I thought I would post a short report of my travels this past summer on the Abitau, Whirlwind, and Tazin rivers, along the Saskatchewan / NWT border.
I flew from Ft. Smith on the Alberta / NWT border to Abitau Bay on Tazin Lake in northern Saskatchewan. From there, Plan “A” called for me to go up the Abitau and Whirlwind Rivers, portage into the large lakes in the Whirlwind’s headwaters, and bushwhack north from them to reach the Marten River, a tributary of the Thoa, which would take me to my takeout in Hill Island Lake.
This plan unravelled, however, due to weather and difficult travel up the Whirlwind. While I had thought this could have been a traditional route to the Thoa, there were no signs at all of travel on the Whirlwind, although I had found old portage trails on the Abitau. It seemed unlikely that I would be able to complete the trip in the time available to me.
Fortunately, this route had a built in Plan “B”: by going back down the Whirlwind and Abitau to Tazin Lake, I could follow the Tazin River west and then north to Hill Island Lake and my intended destination. This is what I elected to do.
The route from Tazin Lake to Hill Island Lake had been explored for the Geological Survey of Canada by Charles Camsell in 1914. But the Tazin River I would follow would be much different: it has been the victim of one of northern Canada’s least publicized water diversion schemes. When the mines were operating at Uranium City, on the north shore of Lake Athabasca, Sask Power had dammed the outlet of Tazin Lake, raising its level and inducing it to flow south to Lake Athabasca through a couple of hydro dams to power the mines. The mines are gone, but the dam remains. The river is much diminished, but still navigable if you are willing to wade and pull your boat for a while. After a day or so you are paddling almost all the time, although on a much diminished river. Except for a steep and awkward portage at Teseljiri Falls, travel on the Tazin is easy, west to Thainka Lake and then north to Hill Island.
After spending a day chatting with a friend I unexpectedly encountered on Hill Island, I flew back to Fort Smith. Trip totals were about 300 km, with 19 portages and considerable wading and dragging. I was out 17 days, with 14 travel days.
October 2013 edit: nothing new, but I have restored the photos. They were originally in the “SoloTripping” gallery, which, though it outlived the forums, eventually died.
A map of the area:
Beginning on Tazin Lake:
The Abitau meanders through a sand plain in its lower reaches near Tazin lake.
Near the NWT border, it is incised into the plain and follows a more direct route:
In this sandy world, Stratton Falls (~40’) is a striking sight:
A few more rapids are encountered where the Abitau flows along the NWT / Saskatchewan border:
First chute on the Whirlwind - no signs of previous travel here, or further upstream:
My furthest point of advance on the Whirlwind, about 82 km above Tazin Lake. It will start raining again in about 5 minutes, as my retreat begins:
The Abitau and Whirlwind did offer lots of fine campsites in open jack pine parkland:
Tazin Lake offered a rocky, “Shield country” contrast to the sandy plains to the north:
It was not without good beaches, however:
The outlet dam on Tazin Lake:
And its consequences: the algae on the rocks wasn’t very aesthetic, but it sure let the canoe side easily.
Soon the river was paddleable again:
Teseljiri Falls – beautiful even at these reduced flows:
Back to the sand, where the Tazin turns north at Thainka Lake:
Fine camping, and easy travelling (except for the weather) heading north to Hill Island Lake:
Hill Island Lake, at trip’s end. “Hill Island” – on the left – was a landmark for travellers in the times of Hearne and Camsell.
Hope you enjoyed this. Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions about the area.
-jmc
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