Went to a place once whose name translates to “eat rock”. Pretty much says it...

I was settlement manager in Nahanni Butte, NWT Canada in 1972.

I spent a little over a month in Nahanni. It is some tremendously remote and beautiful country.

Overland, Did you make it up to the falls and the hot spring? Brian

No, I was on foot not on a river trip. I'll send you a PM with a few details that it sounds like you're uniquely qualified to understand

Overland, That was an awesome trip you made.
Very impressive, See any mosquitoes? (chuckle)

The slavey Native would say you are a "strong Moola." (white man)
I think that only a few old timers would have ever taken that trip. It was way out of my league even in my prime. Maybe Dick Turner, Gus Crouse or Abert Faily. (I knew them all and am mentioned in Dicks book, Wings of the North. My two minutes of fame.)

I sent you a PM, Thanks. Or as the Slavey would say " Mussy Cho" (Big Thanks)

Good to hear from a real adventurer. Brian

Mosquitose? Perhaps one or two. I feel incredibly privileged to have spent time deep in Nahanni, where few others have ventured. It's very rare these days to spend significant time anywhere and see absolutely no trace of man. There was no plastic debris on the banks of the rivers, no old fire pits, absolutely no sign of man whatsoever. Here are two pictures of the friendly Nahanni mosquitoes that kept me company.

Sheep and caribou hunting in the NWT, maybe 100 miles west of Norman Wells. It was in the early 90's, I remember seeing one jet a day going overhead - maybe a flight from Chicago to somewhere in Asia? No other traffic to speak of. Often wondered how many people had actually been on some of the ground we covered.

Overland, No not many humans, not even the natives have been where you were. Very precious experience. I don't know if God even goes there much because of the mosquitos. (Chuckle)

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Reply

Wife and I lived in Norman Well for a winter. I went west of the MacKenzie River about 10 miles to the America ww1 army camp called Canol.

Not many folks have been where you were either. I think that you were in the Richardson Mountains as I remember from 1970.

Did you see how the Larch (Tamarack) tree changed to yellow/orange in the fall? Only carnivorous Tree that does that, I was told.

quote:

Originally posted by Brian Canada:
Overland, No not many humans, not even the natives have been where you were. Very precious experience. I don't know if God even goes there much because of the mosquitos. (Chuckle)

Overland,

That sounds like quite an adventure. I for one would like to see it posted here on AR sometime if you wouldn't mind....

^


+1

Tanganyika before game ranches and concessions. 1963.

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Originally posted by cessna:
Tanganyika before game ranches and concessions. 1963.

Wow...almost before Jack O'Connor's first hunt there.

Viscount Melville Sound, 2 weeks sleeping on ice.

Navaluk, Thats remote! Makes Nahanni Butte look like a traffic jamb.

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Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:

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Originally posted by Bwana1:
Gobi Desert, Mongolia. An atom bomb could explode there and no one would notice..

Totally agree. Makes anywhere in Africa seem like civilization. I noticed you don't even see planes flying overhead; can't say that about Alaska or Africa.

It's interesting that some of our paths and thoughts are so similar.

I was there for 3 weeks in 1986 and felt the same thing. It was a glorious time!!!!!!

The Pamir's are pretty remote too and damn cold in December. The highest temp we ever saw was 20 degrees F BELOW ZERO.

Zeke

Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands - and we DID explode atomic bombs there!!

.

Three Kings marlin fishing between NZ and Aussie on a 42 ft game fishing boat Feb 1996 for 5 days.

Amazing sky at night and very much alone out there!

On the hunting side I imagine it will be Tian Shan mountains in August this year!

.

Western china, still lots of people around.

The bottom of the Grand Canyon, rafting the Colorado. On the middle fork of the salmon river in Idaho.

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Originally posted by Colin Masters:
Western china, still lots of people around.

The bottom of the Grand Canyon, rafting the Colorado. On the middle fork of the salmon river in Idaho.

Colin, did you do these trips with OARS? If so, when? My daughter is part of their team and you may have dealt with her in arranging your rafting trips.

quote:

Originally posted by Colin Masters:
Western china, still lots of people around.

The bottom of the Grand Canyon, rafting the Colorado. On the middle fork of the salmon river in Idaho.

Come on, hit a trail on the GC and you are surrounded by tourists at the top if not running into backpackers on a back country trail. Beach your raft and wait a few hours and you will see more.

Me thinks Western China is a lot more remote.

I doubt there is anywhere in the Canyon where you are more than a days walk from another human.

Canada/ Nwt - Hunting for Polar Bear 3 weeks, living in a 15m2 plywood cabin with 4 inuits. In the normal life I live up north in Sweden and not so far from the arctic circle but being out there living on the ice for a long time in minus 40c and below is quite interesting.

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Originally posted by DLS:

quote:

Originally posted by Colin Masters:
Western china, still lots of people around.

The bottom of the Grand Canyon, rafting the Colorado. On the middle fork of the salmon river in Idaho.

Colin, did you do these trips with OARS? If so, when? My daughter is part of their team and you may have dealt with her in arranging your rafting trips.

I didn’t, I was on private permits. I was a guide for a number of summers in Colorado, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

Maybe that is the beauty of the canyon, it certainly worlds away from civilization when your rafting it.

I’ll give it a go.
Putumayo river valley Colombia
San Jose de Guaviare Colombia
Chapare Valley Bolivia
Beni-Pando area Bolivia
Areas of the Altiplano on the Andean Ridge
Central America during the more interesting years
Various areas of Northern Africa and the Middle East

Never want to see another truly remote area.

Safe travels.

quote:

Originally posted by Brian Canada:
Overland, That was an awesome trip you made.
Very impressive, See any mosquitoes? (chuckle)

The slavey Native would say you are a "strong Moola." (white man)
I think that only a few old timers would have ever taken that trip. It was way out of my league even in my prime. Maybe Dick Turner, Gus Crouse or Abert Faily. (I knew them all and am mentioned in Dicks book, Wings of the North. My two minutes of fame.)

I sent you a PM, Thanks. Or as the Slavey would say " Mussy Cho" (Big Thanks)

Good to hear from a real adventurer. Brian

Wow! The short movie on Albert Faily is a special example of perseverance. One of my favourites and a special place in the world up there.

My travels are a little more mundane than others. The most remote I have been is a couple of days paddling in the Boundary Waters.

quote:

Originally posted by Brian Canada:
Did you see how the Larch (Tamarack) tree changed to yellow/orange in the fall? Only carnivorous Tree that does that, I was told.

Brian,

The larch/tamarck are not the only deciduous confiers (coniferous) trees. The folks down south are very familiar with one, the bald cypress.

Tom

Yom, Thanks. Didn't know that. Brian

Back in the early 1980's I found out that the great state of Alaska was going to make it illegal for aliens to hunt caribou without a guide after the current year.

Fair enough. A buddy and I hired a float plane (Dean Carrell of Alaska Air if I remember correctly) to fly us to a remote high country lake in the Alaskan range. He dropped us off with promises to return in a week.

The caribou were spotted the following morning right after sunrise so far away that I could not make them out with 9 power binoculars. 20 x spotting scope did the trick.

The stalk took something like 9 hours they were so far away but we managed to bag a couple of bulls.

It took us a couple of days to pack back to camp and my buddy then got sick and sat around and moped for the rest of the time.

About day # 5 a float plane came by and landed on our lake.

Big guy... only 17 … the first words that he said to us was, 'Have you seen my dogs?'

What a downer. I thought that there was no one within hundreds of miles. His folks had a fishing lodge on some river and the pooches had the run of the mountains. Great life for a dog ..

Middle of no-where (British Columbia, Outback of Australia, Tanzania) were easy.

Now the lunar landscape of the parts of Detroit I've been in could be said to be devoid of human life. Far more dangerous too.

About 120 miles NE of Kotzebue hunting caribou and moose about 1986 and 89. Flew to a small lake next to a tributary of the Noatak river in NW Alaska In 1986 hunted just that area. In 89 floated down from that position to the Noatak where we were picked up a week later.
Great adventures I will never forget.
Late August on a tundra hill top with no wind is the most erie silence I have ever experienced.
All alone up there..One of those things were you believe you are stepping in areas no on has ever gone before.

EZ

Yukon, or NWT Canada. Harsh and remote, and stunningly beautiful.

Some interesting places I think the remotest for me was landing my B737 on the ice of the Arctic Ocean off Axel Heriberto Island at 80N latitude no one for a Long Way. Bill

This darn thing you type one thing and it sends another ( should read Axel Heiberg Island) Bill

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Originally posted by Bill Brady:
This darn thing you type one thing and it sends another ( should read Axel Heiberg Island) Bill

Wow...details?

Maybe not remote people wise but a damn lonely place is anytime after dark on a two man Listening Post about 150 meters out from the Night Defensive Perimeter 15 miles from the Laotian border. It makes for a long night.

Hi AZ
That was back in the eighties they were drilling exploration oil wells in the high Arctic Islands. A drill rig made to break down and fit in a Herc(c-130)90 loads to move a rig. Which was set up on the ice drilling through ocean floor. An ice strip beside the rig. Once it was set up we did the resupply and crew changes with the 727 and 737 interesting approach and landing just the runway lights and rig floating in space only other lights were the stars above.Bill

Northern Namibia in the Kaokoveld.