Coppermine river trip

Yellowknife to Kugluktuk by canoe, summer 2005

960 miles in 38 days

Ray & Jenny Jardine

This year's canoe trip was 960 miles in length, and took us 38 days. We started in Yellowknife, capital of Canada's Northwest Territories. We paddled the Great Slave Lake, carried our outfit over Pike's Portage, worked up to Clinton-Colden and Aylmer lakes, then paddled down the Coppermine River, and finished at the native village of Kugluktuk on the coast of the Arctic Ocean.

44 portages totaling 15 mi.

710 mi of lakes and up rivers, then 250 miles down the Coppermine in 8 days.

Total of 5 days stormbound

A pull-all-the-stops, full blown expedition across an amazingly vast wilderness area, in fact one of the largest and most remote and pristine natural regions left on the planet. During the planning stages we asked ourselves the question: "How much adventure can we pack into a mere six weeks of free time?" We are both extremely pleased with the results. It was an unforgettable experience and one of our very best trips yet.