seems so agile.

This must be what it's like for a bird when it swoops down to grab a fish from the water. It is really quite a cool experience.

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Trappers Cabin

There is a very well maintained cabin here at the camp. but we slept on the Qween Merry and allowed the mice the cabin to have it to themselves. We did however have a battle of the mosquitoes at night and those little buggers can really impact your quality of sleep. Ryan and I would take turns smacking mosquitoes while the other snoozed. It was a long night.

The cabin. It was built in 1971 by a group of American Doctors. We are fortunate to have been welcomed out here to their small piece of paradise.

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Fishing for Dinner

An hour after landing, Our captain took us out onto the lake to catch our dinner. I caught one but it got free when we were reeling it in. Its been a long time since I have done any fishing. Fortunately the fish bite pretty readily around here so we were not going to starve as a result of my failure to bring home the fish.

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Kyle, our young fisherman was quickly successful, he caught our dinner for that evening.

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Nice sized Trout, perfect for the three of us. I am a vegetarian 99.9% of the time but out here I ate the fish. Our son who does not like fish also ate his. He knows that if you catch it - you eat it. The lake is bountiful with fish. You'll find Northern Pike, lake trout & grayling just to name a few.

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We pulled ashore to get a lesson in filleting and gutting the fish. Here is @xwalkran, showing us how its done. Everywhere you look you find something surprising and lovely, including this bright orange lichen on the rocks that paints the landscape.

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Nothing gets wasted. The innards of the fish get tossed to the large, healthy Seagulls. There is enough fish in the water around here for everyone.

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The mosquitoes - you can't see them - but it just rained and they are there in large numbers. The breeze on the lake was very welcomed as it provided some relief.

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You can see dozens of faces in the shapes of these dramatic cliffs. The scenery is primeval, the result of glaciation in North America and of a clearly visible fault in the earth's crust.

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This really does look like a little piece of paradise. The nearest populated location to where we stand is Lutselk'e, a Chipewyan community located on the south shore of the East Arm on Great Slave Lake. Help is very far away. You need to do things with care.

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Evening view from the boat. Total silence. Complete serenity. I did not capture it on camera but when the lake is calm, its like looking at glass. Perfect reflection. Sometimes you can watch moose swimming. @xwalkran has seen this often but it didn't happen on my trip.

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Evenings are spent whittling wood, roasting marshmallows and sipping cognac in front of the campfire. It never really gets dark here in the summer so the fire is more for pleasure than lighting the night sky.

You can hear the birds, and other wildlife scurrying around. Around here you'll see eagles, loons, seagulls and all kinds of other birds that I couldn't identify.

more scenery. The view around here is beautiful, no matter which direction you look in.

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Vegetation around here is sturdy, resilient. Very similar to the vegetation I came across in Iqaluit, Nunavut.

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The weather was quite unpredictable. It turned very suddenly from sunny to angry. We watched the fog close in and soon thereafter the ferociously pounding rain began.

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Yes or no, becomes a really serious question once you decide to venture to the outhouse just past the sign. Do you really need to go that badly? It's not the outhouse itself that is of concern, it's the bugs that live inside of it.

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I have become so accustomed to the silence out here that the hum of a plane can be heard in the distance, although not yet seen. We know its time to head home.

I would have NEVER done this trip without @xwalkran being there. I am so thankful for this opportunity. And for our son, he has had some really cool adventures.

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There she is, our ride home, A DHC-6 300 Twin Otter.A different larger plane from Arctic Sunwest arrives loaded with our friends that will be taking over the camp for a week. We greet them all, help unload the plane and then we are off.

And there you have it. The East Arm of the Great Slave Lake in Northern Canada. A place not many have the opportunity to visit. Should the chance come your way - grab it.

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[@walkerland ]
Building a greener, more beautiful world one seed at a time.
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Great story, beautiful spot. You are right - you ARE lucky to have been awarded that experience!

I'm not sure that is a twin otter though...I don't know my planes that well, but I think it is one propeller short for a twotter...

Anyway, lovely photos. I enjoy seeing how others enjoy the north :)

I think perhaps I just have the photos mixed up. The second to last one is not the same plane as in the last photo. I am NOT very knowledgeable about the specifics of motorized vehicles and should have looked harder before I finished up the story. Good catch. I'll take that one out. :)

I wish you hadn't...it was a fine photo. I don't even know for sure that I was right lol

no, you were right. It was a photo of the Air Tindi plane we came in on. I think I have it all in the correct order now. haha.

What a unique adventure in a lovely place! I especially like your observation about landing on the water in the plane being like the view for a bird of prey swooping down to the water. (I'd also wondered if you ever ate fish!)

Thanks! :) I eat fish maybe once a year. We didn't bring much food with us and the expectation is that you catch your dinner so there was little choice in the matter. There is very little edible vegetation to forage around those parts.

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that looks like such a cool place. I currently have a friend living in alaska and it looks very similar. i've been following her adventures closely. it must be such a strange awareness knowing how isolated you are from society or even the "help of civilization" should you need it. you're right, it makes us more care-full! thanks for sharing your trip. looks like a blast!

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