European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 21, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                We climbed toward a Gap Between Barren mountains that seemed to touch the wings. As Long As you can t see them in front of the propeller you re o.k.," said Ron sprang the Bush Pilot. He wore a leather jacket jeans and Cowboy boots and looked rather like Clark Gable. Clearly the Park s adventure began with getting there in a couple of hours we approached Virginia Falls one of the most dramatic waterfalls in North America. Its vertical face was bisected by a pillar of Rock that sent the Spray billowing hundreds of feet into the air. Sprang banked sharply to give me a stomach churning glimpse of Driftwood logs that splintered As if they had exploded when they hit the Bottom of the Falls. To landed on a Placid stretch of River a half mile above the Falls where the other canoeists with Black Feather our trip outfitter had set up tents under the Spruce Trees in one of the Park s few planned campgrounds most parties land at Rabbit Kettle Lake farther upstream and break in with a few Days of easy paddling on the Natanni before confronting the rapids below Virginia Falls some skilled canoeists Start from the Moose Ponds at the River s headwaters outside the Park where there Are 100 Miles of almost continuous White water. The afternoon before we set off. Our Young guide took me out on the River to see what i could do. Ii is not optional Paul said firmly. My canoeing had been limited to paddling across a few lakes in new Hampshire so i had to learn drawing and prying bracing and sweeping All Canoe strokes that would be needed when we ran the River. Paul decided that As the least experienced canoeist in the party i should ride with him. In 13 trips Down the Natanni he has guided clients 16 to 75 years of age without mishap. When he was satisfied that i could handle a Canoe we went Back to Camp. Everyone pitched in to make a dinner of Salmon quiche and pineapple cake baked in a portable oven balanced Over the campfire canoes a s most conspicuous advantage Over backpacking is that you Are not condemned to subsist on freeze dried rations. Once to had Portage our gear around Virginia Falls on wooden Steps the next morning and run the first rapids i had time to Start looking around we floated past startling Rock formations that deserved colourful nicknames. A dense expanse of Spruce Aspen Birch and poplars blanketed the hillsides Small creeks had carved out Side canyons that seemed unexplored. Moose tracks were visible on a gravel bar where we stopped for lunch. From the Shore we scouted out the condition of the figure eight rapids where the current bouncing off a Gorge dubbed hell s Gate creates the most formidable rapids within the Park. The Waves exceeded four feel. Paul sized up the flow and decided that it was not what he called swim City merely something Between a Bunny run and Max  when the water is rough even seasoned paddlers will Portage their gear Overland past the Section rather than risk losing it if they capsize. By steering to one Side of the Gorge we avoided a series of treacherous boils columns of water thrown up to the surface by vertical Force. We stopped to pitch our tents that evening at the Entrance to the Gate where the Natanni negotiates a hairpin turn through a Gap in Limestone Cliffs rising 1.500 feet. To one Side stands a Rock Pinnacle that Early travellers nicknamed the pulpit. By late evening when we had eaten too much of a Hearty Spaghetti dinner the Sun had yet to set behind the Ridge. Without a Wristwatch it is easy to lose track of time in the almost constant summer Daylight of the Canadian North. By Midnight it was still Light enough to read a Book without squinting. Paul recalled How he once turned in at 9 . And waking up in Broad Daylight thought that he had overslept until the following noon. Only when he and his companion were pulling on their clothes did they realize that it was just Midnight. The next morning when we climbed to the top of the Gate for a panoramic View of the River i expected to see More turbulent White water frothing in the narrow Gap n0w York times far below us but there was Only the Placid current. It was drizzling by the time we descended. We paddled in the rain through another 12-mile Long Canyon into Deaden Valley. This Broad Valley took its name from the Fate of Frank and Willie Mcleod Brothers whose headless skeletons were found in 1908 near the Creek where they had been panning for Gold. The discovery fuelled tales of murder in the River Mist that were not dispelled when other prospectors were found dead later. The mounties believed that the men starved to death in the hard Winter and that wild animals had gnawed on their bodies. This explanation did Little to discourage legends about the Natanni As a River from which Fortune seekers did not return. When we pulled our canoes up the Steep Bank to set up Camp fog shrouded the mountains of the funeral Range and Hung Over the forests. We were concerned More about Black bears that might come looking for our food. Grizzly bears also inhabit the westernmost Corners of the Park but they the Natanni is largely unknown in the . Fill photo Are less common along the River. We hoisted our food onto Cache platforms High in the Trees where bears could not reach Well away from our tents. Bears Are taken seriously in the Canadian North. If one was encountered i was told it was Best not to run away but to stand quietly or. As a last resort play dead. I never saw any bears inside the Park. Though my companions had sighted three the previous week. We spent two nights at our campsite under the tall Spruce Trees hoping that the weather would Clear. The three of us ferried our Canoe across the Natanni to Prairie Creek which was overflowing with Rainwater. We hauled the Canoe up the Creek with two ropes a practice called tracking before enjoying a rapid descent rather like a bobsled run Iri the fast Runoff. By evening the Sun finally broke through lighting up the River and bringing out fresh shades of Green in the forests. The Mountain peaks now visible had been frosted with Snow. The next Day we lashed our two canoes together with Driftwood crossbars to form a Sorl of catamaran and set off downriver in what Paul called Power Drifting Riding the River current unaided through the final Canyon. Here mountains loomed More than 3.000 feet above our makeshift vessel opening startling new vistas at each turn and making it hard to know which Way the River would run next. It recalled a voyage i took several years earlier through the three Gorges of the Yangtze River in China though the Walls of the Natanni were even higher and More continuous. To our left were ice filled caves hundreds of feet High in the karst Limestone. One i was told held the skeletons of 110 wild sheep that had wandered in 2,000 years ago. To our right a Large Moose bathed in a quiet Eddy of the River ignoring our silent passage. A Bald Eagle soared lazily overhead. Thirty one species of mammals including Dall sheep Mountain goats White tailed Deer Caribou and Wood Buffalo and 120 kinds of Birds including giant Black Ravens have been sighted in the Park. The Natanni itself sweeps along Loo much Silt to sustain fish but visitors catch Arctic Grayling and Dolly Varden and Lake Trout from adjacent lakes and creeks. Once out of the Canyon we slopped on the right Bank at Kraus hot Springs named for an old prospector from Chicago who once built his Cabin there. The Rotten smell of Sulphur led us to hot water about 90 degrees fahrenheit emerging from the rocks on the River Bank. Prior parties had enlarged the Spring to form a Pool and we stripped and jumped in for our first Bath in several Days. When it Felt too warm we roused ourselves and plunged into the Chilly River a few feet away to rinse off. We spent the night near the Park Boundary swatting Black flies and mosquitoes that had penetrated our tent before entering the splits a Plain where the River widening up to two Miles meanders through scores of channels. In contrast to the upstream current which sweeps along at six or seven Miles an hour the water Here seemed almost stagnant. The splits is an easy place to get lost. Alluring shortcuts through the wooded islands often run into dead ends. At one Oxbow of the River Peter and Fred in the other Canoe ferried Over to a Back Channel while we stayed with the main current. We chuckled Over their Folly Only to spot them later a Good mile ahead of us. We had not sighted another canoeist during our trip through the Park. Parties congregate at Virginia Falls in the High season of july and August and sightseers sometimes Fly in to View the Waterfall but it is still possible to run the River in Solitude. The Park superintendent Peter Lamb has proposed to Parks Canada that motorboats be kept out to preserve the rare wilderness experience that the Natanni offers. On the Natanni i was told prepare for rain when the Sun shines and for Sun when it is raining. The last Day we launched our canoes beneath a cloudless sky and by the time we approached the Park wardens station at Natanni Butte we were paddling through a driving rain against a headwind that conspired against us at each Bend of the River. When we beached our canoes for the last time the furry Black Clouds gave Way to More Sunshine. I peeled off my Sodden rain Wear convinced that the Natanni was never Dull. Sunday september 21,1986 the stars and stripes Page 17