… Our Long Trek — Fostering Adventure

Autumn Splendor And The 60th Parallel

Our Long Trek Through The Northwest Territories

60th Parallel to Hay River

Our first stop in Hay River was at the visitor centre. It was first rate with souvenirs, loads of information from a very pleasant lady, and outside there was a dump station and potable water filling ability.

Heading due north from the border on the MacKenzie Highway would take us through the whistle stop of Enterprise (consisting of a fuel station and truck repair shop), and on to the larger town of Hay River on the shores of Great Slave Lake. Of all the towns in NWT (including Yellowknife), Hay River was probably the nicest. Small enough to be personable, but large enough to have good services and something to look at and explore. The town’s visitor centre was first rate, and amazingly enough, still open. It was here that we got our first inkling of frustration about the early closing of tourist facilities and Territorial Parks in early September.

We couldn’t stay in the campground on the Hay River right when we entered the NWT, so for our fourth camp we opted for this spot on a nearby railroad access road.

Since we arrived at the border around 4pm, and it was 120km to Hay River, we decided to look locally for a place to camp rather than try and drive all the way to the town. Fortunately, only a few kilometres down the road we found a side access road that was used for railroad maintenance, and tucked ourselves in there for the night. It was a good thing too, as the next morning we came upon what was probably the best natural feature we’d see in the NWT on this trip… the 30 meter high Alexandra Falls. Had we kept driving, we would have come to the falls too late in the day to explore it before darkness fell.

Alexandra Falls is one of two on the Hay River in close proximity to each other, but because of the Territorial closures, we were only able to see the one that was close to the highway.

The 30 metre tall Alexandra Falls on Hay River, NWT.

Only one and a half hours to the main town. At least at our travel speeds anyway.

Not sure what this water feature was for, but it was definitely man made.

Our camp spot for the night on a railroad access road.

A map and information on the area.

There were a number of cultural signs about the First Nations people of the area and their history with the land.

The main entrance to the falls pathways.

They had made a very nice staircase down to the river. The only problem was that to get to the stairway you had to practically slide down a dirt hill on your butt.

Looking up river with the autumn beauty in the background.

There were no barriers around the river and falls.

One could easily walk right up to the precipice.

I'm surprise some social media influencer isn't sitting in the whirlpool right at the edge.

It's 30 metres tall, and very loud with tea coloured water.

The cut and runout from the falls is very impressive.

Hay River is very big. Nothing like the MacKenzie, but big nonetheless by most standards.

Walking back away from the falls proper, the sound dissipates quickly and it becomes peaceful.

Kneeling down to feel the extremely cold water.

The geology in the area is very interesting as well, and quite lovely.

Looking at this tranquil scene it's hard to believe that imminent death is only 50 metres away.

Information signs about the trails around the falls.

Warnings for stupid people so they don't hurt the wildlife.

The official name for this place between the highway and the river.

The autumn colour is really something up here this time of year. It really is a must see.

The Town Of Hay River

The vary impressive artwork displayed in the visitor centre parking lot. A giant collage made up of individually created tiles, each with their own tiny scenes.

The drive from the falls to Hay River was short, and we arrived in town early in the day. Our first stop, as always, was the visitor centre. There we were provided with a wealth of information, potable water for the truck, and even a few souvenirs of the town. All in all, a very good experience.

From the tourist centre we continued through the town and on to the harbour and the shores of Great Slave Lake.

At the harbour we met a very pleasant man by the name of Randy Froese who rolled up in a Hay River municipal vehicle, and got out to talk to us about our truck. Although we’ve had this kind of experience on many occasions, the difference in this case was that, aside from being keenly interested in our truck, he was a wealth of knowledge about the town and area in general, and very happy to share it. His family had been in the area for decades, and had a fly in fishing camp some miles up the lake. We spent some time talking with him about a number of different topics, and over the course of the next several days bumped into him around town on a number of occasions where he always took the time to come over and say hello.

Basically there are two ways to go, left for Yellowknife and the route to the west, and straight to Hay River and further to the east for Wood Buffalo.

Coming into the town of Hay River. Side access/frontage road to the right.

Hay River had one of the nicer visitor centres. At least it was open!

The northern lights and the falls on Hay River adorn the trash bin.

Main Street in Hay River. Not busy, but the road sports the main necessities.

A five minute drive saw us through the town and down to the harbour on the Hay River. Most of the barges are no longer used as they were for petroleum but have only single hulls. So can't be used.

This is the end of the road for this section of the MacKenzie Highway. It literally turns into a boat launch at the river.

To get here we had to drive a short few blocks through the local First Nation land.

No one seemed to be bothered that we did so. In fact, there was no one around anywhere from what we could see.

An impressive sign telling us where we were, and that we were indeed on Great Slave Lake.

The time of years ensured that we would be alone at this tourist destination. Fine by us.

A good information sign that provides needed info to fully understand the scale of the lake.

It's a very big beach, and in summer is probably very popular.

Aside from us, the only other living creatures here were the lake gulls resting on their perches.

There are homes and other structures on the other side of the river, but we didn't make our way over there as the size of the truck might be a problem.

This is the mouth of Hay River, and all the port facilities are up the channel on the river proper.

Just behind where we parked, between us and the boatyard in the distance, was a group activity site. Currently vacant.

Three working boats up on dry land. We couldn't tell if there were there for storage or for maintenance.

This area also seemed to be used for storing miscellaneous township paraphernalia.

Other larger boats were further over in the boat yard.

The entrance to the Coast Guard site and Fisheries Canada as well.

This shows the mooring area for the coast guard vessels on a channel that accesses the river.

All Government of Canada marine facilities are painted red and white.

A disused channel buoy now serves as a tourist attraction.

After seeing all there was to see in the town itself, we headed back to the highway for the journey east, and on to Wood Buffalo National Park.

Hay River To Fort Smith

We actually pass two signs like this, as we enter the park for a short spell, and then exit it again before reaching Fort Smith. Then as we head south from Fort Smith we once again enter the park. But this time we’ve reached the main body of Wood Buffalo National Park.

Having seen most of Hay River in the same day that we arrived, we elected to head out of town toward Wood Buffalo National Park. Although it was now mid-afternoon, we knew we’d be able to put some kilometres behind us before finding a camp spot somewhere along the highway.

The scenery alongside the highway was, for the most part, pretty uninspiring. On either side of the highway were forests of short, thin conifer trees interspersed with golden deciduous trees. But because it was such flat terrain, we couldn’t see past the trees at the edge of the road. The only time it got interesting was when there were pull-off points with informational signs, or we came upon a bison ambling along the road. And make no mistake about it, it was his road!

Reaching weights of over 1000kg. (2,200lb.), these animals know they have a commanding presence. If they don’t feel like moving out of the way, they don’t. It’s just that simple.

Even disused gravel pits can be pretty when there’s fall colour and a setting sun providing the well known Golden Hour.

After ambling along at a rather relaxed pace, seeing very few automobiles but a rather decent amount of Wood Bison along the roadway in several locations, the day started to get long in the tooth, so we started looking for a spot to camp. We pulled off on several side roads that looked promising, but yielded nothing of interest until be worked our way down a longer side road into a large clearing that must have been a gravel yard and equipment staging area left over from when the highway was built. It was very large, but well on its way to being reclaimed by nature, so we found a level spot and just after 6pm called it a day. As a precaution when wild camping in such dry conditions, whenever we pull off and park we always get out and look under the truck to ensure there is no vegetation near or touching our very hot diesel particulate filter and exhaust system. The last thing we’d want to do is start a wildfire where we were right at the epicentre.

The clouds rolled in overnight and in the morning we woke to our second short stretch of wet weather. Half an hour after we started rolling down the highway to Fort Smith, however, the rain stopped and never came back until we hit the very top of northern British Columbia. That rain spell also only lasted a part day, but was also accompanied by snow flakes.

At our road speeds, Fort Smith was only three hours away. But it was late in the afternoon so we knew we wouldn't get there this day.

Heading out of town we had to cross the Hay River. But we'd do so on a new replacement bridge.

I guess the old bridge was being left behind as a historical tourist attraction. Even bikes couldn't go over it.

The typical scene driving the roads of the NWT. Autumn colour and stunted evergreens.

There were lots of low lying berry bushes ablaze in red tones to counter that of the yellow/gold.

Most of the roads had these wide open areas on each side of the road. Presumably so wildlife could keep from becoming messy statistic.

One of the many informational signs on display in the rest area parking lots. Or rather, just parking lots. We never really saw any proper rest areas with facilities.

A large fire had been through this area many years ago, and all that's left are the deciduous plants and some remnants of evergreen trees.

Here's a Wood Bison on the road. He's our first since we hit the NWT.

Even though it's fall, the temperatures were in the low 20'sºC. So walking was hot work for him, evident by the stream of fluid coming from his nostrils.

He never wavered from his path despite a large loud truck passing by.

Further down the road we came upon a small herd of bison. Maybe the one we passed was trying to catch up.

This poor female in the front only had one horn. Perhaps she lost it in fighting off the advances of a male.

All of the herds of bison we saw all over the north all had many calves in the groups.

Our camp for the night. Somewhat barren, but with some vegetation colour.

These spots are great as they are usually flat, and rarely do we ever see anyone coming by.

We woke to rain. Fortunately we don't have to exit the vehicle to get into the truck cab.

The road was wet, but we were the only ones on it.

A half hour after we started driving, the rain dissipated and we just had gloomy clouds.

We made it to Fort Smith early in the day and headed to the river for a look see.

Standing on the shores of the Slave River.

A local couldn't seem to make up his mind on what to do. He just sat there in his boat doing nothing the whole time we were there.

It's hard to see, but on the other side of Slave River is one heck of a set of rapids.

Fort Smith & Wood Buffalo National Park

Fort Smith was one sleepy hamlet. Sure it was a Saturday, but here just about everything was closed for business. Of course the impressive government building that housed the Wood Buffalo National Park visitor centre was also closed up tight. So no help for us. That, along with the dreary weather put a damper on our spirits in a big way. So after spending a very short time driving around the town, we stopped in the parking lot of a closed auto parts store, answered a few emails and made a phone call while we had cell service, and then grudgingly headed out of town toward the park.

Stopped on the street between the government building on one side and the hotel on the other. We're parked next to the paddles of a former river paddle wheeler.

The national park headquarters that was not visitor friendly.

Local art on the wall of the hotel.

The church for the people with money.

The church for the people without money.

Administration building for the surrounding First Nation peoples.

The high school with an illuminated billboard on the front with a message supporting the people of Ukraine.

Wood Buffalo is also a Regional Municipality as well as a National Park, and it is this municipality that builds the ice road each winter from Peace Point, where the all season road ends, to Fort Chipewyan on Lake Athabaska.

The scene at the picnic ground a short way into the park. This is where we lowered our tire pressure for a smoother ride on the gravel road.

Hoping for better things to come, we set off from Fort Smith in the southerly direction and the gates of Wood Buffalo National Park. Our second entry to this park was as understated as our first. A sign or two on the road. Unlike most national parks that have a real gate with kiosk buildings and people checking to see that you have your purchased park pass, there was nothing of that kind here. The number of visitors to this park each year was probably so small that it wasn't worth spending the money on the entrance infrastructure. All that was there to welcome us was the open road with no one but us to drive on it. At least that’s the way it was most of the time. In driving the entire distance from the park entry to Peace Point at the end of the road, and back, we probably saw five other vehicles in total. Although most of the driving was down the road with trees on both sides only a few metres away, there was the odd scene from time to time that made the drive seem more worthwhile.

Re-entering the park just before the pavement ends.

During the winter months, if it's cold enough one can drive all the way to Fort MacMurray on the winter ice road.

During the warm months travel is restricted to the conventional road system only.

One of the more wide open areas along the roadway.

The government spends a lot of money on large, duplicate signs.

There are organized trails in various locations throughout the park.

A lovely creek alongside a picnic area at the beginning of the park.

We took the time to air down the tires for a smoother ride on the gravel roads.

There's a separate hose for each tire so they can all be done at the same time.

We take the tire pressure down to 55psi when on gravel roads.

The colour along the roadside almost makes the drive worthwhile just for it.

Approaching the end of the road that can be driven outside the depth of winter.

At the end of the road overlooking the Peace River.

There's a large area at the end of the road that is an open grass area which could be used for camping. Several residences are scattered around the edge of the clearing.

The water level in the river is low at this point, so a lot of sand bars are visible.

There's a nice beach alongside the river. It's great for launching boats or canoe/kayak.

Starting back on the return trip to Fort Smith.

Numerous areas alongside the road were desert like with a good deal of pure sand. The bison like to roll in it to get clean.

This fellow was walking along a game trail on the roadside. Every time we sped up to get by him, he'd quicken his pace so we couldn't.

We followed him for some distance not wanting to spook him, but wanting to get by. Eventually we had to just had to floor it to get by him. He finally stopped abruptly when we got up beside him.

Coming up on the only formal campground in the park.

The park is a self-registration format, done on the honour system.

This shows the trail system around Pine Lake and the camp area.

Our camp spot for the night. A very large pull through that could easily accommodate a 45' motorhome with a car attached.

The spot was large with fire pit, picnic table and free firewood only a few steps away.

There are private summer cabins around the lake, and this one on our road had a cute sign.

Continuing to head out of the park in the morning when there was a lot of ground fog.