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1-800 PLAY PBS Anywhere Wild - Mac Kensie
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Alexander Mackenzie, a fur trader with the North West Company, becomes the first white man to cross the North American continent. From his trading post, Fort Chipewyan on Lake Athabasca in what is now Alberta, Canada, Mackenzie crosses the Rocky Mountains and travels through British Columbia, eventually canoeing down the Bella Coola River to the Pacific.
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Who were the first Europeans to cross North America? Ask almost any American, and he'd probably answer, "Lewis and Clark." Ask any Canadian, and he'd say Alexander Mackenzie.
Who's right?
The answer to that question sent Anyplace Wild host John Viehman packing for Canada, where he found that a relatively obscure Scot named Alexander Mackenzie was the first European to record a journey across North America. Some 12 years before the famous American duo set out for the West, Mackenzie explored the white water rapids, broad prairies, dense forests, and coastal valleys spanning the length of Canada on foot and by canoe. The 1801 publication of Mackenzie's journal inspired President Thomas Jefferson to commission the famous Lewis and Clark expedition.
Like Lewis and Clark, much of Mackenzie's trip was by river. But rather than an exploratory mission to see what was "out there," Mackenzie's was a commercial venture to find a practical fur-trade route to the Pacific. His trip succeeded in staking Britain's claim to the Northwest and sparked Americans to join the mad dash to this rich territory. As a fur-trade route, however, it was considered a failure. Perspectives change with time, and today the salty Scot's amazing journey is honored by the Alexander Mackenzie Voyageur Route, a trans-Canadian trail that follows in his footsteps.
In the one-hour season premiere of Anyplace Wild, series host John Viehman follows this path into history when he undertakes an expedition in British Columbia along the latter part of Mackenzie's route. Along the way, John contrasts and compares the experiences of the two parties who broke open the West to early explorers.
We learn about Alexander Mackenzie the man, a born leader and fur-trading voyageur who made two valiant attempts to find a trade route for his Northwest Company bosses. His first trip, in 1789, was a near-disaster. He traveled from Grand Portage on Lake Ontario (see Anyplace Wild Season I "In The Wake Of The Voyageurs" for more on the Grand Portage) to Lake Athabasca, located in present-day northern Saskatchewan. He left the lake and paddled for days down the tumultuous Slave River and finally spilled out into open sea. What a disappointment when, after sighting icebergs, he realized he'd gone too far north and reached the Beaufort Sea! Not only had his party failed to find a practical trade route, they'd failed to reach the Pacific Ocean at all. Frustrated but determined, Mackenzie turned right around and went back to his post to prepare for his next attempt.
Mackenzie's second expedition set off in 1793, armed with more accurate advice about which rivers to paddle. As he navigated through present-day British Columbia, the rivers stopped going his way. The party abandoned the Fraser River in frustration, and set off across the eroded lava domes of the multi-hued Rainbow Range, looking for a pass to the sea.
Natives Mackenzie met along the way provided the information he needed to get to the Pacific. These people had been trading fish grease across the Rainbow and Coast Ranges of British Columbia for ages before European contact, and Mackenzie was able to make use of these ancient "grease trails" to cross what is today Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. The party continued down the Bella Coola River by boat and on foot, and reached salt water at last on July 22, 1793, 73 long days after they had started.
Tune in to Anyplace Wild as we follow in the wake of Mackenzie on a trek through Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, one of the largest parks in British Columbia. We'll read Mackenzie's journal entries, see how he inspired Lewis and Clark, bushwhack in search of the explorer's exact route, and meet descendants of the native tribes that were so crucial to the success of Mackenzie's journey. It's an exciting trip and one that provides the real answer to the question, "who was first?"
A little bit about our guests:
Geoffrey and Sean Peake - historical river paddlers
Over the past 20 years, the Peake brothers have paddled down, up, and through some 8,000 miles of Canada's most remote rivers and wilderness waterways. Their trips have taken them from coast to coast, touching on three oceans--Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic.
Geoffrey is the youngest of the Peake brothers, and lives on Vancouver Island where he has worked for a decade as a wilderness counselor with Coastline Challenge. He leads delinquent youth on 26-day courses to encourage leadership and responsibility. It's also said that he makes the world's best wilderness cinnamon buns on trips. In fact, he had the entire crew drooling when he made a batch underway when he appeared as a guest on the Season One premiere of Anyplace Wild.
Sean is an advertising copywriter who lives in Toronto, Canada. He has always had an attachment to wilderness canoeing and following historic fur trade routes by canoe and on foot. His first trip was into Quetico Park in Northwestern Ontario in 1976, following a section of the Boundary Waters, the first highway to Canada's West.
Together with their brothers Michael and David and friends, Sean and Geoffrey make up the Hide-Away Canoe Club (HACC). Big brother Michael is Governor, and spends months planning and organizing the group's wilderness trips. Geoffrey is Chief Guide, and chooses the routes and serves as the group's leader on the water. The band has paddled across the Arctic Circle, paddled and portaged the breadth of the northern Quebec, and traversed the Continental Divide from the Northwest Territories to the Yukon. They've followed the routes of Captain John Franklin, author Robert Service, and film-maker Robert "Nanook of the North" Flaherty. In 1985, the group officially named a river between the Thelon and Back rivers after Eric Morse, who single-handedly rekindled a national passion for wilderness canoeing and the fur trade. Their trip north to Ungava on the George River was carried live on CBC radio. You can learn more about it here: canoe.ca
The HACC motto: "We were not pioneers ourselves. But we traveled over old trails that were new to us and with hearts open. Who shall distinguish?"
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ANYPLACE WILD SPECIAL
"Adventuring in Canada: Lewis & Clark's Inspiration"
The historic transcontinental treks of Alexander Mackenzie come to life in an ANYPLACE WILD SPECIAL "Adventuring in Canada: Lewis & Clark's Inspiration," led by series host John Viehman and his brother, Tommy. The pair undertake an expedition in British Columbia along part of Mackenzie's 1793 route across North America. Accomplishing his feat 12 years before the better-known exploits of Lewis and Clark, Mackenzie was the first European to record a journey across North America. In fact, it was Mackenzie's account of his adventures, published in 1801, that inspired President Thomas Jefferson to commission the Lewis and Clark expedition. The one-hour program airs on PBS Wednesday, September 29, 1999, 8:00 p.m. ET (check local listings).
Mackenzie, a fur-trader, made two valiant attempts to find a trade route for his Northwest Company bosses. His first trip in 1789 was a near-disaster. Traveling from Grand Portage to Lake Athabasca, his party left the lake, paddled down the Slave River and after days of tortuous travel, came at last to open ocean. Unfortunately, when Mackenzie saw icebergs floating in the sea, he realized that he had reached the Beaufort Sea and not the Pacific.
Assisted by the most advanced navigational tools of the day, Mackenzie's second expedition in 1793 was more successful. He also received excellent advice and help from natives, whose ancestors had been traveling across the Rainbow and Coast ranges of British Columbia for eons before the first Europeans arrived. When raging rivers forced the Mackenzie party to abandon their boats, they were able to use those trade routes to cross what is today Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. They continued down the Bella Coola River by boat and on foot, and reached the salty Pacific water on July 22, 1793, 73 days after they started.
Following in Mackenzie's path, Viehman uses the explorer's journal and those of Lewis and Clark to bring the pioneering spirit to life and to compare the experiences of both parties. In addition, Viehman and company visit the descendants of the native tribes that were so crucial to Mackenzie's success.
The ANYPLACE WILD SPECIAL features spectacular scenery, challenging hiking and encounters with bears and bald eagles. Good-natured humor abounds as the Viehman brothers renew their national rivalry with their trek partners, the Peake brothers, Geoffrey and Sean — avid paddlers, outdoorsmen and Canadian historians as well.
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Chucka
3 documents found (3 returned) for query : athabasca (athabasca):homepage (athabasca):station
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Score Document Title
100 Events in THE WEST -- 1650-1800
100 Anyplace Wild Television: Season Premiere, Adventuring in Canada
100 PBS Picks: ANYPLACE WILD SPECIAL
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P.S.- Keith Mac Kensie is a PR guy who used to talk Prairie. It must be in the bloodline. Oilline, whatever.
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