Who we are, what we are, why we are Gear for active 'on the move' men Gear expressively designed for 'on the go' women Hats Category Find you nearest dealer See our Kayak Apparel in action Call toll-free, Address or E-Mail us
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
"It was the Fourth of July, yet Aylmer Lake was still mostly covered with ice when we were on it for about 44 miles"
 
(Photos in this article courtesy of Scott Smith)
(Members of the Nunavut Expedition include: Bruce Spencer, Scott Smith, Sonny and Amy Hunt)
 
And so it was on a most extraordinary paddling journey covering 400 miles of unexplored beauty in Canada's newest Nunavut region of the Northwest Territories.
 
"We drove 4000 miles from New Hampshire to Yellowknife, capitol of the Northwest Territories in Canada.  From there we flew about 200 miles Northeast by charter float plane and landed in Mackay Lake."
 
(Click on photo to see an enlarge image.)
 

Bill Zeller, owner of the Country Canoeist in Dunbarton, NH headed the Nunavut Expedition team consisting of four men and two women determined to paddle and explore the vast areas of beauty and wild refuge near and above the Arctic Circle.  They would be traveling the entire month of July covering "400 miles and including 5 rivers in three different watersheds and 15 miles of portages for a total of about 70 miles of walking with three trips on each portage."

Bill and his team's main wardrobe selection consisted of KayakŪ Solok Shirts and Solok Roll-Up Pants.  "We wore the KayakŪ shirts and pants mostly every day.  KayakŪ clothing is Great, they break the wind, keep mosquito suckers out and dry in a flash", reports Bill in his journal entries.
 
"On several occasions I was soaked from slogging upstream (our expedition went 60 miles upstream) and Sonny fell through the ice on Aylmer Lake near the Artic Circle.  In every case the clothing dried very quickly and we never changed, just wore it dry."
 

From Aylmer Lake we portaged over the height of land to the upper Back River.  This also brought us to the new Inuit Province of Nunavut (pronounced Noonavut).  We paddled down the Back River for 32 Miles to an unnamed river that took us up through Fiddler and Reagan lakes and 40 miles of upstream paddling, lining, slogging and portaging (10 miles) over the height of land to Nose Lake and the headwaters of the Mara River.  There was a lot of ice on Nose Lake.

We paddled down the Mara River for 110 miles where we joined the Burnside River at the Arctic Circle where we held a little celebration, took a group photo and continued paddling on the Burnside River for another 50 miles before reaching the Artic Ocean at Bathurst Inlet.
 
KayakŪ pants and shirts worked exceptionally well.  The mosquito proof (this area is loaded with them at this time of the year), wind proof, fast drying fabric is simply the best!!  I put another shirt on for part of the day when i washed mine 3 weeks into the trip and was so happy to get the real thing back on again."
 

Bathrust Inlet is a small Inuit community with a summer population of 27.  About 6 were home when we arrived, the others were out hunting or fishing.

We did as much visiting as we could, observed fantastic scenery, climbed a mountain, joined in the activity of Grizzly Bear watching through the village spotting scope and waited for our charter plane which arrived three days later. 

It was and arduous trip to say the least but one which provided an experience of a lifetime.  We saw 3 Artic wolves, 2 barren grounds grizzly, 2 wolverines, thousands of caribou, and over 40 Muskox as well as eagles, peregrine falcons, long tailed jagers, arctic terns and countless other common and rare birds.

"I'll never take another shirt or pants on a trip again.  The design is excellent; loose pants with legs big enough to put on of take off over boots.  Pockets are ample in space and number and I liked the velcro closure on shirt pockets especially as I was in and out of mine several times a day.  I seldom unbuttoned the waist, but Amy was sure glad to have the button on the pants.  KayakŪ shirts and pants are perfect in every way, can't think of a thing I would change."

Thanks again Jim, I'm so glad we selected KayakŪ clothing for the 1999 Mara-Burnside expedition to the Arctic.

Bill Zeller
For the expedition team.
 
[ Back to Trips ]
 
top
 
 
Home : Request Catalog : Contact Us : Privacy Statement  
Home Page
Copyright © 2003 Kayak International Soft-Wear, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Send email to kis@kayaksportswear.com with questions or comments.