We awoke to fog rolling in through the canyon and it was quickly right down to the river level.
Hunter was up and out of the tent early as he was on junior guide breakfast duty - he was in charge of the pancakes!
Tim kept himself amused making rock art while he was waiting for breakfast...
Today we start the day (after our yummy pancakes) with the last of the whitewater. Hunter and Graeme choose to run the raft down the side of the rapids and Hunter has a great time with minimal wetness. Tim decides that we should kayak right through the middle - which was fun BUT very wet, especially for me in the front :)
Luckily the next stop is Kraus Hotsprings. It is a small area that has a sulfur hotspring running through it and is named after the family that homesteaded the land for over 50 years. Lots of stink and yet still a welcomed rest after the cold of the rapids.
Kraus Hotsprings is also the location of the second Parks Canada sign in cabin - another Paddle Cabin!
We spend the rest of the morning paddling out of the last canyon. By lunch time we have entered "the splits" - an area of the river that is bridled with many paths. The river current has slowed down substantially and we all now have to paddle to get anywhere - we can't just float our way to camp.
Mid afternoon we find ourselves officially leaving Nahanni National Park. Of course - the sign was on the opposite side of the river and upstream at the point that we noticed it - here we go again with lots of hard paddling! That's not even mentioning how hard you have to paddle to catch up with everyone else once you are done your side adventure :)
It was a long day on the river as we had to make a certain distance to make tomorrow's paddle to Nahanni Butte achievable. The rafts could really feel the lack of current - it takes alot of work to move an oar rig raft loaded full of gear!
After much meandering and guessing of paths through the splits we eventually landed on a great campsite - sandy beach area. This was the first night of the entire trip on the river that we noticed the flies... Not a single one while we were in the park!
Bed time was a spectacular sight with the run sun setting through the intermittent clouds. With the midnight sun still high in the sky, the most we really got was dusk.
A beautiful sight for our last night on the river!
