Food:
As wood was readily available, I generally cooked with fire. I carried an MSR stove as a back up which I used maybe 5 times.
I bought my food from the towns as I went. This worked well as I always had fresh food and only carried what I immediately needed. Towns without a reliable food supply were Wrigley and Jean Marie. Norman Wells and Inuvik had the best variety. All others had adequate (without being plentiful) supplies, but came at a price. Peppers for example, were between $10-13 per kg.
Fresh fish makes a good protein source. Try to get some dryfish from the fish camps along the way for a tasty treat. I found that eggs worked well too (with out the strong fish smell), assuming you dont break them. Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) is another option for a meat substitute. Youll need to buy it before the trip though. Most health food stores will have it.
At all times I carried an extra 3 days of (dehydrated) food as an emergency backup.
Relying on towns for food meant that I was committed to reaching the next destination within a given time. If I had my own (ie dehydrated) food I could have taken more time to explore the surrounding areas and would have felt (at times) less rushed.
Water
Although always drinkable, water quality varied through out the trip, as did my treatment methods. I carried an MSR filter, a large (12L) pot and purification solution. Depending on the situation I would generally boil water in the pot (around 10min), let it settle over night then use if for the next day.
The solution and filter (used about 4 times) were mostly used with the clear water from side creeks and rivers or when I needed water immediately.
I carried water from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk as a precaution. Water quality in the Gulf would depend on river flow and weather conditions.
Risk Management:
A solo trip of this type poses inherent risks, as does driving a car, breathing air and listening to Dido. Due to the isolation and size of the river, emergency response times have the potential to be long. Having said that, the most dangerous thing I did on this trip was probably catch the bus from Vancouver to Hay River
I carried a Satellite Phone with contact numbers for the RCMP in each town, coast guard bases in Hay River & Inuvik as well as individual Coast Guard boats. Phone reception was a bit hit and miss and at times it didnt work at all. Where possible, friends and family got regular updates as to my location.
I was also registered with the RCPM as part of their wilderness travelers programme.
Flares were going to be used in an emergency to signal for help. I carried 4, 2 of these didnt work when I set them off after the trip.
Compressed-air horn and whistle were used to scare away bears and signal for help if needed. The horn worked well but broke on the 2nd day
The GPS was used as a backup if needed not a primary navigation tool. It was most useful in the Beaver Lake from Hay River to Ft Providence where the open water and tall reeds made accurate navigation difficult.
No gun, did I need one this time? No, should I have carried one? Maybe, I met others who used theirs to scare away bears.
A trip plan was made based on 40km per day once I reached Ft Providence and I found that this was a very achievable. The paddle from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk took 4 days. 5km/hr was a good speed while going through beaver lake.
Bear Awareness Ideas:
Carry bear spray and do some research into being bear safe.
Reduce food odors by keeping food storage as airtight as possible.
Check the surrounding area for signs of bears before deciding to stop in that place.
Make noise and announce your presence to avoid finding yourself within the comfort zone of a startled bear.
Bears can and do swim to the river islands.
I had 2 bear encounters while cooking. When I spoke to them, the bears quickly went away but I still moved to a different campsite.
If confronted, make sure you give the bear a clear path to move away.
Try to think, why is the bear here? Have I moved between it and its cubs? Did I cross its path of travel? Am I covered in smelly fish guts and scales? Am I camping at a site where people before me left food /rubbish?
Above all, be aware of your surroundings at all times and if doubt, move on.
Yes, the locals will try to scare you with their horror bear stories
Stuff to do differently / general comments:
Get off the river more and explore.
Go fishing more.
Take longer and be more experience orientated than focused on km (there were reasons for this the amount of food carried was a factor),
Go earlier in the year and see 24hrs sun up north.
Research more into whats happening at towns along the way (I missed a number of events and community gatherings only by days).
Get up earlier (earliest on the water was about 10am while average was more like 12pm. Take more dehydrated food (less weight, more days food, less need to get to towns), stop at more fishing camps and eat more dry fish (yum).
Take more photos (battery life was a problem, possibly take a film camera as well as digital). More zoom would have been great, especially for birds!
Colour photocopy maps in a university library. Mine were laminated they all got wet so maybe try a map holder. You could scan them too (or buy the software) and paste them together in Fugawi or equivalent to get a smaller sized map of a more precise area (cut out the areas you dont need) I used 1:250000 which were great.
Pay close attention to your map once you turn off onto the east channel. If your not youll go the wrong way and it could get embarrassing I met a guy who relied solely on his GPS to get to Inuvik and ended up getting lost. The navigation isnt extremely difficult, but its not easy either.
Up to burnt point (after Ft Providence), good camp sites were hard to find so get some advice. Not too much though
personal discovery is a wonderful thing too
.