Thieves, Drunks, and Drugs along the Mackenzie

You might worry about bears on your paddle trip. More likely you should worry about a very few of the people you might meet.

The drill goes something like this...

• Pull into town after a week on the river. See the town. Return to boat and find important stuff missing.
• While in town, be accosted by drunks.
• Arrive at a camp where drugs are being made or sold, or booze is being bootlegged and consumed.
• Be asked to buy, sell or transport drugs or bootleg booze.

None of these situations are fun. You can usually, but not always, see them coming and avoid them. Be aware!

Canoeists can maybe avoid petty theft by covering their canoe tightly with a spray cover or a canvas. Kayakers can close their boats. In either case, stow your valuable gear like maps, food, or guns in inaccessible parts of your boat. Sealing your gear in drybags or sealed barrels is preferable. If you are in a group of two or more, you might consider going into town in shifts, and leaving someone with the boat. This is no fun for the person left behind, but may be a way to avoid theft. Even then, groups of kids may come by, swarm over your boat, and some key piece of gear, like the inflation hose for our Zodiac, might turn up missing after a visit to a town. We know someone whose maps and gun was stolen from a campground at Fort Simpson, while they were in town. I've had sleeping bags and tents stolen as well.

Drunks can usually be avoided; you can see them coming! When you do, head the other way. You are faster than they are. If you are engaged in conversation by a drunk, don't encourage the exchange. Move in groups in the towns, if that is an option. Tourists are obvious marks for abuse. Remember that today's drunk is probably OK when sober. We've been apologized to for bad behavior the next day on several occasions.

Some of the towns along the river are dry, with no alcohol sales within a certain radius of the town; 12 miles perhaps. Standing parties may be ongoing just outside of the dry radius (at the head of the Ramparts, on the west side of the river, seems a favored place to party). Be firm and don't interact unless you really want to join in. A clear NO goes a long way. Bootleg booze is periodically sold outside of towns, and there seems to be great profit in this, based on some conversations we have had with locals.

Keep clear of camps where you suspect drug use! Meth use and meth labs are an emerging big problem. Meth users are MESSED UP and DANGEROUS. Meth makers are EVEN MORE SO. They get very concerned that you know where their operation is and that you might report them to authorities.

My experience is that petty thieves are children or in their early teens, the drug and booze dealers are in their late teens or twenties, and the drunks in the thirties and forties. Domestic abuse seems to be very bad in these northern towns.

Ask the RCMP (if they are in a friendly and talkative mood) about the problems, and maybe to show you recently confiscated weapons. Discussion of crime in the North is racially and politically charged, so tread carefully into conversations on these topics. My dad was truly interested in the sociology of these towns and befriended several RCMP officers. Through the personal contacts, he discovered some both frightening and insightful information about northern rural crime and substance abuse.

Sad, but true. We've seen or directly heard of petty and violent crime over the years in Fort Liard, Fort Simpson, Wrigley, Fort Norman, Fort Franklin, Fort Good Hope, and Inuvik. The RCMP probably will not be able to do much to help if you experience a theft. If you do get something stolen, just remind yourself that you are a lighter person, and move on. Hopefully you can avoid anything worse.

Most travelers will experience no such problems and have an enjoyable trip, meeting only the friendly and helpful residents of the region.

Commentary on northern drinking, drugs, unemployment, and crime and it's implications for river travelers is welcome. Please send comments to the webmaster. We will post them here.