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DEH CHO - There are some places along the South Nahanni River where Alan Patterson doesn't know how his father made it.

"I looked to see how the heck one person dragging a canoe could get up those canyons," said Alan.

Alan Patterson stands at Virginia Falls during his trip to honour the 80th anniversary of his father's journey along the Nahanni. - photo courtesy of Jeremy Patterson

Alan's father was R.M. Patterson, who wrote the book The Dangerous River in which he chronicled his adventures in the South Nahanni River Valley. In mid-August Alan and his three children travelled down the river in the Nahanni National Park Reserve to mark the 80th anniversary of Patterson's 1928 journey.

"I thought it was appropriate to see where he'd been," said Alan.

The trip gave Alan a new appreciation for the struggles and hardships his father went through as he pulled, poled, portaged and sailed his canoe up the river.

"It must have been an incredible effort," he said.

Raymond Murray Patterson was born in England in 1898. He fought in the First World War in which he was taken prisoner. Following the war he went to university and worked in a bank. But having been a prisoner of war, Patterson found he couldn't stand being in confined spaces so he came to Canada, said Alan.

In Canada Patterson worked on a dairy farm and in a logging camp before going north into the Nahanni. During his first trip in 1927 Patterson came alone with his canoe to do some prospecting and exploring, said Alan.

"He had a great curiosity. He wanted to know what was around the next corner," Alan said.

Patterson met prospector Albert Faille on the river and together they worked their way up as far as Virginia Falls before heading back out before winter. The next year Patterson was back with partner Gordon Matthews.

The two men built a cabin in Dead Man's Valley with the plan to trap furs and prospect if possible.

"They spent the winter there and very nearly starved," said Alan.

Patterson wrote about his experiences in his book The Dangerous River, which was first released in 1954. The book brought a consciousness about the Nahanni to Canadians, said Chuck Blyth, superintendent for the Nahanni National Park Reserve.

Although he only visited the Nahanni on two other occasions, Patterson remained passionate about the area.

"He loved to talk to people who were coming up here," said Alan.

Patterson corresponded with anyone who wanted to write him a letter and ask about the Nahanni.

"He was delighted when the park was established," said Alan.

After his adventures in the Nahanni, Patterson married in 1929 and settled on a cattle ranch southwest of Calgary. In 1947 he moved to Vancouver Island. Patterson died in 1984 at the age of 86.

A second book about his experiences titled R.M. Patterson's 1927-1929 Journals was published posthumously in 2007.