They've worked out the complex logistics for your trip, and they know how to deal with emergencies. In all your northern adventures, the longest line-up you're likely to see is a raft of ducklings cruising a pond, looking for dinner. Over 50 canoeing or rafting trips are offered by 20 licenced outfitters on 20 different rivers. The western Northwest Territories is roughly 1.4 million square km, or 550,000 square miles, about the size of Texas or Alaska. Western territory waterways Rivers in the western Arctic come in all degrees of difficulty, from remote to accessible, from broad barrenland rivers to steep, narrow, mountain rivers.
Conditions also vary, depending on the weather.
Logistical support is also provided by outfitters and airlines. The Slave River flows north from the Alberta plains through Wood Buffalo National Park, into Great Slave Lake. It was the original route to the western Arctic. Rapids on the Slave which caused a portage and led to the creation of Fort Smith, now attract whitewater rafting enthusiasts. Smaller in volume, but no less challenging, are the Taltson , and the Snowdrift , which drain the traditional hunting area of the Chipewyan Dene, south of Great Slave Lake.