Canol Road Expedition (1 Viewer)

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My point exactly if you dont have the money dont go there .I tried with limited resources it cant be done period no matter how much gung- ho involved unless you do have the cash. You have to take a positive look at whats involved, what expedition went ahead without a scout. I can only tell you what it is like through my eyes .You have to know whats in front of you or you are beat before you start. It takes money and equipment and time period.No other way will prevail on this trip My point is dont screw with the feds on failed attempts or they will close you out This not a province this a territory and they will f--- you up if given cause. So my advise is this is not a trip in the park but as serious as climbing Mt Everest. YOU could die on this one and i know first hand.I dont want to be a downer to you young guys out there with lots of go, but this trip if not done right could be your last. Any vehicle left on the road has to be removed or they will remove it by chopper at your expense. AS i said this trip is not for the faint hearted or those not totally involved or any who have too do it there way. You dont want too be the talk in the Legion in the Wells from all the nay sayers in there ,i told you that you couldnt make it!!!! You need tracks. And tires for the boulders and rocks.That is a must or forget it Nothing else will get you through I know i was there focus for a while of the plentyfull nay sayers in the legion, The last 25 miles to the mackenzie river is all swamp tires wont cut it, take care
 
Buchanan, Just wondering how it is you stumbled onto our discussion on this forum, since I'm guessing you don't own a 'Cruiser?? Someone has obviously tipped you off about our little adventure...

Could you please clarify what you meant by " This is not a province, this is a territory and they will f you up"?? Who is "They" and how will they f me up?

I understand the terrain is harsh, but I am also certain of my vehicles abilities, I am not stupid enough to push beyond these abilities and risk not getting out. If the last 25 miles is swamp, then I turn around and drive back out... If I can't make it past the Twitya, then I turn around and drive back out, simple...
 
Further to my last post the road reminds me of two thing. On the cost side the road reminds me of what a late friend Dwyght Lee of Lee Brothers Auto.and racing in Red Deer said when i asked him many years ago about getting into drag racing which he and his brother did. He said if you can take a $100 bill out of your pocket, put in the toilet,then flush it, Your in !!! On what it takes side, the road reminds me of this. Remember the drill instructor in Full Metal Jacket think of him as the canol road. And when he hollered at the draftee who he nicknamed Gomer Pyle. Marine you better unf--- yourself or i will !!!! or better still. Gomer fall into my outstretched hand and choke yourself . This canol road will ask the same impossible of you. And if you make it to the Legion in the Wells you can say Semper Fi. You can drink a well deserved beer, you will have finally beat the demons of the famed Canol Road Or in Canadian terms you have finally beat Billy Smith and won the Stanley Cup Ps sorry Flames lol
 
I will have a longer response later , but for now I just want to say thank you to Buchanan .. The info you provided is fantastic and all comments , advice, ( good or bad ) is greatly appreciated. I am in talks with people in NWT Industry , tourism , and Investment , and working on discussion with basically anyone who is involved ( one way or another ) with the Canol Road .... In all levels of government , federal and otherwise . I don't go in anywhere knowing everything about everything ..
Anyway, I have to get back to work. I'd like to talk to you about a few things that you mentioned , but I prefer email or phone. If I could pick your brain about a few details o the trail from mp 121 to mp 0 Buchanan , that would be super. Please PM me if that's ok with you. And again, thanks for all the good reading !
 
The people who want 4x4 ing stopped This is a territory means the federal goverment isquasi in control and they can ask the Wildlife officers who come to MP 222 from the Wells in Aug and have a station there and stop you if they figure you are going too do damage. This is not a new topic it has be going on for a few years. The territorial or feds if you like work hand in hand on matters regarding the Canol road If you are suggesting i am a plant working against you I am NOT. No i dont own a cruiser, but i did stumble on to your site as it is in the Canol road search engine. I also came across the other site with the guys who went on the road in 2009. The road seemed to have been set aside on there site.I occasionally look up that search engine too see who else was on the road, be it hiking ,sledding,biking or driving. So i am not a plant as i said, just somebody on the Wide world web hoping to give you a heads up on the difficulties that you will face and how the locals ect,.view this road, and you wont find this information out of a book.There you have it as in life someone will always question your motives
 
I did thank you. I will contact you soon!!
 
Well I just had a really great conversation with Buchanan.. Super great guy to talk to and lots of info!! I will have to make plans to visit him next time Im in the Red Deer area.
I helped clarify a few things ( so he didnt have to swim through 7 pages of comments lol ) and its always nice to talk to someone rather than chat on a forum, as there is just too much lost in translation. So we both came up with the same end idea.... The best thing to do right now is to get into contact with people. I know that the Canol Road is a Heritage Trail, Trans Canada Trail etc .. but the most important thing is to just simply say " Hi .. This is who we are and this is what we would really like to do " . I want to ensure that everyone knows our plans, and that we are not trying to go blazing though the bush come Hell or High water; That we would like to complete this trail from end to end without destroying anything, and doing it in the safest possible manner .. both for ourselves and the land ( Remember .. Tread lightly!! )
There have been many attempts in the past to do this trail, and this may be the last time anybody will have a shot at completing this. I want to ensure that we have as much help as we can get ... because after talking to Buchanan, we are gonna need it.
 
I'm sure everyone knows this is going to be an extremely taxing trip physically, mentally, financially and automotivly haha! I've been following this very closely over the last months and so far there has been a lot of great info. The more I learn about this trip, the more excited I get! I'll be honest, at first I really wasn't too keen on the whole deep river crossing and over all insanity; but, now that I see all the planning that's going into this and those nice pontoons, I'm feeling up for the challenge!

Also, I know it's just a forum on the internet; but, would it kill anyone to use paragraph breaks? Like come on guys! :)
 
Just throwing this out there.
The Wind River Trail might be a good alternative. Internet information is scarce but I worked along the first 50 miles of it last summer while supporting a mining exploration company in the region. The part I worked on continues past Mcquesten lake and joins up with the Dempster highway at some point further along in the mountains. The reason I think it might be a better alternative is simply because it does not dead end at a winter access only destination. The scenery is unbelievable and parts of it are still quite good. The challenges would be just as gruelling with the exception that there are several helicopters operating in the region in the event of an emergency as well as the exploration companies.
The are a few abandoned mines along the route as well as some old cabins etc....also lots of abandoned jet and diesel fuel if you know where to look.
Regards,
RJ
 
Just throwing this out there.
The Wind River Trail might be a good alternative. Internet information is scarce but I worked along the first 50 miles of it last summer while supporting a mining exploration company in the region. The part I worked on continues past Mcquesten lake and joins up with the Dempster highway at some point further along in the mountains. The reason I think it might be a better alternative is simply because it does not dead end at a winter access only destination. The scenery is unbelievable and parts of it are still quite good. The challenges would be just as gruelling with the exception that there are several helicopters operating in the region in the event of an emergency as well as the exploration companies.
The are a few abandoned mines along the route as well as some old cabins etc....also lots of abandoned jet and diesel fuel if you know where to look.
Regards,
RJ

That definately sounds like a really awesome trail! I would love to tackle that one.
The reason for doing this one though is simply because it is the Canol Road. Its legendary, its hard, and the ability to acomplish the impossible is coming to a close. At this point, we have invested alot of time , money , phone calls , etc in the logistics so far, and therefore will continue to go along with it.
But any recommendations for other trails is always welcome ! And brandon sent me a pic of your 40 and Scout.... they are beautiful!! That 40 looks like a pretty serious unit.
 
Thanks for the link Beaver Frank . I will call you again this weekend, as today I am doing a full mechanical inspection and maintenance on my 80 as I leave for Cruise Moab next week.
You certainly have a ton of things I have to write down lol so I will be in touch .. And again, when I get to Red Deer on my next adventure that way , Ill give you a call.
 
Well.... I will be off to cruise Moab in a few days. So when I return I will be more involved with this as work has had me pinned down for the last 6 weeks straight.
The trail assignment I have for Moab are
- sevenmile rim
- fins n things
- elephant hill
After that , we will be doing white rim on our own, and then off to the north rim of the grand canyon to do several trails we have intrest In.
If I get near a wifi source, I will post some pics.
See you all in a few weeks!
 
Have fun and be sure to post some pics as the rest of us are still working everyday!
 
*shaking fist in air* Have a god trip! Pics would be very nice.
 
Did Hells revenge this morning. Tomorrow is fins n things. I will start a new thread for this trip to keep this one on track.
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My cousin was just down visiting me from the Yukon, he has done all kinds of exploring and hunting up north having lived there for almost 8 years. I mentioned this Canol trip and he had all kinds of interesting stories about it, a lot of what has already been mentioned. Main thing was, the Mackenzie is basically impossible to cross without a boat, too fast, deep, wide and shelves on either side (just to reiterate haha!). He said there's times that the ferry breaks down crossing and gets sent down the river a few kilometers! However, he says it's worth the trip even if you get to the Mackenzie and have to turn around, the scenery is just beautiful!

He said if you're looking for some good trails and exploring places to check out Keno, Yukon. There are apparently hundreds of old abandoned mines and trails that have been vacant since the early 1900's. Said there is a tonne of interesting artifacts and some places where no one has been too in over 100 years!

Just thought I'd mention his input and experiences.
 
Do it.

Just want to say go for it guys. Will be following your progress. I had already planned to go as far up the North Canol as I could on my motorbike this summer, but now I'm thinking taking the Cruiser could be fun too....
 
How are we coming along with this? Sorry I have been out of the picture for so long been busy out of my mind. In fact I should be working on my truck right now, but decided not to make the trip out to Bashaw tonight. In case some of you wondering what could possibly be taking so long it has something to do with this.

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