Day 20

Today was sunny but strikingly cold. The cooler weather allowed us to go for longer without tiring so easily. The river has been braiding into channels around islands widening out and exposing gravel banks of white limestone. They looked in stark contrast against the electric clue water around them, the sky reflecting a cold blue in the river surface. Sand cliffs, gravel banks and bars, and spruce trees under endless skies give this section of the river a very northern quality, like it might be in the Northwest Territories or Alberta somewhere. We would our way through the channels, often getting out to drag our boats along. Wide rivers make for shallow beds. Each night in bed we go over the maps, evaluating our plans for progress. We just figured out a large section of potential dragging for tomorrow may be a CI rapid. Let’s hope it’s true. By the way, the above pic is worth clicking. It's a panoramic shot that shows the sheer magnitude of this river.