On the cusp of summer, the former National Dene Chief and former Sahtu MLA wandered into my office in downtown Yellowknife. He has a passion for getting Indigenous youth out onto the land and played a key role in pushing for the land transfer between the federal and Sahtu governments, and to have a section of land protected within a designated Territorial Park.
After our discussions, he provided me with a unique opportunity to visit the northern community of Norman Wells. Initially, I was meant to volunteer on a multi-day youth hike through the Mackenzie Mountains, but that plan changed due to proximate wildfires and the evacuation of the neighbouring community of Fort Good Hope. The plan instead evolved into me coming up for a few days to discuss plans for the proposed park and to see some of the sites to be further remediated first hand – via helicopter!
Back in the 1920’s oil was discovered in this mountainous region. By the 1940’s, World War II delivered a wave of sprawling activity to the region via the Canadian Oil Project (CANOL). Over the course of several years, an oil pipeline was built from Norman Wells to the Yukon border. But after only operating for 11 months, the pipeline was abandoned, along with all the infrastructure brought into the wilderness to form its creation. The CANOL Heritage Trail is a 371 km path that follows the pipeline and has been coined as one of North America’s longest and most challenging hikes.
The Doi T’oh Territorial Park will be established to encompass Mile 24 to Mile 50 of the CANOL Heritage Trail. The park has not yet been officially established due to a delay in the necessary transfer of lands which won’t take place until the proposed park land has been remediated to the satisfaction of the community and involved Indigenous parties. Remedial action by the federal government has taken place, however, many items of environmental concern still remain.
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) supported remediation efforts on the CANOL Trail under the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan in 2018 and 2019, where ecologically hazardous items were removed, such as telephone wire, batteries, lead-contaminated soil, and residual fuel. Additionally, drums were consolidated, aboveground storage tanks were cleaned and sealed, buildings were demolished, and asbestos was removed. Between 2015 and 2017, telephone wire was removed from approximately 314 kms of the CANOL Trail. This wire poses a great risk to the wellbeing of wildlife, particularly caribou since it gets caught in their antlers.
So there I was, in Norman Wells. I spent a few days exploring the town and nearby region (see details of that account here: The Northern Frontier – Norman Wells, NWT).
Then we piled into the little blue helicopter and made our way west, over the broad and beautiful Mackenzie River. Due its persistently low water levels, we could see large open stretches of sand on the islands through which the murky and sediment-laden waters of the river braided.
Beyond the river is a vast section of forested land covered in a smatter of peat bogs. The water laden holes catch your eye with their shimmering surfaces bordered in green. The sheer vastness of the Northwest Territories’ natural landscapes never ceases to amaze me.
Mile 24
We made quick stop over at Mile 24 to check out the Elder’s Camp which sits on the edge of the sprawling, but powerful, Carcajou River. Our group, consisting of a Dene elder, a Newfie, a middle-aged helicopter pilot, and a young female scientist (me) trundling through the remote wilderness, made for a peculiar, and distinctly Canadian, sight.
Mile 36
We stopped over at Mile 36 nestled within the Dodo Canyon. I couldn’t stop gawking at the bold crumbling cliffs that bordered the canyon. Their base was hidden away under mounds of fallen sediment and eroded rock, but protruding above the sediment-laden mounds were banded sheer cliff walls with a topping of pine trees. It was simply beautiful. I had an urge to run up the sediment hills but knew it would be folly if I tried since they’re much bigger and steeper than they seem.
Partially covered by sediment adjacent to the Dodo Creek, which meanders along the base of the canyon, was the infamous WWII pipeline. It was much smaller than I had imagined.
Mile 36 comprises of 12 Quonsets that have been demolished and consolidated, four vehicles propped on barrels, a trailer, an oil tank, a pile of at least 20 oil drums, and various miscellaneous debris dispersed throughout the area.Â
There are also two abandoned buildings, a pump station and a mechanic shop, that were built in 1942. Out of curiosity I peered into one of the buildings. There was debris littered all throughout and it had the unmistakable reek of rusting iron and oil. This place gave me goosebumps.
Mile 50
At Mile 50 we stationed the helicopter on the upper bank of the glacial blue Little Keele River and then ventured a short ways into the woods after checking out the new emergency shelter that had been built here relatively recently.
This place was a junk collector’s treasure trove. It comprised of at least 50 oil drums, debris from at least four buildings, at least one spool of telephone wire, a few spools of rope wire, three vehicles, a massive plow blade, a sizeable portion of tin cans, and various miscellaneous debris. It felt so random to have these remnants from an older time plopped here in this remote corner of wilderness.
This stunningly rugged landscape is like nothing I’d ever seen before. My jaw dropped with every new vista revealed. It procured a hunger deep within to see more. Despite the oncoming roiling nausea making itself known in the pit of my stomach after jostling around in this death trap for too long, I didn’t want the ride to end, I wanted to see more – I had to see more. The North is addictive.
