Andrea Markey
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (July 13/05) - There's fish to fry and big game to hunt on the Barrenlands, but Mackay Lake Lodge is interested in more.

"Six weeks of fishing and six weeks of hunting is just too short of a season," said Gary Jaeb, who operates the lodge with his wife Bertha and sons Daniel and Malcolm.

Located about an hour northeast of Yellowknife by plane, or 320 km up the ice road from the capital, the lodge is moving to capture another segment of the adventure tourism crowd. Winter sightseeing tours to the Barrenlands will be featured on a soon-to-be revamped website and brochure, he said.

Not barren

Last year, two retired teachers were the first to travel up the ice road to the lodge in March with Gary and Bertha to view the anything-but-barren land full of foxes, wolves, caribou and other Arctic fauna.

Snowmobile rides, the Aurora Borealis and the view from the gate of the Diavik mine site were also part of the schedule.

With a marketing push of the trip this year, Gary sees the potential for many more people to experience the Barrenlands in winter.

Gary doesn't see the nearby Diavik mine site and ongoing exploration in the Barrenlands as clashing with the tours offered at Mackay Lake Lodge.

Instead, he is taking full advantage of the needs of exploration companies and the new tourism opportunities in the area.

The lodge has served as a base for a few exploration teams, and as a drop-off/pick-up point for heavy rock samples and fuel.

Restaking of old claims means a new batch of exploration companies in the area.

"Some early joint ventures were signed at Mackay Lake Lodge," Gary said. "And some of our clients later invested in the early companies that came through the camp."

Record high gas prices and the subsequent increase in charter costs, in addition to the low American dollar, have meant a few changes for the lodge.

"We have had to increase our prices slightly and cut a few expenses," he said.

They also now store propane in bulk. The cost of gas to fuel the lodge works out to about $5 a litre after flying it in, or $3 a litre by truck in winter, he said.

But the experience at the lodge hasn't changed, he said.

Shore lunches of fresh lake trout and bannock and evening drum dances with Dene guides remain a part of each trip. Caribou viewing is also a highlight of fishing on the Barrenlands this time of year, he said.

In the next week or two, more than 160,000 caribou from the Bathurst herd rework their tracks directly behind the lodge on the way back from their calving grounds.

"Even if I won the lottery, I would still be here," Gary said.

Many of the lodge's guides work at the mines in the off-season and use their vacation time for guiding clients to the best fishing holes in the 160 km long lake.

Guides return to the lodge year after year, a few approaching 20 years of experience.

"Some of our guides give up much better paying jobs for the chance to be out on the Barrenlands," he said.