Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 08/03) - After a month in the water, a lone woman reached the Arctic Ocean this week, fulfilling her quest for an Arctic adventure.

Paddler Wendy Atkinson set out in her kayak from Hay River on July 2. She paddled across Great Slave Lake and down the Mackenzie, to arrive in Inuvik on Saturday. - Terry Halifax/NNSL photo

Wendy Atkinson, from Moncton, N.B., left Hay River July 3 in her kayak heading for the Arctic Ocean.

"You look at a map and you try to find places with long blue lines," Atkinson said. "I saw this long blue line that went from Great Slave Lake to the Arctic Ocean and I said, 'Wow.'"

She's taken many kayak trips, but usually one week or 10-day trips.

Atkinson loaded her 17-foot sea kayak with all the food she'd need for the trip, but did take on new supplies in Inuvik.

"You can never have enough chocolate," she said.

Atkinson brought her fishing rod along with her but never got a chance to use it.

"Every time I'd find a good place to fish, there were bear tracks all around, so I decided against it," Atkinson said.

Along the way, she met fishers who kindly shared their catch with her.

The voyage has had some ups and downs with the weather, with some rain and heavy winds, she had some days where she didn't cover much territory.

"Some days it's 20 kilometres, some days it's 60 or 70 kilometres," she said. "It really depends on the wind; I've had days where it feels like I'm going against the current."

"Not that the boat can't handle it, but I've been pretty careful because I am on my own."

Once she reaches Tuktoyaktuk, she hopes to find someone heading South that can take her and her kayak back to Inuvik.

She barged her car to Inuvik from Hay River and will drive South once she returns from Tuk.