WVMCC Lecture Series: Barren Lands of the Canadian Arctic- 6 Paddlers, 600 Miles, 6 Billion Bugs

Wenatchee resident Ralph Mack and four of his expedition teammates are gathering for the first time in 44 years to share the adventures, misadventures, and discoveries from their five-week canoe journey in the remote Canadian Arctic. They canoed the 620-mile-long Kazan River, known to the indigenous Inuit as “River of the People”. The Kazan lies within a remote area of the Northwest Territories now called Nunavut. It runs north from its source through taiga and tundra, dropping through four major lakes before emptying into Baker Lake 176 miles west of Hudson Bay, the endpoint of their trip. The land they traveled through, and the Inuit were popularized by Farley Mowat’s People of the Deer (1952) and Never Cry Wolf (1962). The tundra landscape is stark and beautiful; it abounds in wildlife, waterfowl and flowers with Inuit vestiges of tent rings, Inukshuks, and hunting blinds scattered throughout.
Come see the photos and hear the story of this journey down what has now become one of Canada’s great Heritage Rivers.
This event is FREE for Museum members and $5.00 for non-members.