Inuvik (July 19/04) - When Frank Alderman came to Inuvik two weeks ago, he was following a path blazed by one of Canada's greatest adventurers and one of his own relatives.

Frank Alderman, a descendent of Alexander MacKenzie, visited Inuvik last week. - Andrew Raven/NNSL photo

Alderman is a direct descendent, seven generations removed, of explorer Alexander Mackenzie, the first European to discover the Mackenzie River and canoe its rough waters to the Arctic Ocean.

Mackenzie is also credited as the first European to cross North America, the Rocky Mountains and the continental divide.

"I heard a lot about him growing up," said Alderman of his great, great, great, great, great grandfather.

"He was a heroic figure in our family."

Alderman, who is semi-retired and living in Swansea, Wales, had a desire to visit the land Mackenzie explored more than 200 years ago.

"I've spent a lot of time reading history books about Alexander MacKenzie," said Alderman. "But the theory and the reality are two different things."

MacKenzie was born in Stornaway, Scotland, in the mid-1760s, though Alderman and most historians aren't sure of the exact date.

He came to North America about 10 years later, with his family, first living in New York then Montreal.

After being orphaned in his early teens, Mackenzie got a job as a fur-trader with the Northwest Company.

He travelled to Fort Chipewyan and set out on his famous journey down the Mackenzie River in 1789.

Following the voyage, Mackenzie travelled across the continent, working his way through the Rockies.

In the early part of the 19th century, MacKenzie penned his memoirs before retiring to Europe.

"Aside from a short stretch, he really did not spend a lot of time exploring," said Alderman.

When asked whether he had inherited a taste for exploration, he laughed.

"Not really."