Lafferty Canyon
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| | Raps:0
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:None Watercraft:Yes Rock type:Limestone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 28 Jul 2023
"Good flow. Short but sweet. I imagine it was too high a few weeks before, and then too low a few weeks after. We were on an eight-day independent pack |
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| Best season: | July-August
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61.2928, -124.0744
61.2774, -124.0851
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Waterflow
Introduction[edit]
Lafferty Creek is a creek draining into the mighty Nahanni River. Of the 900 or so annual visitors that float the Nahanni River each summer, many of them do stop to hike to Lafferty Canyon. There's no other realistic way to access this canyon than from a weeklong (or longer) float trip down the Nahanni River.
This slot is short, nontechnical, but very beautiful. It's documented here more for 'armchair canyoneering' and entertainment - it's not a destination in itself. It is, interestingly, perhaps the northernmost slot canyon yet documented in the world, depending on how you define a slot. On a river trip, it makes an excellent stop. There are multiple known and explored caves in the cliffs around the canyon, and certainly many, many more caves that remain to be found and explored.
Approach[edit]
From your boats at the river, hike up the river drainage about 1.5 miles until it tapers into the obvious slot.
The trail crisscrosses the creek several times. Might as well just get your feet wet in the beginning, as you're going to get a lot more wet when you enter the slot.
When you get to the slot, you can either take an approach trail on the left, and then downclimb the slot, or, if skilled, you can just upclimb the entire slot, and then return back down it.
Descent[edit]
The slot is short, but has several small waterfalls to carefully downclimb, and several short swims. The water is significantly warmer than the Nahanni River - perhaps 65F in July?
There are no major features or obstacles that need specific instruction to pass. Probably the trickiest downclimb is on the smooth rock with poor footholds and handholds right at the top of the slot. You'll have to hug the wall for a few cautious steps next to a thundering waterfall before jumping into a frigid poor (make sure someone checks depth first).
Take your time, enjoy the slot, because it opens and ends all too quickly.
Exit[edit]
Walk back to your boat on the river the same way you came.
Red tape[edit]
No red tape.
Beta sites[edit]
Trip reports and media[edit]
https://www.lukaseddy.com/nahanni-packraft-expedition
Background[edit]
Likely first explored in the late 1800s or early 1900s by trappers. Unknown if they actually upclimbed the slot. It may have been known to native peoples beforehand as well.
