Crossing the Mackenzie River

During the winter the ferries that cross the Peele River and Mackenzie cannot run due to the rivers being frozen over, so there is an ice highway crossing. This video shows us crossing the Mackenzie and heading into the village of Tsiigehtchic (pronounced Sig-et-check). It was still bitterly cold, but the sun was shining and it was a beautiful little hamlet to visit. A truck pulled up to see what I was up to and the occupant told us to follow her to the local shop where we could fill our empty coffee mugs. The shopkeepers were super friendly and told us about all the fishing and hunting done locally. It turns out they use nets under the ice to catch fish, but it is an art form to deploy a net under 8 feet of ice. We saw lots of tracks near the highway but never did figure out whether it was moose or caribou. We were told to be very careful as there were a lot of animals in the area.

This is the church above us on the hill in Tsiigehtchic. Below the church is the Mackenzie river.