Pike's Portage

Pike's Portage is more than a trail from Great Slave Lake to Artillery Lake at the edge of the Barrens in the Northwest Territories. For years it was used by as an access point by Native Peoples, and as a transition point by intrepid explorers and adventurers. In the early 20th century, it was a trappers' right of passage. Today, in winter it carries hunters, and in summer only footprints of the most adventuresome canoe parties heading for the Thelon, Back, and Coppermine rivers.

The stories of the people who have struggled over Pike' Portage are many and varied. They include: sports hunters Warburton Pike and Ernest Thompson Seton, surveyors Guy Blanchet and the Tyrrell brothers, a long line of trappers like Gus A'Doust, travellers and homesteaders, explorer George Back and the eccentric John Hornby, among others.