Yukon Territory - North/Black/Liard River Canoe Trip, Trip Report

Chapter Five -- The Falls to Black Lake (To a 56kb Text-Only version, no pictures)

Day 6. Friday, 4 July, 1997

Foggy and cloudy, but it cleared off and warmed up quickly. Oatmeal for breakfast. On the water at 9:30.

North River below portage enlarge me (20kb)

Fast current helped us cover distance quickly, but the gradient picked up to the 50+ fpm (10 m/km) range about 2½ miles (4 km) before Waters Creek. Not long before the Waters Creek confluence,

Sinking ship above falls enlarge me (27kb)

John and Dennis swamped totally in one rapids with big, hard to avoid waves. They had also mentioned seeing what looked to them from the airplane as a possible big drop of some kind immediately after an island below Waters Creek. (Falls Area Map) Hank hadn't seen it, probably because of plane angle, but did remember seeing what looked like a river-wide ledge drop down near the bottom of the left channel around the same island. We stopped at the top of the first big island and hiked down. Yup, there was a 15 foot (4.6 m) sheer water fall there, with a couple other steep drops that ran the total up over 20 feet (6 m). Could also see that wide roller caused by the ledge in the left channel maybe 100 or more feet (30 m) before the falls. The falls is at a left bend in the river, and drops into a narrow, rocky, steep-walled canyon.

North River falls enlarge me (26kb)

Running the left channel down to near that wide roller might be possible, but I don't recommend that. You would have to stay near the left river bank. Any swim would probably put you or some gear over the lip. The portage may be easier and shorter on that side, but we did not look for possibilities over there. What we did was pretty easy.

Rapids below falls enlarge me (21kb)

First, we found a usable reentry point, which was not a real good one, as it did put us in the canyon. There is a slightly better reentry point about another quarter mile hike (400m) down from the one we used. It does avoid another of the bigger rapids. Going all the way to the end of the canyon would be a tough hike, requiring significant climbing. Checking downstream by hiking along the canyon rim indicated no more falls for the next mile, but there were definitely more big rapids with holes and big waves. Back up to the boats. We then ran what we could, and lined what we couldn't, down the smaller channel to the right of the island -- a real pinball course with very little water. We stopped in a small eddy just above the end of the island, and portaged gear from there. It's easy to get out of the boats to an animal trail at that place, and less than a quarter mile walk (400 m) to where we were reentering the river.

Put in below falls enlarge me (30kb)

Like yesterday, it started raining during the portage. Ate lunch afterwards in a harder than normal rain than we've had up to now, then pushed off. John and Dennis lined the second rapids below our reentry as the waves were pretty big. Laurie's and my Dagger Venture is a drier boat than their Mad River Explorer, and we did okay. We were in a very pretty, steep walled canyon, but the usually hard rain prevented pictures. Sheer rock walls are a couple hundred or more feet (60+ m) high in spots.

The braids enlarge me (37kb)

The braids started immediately after leaving the canyon, a mile (1.6 km) below the falls. (Braids Area Map) Lots of downed trees, the first ones we saw in the water, though the banks were wooded for miles above here. We stayed left in the braids, but in retrospect, going right and into the Black River as soon as possible may (?maybe not?) be a wiser choice for future trips. We lifted over log jams about six times and went under two more trees that were almost high enough. That meant that we would come up to a tree, Laurie would push the bow of the canoe under the log, climb over it, and then get back in after her canoe seat went past the tree. Hank would repeat the process when he got to the tree. Packs or gear that extended above the boat gunnels were a problem, and there were some as Laurie and Hank do not travel light. Getting over to the Black River sooner doesn't mean that there would be fewer problems, for sure, or that it would be better after you got there, but the river might be wide enough to get around more unrunnable jams a little more easily. There were some real narrow spots between trees, but usually the water was slow enough to not be much of a problem.

Dennis's pets enlarge me (13kb)

We saw four beaver in this braided section before we pulled over at 5:30 to camp on a small right bank gravel bar. It was about a quarter mile (400 m) above the actual Black River confluence, though we didn't know that until the next morning. We thought we were already a short ways below the junction, as we had passed a good sized channel we called the Black River coming in a bit before. It's easy to get 'lost' in braided areas as they often change every year and the newest channels are not shown on maps accurately. Distance paddled today was a only little over 12 miles (19 km), not far, but tough work when scouting, on the portage, and in the log jams.

There was intermittent rain after the portage, and bad mosquitoes all day -- especially when sitting still and no wind. A smoky fire helped in camp, but a breeze was better, and both was best. Macaroni and cheese with chicken and corn for dinner. More light rain off and on all evening. No caribou on the hillsides, but there were recent wolf tracks on our beach, again. To bed at 9:30 pm.

Day 7. Saturday, 5 July, 1997

45°F degrees (7°C) at 7 am, and the rain yesterday brought the river level up a couple inches (5 cm), judging from a small island that was a sandy spit last night. Breakfast of pancakes, and no hurry getting on the river, knowing we were not going to travel far today. Temperature up to 70°F (21°C) when we pushed off at 10:30.

North/Black River junction enlarge me (34kb)

The fish were not biting at the Black River junction, which surprised John and Dennis, but there was a very good campsite there, and more at other gravel bars immediately downstream. All much better than the one used last night. We slowly worked down river on 2500 or so cfs (71 m³/s), poking about, watching for wildlife. Still some wood in the river but no more impeding log jams, which all seemed to be behind us. The water was still very clear, but a little bit of suspended sediment was evident. Usually decent current despite the under 10 fpm gradient (2 m/km) though this whole area. The sweepers and deadheads were no problem unless you weren't watching where you were going.

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