The Burnside River flows north from Kathawachaga Lake in the Northwest Territories to Bathusrt Inlet in the Beaufort Sea. I traveled through this amazing landscape by raft with Nahanni River Adventure Tours in the summer of 2003. I found the Barren Lands to be anything but barren, what appears sparse due to the absence of forest, is abubantly rich with unique plant life, albeit close to the ground, and wildlife. The trip coincided with the the spring migration of the Bathurst caribou herd, and their presence naturally invited grizzly bears and wolves to make their appearances too. And then there were musk-ox, foxes, bird life and various other little critters. I found the landscape of this area incredibly inviting, long days of light with little impeding your vision or your desire to walk into rolling terrain at times brimming with wildflowers.