A mile below the chutes, the River was blocked from shore to shore with ice which we could never get through.
Even portaging our Outfit around the chutes would have been impossible as there was only a goat track to follow & it, covered with ice, overhung the chutes. A slip meant certain death.
Gradually we realised [realized] the situation. There was only one thing to do – track the Canoe back. Whilst “lining” is lowering a craft downstream – “Tracking” is pulling it upstream, and what a job it is. Back breaking. Anyway, there was nothing else for it, so we reloaded everything and started back to the old Hudsons Bay Post at the Rapids. There we would camp and discuss future movements. That short journey was surely a sad one, back tracking is a real hardship.
