about going "down" these rivers when they flow north, which is "up" on the map.
Yes! You're right about that. I can't remember what the percentage is of those flowing to the north, but it's very high -- something like 90% I believe.
I'm only vaguely aware of the Nahanni.
I think you'll like "Dangerous River" then. It's been years since I read it, but you kind of have to think of how it must have been for Patterson -- travelling over uncharted rivers that are pretty damned formidable -- high walls and you don't know what's coming next. So different now that people can fly up over a river in a plane and check it out before coming down, and with good river maps and GPS units and so on. That said, I haven't done any canoe tripping in the north or west as yet. Hope to some day, but it will have to wait. For now, I trip mostly in eastern Ontario. Was intending to do some tripping on rivers north of the Great Lakes last summer, but something came up and I had to delay that for another year. Too many rivers and not enough spare time! (-:
There's a very good series called "Great Canadian Rivers" by Good Earth Productions in Toronto. The photography for some of the footage is wonderful -- quite a lot of aerial footage, but also very ecosystem-oriented as far as interviewing people who are familiar with the biology of the river systems, etc..
goodearthproductions.com
They've also done another series called "Great Canadian Parks". It's good too.
goodearthproductions.com
Both series air on the Discovery Channel (Canadian), but maybe they're running on other networks.
Btw, when I was back at university doing graduate studies a few years ago, one of the other students in my classes was a very nice woman who worked as a canoe guide for one of the outfitters that do northern rivers like the Coppermine, etc.. She did a slide presentation for a Native studies courses that we were both taking and some of the river shots were absolutely awesome -- not for the weak of heart, that's for sure. <g> |
