Had a great adventure with friends this summer packrafting 600 km down the South Nahanni River in Canada’s Northwest Territories.
We floated the entire 565 km length of the river, from Moose Ponds to its confluence with the Liard River, plus an additional 43 km on the Liard River to our take-out at Lindberg Landing.
Famed wilderness canoe paddler Bill Mason called the South Nahanni “the greatest canoe trip in the world” for good reason. Highlights from our trip include:
- 23 days of wilderness paddling, hiking and camping.
- 150 km float plane ride from Finlayson Lake to Moose Ponds.
- 50 km of near continuous rapids, ranging from Class I to Class III.
- Checking out 95 meter high Virginia Falls. What power!
- Floating through four spectacular canyons, some 1200 meters deep. These are Canada’s deepest river canyons.
- Catching and eating arctic grayling.
- Seeing several black bears and moose along the river.
- Northern lights!
Check out my Gear List for Multi-Day Packrafting Expeditions.
And if you like wilderness packrafting adventures, check out our Mountain River packrafting video from two years ago: