Hopefully, we can do this type of trip again in the near future. The logistics and planning took quite some time but we eventually made it happen.
"The boreal forest (or “taiga”) is the world’s largest land biome. The boreal ecozone principally spans 8 countries: Canada, China, Finland, Japan, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States. It is typically comprised of coniferous tree species such as pine, spruce, and fir with some broadleaf species such as poplar and birch.
The circumboreal belt of forest represents about 30% of the global forest area, contains more surface freshwater than any other biome, and has large tracts of unmanaged forests across the high-latitude regions of Canada, Russia, and the United States. From a biological perspective, boreal forests are defined as forests growing in high-latitude environments where freezing temperatures occur for 6 to 8 months and in which trees are capable of reaching a minimum height of 5 m and a canopy cover of 10%."
We flew deep into the park by way of a Beaver float plane that dropped us off on Burntrock Lake. We started our 140+ mile journey on a lake that greeted us with whitecaps and headwinds and ended 12 days later, hungry, bug bitten, sunburned, and wet on Tamarack Lake. We crossed the height of land in Canada while traversing 4 different river systems and their adjacent lakes that ranged in size from a few hundred meters to miles wide at times. Wildlife abounded - Beaver, Bull Moose, Bear, Bald Eagles, and the elusive Woodland Caribou. We saw each one except for the "Grey Ghost", the Woodland Caribou only left its tracks for us to admire. Maybe next time they'll show themselves. We paddled up the river, down the river, through rapids, waded, and lined only to be confronted again and again with portages. Some difficult, some easy, but always full of a bumper crop of Canadian blueberries that filled our bellies and made the carrying of packs and canoes worth every penny!
Due to the nature of the Boreal Forest, we carried with us two separate shelter systems. Hammocks and tents. Due to the nature of the forest which consisted mainly of Jack Pine we were only able to hammock less than half the time. There was never the perfect angle for hammocking, we made due with what we were given but at the end of the day, we always slept well.
Enjoy the pics!
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