Mackenzie Mountains traverse: any have backpacking experience there?

[Bjorn W]

Hi, everyone!

I’m doing a solo traverse of the Mackenzies from where the Canol trail crosses the divide (not on the trail/road, but leaving from it), NW following drainages around the NWT/YT border and then heading W to the Dempster Highway and the Tombstone Territorial Park.

I’m finding very little information about previous trips up there. There are float trips from Keele Lake, Porter Lake, Bonnet Plume Lake, and others, down the various rivers to either side of the divide. These trips often begin with a few days’ hiking around their start point, but nothing long-distance. Then there are some hunting reports, but these don’t cover the same sort of ground I’m planning to.

As far as I can tell from ground cover data, satellite imagery, and elevations, this should be possible without too much bushwhacking. I did a similar-length unsupported solo hike two years ago from the Haul Road through Anaktuvuk Pass, around to Arrigetch, and ending in Ambler, so I believe I’ll be well-prepared. But I would love to hear from anyone with information, especially about brush/tree line elevations, route suggestions, or knowledge of anyone driving up to Mac Pass from Ross River or flying in to the divide around the end of June. The current plan is to hitch, or just hike in from the main road.

Thanks!

[Chad Lorenz]

 

These two trips were planned by me. The hitch could be difficult, I’d fly with Alpine Aviation. Bush below 1400m can be difficult, but plenty of game trails in most areas if you happen to be heading where they’re heading…

https://blog.nols.edu/2017/11/06/black-wolf-expedition-packrafting

https://www.timkelleyimages.com/post/packrafting-the-mackenzies

[David Thomas]

So following the NBorth Canol Road from the settlement of Roos River (population 441) up to and over the Pass?  That’s a spur off a spur (Campbell Highway) off a spur (Klondike Highway) off the Alaskan Highway.  If coming from the L48, taking the Campbell from Watcon Lake would be shortest, but rougher.  If hitching, I’d stay on the Klondike to Campbell and then backtrack on the better travelled portion of the Campbell from Carmacks to Ross River.

Chad cautions about hitch hiking.  Your success rate PER PASSING CAR with be orders of magnitude better than in the L48 (I’ve given some 2000 km rides in the YT and done very generous trail angel stuff on the Alaskan side), but there aren’t a lot of passing cars.  But chatting people up in a gas station and I’d expect you could catch a ride within an hour.

Then 200 air miles (more river miles) down the Keele River to the MacKenzie River. Without any good beta and by yourself, how much of that do you do three time (hike ahead, scout the next stretch, go back, and run it)?

Would the copied pages of The Milepost for the Campbell Highway be helpful?  I’d think so (burn them with your toilet paper when you leave the road).  PM me and I can snail mail color xeroxs or email scans of those 6 pages (and/or the additional 10 pages for the Dempster Highway).

I’ve done the Haul Road a number of times (summer, fall, winter) but only been to Inuvik on the Dempster once (got snowed on in July).  On the Haul Road, the commercial truckers can be jerks (they resent it being opened to the public), but all the private travelers are there for an adventure and would be impressed by such an ambitious trip.  Everyone is even friendlier on the northern Canadian highways.

[peter v]

well, it’s been almost a year on this thread, but, i will add to anyway.

ALL has been revealed on the canol road trail section. because it is now seen at hi res on https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/ , that means that we can all find our ways thru those nasty washed away bits that caused so much adventure in the past. Hi Rez is a Big Deal in canol wanderings. you will also find that well-meaning, but imbecilic peoples have put up shelter cabins along the way, along with destroying most of the historic buildings. then, being well-meaning, the nailed “do not vandalize” signs on the remaining structures. still though it is a worthy and history filled walk.

assuming you have an Alpacka Raft, which will save you by floating out past the swamps in the bottom land, i suspect you would find the area much more confined, and thusly slower travel than that part of Alaska you did. but, you gain in weather protection, and might be best served by going later in the year, avoiding the fun of spring water levels. at any rate, you bagged AK Pass to Ambler, so you’ll be fine.

several whitehorse to ross river’s has been an interesting hitch. it’s proven a royal pita out of watson lake. better fortune was had at Carmacks, coal mine campground, right where hwy 4 hits hwy 2.

then you’ll want/need a ride to the top of the pass. has been tough, but possibly less so these days. i bought one years ago, one time threw money at it and by morning next day was on the road.

maps from yellowmaps.com . print ’em yerself on waterproof paper.

there was a nice Canol Road visitor center in Norman Wells.

one can float across the Mckensie and i think it’s a grand idea, so no need for silly boat to pick one up. once on the river, if on the actaul canol road, upriver to above bear island, and paddle like a demon to not get sucked back thru the goose island slot. no worries, you’ll be fine.

all info from a yo-yo of it many moons ago.

cheers,

[peter v]

forgot … mayby don’t even bother to Ross River. just get to Faro, and from there, take the Dene Cho trail to RR. it closely follows the ancestral native path from the mine at Faro, to the bar in Ross River. the community really put some effort into that thing, so be a good sport, don’t waste it. it makes a nice warm up to any longer walk. you can resupply, sort of, in RR.

[Bjorn W]

Hi, Peter, thanks for the reply. No worries that it’s been a while. I had a great four weeks in the Yukon last summer and will certainly go back at some point.

Really good to hear that hitchhiking is possible. It seems like it almost always is, and that reduces the need for private transportation, which we need less of anyway.

Really too bad about the hi-res images of the Canol trail. While I think it’s good if more people enjoy the outdoors, I think it’s just as good if they have to work hard and prepare well to get there. Progress would be removing information, not adding it (or so I think), in cases like these where the people who go will be more prepared if they have to do more planning themselves.

Anyway, thanks for the other tips, too. Will file them away for next time.

[peter v]

..and I will add a bit more here in mid/late 2024. after re-reading Bjorn’s orig post, I see that I rather missed the boat on his trip data.

starting at where the canal humps across the Mackenzie’s , it is entirely possible to work over to the ( I think it’s the Hess river drainage) and from there north and then NW to Bonnet Lake. there are at least two ways to route that “over to the Hess R. ” bit. so, from Bonnet lake one can certainly work their way over the North Pass and Tombstone Park. I have done this, and the scenery is beyond description, in one ancient memory, I am walking thru the intersection of four rivers, over vast plains of knees deep crystal clear water over small pebbles. all but tearing up over it .. it was just Hella Cool.

but ya, you can get to North Pass.

not being condescending one this next part, my friends, but .. do you REALLY want to. REALLY ???

I mean really . Really. REALLY ?? because it’s just one heck of a commitment of a trek, and there’s like one area you could drop south on a ragged winter track towards Mayo to get out of it. so, again, I apologize if sounding overly saintly, but make sure you got your ducks in an effin’g row before you pull the trigger on this charming bit of a stroll. I have solo’d across Alaska twice, and when I look at the maps, I still wonder just wtf I was thinking when I laid down that Yukon traverse. oh well, we are younger then …

sounds; like you already nailed it though, so, Good for YOU !

cheers,

v.

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