UKC

I realise that this is a climbing site and I'm also aware that there is a certain amount of self indulgence in posting a video of a trip I took this summer. However, I also see a lot of people on here who just love the mountain environment and have an interest in its preservation, wherever it is in the world. The Peel watershed is an area of incredible beauty and significant environmental importance. Situated in the Yukon in Canada's North West corner the area also contains considerable mineral deposits which are the target of large mining companies.

Anyway, have a look at this (it may not play on some devices):

youtube.com/watch?v=sA6cAHGxX_s&

and then perhaps have a look at this:

http://protectpeel.ca/

In reply to Removed User:

I think that given we have skiing and cycling parts it's fine. I will watch it later when I have time.

In reply to Removed User:

Great stuff - good choice of music also.

No bears?
No biting flies (of all persuasions)?

In reply to Removed User:
Nice little film. It looks like an amazing 'once in a lifetime' kind of a trip.

I can't see anyone objecting to you posting it here. It surprises me a little bit sometimes that there isn't a paddling subforum on here, but then of course there's no worthwhile paddling in Sheffield.

Have you posted it to the 'song of the paddle' forum? I don't read it regularly (open canoeing not being my thing) but I think it would be appreciated there.

In reply to deepsoup:

Matlock Bath is a nice evening out

In reply to deepsoup:


Thanks, yes, it is on there along with the full photo blogs which I didn't think were right for this site. If you can get on to SotP then you can see the photos under any of the "Snake River" titles (there are several) in the Blogs forum.

In reply to pneame:




Thanks, yes there were bears. One large Grizzly in particular got between us and our desired destination of a glacier on Mt McDonald while we were trekking.

No flies or mossies though. They tend to have died off by August.

In reply to marsbar:

If there's just the right amount of water in the river, and there isn't a dead sheep.

I wasn't being entirely serious, it was just a little dig at the 'Peak-centric' bias here on UKC.

As it happens there are also a couple of nice places to paddle on the Don and even a mildly exciting grade 3-ish rapid in a little gorge on the way from Stocksbridge to Oughtibridge given enough rain. But you've got to admit from a paddler's point of view, let alone a sea paddler, the Peak is a pretty dreary place to be.

In reply to Removed User:
Cool, I'll have a look at the pics later.
Did you get a photo of the grizzly?

In reply to deepsoup:



LOL, no, too busy extracting ourselves from the area. It wasn't too close, about 200m, but they can cover that in about 20 seconds. Luckily we had seen him before he saw us. If you do look at the photos you'll see one of, what we assume to be his, scat. It'll give you some idea of the size of the bugger!

In reply to Removed User:

I really enjoyed that, thanks for posting. A friend of mine canoed the MacKenzie river some years back, 4 of them in two plastic/glass canoes. Near the end they met some germans who had been a couple of days behind them. The germans were in aluminium Grumman canoes and were disappointed not to have seen much wildlife. My mate's crew had seen lots of wildlife on most days and reckoned that the boom from the Grumman's aluminium hulls had likely scared everything off.

In reply to Removed User:

Worth knowing!
Just re-watched on a bigger screen - sublime. Fun to follow along on Google Earth. It never ceases to amaze me where you can get to with a float plane. Hats off to the pilots.

In reply to pneame:


Yes, I've spent 2 summers up there and both have been spectacularly bug free. I think it is specific to the mountains though, once you get out onto the tundra I think it is a different game.


Yes, they are pretty hardcore individuals.

In reply to Removed UserStuart en Écosse:


I suspect a little bit of luck played its part. I saw a lot of wildlife on this trip but we did the Nahanni 2 years ago and saw very little.

In reply to Removed User:

I'm a canoeist too. And I saw your post on SOTP. Your film making ability puts mine to great shame. So out of pure jealousy I'll say it was crap............ (well, not really)!

In reply to Removed User:

Excellent . . . . Thank You!

In reply to Dave Perry:

LOL, Thanks (I think). TBH it is really tough to make a film entirely from go pro footage and I really need to improve a few things. It was an old go pro and I need to upgrade to higher quality video. I also need a better sound recording system which is why there are no voices on the movie.

Then there is the editing, which is a huge skill in itself and one I need to work on. The first thing is to get a decent editing programme (I went with Adobe Premier Pro in the end) and then learn how to use it. I might be using 10% of what premier pro can do.

There are a few of us that cross over on the various sites. I was a climber long before I was a paddler so I have been on this one for about 15 years.

In reply to Removed User:

Well ms pneame thought it was lovely so your editing can't be all bad!
( just watched for the 3rd time - on tv this time)

In reply to pneame:

Thanks. I suspect that anyone who knows anything about editing might disagree but I really do appreciate the comment,

As an aside, I was down in Florida this time last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. Hope you came through the hurricanes ok.

In reply to Removed User:
Pure envy on my part. And I just get frustrated trying to do stuff on software I'm not familiar with. No it was a really well done video as far as I'm concerned. I don't think any one is going bothered if it never reaches 'perfection' - whatever that is. (Too good and people might start thinking you took a film crew with you!)


Ps.. Its 7am, I've just got up. Its overcast & dull outside. And there's only the slightest breeze moving the small twigs on trees. (I live in NE England).

In reply to Removed User:


Thanks for asking - We were lucky compared to many. 3 days without power which was right on the cusp of being intolerable. No AC is tough to deal with! What was impressive was the hordes of utility trucks poised for repairs from as far away as Oklahoma.