Canoeists push off on 2,200-km paddle
Two-month trip from Barrhead north to Fort Simpson, N.W.T.
Many canoeists aspire to paddle the Nahanni River in northern Canada.
Dylan Bajer dreams of paddling toward it.
After spending the past five summers guiding trips on the Nahanni, the 26-yearold decided this season he would make the trip north by canoe.
Bajer and three friends expect to push off Wednesday from the banks of the Paddle River near Barrhead, pointing the bows of their boats toward Fort Simpson, N.W.T., the fly-out point for Nahanni trips.
The idea for the trip was sparked five years ago. It was Bajer’s first summer on the Nahanni.
“One day I’m like ‘man, what if I could paddle to work?’”
As it turns out, he could. Research showed connecting rivers and minimal portages between his hometown of Barrhead and Fort Simpson.
“It’s almost connecting dots between Barrhead and Fort Simpson. A place I was born and raised to a place I learned to love and has become a second home,” Bajer said.
He will be joined on the two-month journey by three friends: Liam Law, Justine Wilmot and Sarah Johnston. The group of four met while working at Enviros Base Camp in Ghost Wilderness Area bordering Banff National Park.
Bajer and Johnston quit their jobs to do the expedition. Wilmot and Law took leaves of absence.
The team will put two boats into Paddle River on the outskirts of Barrhead. From there, they’ll hit the Pembina River, Athabasca River, Lake Athabasca, Rivière des Rochers, Slave River and finally make their way down the Mackenzie River to Fort Simpson.
Though others have paddled different parts of the route, Bajer is certain no one has canoed from Barrhead to Fort Simpson all by water.
“The exact route we’re doing, I’ve never heard of anybody doing it. Speaking to people around Barrhead, they think it’s crazy,” he said.
Though one of the aims of the trip is to disconnect and enjoy the isolation a river trip offers, Bajer said the group looks forward to connecting with the many First Nation communities whose land they will pass through.
“We got permission to go through their land and now they’re all inviting us in to say hello. It’s a neat opportunity.”
Bajer’s brother will track their progress and post updates about the journey at www.home2work.ca.