Yukon Territory - North/Black/Liard River Canoe Trip, Background Information

Where it is

First of all, the name "Liard." My dictionaries give the pronounciation as "Lee-AHRD," though locals in the areas along the river I've been to usually seem to make it rhyme with "Baird." I use the dictionary pronounciation, you can take your pick. In French, Liard means "black poplar." It was named by the early explorers after the trembling aspen and poplar forests paddlers see on the lower river.

The Liard is an Arctic Ocean drainage, emptying into the mighty Mackenzie River at Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories. The Mackenzie empties into the Beaufort Sea to the north near Inuvik, NWT. The headwaters of the Liard (including our run) are in the Yukon down the eastern side of the western continental divide. Several feeders of the Yukon River, which also heads up in the Yukon Territory, drain the divide mountains to the west side. The upper Liard drains the Pelly Mountains, which make up part of the southeast corner of the Yukon Plateau. It, and the Peace River to the south in B.C., are the only rivers to cut through the Rocky Mountains in the USA or Canada.

The Black River is one of those headwater streams, a small feeder that flows slightly east of south into the Liard about 100 river miles (160 km) upstream of the town of Watson Lake, Yukon. Watson Lake is just above the B.C. border, about midpoint on the Alaska Highway. We used it as our staging area for the trip (Future link -- Watson Lake location map). The whole watershed is in a large roadless area with the Robert Campbell Highway to the north and east, the Alaska Highway to the south, and the South Canol (Canadian Oil) Road to the west. There are dirt roads marked on the topos that follow the Liard upstream a ways from Watson Lake, and snowmobile tracks that continue on past the mouth of the Black, but despite this, the area gets little visitation from man.

What it is Like

Until recently all visitors would have been hunters, fishermen, and some trappers in the winter. A mining company is now doing some exploratory sampling in the area, and much of the land we saw in the headwaters (above Black Lake) is staked for claims. There is lots of wildlife -- moose, bear, caribou, plus small mammals like beaver, mink, and marten, as well as birds. The fishing is quite good for lake trout in the lakes, and arctic grayling in the lakes and rivers. It is not a 'fish with every cast' type place, and fish sizes aren't huge, but how much can you eat?

In the headwaters, few of the mountains have names. I only found seven named peaks on the almost 5,000 square mile 250K series topographical map of the headwaters (13,000 km square Finlayson Lake quadrangle, 1992 printing). In fact, some individual mountain ranges don't even have names. Mountains go over 7,000 feet (2,135 meters), though most are about 6,000 feet (1,830 meters). We started paddling at over 4,150 feet (1270 m).

We actually put in on the North River, the longest and largest feeder to the Black River, as there is no access to the upper Black River. The North River watershed is also at the continental divide, the western slopes of the mountains northwest of North Lake feed the Pelly River, a Yukon River feeder. The North River flows essentially south for about 30 miles (50 km) to the Black River. That also flows south for another 30 miles (50 km) into the Liard River. The Liard flows southeast for about 100 miles (160 km) to the small village of Upper Liard, just a few miles from Watson Lake. We drove to Watson Lake, flew to our put-in, and paddled back, almost to the car.

The Rapids

There are A LOT of rapids in the North and Black Rivers. Below North Lake you'll find gradients to 80 fpm (15.2 m/km) with mile long or more (1.5+ km), continuous, class 3 to 3+ rapids. There is a set of big class 4 (or worse) drops just below Fire Lake -- probably unrunnable for most people paddling tandem loaded open canoes. Rapids continue with 10 miles (16 km) of 50 fpm (9.5 m/km) gradient, mainly class 3. A class 5+ waterfall about eight miles (13 km) below the class 4 section is also a portage. Below that is another half mile plus (1 km) of heavy rapids in a canyon, then the gradient eases up to some class 2 sweepers and log jams in a braided section above Black Lake. After Black Lake is some class 2 or maybe 2+ big wave and hole dodging. We didn't use them (much), but spray decks would be highly recommended because of long wave trains everywhere above the Liard River confluence. The Liard stretch is big, flat and wide open, and usually has very fast current.

Access

Fire Lake, about 14 river miles (23 km) below the last North Lake is another three mile (5 km) long, but wider lake -- about 2/3 mile (1 km). Surface elevation is 3,567 feet (1,087m). "Fire" is the spelling on the topo maps we have so that's what I use here. The Yukon Geology Program, and the mining company doing exploration there, both use the spelling "Fyre," and I've been unable to find out where it comes from.

Black Lake, 20 river miles (32 km) downstream, is small, 1.25 miles long (2 km) and half mile (.8km) wide. Elevation is 2,949 feet (899 m). A shorter, technically easier trip (fewer and easier rapids) could be had by flying into either of these lakes. You would still have the two portages to contend with if you flew into Fire Lake. The mouth of the Black River, at the Liard River, 26 miles (41 km) below Black Lake, is at 2,500 feet (762 meters). The takeout, 93 miles (150 km) below the Black confluence, is at 2,000 feet (610 meters). The whole run is about 157 miles (253 km).

We spent 12 days on the water, three of them as non-paddling layover days. The whole run could be done in as little as six days (under good weather/waterlevel conditions), but much more time is recommended. We averaged 30 miles or more (50 km) each day on the big, fast, wide open Liard, but only averaged about 15 miles a day (24 km) on the two upper rivers. You'll see in the journal section that we seldom pushed off in the morning before 9 o'clock, and usually took out before three in the afternoon. Figure on requiring at least a day less travel time if you put in at Fire Lake, and three days less if you put in at Black Lake. I'd still take some extra time and loaf.

Season

For this area the peak snow melt runoff for rivers is usually early to mid June. The 'window' of runnability is very narrow, probably limited to a late June or early July put in at North Lake. The river is bigger below Fire Lake so the season would be extended a bit, possibly up to two weeks later, for flying in there. A Black Lake put-in should be possible even a bit later than that. The vagarity of weather, combined with difficulty and flow sensitivity of the run will make this a tough one to hit with the headwaters at an optimum level. I hope we weren't just lucky, but I'm beginning to think we were.

North Lake is less than 400 miles (650 km) from the Arctic Circle so the days are very long. Daylight averaged almost 20 hours when we were there. That elevation, that far north means clear nights usually freeze, and snow could fall any day of the year. It can happen, but is not real likely as temperatures are usually higher during cloudy weather. Wind might be a problem on the Liard, though it wasn't for us. The upper lakes are small enough that wind would not limit travel on them.

Scenery

There is lots of mountain scenery in the upper section, but they get farther away after reaching the Liard. The mountains are close to the water up in the headwaters, but the Liard plain is pretty wide. There are several canyons to paddle through on the North and Black River sections, some with sheer rock walls for sections up to a mile in length (1.5 km). There is one five mile long (8 km) braided section (with sweepers and several log jams) that ends at the mouth of the North River, and a few short braided stretches on the bigger Liard. It is very hard to figure out exactly where you are on the map in any braided section because such areas often change from year to year.

There is good hiking in the upper section where the tree line, about 5,000 feet (1525 meters) in this area, is easily reached. Following animal trails when you can makes it easier, though such trails are usually discontinuous and often seem to be going at right angles to your preferred direction. Down lower, hiking to a view is usually harder because of more vegetation and the open country is that much higher above you. There are also more extensive swampy areas lower down. There are some low hills to hike up for a view on the Liard.

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