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Jazmine Gardner and Aaron Spitzer canoe towards the entrance of Prosperous Lake on a clear fall evening. - photo courtesy of Steve Hatch

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - After a long summer of open water, we now see the season drawing to a close before the lakes start to freeze and the Sorels come out of the closet.

At the end of summer, myself and other members of the Somba K'e Paddling Society made use of the glorious weather for a camping trip from Prelude lake to the Yellowknife River bridge.

Although the weather did look slightly grey and gloomy on the Saturday, we persisted and took to the water before the sun finally came out and gave us a great weekend of canoeing weather.

One thing that hit me while we were out was the fact that with such good weather at such a late time in the season, there was no one else out.

There was, of course, the odd person fishing in a motor boat, but we saw no other watercraft at all - even when we came through the Tartan Rapids.

Being late in September, many people may be put off by the temperamental weather or just have other things to do. But that was to our advantage. Seeing no one else on the water made the trip that little bit more special - we were enjoying something that many others were missing out on.

The fall colours were beautiful with the setting sun smashing against them. Being protected from what little wind there was made it feel like August.

It has been a good season for paddling on the whole. There were some bad days at the start of the month but generally Yellowknife has been good to us. Water levels have been low in recent weeks which was slightly surprising with the summer rainfall, certainly on the Yellowknife and Cameron rivers, and even on the lakes you can see previous water level marks of even three feet higher than now.

It is hit and miss as to if the weather will hold out for any more weekends. There is talk of people getting out for the Thanksgiving weekend and with warmer temperatures expected, it could be worth taking the chance.

One thing's for sure though: if you do get out on the water and the weather does hold out, it could make for an extra special trip. And with no one else around, you'll have it all to yourself.

- Steve Hatch is a whitewater kayak instructor and an avid paddler