The Redstone River Exploratory Expedition 2009
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.
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