Malcolm Gorrill
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Aug10/01) - Michael Faulkner says Hydrodyssey 2001 was an incredible journey.

Faulkner was one of five 18-year-olds from Bolton, England, who reached Inuvik Friday afternoon, after canoeing down the Mackenzie River. They set out from Hay River at the end of June.

Five teenagers from England reached Inuvik last Friday after canoeing down the Mackenzie River. - Malcolm Gorrill/NNSL photo

"This has just been a mammoth experience," said Faulkner.

He, along with Jonathan Garner, Paul Crank, Changez Chan and Jonathan Bayley, all graduated earlier this year from the British equivalent of high school.

"The Mackenzie's given us all its weapons to try and stop us."

With a laugh, Faulkner recalled the scariest moment, which took place three days out of Fort Good Hope.

"We had one day when there were five-foot waves, huge waves, and we only made five miles that day."

He said that most days were really nice, and he found it neat to see the sun still up at midnight. He was disappointed at not having seen any bears, but said they spotted porcupine, one moose, and several beavers.

"Here we've been sort of living in the wilderness, and that's been an experience I'll never forget."

Faulkner noted that Bolton has more than 300,000 people, so he encountered a different way of life here.

"The highlight of the whole trip is really all the different people we've met," he said. "We were just paddling in the last 15 miles to Inuvik, when somebody gave us a fish. We cooked that for tea last night, it was fantastic."

Faulkner said everyone was really friendly and helpful.

This fall all five adventurers will go to university. Faulkner is taking geology at Leeds University, and he planned on visiting Tuktoyaktuk to see a pingo before returning to England. He also wanted to see the Arctic Ocean.

Money for Hydrodyssey 2001 came from the Scott Trust, which funds adventurous expeditions. Faulkner, Crank and Garner had submitted a report to them on a Greenland hiking expedition they took part in last year.

Faulkner said Hydrodyssey 2001 was a bigger adventure project than the Scott Trust usually gets involved in.