Upon reflecting on out visit to Wood Buffalo National Park we may have felt let down in our expectations. After having driven through some of the most beautiful country in the Yukon and Northwest Territories, yes the scenery was a let down. However I feel we did not spend enough time in the park and perhaps should have taken the time to do some hiking and exploring. Wood Buffalo is Canada’s largest National Park and World Heritage site and probably has the fewest tourist amenities. This is good as it remains untouched by human hands and is protecting ancient salt flats left behind by oceans that once covered the area, sink holes and other Karst features. I had to look up Karst topography and here is what it says: Karst is a typography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant rocks, such as quartzite, given the right conditions. Yes we did enjoy our campground stay and the paddle on the sinkhole, so perhaps in a return visit we would have a different appreciation for the park. I am totally in agreement with keeping our human hands off vast areas of our wilderness. Without us the nature was created to sustain its perfection no changes required. Thank you Parks Canada.
Below are my daily trip notes and more images:
Day 40 Mileage 7,579.4 kms, travelled 278.7 kms today from Hay River to Fort Smith Queen Elizabeth Territorial campground where we checked in for the night. The Queen Elizabeth is another great Territorial campground with nice sites close to Wood Buffalo National Park which you drive through the edge of to get to Fort Smith.
Day 38 Mileage 7,658.5 kms travelled 79 kms today. We checked out of our campground and did some sightseeing around Fort Smith, a very nice clean community with all the amenities one would expect in a small community. Checked in at the National Park information area on Wood Buffalo National Park and decided to drive the 60 kms gravel road to Pine Lake campground. A very uninteresting drive but the campground is very nice, it has 19 sites, primitive with tables, fire rings and pit toilets, no power or cell service at a cost of $16.25 per night self-registration, fire wood provided. The campground is on a fairly large lake created by sinkholes and filled by springs. The water is clear and very cold and varies in depth to a maximum depth of around 29 meters. Beside the campground there is a day use picnic area and swimming and boating is popular on the lake. We will spend the night and see what happens tomorrow.
Day 39 Never moved an inch today spent a very quiet morning at Wood Buffalo National Park campground. After lunch we did a little hiking and then blew up the Sea Eagle canoe and paddled Pine Lake, we enjoyed getting out on the water again. The day was sunny and one of our hottest so far with temperatures reaching around 25c. The campground was very noisy last night as the weekenders came and a group of about 10 younger people decided they did not need any sleep that night and did not really care if anyone else did. This is the chance you take on weekends in any campground, you will get those there for a party and do no worry about those around them. Our front camper jacks have a lot of vibration in them as we travel over construction and washboard roads; they sound and feel like they are going to shake off. I am tired of the constant loud rattle from them so I removed the front two jacks and stored them in the basement tray of the Northern Lite. Tomorrow we head for Hay River to fill up stay the night and shower and prepare for our return into Alberta. The Park Warden did stop by and made sure our young friends did clean up the site and deposit the two large garbage bags of empty cans and various other materials. He stopped by the campground and apologized for the disturbance and assured us we would have a quieter night tonight.
Day 40 Mileage 8,028 kms we travelled 298 kms today from Pine Lake campground to Fort Smith for fuel and then on to Hay River. Stopped at the tourist center in Hay River and there is a free dump station, and free potable water for RVs. Went back to Hay River Territorial Park, one of our favorites, have spent four days here on Great Slave Lake previously and plan on spending tonight here again. This campground is kept very clean and the showers are spotless it is well managed. Char did laundry today and it was shower time again. After removing the two front jacks on the camper it was like driving a new vehicle, there is no more rattle every time we hit rough spots or washboard, they will remain off from now on while travelling. We are getting a sewer smell in the camper while travelling and it seems worse after we dump. We are adding the packets to the black tank, I may need to invest in a turbo vent for the sewer stack. (ps I cracked the vent in our camper as it is covered with a Max Air roof vent cover and this has worked). The truck is handling all very well with just upper and lower stable loads on the springs, I may add a heavy Helwig sway bar but that’s it. Not sure where we will end up tomorrow as we hate to leave the NWT and upon checking the few campgrounds in Alberta we find them overpriced even higher than BC so we will either stay in the NWT longer or blow through Alberta quickly.
Day 41 We only moved from one campsite to the group camping on the beach today. Did some maintenance, cleaning etc. got to finish my blog and upload it on the Paddle wheeler Graveyard. We sat and watched Great Slave Lake with the fishing boats coming and going for the last time this year. We have been very much in love with Yellowknife and Hay River the people of the north and their simple lifestyle. They naturally co-exist with nature and a healthy respect for the environment they live in and in many cases their livelihood. Tomorrow we will leave but take a big piece of the NWT with us in our hearts and minds, hopefully to return again. Filled with fuel 1.759/litre and topped up the water ready to head down the road.
Thanks again for travelling along with us and hope some of the information is useful in your travels and you enjoy my feeble attempts at capturing the beauty of this country with my digital camera. It’s a good feeling to be able to share what we experienced with others interested. Thank you to our new subscribers who do not mind getting a notice when I finally get a new post out and it don’t cost a dime and with no ads like them folks on YouTube.
Be sure to check out our next post as yes we start to head home. If you are a proud Albertan you may however want to skip the next post as we were really not impressed with the provincial campgrounds in the northern part of your province. We did find a jewel in the rough….stay tuned and we hope to see you down the road.
Gerry with a G and Charlotte
Beautiful pictures!