this time i wanted to do it with human power by paddling up the yellowknife river to reach the coppemine. i spent months in preparation. i used a folding canoe so i could pack it up and return on a commercial flight. i outfitted it with spray deck and packed food for two months. i wanted to travel alone because i wanted to connect with the land and my own inner being rather than a traveling companion. my time in the wild is sacred time and i want to fully honor that process. this is not the first solo journey. there have been others. canoe trips, sailing trips, and backpack trips. each one has led me a step closer to undetanding who i am and my place in the universe. i'm comfortable with river travel but i never tried going upstream before. there were over 80 portages, each requiring four trips to carry my boat, food and gear. that works out to eight miles of walking for each mile-long portage. weight was critical. rivers have been pathways for travel and trade for centuries. the aboriginal people use the yellowknife river to travel north in the spring, following the caribou to the calvi