The Redstone River Exploratory Expedition
The Redstone River is unique in that it flows through an ancient non-glaciated wilderness corridor. This corridor is part of Beringia – the pathway from Siberia to the America’s that allowed for prehistoric migration of large animals and humans. Today, the Redstone is seldom travelled and our exploratory canoe expedition was the first of its kind in many years.
When the North-Wright Twin Otter touched down on Drum Lake the sun broke through a heavy fog bank. We knew we had entered a region of immense beauty – an area which is sacred to the Mountain Dene as it represents an important and historic hunting and fishing region. Our group of six canoeists had an easy paddle across Drum Lake and entered the outlet stream to the Redstone River. The outlet stream is abundant with arctic grayling, lake trout and dolly varden and so we tested our luck with fly-rods and were instantly rewarded! We arrived at the confluence of the Redstone and were surprised to find a flat, sluggish river with a low profile. It wasn’t until we rounded our first bend in the river on Day II that the Redstone showed off her true colours. Miles of continuous white-water challenged and thrilled our group in the shadow of a stunning mountain-scape which rose up all around us.
At the confluence of the Ravensthroat and Redstone River a sprawling mountain valley greeted us that was lush with green and flooded with sunlight. We explored a unique tufa / sulphur spring area and spotted moose, one grizzly and many caribou on the move. We scouted the mile long, vertical walled slot canyon which has a 90 degree left-hand turn at the entrance gate but found it to be completely runnable and so we launched our canoes and entered the canyon. The canyon walls easily compared the those of the Nahanni and at the exit of the canyon a series of huge standing waves made for a bouncy and exhilarating finish.
A wolf family visited our last camp on the Redstone as we awoke to barking and whimpering sounds. The cubs ran off playfully having been scolded by their parents! As we paddled out of the mountains we entered the Mackenzie Lowlands usually signalling a sluggish river ahead. But to our delight, the Redstone continued to thrill us with great speed, bouncy waves and glorious views all the way to the Mackenzie River. We drifted down the mighty Mackenzie basking in the arctic heat and reflecting on our incredible journey.
Featured Adventures
- Tischu River
Our exploratory trip on the Tischu River, a tributary of the Keele River
News & Events
- Fall Newsletter November 2011
We have just posted our 2012 Expedition Program and you will see that we have offered two new winter trips including an ice-road adventure to Norman Wells! We are very excited to be offering a Coppermine River Adventure – this was my first ever arctic canoe trip when I was just 18 years old! Other [...]
- Celebrate Sahtu
On July 23rd, The Town of Norman Wells, North-Wright Airways and Canoe North Adventures will host a celebration that will showcase the wilderness of the Sahtu Region and recognize the collaboration of effort to brand the Sahtu Region of the Northwest Territories as a tourism destination with national and international recognition. This event will highlight the [...]
- Great Bear River Exploration
This past summer, Lin Ward, Susan Casson, Matt Casson and Karl Schiefer checked out the Great Bear River. North-Wright Airways flew them into the First Nation community of Deline on Great Bear Lake. Once canoes were loaded they only paddled a short distance out to a camp right on Great Bear Lake. Karl and Matt [...]
- The 2010 Operator of the Year Award for the Northwest Territories
The award was presented to Al and Lin by the Minister of Tourism at the Northwest Territories Tourism Gala Dinner held in Inuvik on Thursday, November 25th…
- Our Outfitting Centre
It has been a long-standing dream of Canoe North Adventures …
- The Redstone River Exploratory Expedition
The Redstone River is unique in that…
- Canol Heritage Trail Exploratory Hike, 2009
At Canoe North, we are always intrigued with the prospect of a grand adventure…
- Ice Road
The trip took eight days and the last two days …
- Exploratory Trips
In 2009, we are planning two more exploratory trips…
- New Air Services and Canoeing Base for CNA, 2009
at the North-Wright Airways float base in Norman Wells…
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