Day 4: (July 9)
Fartus horribus in my tent this morning AND ITS NOT ME. Overcast sky but no bugs on this great paddling morning. The occasional swift keeps things interesting and Alfred, a beginner canoeist, starts to relax in my bow. Stop at a high slope on outside river bend – its covered with blue and purple lupins! Scramble up for closer look, marveling at fecundity of arctic summer...fish are clearly visible in the waters below, swimming beneath our canoe, sometimes started, leaping out of the water into our boat. Alfred says they are grayling…
Thick forested valley lines the river for most of the day. At camp, we climb above to the tundra about 430m elevation where the land plateaus. Twisted, knarled stumps suggest a climate change of long ago – pink vetch thrives the hot drying winds and baking sun, robins flit and call
