Hart River Canoe Adventure: The Hart is right at the top of the list of Yukon's finest wilderness paddling rivers.  It is wild, remote and inspiring.  It is one of the best yet it is lesser known and lesser traveled than the other major eastern Peel River Tributaries.  (Wind, Snake, Bonnet Plume).  This is surprising because it offers incredible variety and inspiration in both paddling and scenery.  It is easily the equal to it's better known sisters in all aspects.  You'll paddle from a very small meandering creek at the headwaters through wider braided sections of fast flowing river and on into canyon country with awe inspiring peaks.  Rapids are mostly class I and II but there are a number of larger sets in some short sections of the Hart and in the last 18km of the trip on the Peel River.  Ours will be a moderately paced trip.  We will have some full days, some relaxing days and we've also planned a couple of layover days to hike (or simply sit and enjoy the sites) along the way.

The Gwich'in name for the Hart is Edriinjik, meaning "Heart River" named after a heart shaped mountain in the middle section of ...

Expand to show more content

Hart River Canoe Adventure: The Hart is right at the top of the list of Yukon's finest wilderness paddling rivers.  It is wild, remote and inspiring.  It is one of the best yet it is lesser known and lesser traveled than the other major eastern Peel River Tributaries.  (Wind, Snake, Bonnet Plume).  This is surprising because it offers incredible variety and inspiration in both paddling and scenery.  It is easily the equal to it's better known sisters in all aspects.  You'll paddle from a very small meandering creek at the headwaters through wider braided sections of fast flowing river and on into canyon country with awe inspiring peaks.  Rapids are mostly class I and II but there are a number of larger sets in some short sections of the Hart and in the last 18km of the trip on the Peel River.  Ours will be a moderately paced trip.  We will have some full days, some relaxing days and we've also planned a couple of layover days to hike (or simply sit and enjoy the sites) along the way.

The Gwich'in name for the Hart is Edriinjik, meaning "Heart River" named after a heart shaped mountain in the middle section of the river near Michelle Ck.  Other sources say it is named after Howard Hard a prospector who found gold on the Forty Mile River in 1886, (although he appears never to have been in the Hart River area).  The total distance of the trip is about 294km from Elliot Lake off the upper Hart to the Canyon Ck take out on the Peel River.  We will fly in and out of our trip by Bush Plane from Mayo.  We'll be driven to and from Mayo by van from Whitehorse, the trip meeting location.

Meeting & Exit Location:  Whitehorse, Yk

Meeting Date:  Aug. 6 (or earlier), Return Home Aug 23 mid day (or later).

Logistics:        Aug. 6, Meet Whitehorse

                        Aug 6, Drive Mayo, fly via bush plane to Elliot Lake (Hart River)

                        Aug 6-22 on Trip

                        Aug 22:  Fly out from Peel to Mayo, return drive to Whitehorse

Itinerary:

Day 0 (Aug. 6):  Meet in Whitehorse no later than mid afternoon on Aug.6 (we strongly urge you to arrive a day early in case of lost luggage)

Day 1 (Aug 7); we'll depart early from Whitehorse for the 5hr drive to Mayo.  Upon arrival in Mayo we will board our charter aircraft and take the short (40min) bush plane flight into Elliot Lake in the upper reaches of the Hart River.

Day 2-3:  We'll begin the 23km descent of Elliot Ck.  Depending on water level and conditions (weather, log jams, beaver dams) the Elliot Ck descent can be relatively benign to somewhat of a slog.  We've planned two full days to make the 23km.  Hopefully it will take us less.  Regardless we'll likely camp on night 3 at the confluence of with the Hart as there is a nice campsite there.

Day 4:  We may take a day off to rest and relax after the work of Elliot Ck.

Day 5-6:  Elliot Confluence to West Hart River.  10km of slow meanders is followed by 20km of swifts and braided section that move one along quickly to several bouldery class 2 rapids followed by a heavily braided section approaching the Taiga Valley just before entering the Taiga Mountain Ranges at the West Hart River.

Day 7-8:  Taiga Ranges to Mount Bunoz.  We'll spend two days floating along in this section enjoying the stunning mountain scenery, with high cliffs, and one beautiful canyon.  The river is fast here so we will mostly float and enjoy.

Day 9:  We'll likely take a day off in this stunning section to hike, fish, or simply relax and enjoy the environment.

Day 10-13:  Mount Bruno to Peel River.  We'll go slowly in this section as this is where the bulk of the Hart's Rapids occur.  There are about 11 sets in total.  7 are class 2 and the remaining 4; depending on water levels can be class 2+.  Most rapids are caused by ledges but chutes and breaks provide ways through.

Day 14-15:  Peel River Confluence to Canyon Ck, (The final 18km on the Peel).  This final section of the river, while out of the Mountains is in some ways the finale to the trip.  The Peel rapids with it's larger volume are more powerful and we treat them with care.  There will be some fun whitewater paddling but also likely some lining and some lift-overs or short portages for the bigger sets.

Day 16: (Aug 22) Flight out from Canyon Ck to Mayo and return drive to Whitehorse.

Flights home:  Flights home can be booked (assuming no weather delays with our flights out) for mid day on August 23.