Little Doctor Lake, NWT, Canada

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~ Photo Series ~ Nahannni – River of Quest and Legend ~
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Solitude is a silent storm that breaks down

all our dead branches;

yet it sends our living roots deeper into

the living heart of the living earth.

Man struggles to find life outside himself.

Unaware that the life he is seeking is within him.

Nature reaches out to us with welcome arms,

and bids us enjoy her beauty; but we dread her

silence and rush into the crowded cities, there

to huddle like sheep fleeing from the ferocious wolf.

~ Kahlil Gibran

Solitude is pretty much a given on this trip.  Permits to travel the river at the time was 1500 people a year, most in the summer months, of course.  The year I traveled the river, only around 800 permits were actually applied for.  Most are for groups run by outfitters.  These trips are spaced out so you are not likely to encounter any other large group on the river.  Some permits, however, are granted to individuals and small groups traveling the river on their own.  You may encounter some of these people.

The view through the window of the airplane.  Being in a two engine propeller plane, we were flying a lot lower than a jet would, and therefore had a much better view of all passing beneath us.