Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (July 15/05) - The Mackenzie River's current carries tourists from Fort Simpson to Inuvik every summer.

Brian Holder is one of this year's voyagers. He landed in Fort Simpson more than a week ago and planned to be en route in his canoe by Canada Day. With all the festivities taking place on that holiday, including the Open Sky arts festival, Holder delayed his departure date by a few days.

He found the people in Fort Simpson to be very amiable.

"It felt like I was leaving friends behind," he said.

A resident of Sitka, Alaska, who just completed his masters in education, Holder grew up in Missouri and paddled a number of smaller rivers thereabouts.

"This is by far my biggest trip," he said, adding that he wanted to do it solo.

He's not exactly alone. He is being accompanied by Kvichak, his Springer Spaniel.

His dog, who usually sits in the bow of the canoe, will serve as a good bear alarm, if nothing more, Holder noted.

"He's not much with a paddle," he joked.

Gerd Fricke, acting Deh Cho superintendent of Industry, Tourism and Investment, said there is no way of knowing exactly how many river travellers pass through Fort Simpson each summer. From a few years of experience, his best guess is around 40 paddlers and probably about another 100 on the cruise ship Norweta.

Should the Mackenzie River be designated a Canadian heritage river, that may boost the numbers, according to Fricke.

"I think it's a trend that people are organizing their own trips to an extent," he said.

The cruisers tend to be more affluent and have room to store souvenirs. The adventurist crowd, on the other hand, tends to be younger, often European and has everything they need already packed.

Holder had packets of dehydrated food for sustenance. He said he might cast a line for a fish occasionally, too. He also took a VHF radio with him and an emergency locator device.

Although independent paddlers are advised to inform others of their estimated time of departure and arrival along the way, there is no requirement or licence forcing them to do so, Fricke said.

While on vacation later this month, Fricke will be doing his own trip on the Liard River with a group from Switzerland.

"If I go down the river it always adds a different perspective rather than going along the road system or flying over," he explained.