| Date | Trip Log | Comments |
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| Sunday, July 27 | Rest and sight-seeing in Fort Chipewyan | I woke up about seven. The restaurant did not open until eleven so I tried to wash my paddling clothes in the tub. It sort of worked, but question if I really accomplished anything. About 10:45 Paul and Charlie Simpson knocked on the door. Paul (a fireman) had gotten up earlier, visited the Alberta Environmental Offices (the forest fire fighting crews are headquartered there) and then went looking for a place to get a cup of coffee. Charlie saw him walking and stopped thinking it might be me. Charlie showed him around some and then they came back to the motel. After breakfast we walked over to the Hudson’s Bay Post monument/cairn. After taking some pictures, we walked thru the lakeshore park that had several signs about mammals, birds, plant and trees found in the area. From there it was over to the Anglican Church built in 1872 and still in use. It is the oldest Anglican church in Alberta. There were many pictures on the wall, some of historical nature, and a wood-burning stove sat in the front of the church. The adjacent cemetery had the grave of Colin Fraser’s 21-year-old daughter. On a previous trip I had found the grave of Fraser and his wife in another cemetery. We spent time at the museum where we had arranged to meet Charlie. From there we went to the Catholic church. It was an interesting blend of old and new. Pictures had been painted on the ceiling with a mixture of fish oil and pigments. Both English and Chipewyan languages were used in the paintings on the wall. Charlie attended this church and the boarding school that no longer exists. From there we went over to see Colin Fraser’s old trading post and the Franklin sun dial. We thought the time it showed was wrong until we remembered that we were comparing the sun dial time to daylight savings time on our watches. Net stop was the Northern Store. The Northern stores are the old Hudson’s Bay stores which are located throughout the north. Hudson’s Bay Company divested itself of all these stores and the company formed to operate them is called the Northwest Company! While walking through the store we saw Old El Paso products and Pace Picante sauce. We had a good laugh and one of the ladies in the store thought we were laughing at the prices. We explained that was not the case, but rather it was seeing food from home in stores so far away. From there we went to Irvin Norn’s home. Irvin is the person I made the arrangements with for touring Ft. Chip. His wife, Maureen is the sister of Cookie Simpson and Charlie. Charlie Weiner, who we stayed with at Peace Point, is Cookie’s son-in-law. Maureen was out picking mint for use in herbal medicines. Irvin is a Dene Indian from Ft. Resolution and a very talented person. He is very knowledgeable about aboriginal history, not only of his tribe, but others in Canada and the United States. He showed us some hand-held drums he had made and how to play them. We also talked about the Peace Point Wilderness Tours company they have formed and the plans they have for developing Peace Point into a cultural and tourist center for both First Nation people and others. After visiting with Irvin, we returned to the motel, ate dinner and relaxed for the rest of the evening. I took the opportunity to find out via TV news what had been happening in the world. While we were talking at the museum, Charlie told us about how his family became a member of the Mikasew Cree Nation. Charilie’s dad, Archie Simpson, was Chipewyan. When Wood Buffalo National Park was formed in the 1920’s, the government said that only the Mikasew could trap in the park. They said that since the Chipewyan people had designated areas to the east of the park, they could not. Archie and several others felt strongly that they should be able to trap in WBNP so they registered as Mikasew and thus were allowed to trap there. It was a very restful and interesting day. There is so much to see and learn in this small town that is so isolated from the surrounding area. |
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| Date | Trip Log | Comments |
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| Monday, July 28 | Visit to Jackfish Community | We met Charlie Simpson and Charlie Voyageur in the dinning room at 7:30. They indicated that it was too rough to go to Old Fort Point so we decided to go to Jackfish Community on the Athabasca River where Charlie V has a cabin. After breakfast, we walked down to Wood Buffalo National Park headquarters were we talked with Natalie Bourque; I thanked her for all her help in preparing for our trip. Charlie S meet us at ten and we went down to the harbor docks. We took two boats because Charlie V said he had not been able to check his motor out since he had it repaired. We headed out across the bay which is about four miles across. Towards the southeast side we started following spruce markers indicating the boat channel. The markers were saplings with a tuff of branches at the top that had been stuck in the water. These were about a mile from shore and the water was very weedy and shallow. We traveled down the Embarras River, through a channel to the Fletcher Channel and then the Athabasca River to Jackfish Community. Jackfish consists of several (6 -12?) cabins on the Athabasca. We had sandwiches and soda for lunch at Charlie V’s cabin. After visiting for a while, we walked over to another cabin. The person living there, a life-long friend of Charlie V, had a beautiful garden with potatoes, onions, swiss chard and more. He was also drying white fish. This is a four-day process - 2 days drying in the sun, a day in the smoke house and another day drying in the sun. The sides of the drying rack were enclosed with a blue plastic tarp and a small fire burned inside the enclosure to keep the flies away. Charlie V said that he and his wife could process about 200 fish in a day. People from Ft. McMurry will buy 100-500 at a time, paying $3 to $5 per fish. Charlie S took us to a Chipewyan cemetery on Jackfish Creek. It was located on a hill near Richardson Lake, probably 2-3 miles from Jackfish Community. It was “out in the middle of no-where” but the cross could be seen from the river; the last burial was 1982. When we returned to Jackfish, Charlie V had cooked potatoes and caribou steak. The steak was good; mild tasting but a little greasy. We were visiting after eating when Charlie V gave me an old pocket knife. It looks like a knife from the 60’s or 70’s, but it is special because for some reason, he chose to give it to me. You often hear about how the people of this country and the tribes help each other. Charlie V was telling about one day when he and his wife were sitting in the cabin and a moose started to cross the river. He shot it and pulled it to shore with his tractor. The neighbors heard about it and came over to cut whatever meat they needed. In the afternoon Charlie’s wife suggested that he get some meat for dinner. When he went out, all the meat was gone. It was not a problem because the others needed the meat. When we left Jackfish, it was calm and nice boating. The moment we entered the bay to cross to Ft. Chip, we hit winds with large swells and waves. I had wanted to take video of the channel markers but the first wave broke over the bow against the windshield. I could not get any pictures without getting the camera wet nor could I put it away because of the boat pounding on the waves. There were three in our boat and Charlie S was in his boat by himself. At times his boat was almost perpendicular to the water and all we could see was the bottom. About two-thirds of the way across, Charlie V’s motor quit and he could not get it started. He had trouble seeing the markers and that caused us to get off course and into weeds. He checked the propeller, but that was not the problem. Charlie S was able to maneuver close so we could tie our boat to his and he pulled us to the lea side of an island close to Ft. Chip. They were not able to determine what was wrong, so Charlie S towed us into Ft. Chip with the two Charlies in the tow boat and Chris and I in the other. I was never concerned about the boat capsizing, but I sure could see us drifting to the NE end of Lake Athabasca and away from Ft. Chip. After we got into Ft. Chip, we had dinner at the motel and took it easy the rest of the evening. This was another magic day. Though we did not get to go to Old Fort Point (that will have to wait for another trip), we saw things few people who do not live in the area get to see. Again the people of the community opened their doors to strangers. How fortunate we were. |
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Journal Summary, July 8-13, July 14, July 15, July 16, July 17, July 18, July 19, July 20, July 21, July 22, July 23, July 24, July 25, July 26, July 27-28, July 29, July 30, July 31, August 1, August 2-3
Intro, Maps, History, Equipment, Personal Equipment, Menus
Exit Peace River Canoe Trip
Last updated: April 13, 2004