Aerial View of Arctic Tundra It was the start of an arctic canoe adventure for our team of 6. The plan was to fly in to Horton Lake, then paddle down the Horton River for 400 miles to finish at the Beaufort Sea on the Arctic Ocean.

The view from the plane was beautiful, giving us an entirely different perspective than seen from the ground. There were hundreds of small ponds, lakes, and puddles that dotted these wetlands.

Since we were on a float plane, we got nervous when we saw that Horton Lake was almost entirely frozen. How would we land? How would we paddle on a frozen river? Luckily a tiny strip at the northern part of the lake, just at the outlet to the river, was ice-free. 

We were able to land, unpack the plane, and start our journey down the river as planned. It is a strange feeling of isolation that comes when the plane departs and leaves us in the quiet of that vast wilderness. Nothing to do but paddle!