June 22nd: Up the Emile

June 22^nd, 2008; Day 15

Emile River, "Sand All Around Lake” (as known by the Dogrib Dene)
GPS Coordinates: 64 deg., 47 min. North; 115 deg., 27 min. West

Author: Emily

This morning I woke at 5:00 a.m. to a loud splashing sound right next to me. Our tents were pitched about 20 feet back from a sandy beach at a wider opening of the Emile River. I sat up abruptly in my sleeping bag, making enough noise to startle the large bull moose walking along the shore between our tents and the water. We stared at each other for a moment through the tent screen -- me in awe of the large mammal in such close proximity and the moose likely in awe of the strangers along his beach. He turned around and went in search of a less crowded place and I fell back asleep.

During the last week, this river has surprised each of us with its stunning rocky ridges and amazing wildlife sightings – an unexpected gift. Yesterday we watched a wolverine for a solid five minutes while he continuously galloped up the river bank and back down along the shore line as if searching for something he lost – way more involved in his own business than with his audience. The day before we paddled up to the beginning of a portage and found a snowfield where we had expected a spring creek. The snow had compacted into layers of ice flowing out between two cliff bands and gave the feel of a glacier – so much so that while sitting in our boats, where the blue ice met the water, a good five feet above our heads, it was easy to imagine ourselves in Greenland, rather than in the Boreal Forest of the Northwest Territories.

Our travel up the Emile has been slow, yet steady and deliberate. Progress up river is earned in traversing each portage three times with our heavy loads; it teaches a patience and satisfaction of truly being where you are, not looking too far ahead. Tomorrow we are planning to rest, stretch, eat more food from our packs, and prepare for the height of land portages which will transition us off the Emile and toward a new chapter in the trip. Not only will we be portaging into a new river system in which we will actually be traveling with the current, we also will be shifting out of the tree line and into the tundra for awhile. The familiarity of life out here as a small group makes it easy to forget that we are far enough north to emerge into tundra, yet the height of the sun in the sky each night and the chilling wind blowing across the lakes reminds us otherwise. We celebrated the summer solstice last night with twizzlers and multiple toasts to the Emile River, to portage trails through the Muskeg, and to wonderful wildlife. (Nina and I have checked 25 bird species off the list I picked up at the Visitor Center in Yellowknife.)

Our thoughts and best wishes go out to the six expeditions from Manito-wish starting out on trail in the past week. May your bellies be full, your laughter be strong, and your horizons be clear. We are thinking of you.