'Extreme' canoe race down the Mackenzie remembered as N.W.T. gears up for Race the Peel

The hamlet ofAklavikis hosting the Race the Peel, a canoe racefromFortMcPhersontoAklavikscheduled for June 28. The race is supported by $49,500 in federal moneyout of theCanada 150 fund.

As the territory gears up for the two day event, N.W.T. MP Michael McLeodshareshis story of hardships and triumph.

McLeod and his team paddled from Fort Providence to Inuvik, N.W.T. in a 1989 race down the Mackenzie River he calls the"opportunity of a lifetime."

Prepared for months

With his knuckles banging on the edge of hiscanoe, hands and legs covered in blisters,McLeodwas making memories he'll never forget.

"We had guys clipping the skin off their blisters and pouring aftershave on it so they could paddle the next day," recalled McLeod, who was on the Fort Providence team.

"It was extreme."

McLeod saidthe team of eight prepared for months, but it wasn'tlong into the race before he realized just how tough it was.

"I remember waking up after a 13 hour paddle, and I couldn't move my arms," he said. "We just took it one day a time."

Then, they lost a teammate. He "packed up and said 'that's it'" at Norman Wells and hopped on the next plane home, said McLeod.

They ended up beating us.But we all became friends.- Michael McLeod

An injury took one more man down.

When the team decided to take a shortcut between Tulita and Norman Wells, the water levels hit rock bottom forcingthe team to carry their canoe on foot for about three hours.

"That pretty much sealed our fate," he said.

'Tanned, sunburnt, but top-shape'

There was a point, however, when the team had a chance to beat the competition.

"One of the teams from the Delta busted their canoe," said McLeod. The team didn't know how to fix the large gash, and McLeod's team debated on whether or not to help them out.

"But we ended up helping them and they ended up beating us," he said, chuckling. "But we all became friends."

They also made friends in the communities along the way where residents would open up their homes to the teams, washtheir clothes and cookfor them.

McLeod saidit was one of the most challenging things he's ever done, but there's no regrets.

"It's the fittest I've ever been in my life. I was totally tanned, sunburnt, but top shape."

McLeod's team ended up taking 4th place in the race.

• Canoe trip strengthens youths' resolve to protect Peel watershed
• AYellowknife couple and baby's two month canoe trip