Exploration

Canoeing across the Arctic with Dave Greene

Episode 90

Remote expeditions are no easy feat, especially by canoe, but this adventurer knows how to plan, execute and be prepared

  • Sep 17, 2024
Chris Giard and Dave Greene stand above the Thelon Canyon, 2023. (Photo: Dave Greene)
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Greene and Giard carry their canoe up the MacDonald Fault portage between Great Slave Lake and the Snowdrift river, N.W.T., 2023. (Photo: Dave Greene)
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“This might be why people go down rivers!”

We’re back in the Arctic for the last of our 2024 Summer Canoe Series. This time, it’s with Dave Greene, who, along with paddling partner Chris Giard, led an RCGS-flagged Akilineq Canoe Expedition from Yellowknife, N.W.T., to Baker Lake, NU, in 2023. During this time, they covered 1400 kilometres, including Canada’s newest national park, Thaidene Nëné. A good chunk of their trip also involved paddling upstream (see episode title). Greene has some incredible stories to share from this trip, including close calls with wildlife and a lot of great wisdom on how to plan, carry out and fund remote expeditions of this scale.

This is Greene’s third RCGS-flagged expedition. In all, he has led nine expeditions, most of them by canoe and lasting 30 days or more. Greene is a teacher in Halifax, N.S., and education is at the core of his travels, bringing Canada’s natural world to young people. Greene hosts the storytelling platform Night of Adventure, which is focused on travel and adventuring and includes a podcast and a film festival.

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