30th July

First day of canoeing down Snowdrift. Did about ten hours and 32 km. About 10 km down from Eileen river, the water suddenly changed from clear to be full of sediments. On a very specific spot in the middle of the river, sediments were pushed up from underneath, like it was a second water system pushing up from under the bottom of the river, changing the water from crystal clear to light brown.

A small float plane passed over us, and responded to our waving hats by waving back with it’s wings. Felt like the first human contact in weeks, though we never got closer than 300 meters. We passed a moose mother and her one year old offspring. Took some cation since we passed in between them, one on each side of the river banks.

We had earlier shot a couple of duck’s up on Eileen Lake, but they were not very tasty. This day we encountered a family of five canada goose. We kept on pushing them downriver, but finally we bagged one each and put them in a (rype)net to tender for a couple of days.

In a bend, the river had dug out a huge sandy hillside, and I kept on staring on some sticks in the hillside that looked to form letters. I really couldn’t believe my eyes when the word “NORGE” (Norway) suddenly came clear to me. We had been talking to a group of other Norwegians over the web prior to the trip, that also were canoeing down Snowdrift this summer. They obviously had left a greeting for us, and we enjoyed that message very much! Thank you guys!

Sandy islands may look pleasant for camping but really they’re not. Again we camped on sand, and the small grains found their way into every piece of our gear. Sand in your sleeping bag is not desirable. Also needed to be more careful with the camera and electrical equipment, which meant that we could not recharge the batteries.

Greetings from Norway

Caneing Snowdrift

Trying the fly rod - no luck... Snowdrift don't offer the best fishing.