C Ihe Ladies c cu. V'VVAN - History and Classics, Department of

5~ * PlantheSo there we were throughout the autumn of 1925, deep in study ofNorth American maps and books.On the Canadian side there were, we discovered, three routes into Alaska andnone of them seemed to be easy; the Mackenzie River route was apparently theleast difficult. AB the plans for our journey became more definite, the difficultiesbecame more evident. There was never any question of going to Alaska by sea andreturning the same way, for Gwen and I shared a rooted dislike of returning onour tracks, even if it were a case of walking to our nearest village and back, so,having decided on the Mackenzie route, we planned, after crossing the Divide, tomake our way west and then south to the Alaskan coast, returning by steamerdown the Pacific seaboard of Canada.At the end of that sea voyage we might visit, in Vancouver Island, an old friendof Gwen's, a middle-aged misfit who had left her family to seek freedom overseas.No doubt she would take us in as paying guests while we explored the island.The actual route of our journey was beginning to take shape but thedifficulties were legion and we began to wonder how we could possibly get informationabout dates, seasons, equipment and communications. When would theice break up and let us in and when would it freeze again and prevent us gettingout? Where should we obtain a time-table for steamer travel and full detailsabout canoes and guides? Also there was the burning question of money. Wouldwe ever be able to afford the trip? Our families were becoming extremely cynicalabout the project and we were becoming somewhat depressed when one kindperson changed the whole outlook.