Bonnet Plume River

Some data on the River

The Bonnet Plume River is between the Wind and the Snake rivers in the Yukon-Territory, and flows up north in the Peel-River, which in turn empties in the Mackenzie. It is still in an area that is free of industry, and there are no outposts of civilization to be seen there. It flows still thru pure wilderness.

The Bonnet Plume River has been designated 1998 as a Heritage River, which means, it is protected. Have a look at this link, and find a map and other interesting data there.

Rapids: Class 3-4, 2 Falls with short portages.
Remarks:
Distance: 300km approx on the Bonnet Plume, 260km approx on the Peel
Speed: Bonnet Plume flows fast, Peel pretty good, but last 80km or so very slow
Maps:1:500.000 TPC C-9C for overview

106B - Bonnet Plume Lake
106C - Nadaleen River
106D - Nash Creek, only upper left corner
106E - Wind River
106F - Snake River
106L - Trail River
106K - Martin House
106M - Fort Mc Pherson

Here is a short report on our trip in August 2001:

The code n_mm refers to pictures taken (film n, picture mm). Only a few pictures have been included here. I am not much of a photographer, and the camera used was a Minolta Weathermatic 350L, which is watertight, but otherwise just for clicking away.

July 24 - Arrival at Whitehorse, YT: Bert and I having been there quite a few times before, we immediately started arranging the transport via Steward Crossing by bus (54$ each plus 30$ overweight for the 2 of us) and to Mayo from there by taxi (70$). We had to arrange taxi by ourselfes, since the Greyhound Comp. has discontinued this service, while not reducing it's fares. Making the necessary calls takes quite a few quarters, since it is a long distance call. After that we did some shopping for the food which we needed for the upcoming trip. We did make up the list in a small restaurant - no problem for 2 people to imagine the needs. As always, Robert Service Campground was our base, which we used only for one night.

July 55 - Arrival at Mayo:After depositing our luggage at the bus station, we had some time which we spent with sending some e-mails from the public library, and having breakfeast. Then we got onto the bus to Steward Crossing, took the taxi to Mayo, and arrived there in the early evening (1-1). We set up the tent at Galena Park, which was the float plane base in recent years. However, the base had moved, and we were astonished, that the taxi-driver did not mention this to us, since he lives in Mayo... Reason for this relocation was vandalism. The new base is at the old saw-mill, 2 km out of Mayo.

As it turned out, the mosquitos were extremely aggressive, and we did kill plenty after getting into the tent with them. During night it started to rain, and the next day was spent with reading, checking things with the pilot Chris from Black Sheep Aviation and getting some food at the local chinese restaurant, which has a good cook. The local library provided for e-mail-access. Thanx to those friendly librarians there!

July 27 - Arriving at Bonnet Plume Lake:The pilots came at 8 in the morning and took our stuff to the new base, from where we flew to the Bonnet Plume Lake. Weather seemed to improve. The flight did cost 1126$ with the Cessna 206 (1-2).

The Bonnet Plume Lake is a longisch lake (1-28) , and it has an outflow (1-27)

, which flows into the Bonnet Plume River. In the picture the outflow begins upper left corner. Our pilot was Chris (1-29)

. It was not a lonely place, since after us came some more groups flying in. But, it turned out, it is an excellent lake to fish, which we did with great enthusiasm. 2 Arctic Graylings and 2 trout were enough for lunch. Since it was hot and nice, we took a swim (1-31,32).

July 28 - excellent fishing and barbecue: During night it started again to rain, and in the morning the sky was 8/8 cloudy. We did again catch some excellent fish, among them an arctic char (1-34)

, which I decided to prepare "graved", which means, the filets are put into a mixture of salt and sugar and some italian herbs for a day or so.

Yesterday a group of 8 Americans had arrived, and they had set up camp at a place near to ours. So we had plenty people to talk to. In the early afternoon, 4 french people did arrive, who took camp on the other side of the lake. The weather improved, and the americans suggested a barbecue with fish later in the afternoon. So we did catch some more fish, also to have some supply for the french group. The happening was great, we had lots of fun.

July 29, we find all the other campsites empty, both the french and the Americans had left. Two moose come walking along the shore, but go for the bushes after realising we were watching them from the tent. The graved arctic char proofed to be excellent. In the afternoon we prepared our Outside inflatable boat for the journey to come.

July 30 - Entering the Bonnet Plume River - The swim in Rockslide Canyon: The day when we started. Another group of Canadians came, and it turned out, that they woud be in a hurry to make the river. We wished them good luck, and left for the River.

First we hiked a hill on the other side of the lake, to get an overview (2-4...9) of the river (2-7)

. In the picture above, we would enter via the connection on the lower right and then continue to the left. On the far side of the lake two moose were feeding in the water. After that short hike, in light raining, we entered the channel which connects the clear water lake to the river, and we were on our way. The river was muddy and carried lots of water as a result of the heavy rains during the last days.

After a few kilometers (2-9),

Rockslide Canyon, which you see as a grey band in the upper part of the picture, is the first possibility to check the paddling skills. Since both of us are experienced paddlers and quite capable to paddle a 2+ rapid, we did not bother to check things out before entering the canyon, which proved shortly to be a serious mistake.

Both of us are used to be in command and could be so on different trips with more boats, and we have a different style of paddling. While I like to use the current in my favour and have a technical style and insist of having the bow point to the obstacle, which means, that I prefer to have the boat always at an angle to the current, Bert likes to simply slug it out and drive the boat like it were a car, with the bow pointing away from the obstacle, and the boat parallel to the current. The result is, that in critical situations we do things differently. Due to our confidence in our skills and no prior paddling together lately, we found this out a little to late, which means, that we did not escape a rock in a rapid (2_23, following day - a creek on the left made it impossible to get a better shot at this rapid and identify the rock.)

. (Luckily this was our only point of dissent, which could not be resolved by arguments. Which argument do you apply, if mathematics and physics are rejected??. We never got to the point of using the technical style as a given, creating some unnecessary stress further down the river. However, in dangerous situations, I did use my superior position in the back of the boat to enforce proper technique. But make no mistake here - Bert has plenty experience, and he did paddle quite a few big rivers successfully - so I value his points of view. )

This was no problem for the river, it invited us to a serious swim of a few hundred meters in it's cold waters. After being plenty and repeatedly washed, we somehow managed to push ourselves and the boat into a small eddy, and, quite exausted, managed to stabilize it there (2_18, 20)

. Our hands were already more or less useless from the cold, and it was pretty difficult, to turn the boat up again, and secure it with a rope. Back to gear. The basic mistake was NOT to check things out first - which is a paddling skill we did choose to ignore here.

As one can see, we escaped the river just ahead of some nasty rocks, which would push us to the left, and possibly directly onto the rock at the upper left. Not a nice prospect. ( Next day we portaged the stuff to the bend with the rock and continued from there.)

Thereafter we did change clothes, and congratulated ourselves to survival. Our losses were not severe, except that we both lost our paddles during the swim, and had only 1 spare paddle in the big barrel. This could turn out to be a problem. Less serious: I lost my neoprene socks and a sandal, and also our platform for cooking. Otherwise, our bodies were in good shape, only minor blue areas on the legs.

Our next action was, to scout the rest of the canyon (2_13...24), partly to find out, whether we could find the paddles, mostly however to see, how things went on. The rockslide canyon is a result of a whole mountain sliding down. (2_19)

, and it is very time-consuming to walk on the slabs of stone (2_15)

. I would not classify this as wonderful hiking, as do Ken Madsen/Graham Wilson in his book "Rivers of the Yukon". Access to the mountains is easy, but far away.

At the end of the canyon we saw 2 yellow canoes on the other side, which we knew did belong to the french. Blowing the whistle did not show immediate results, and since we hoped to get a spare paddle from them, we decided to keep looking for them. Bert would stay there and blow the whistle, and I would return upriver and have a look for them there in case they would be on a hike and then set up camp .

Finally Bert arrived with a spare paddle. It had taken some time for the french group to identify the whistle, and finally they came to their boats to check things out. Our sincere thanks go to these fine people. It turned out, that we would not meet them again, and that they also forgot to deposit their address at Robert Service Campground in Whitehorse as promised.

Since the late afternoon was sunny, we could dry the clothes and other things (2_24)

, and after having something to eat, things looked good again.

July 31 - leaving Rockslide Canyon:: Sunshine and excellent weather. We have decided to portage 300m at the shore up to the rock, and then paddle the rest of the canyon. According to our different styles to negotiate the waters, we had plenty of opportunities to get the blood pressure up, but there were no further problems. Another small rapid can be avoided paddling the left side of an island. Thereafter the river braids and there are plenty gravel bars. We stopped for the night well above the next big rapid and the first fall, since we figured, that portaging the fall would take us into darkness otherwise. We had plenty spaghetti, and rain again.

Aug 1 - class 3 rapid and fall1: During the night it was raining. From now on we would scout first, and paddle second. The next rapid, class 3, comes after the first mayor creek (originating near Bonnet Plume Lake) flowing into the Bonnet Plume from the left. This would be an excellent campsite. Fishing there was not successful. The rapid starts with a ledge spanning the river (2_31)

, thereafter begins a canyon (#2) starting with a sharp left turn followed by a right turn. Some distance downriver, the rapid (2_34)

begins. Given this high water and our unsynchronised paddling style, we decided not to paddle the rapid, but rope it. Behind the rapid is a pool, but with the high water it is not certain, that one does not get into the main current and then be in serious trouble. We roped the boat, and watched the group of Canadians master it skillfully directly on the right side. They were 3 really synchronized teams, and their performance was impressive.

While they proceeded to portage the first fall, which follows a few hundred meters downriver that rapid, we crossed to the left side, and set up camp (2_35, top middle)

a little above the fall. The fall is not really a fall (2_36)

, but it nevertheless seems to be a rapid, which is not to be paddles with a canoe nor with an inflatable boat easily.

To again cross to the right side would prove difficult and in case of any mistake it would be the end of the trip, with loosing the boat the lesser of possible outcomes. According to that realization sleep didn't come easy and I kept looking for a safe alternative.

After some thinking, worrying and figuring things out, I realized, that every river has two shores, and that the existence of a portage on the river right does not mean, that there is no portage on the river left. With that realization I immediately slept and slept very well.

Aug 2 - Fall one and class 3 rapid:I suggested my plan to Bert, and he was luckily eager to not only explore the possibility before portaging, but start carrying stuff right during our first exploring. He too did consider the crossing quite dangerous, and was glad to have a better plan, which he immediately supported.This is a look at the fall from below (3_3).

The portage on the left side turned out to be only marginally longer than the other portage on the right, and it had been used by others also. It did not take long to set up the boat after the fall, and we did paddle the rest of that canyon without further problems. (2_37).

Also, because the heavy rain did stop, the waterlevel had already started to come down somewhat.

Two and a half kilometers later the next rapid class 3 (3_6...3_15) has to be negotiated. It starts with a ledge, which we have scouted and then paddled. 5km downriver the Canadians are already scouting (3_9) the rapid which precedes the canyon #3. We have roped the ledge (3_6)

seen from upriver and from downriver (3_7)

and paddled the rest of the canyon (3_10).

At the end (3_15) of this we found a camp where some Canadians dried their stuff. They did have a serious problem with almost loosing a canoe and it took them some time to recover it. We had found a rope from them, and Hubert was glad to get it back. In turn they provided us with another paddle, and as a result we again had a spare paddle. on the picture above the group of canadians passes skillfully.

Our next campsite was again at the start of another canyon, and since the day was perfect so far, we decided to stay there, have a bath, and do some hiking the next day. I tried to fish (3_17)

, but the unfortunate result was, that I lost the spinner, and in the attempts to recover it, also lost part of the spool. That would have meant an end to fishing, something I did not like at all.

Aug 3 - hike1: After a pan-cake breakfeast, we set out to climb our first mountain. Only light equipment was necessary, since the sun was shining, no clouds visible. The trip proved to be easy, and once out of the trees we did see a caribou and a moose high above us. We spent an hour on the top which was about 1000m above camp, admiring the scenery (3_20...33). We could see the way we did already paddle (3_29)

and where we would go (3_33)

. On our way out we again saw a caribou, and a moose with a calf (3_34), which escaped to the lower forest after seeing us. There we saw them again. Without further problems we found our camp and had a pleasant evening. It was hot enough to do a complete cleaning (3_35). We had collected some mushrooms, and they were very tasty. We did have an aperitiv some time before eating them, since some mushrooms can give some trouble if combined with alkohol.

After lunch, I decided to get my fishing gear working again. Thinking things over, and examining our spare stuff, I decided to become a mechanic and file the necessary part with the help of my swiss army knife. Up to that moment the file seemed useful only for shortening finger nails. It prooved to be more useful than that, and after some hours of careful work this evening and next morning, I had a hexagonal piece of aluminium, which together with a corned beef can opener was a workable replacement for the part missing. Except for not being able to immediately start pulling in after a throw, the handle proved to be fully functional and will be kept in reserve after the trip.

Aug 4: 'fishing lake' hike We both had strong flatulence and liquid shit due to the mushrooms eaten yesterday, but no other symptoms. I had checked and identified the mushrooms, and the body simply did not quite like them that much. However, this was no hindrance to continue the trip. On our way we checked out a lake (3_37) on the left side for fishing, but it was too shallow, and we cought nothing there. At Goz Creek (3_38,39)

the muddy waters of the Bonnet Plume mix with it's clear water. There we saw a big moose (3_39). Fishing there was not successful. We set up camp at another creek, where I did catch some arctic grayling with a Tiroler Hölzl and red-white spaghetti. They tasted delicious. The mountain south of our location seemed easy accessible.

Aug 5: We paddled until short above the next fall, which we would portage next day. The scenery is always great (4_7),

with colors changing as fast as the sky changes clouds (4_7...12). The river runs in a wide gravel bed, but it is easy to stay in the main current. The sky looked like it would give a heavy storm (4_9)

shortly. We hurried to set up camp but then the storm and shower did not come. Fishing was again successful - however, I lost my only Tiroler Hölzl together with the bait. Grrrrr!

Aug 6 - rapid and fall 2: A bear had been in our boat, black hair everywhere, but no damage was done. We were careless and had the tons with the food left in the boat. The bear did not work on these tons, obviously they did not loose any smells. But from then on we removed them well from the boat and cooking place at night. We did not hear or see anything from him. After a short time we arrived at a river spanning ledge (4_14...28), which we have roped (4_16)

, and then had to portage only the fall (4_25).

An easy task. Immediately after the fall (4_23)

we continued to paddle the canyon (4_21).

We finished today at Corn Creek (4_32).

The weather was cold and unpleasant. The waterlevel has been falling the last days.

Aug 7 Corn-Creek (4_32...39)- hike2 (5_1...17): It kept raining all night and well into the morning. We got up late, and then prepared pancakes. During this procedure, we realized, that very likely the sun would be out shortly, and we decided to climb another mountain upriver on the left side. We could reach the other side of the wide delta of Corn Creek (5_7)

using only our rubber boots, which we left at a open area, taking a fix with the GPS and putting some bright cloth on top of them. We climbed the mountain on its edge which faces the river. It was all gravel which kept moving downhill under our feet and was not particularly easy to move on. However, after some toiling we were rewarded by a good view from the top (5_11).

A view to the north (5_5)

shows that the mountains look accessible, but are not easily, because either a creek makes reaching the slope difficult, or the angle one needs to hike up is pretty steep while the surface consists of loose gravel. We took the straight route to the north downhill in much finer gravel and much could be done skidding downhill. In the forest we did find a lot of blueberries, which were very welcome. Our boots were easy to find, and we had a nice warm evening.

Aug 8 - sheep: Today we did some fishing on our way (5_18...25), again with good results for Bert, me nothing. At a confluence we again became quite dynamic paddlers, when we crossed into another leg of the river, and the eddieline rocked our boat. The water survey station (5_22)

at Gillespie Creek has been given up and the housing has been thrown over. Pinguicola Creek is hardly visible, just a green spot at the river right. We took camp on a big gravel flat (5_19...32), which was also home to a herd of dall sheep.

Aug 9 - hike3: The mountain (5_28)

in the southwest was our next hike (5_33...36; 6_1...8)). After a short negotiation of the terrain we found some animal track leading straight up to the summit. Those sheep used the very direct route, and we were surprised, how fast we would gain altitude. Again we had a great view from the top (5_35)

(6_6). This time there was no skidding downhill, and the legs did need to work. Lots of blueberries were a welcome snack on our way down. Luckily there was plenty fresh water down at the flat, and we took a swim to cool down. Our food was really excellent, Bert was very skillfull with preparing it, and we always figured out some way to make it really tasty and yet easy to cook.

Aug 10 - some shy grizzlies: Near the Creek which flows from the Fairchaild lake there has been an Outfitters Camp (6_14)

erected. 2 nice Huts, and a 3rd in the making. A really nice spot with a great view (6_13)

up the valley.
We did not stop there. Strong wind reduced our speed, and it prooved difficult to find a good, protected campsite.
However, we have seen 2 grizzlies, which were quite shy, and preferred to escape into safety. A 3rd grizzly came out of the bushes some 30m from our campsite (6_22)

, obviously not expecting to find us there, since he immediately backpedaled. I took my gun and went to check the situation without seeing or hearing anything. After lunch we took a walk and circled the bushes. We found the beartrack, and it indicated, that he went highspeed from where he saw us to the safe forest some hundred meters away from our site. Satisfied with having the bear in a save distance, we slept well. There was a wind indicator visible near our campsite, and there might be an outfitters camp there, which we did not check out.

Aug.11: We left early for no particular reason. At Rapitan Creek we met a guy who had 2 packhorses with him and who brought some stuff to those huts seen yesterday. He was coming from Mayo with his horses, and 10 days on his way already. The river is pretty wide here, not small anymore. Seen a caribou. The view from our campsite at a small creek again was great (6_36).

Fishing was good again, my spaghetti seems to be very tasty. As were the graylings.
As the light changes, so does the view (7_2)

. Later in the evening we always have some tea, chocolate, and some spiritual drink. Bert measures here the correct quantity for today (7_4).

Here the river makes a turn to the west.

Aug 12 - last hike before leaving the mountains: After a rainy night, the wether was reasonably good again. The river now braids and while it still flows fast, it takes a lot of time to cover distance. Today, after a last hike up a mountain opposite Margaret Lake, we left the mountains for good. The weather kept changing from sunshine to shower, and so did the colors (7_9).

At our campsite, which gave a great view (7_16) of the mountains upriver, we found for the first time sign of goose resting there. However - they are really shy and know how to keep a safe distance.

Aug 13: It did rain this night, and now the sky is overcast and it is windy. The river braids again, and it is sometimes difficult to choose the path with the most water. However, the river looses quite some altitude in it's gravel bed. In the evening it was hot and clear again, and we took a very welcome bath. Also we did hike this place (7_19)

, found some small fish, which Bert tried to rescue, and some nice structures in the sand. (7_20)

Aug 14 - best fishing at Noisy Creek: The night was dark and clear, and I had a magnificient view of some planets and the growing siccle of the silvery moon. In the morning, it was again cold and windy, overcast. The river braids again and flows fast. In the afternoon, we decide to stop early, it looks like a heavy storm (7_25)

would soon strike, and we decide to make camp at Noisy Creek. While the wind is quite strong, this proves to be one of the most beautiful fishing spots on the trip. I took 5 small arctic graylings within short time with my proven red-white spaghetties.

Aug 15 - End of Bonnet Plume River: The Peel River is not far away, and it took only a short time to reach it. The delta of the Bonnet Plume braids extremely there, and this is the reason that the Bonnet Plume does not show any traces of boating and human presence. It is simply impossible to go upriver with a motorboat at that time of year. We had to pull our boat over some shallow gravel. Here we pose at the confluence: Me (7_31)

and Bert (7_30)

with the Peel and the beginning of it's canyon in the background.

This was the end of the Bonnet Plume River Journey. We had spent 17 days on the river, starting with a serious swim, coming somewhat to grips with our different styles of paddling, seeing many more bears than in previous trips, doing 3 greater hikes up mountains and some smaller hikes, catching 24 fish and having generally a good time in a magnificient and very remote scenery.

From now on we would continue our journey down the Peel River

Claus Gregor's private Homepage

Claus Gregor's private Homepage

Bonnet Plume River

Some data on the River

Here is a short report on our trip in August 2001: