3,000 KM of Solo Canoeing in the Wild NWT



Meet Calem Watson, the man who solo paddled towards the Arctic Ocean.

Calem Watson stood on the edge of the Slave River in Fort Smith, NWT, hovering just above the Alberta border, with his canoe by his side and paddle in hand. A daunting 3,000 kilometres of winding rivers and spanning lakes, of occupied habitat and unpredictable weather, lay ahead of him. And he couldn’t wait to get on the water. 

The 24-year-old Regina man began his journey on May 18, 2023 and spent the next 122 days paddling through the territory alone, traversing through multiple river systems to get to Tuktoyaktuk, NWT, bordering the Arctic Ocean.  

Calem Watson canoeing in the NWT

“I really love canoeing,” Watson says. “Ever since my first canoe trip, I just knew that I wanted to spend a whole summer from spring to fall in the North on an adventure.” 

Heading up the Slave River to Great Slave Lake, he then paddled north past Yellowknife towards the Marian River. After following that current for as long as he could, he finally hauled his canoe over his head to portage into the Campbell River system to reach Hottah Lake. From there, he portaged into Great Bear Lake, following the shoreline to where it connected with the Mackenzie River. That system carried him all the way to his final destination on the Arctic Ocean. 

When he wasn’t paddling towards the ocean, he was catching his own fish, sleeping on the shore and overcoming the mental and physical challenges he inevitably rowed into. From battling loneliness on the water to struggling to patch a pair of pants, the adventurer crossed many paths that tested his abilities. 

Calem Watson on his canoe trip

“You can never be perfectly prepared for something,” he says. “If you want to wait until you’re perfectly prepared and perfectly ready, you’re never going to end up actually going.” 

And so he went. It wasn’t long until he came across a challenge he wasn’t prepared for: wearing through both pairs of his pants before he even reached the halfway point.  

“Both [pants] had seen years of guiding and canoe tripping, and had already been patched multiple times, but I figured because I had two pairs, I’d be able to get through it.” 

Calem Watson's camp on his canoe journey across the NWT

By day 50, Watson had worn one pair down to the seams. By day 52, his second pair quickly followed suit—his legs completely exposed to the elements. “The knees were gone, the butt was gone, the crotch was gone.” 

As he paddled towards Hottah Lake, his pants hanging on by a thread, he was in desperate search for any fabric to patch his clothes together. Instead, he found a couple of men from Whati, NWT, a small community found along the shore of Lac La Martre. Surprised to see other people in a remote area, Watson was quick to make a connection with them. 

“The one guy gave me some of his canvas bags. I ended up cutting that up and patching my pants,” he explains. Once he reached the Mackenzie River, he received a brand-new pair of pants in the mail, which he donned until his final destination. 

This display of generosity from the community followed him throughout his entire trip. “It’s ironic that, you know, it was a solo journey, but the interactions with other people is probably one of the biggest takeaways,” he notes. “I met some really incredible people in the Northwest Territories and saw some really incredible acts of kindness from them trying to help me out.” 

Calem Watson's camp setup

His supportive community even extended back to Saskatchewan, where his friends and family were routing for him. But Watson says being away from his loved ones, without consistent or reliable communication with them, was one of his biggest mental struggles he was forced to overcome. 

“You have your family and friends with you in spirit,” he says. “When you’re away from loved ones you appreciate them that much more.”  

It was the community back home, and the community he found along his way, that got him to the finish line in Tuktoyaktuk. And now, having completed all 3,000 kilometres on September 16, he’s using what he has learned to teach others about his experience.  

Watson is travelling across the country, giving presentations on his trip to aspiring adventurers so that they can also have a life-changing experience. He hopes to encourage his audience to get out of their comfort zone, even if they don’t feel completely prepared for the journey.  

“Eventually you just gotta take that leap,” he says. “I consider myself nowhere near an expert paddler, but you can still do awesome things without being an expert.” 

Calem Watson's canoe

While it’s important for people to push themselves out into the wilderness, Watson says it’s just as important to be present and mindful while doing so. Especially when going on a solo trip, he says it is vital for people to look inward, to learn about themselves as they take on the adventure of a lifetime.  

“You’re really immersed in the present on a trip, and it really teaches you to live in the moment. Life’s about the journey, not the finish.” 

Calem Watson on his canoe journey across the NWT

While Watson has potential canoe trip plans for the upcoming summer, he’s more focused on creating a documentary and book based on his adventure. As he filmed the majority of his trip and journaled along the way, he hopes to bring the scenery he immersed himself in, the struggles he faced and the people he met along the way to life. 

Until a release date for those projects is finalized, Watson will continue to post short videos from his canoe trip on his Instagram, giving his viewers a small taste of what life on the water, alone with the wilderness, feels like. 

READ MORE: , ,

Share

LEAVE A COMMENT


RECOMMENDED FOR YOU