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Season of Wonder Season of Wonder

Northwest Territories

The Season of Wonder in Northwest Territories is a time of warm days, wide skies and endless landscapes. Award-winning photographer Ami Vitale jumped at the chance to visit this inspiring region when she received an open brief from Destination Canada to capture whatever stories she discovered there. As someone who has travelled to some of the most amazing parts of the world, she could never have expected the people, landscapes and opportunities for connection she found – from flying above its unspoilt wilderness, to swimming in its turquoise waters. Her only wish? To have spent more time there!

A Photographer’s Journey

Ami’s journey of wonder took her through – and above - the Northwest Territories where she:

Found a new perspective of the landscape from a floatplane
Swam in the turquoise waters of Glacier Lake
Connected with old friends on a canoeing expedition

Exploring Northwest Territories

A snapshot of Ami’s adventure. Click an image to find out more.

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Delicate beauty and diversity in Nahanni National Park Reserve

The turquoise blue waters of Glacier Lake are almost out of sight in this view of the Cirque of the Unclimbables and neighboring peaks. Instead, the photo, a panoramic compilation of drone and camera shots, captures the staggering beauty of the region and diversity of its landscapes. National Geographic photographer Ami Vitale describes the combination as breathtaking.

Audio From Ami Vitale

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Water finds a way at Glacier Lake

Glacial milk—a mix of meltwater, sediment and silt—flows into Glacier Lake. From above, the formation resembles the bronchial trees that extend into human lungs. But below, at the edge where Vitale and her companions camped, she could only guess at the natural marvel happening around them. “I saw it all coming in and knew it was going to be an amazing picture from above,” says Vitale. “I love that sometimes when you can’t actually see things, you know that with a change of perspective, it’s going to be amazing.”

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Mediterranean blues in a Northern Canada landscape

Glacier Lake—“There’s something about the water,” says Vitale, and she’s right. Glacier Lake’s bright, blue-sky hues are a result of finely ground sediment, called glacial flour, that makes its way through the waterways to the lake. Once the sediment is absorbed, it gives the water its turquoise color. The shot, taken on her flight out from Glacier Lake campsite, offered perspective. “The world looks so different from different angles,” she says.

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The river’s winding path in Nahanni National Park Reserve

There are no two years when the rivers that run through this region are the same. They ebb and flow, changing course each year, carving new paths, notes Vitale. She related to the water’s need to be fluid, flexible and open to change. “This is something I really love about these big, wild landscapes. It just feels so wild and free,” she says. “Life is chaotic. It ends up being beautiful in the end, but there’s a whole bunch of chaos in the middle. I love being out in these wild spaces, because it always reminds me that we can’t control any of it. And even if it sometimes throws you for a loop, you just have to go with it.”

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The thrill of the ride

Travel in the north relies on the water. “It’s part of the adventure,” says Vitale. The floatplane that takes her into Glacier Lake is a relic, but a workhorse for Kluane Airways. Like everything in the north, it must be. It’s a lifeline that glides gently to a stop on the surface of the water, transporting passengers from one life to another. Its bright yellow exterior provides a stunning contrast to the blues, greens and browns of the northern landscape.

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Dancing lights and magical mountains

From her campsite at the base of the Cirque of the Unclimbables, National Geographic photographer Ami Vitale could watch the light and shadows play among the craggy mountain peaks. “It was constantly changing. You could just sit there and photograph this mountain range from the moment you woke to the moment you went to sleep, and it looked different at every moment of the day.”

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Paddling Glacier Lake with Bobbi Rose Koe

To watch Bobbi Rose Koe paddle the waters of her ancestral homeland is a privilege Vitale felt lucky to experience. Koe is Teetl’it Gwich’in (meaning “people of the headwaters”), and an advocate selected by Elders to speak for her people and their lands. “She helped me understand a lot,” says Vitale of her time with Koe. “The connection and the reverence to water; the comfort she has in these places—it was so beautiful to see,” says Vitale. “She is a life force. This is her place.”

Audio From Ami Vitale

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Shared missions in northern Canada

Spending time with Joel Hibbard and Bobbi Rose Koe filled Vitale with hope and optimism about what reconciliation can look like here, and around the world. There’s a teasing, playful relationship between the two, and a shared commitment to listening, learning and sharing about the historical and cultural importance of the region. “I get the feeling that they teach each other in different ways; that they are guides for each other. There is this real understanding between them,” says Vitale. “There was a lot of honesty about this tough past that we are all a part of, even as visitors.”

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Focusing on the little things offers a new perspective

As their canoe bobbed along the frigid waters, Vitale found warmth in her surroundings. The flowing water and Koe’s strong hands became a scenic backdrop for the delicate, white petals of bunchberry flowers (Cornus canadensis) and the dozens of butterflies that gathered around the boat, landing gently on their shoulders and knees. “It’s about looking at everything, wide and big, and then drilling down to the little details that are also so beautiful,” says Vitale.

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Diving in at Glacier Lake

“You learn to dive in and embrace it all,” says Vitale of her cold-water lessons. It took some convincing to get her and her companions to take a dip in the cold water at first, but over time she found a comfort zone she hadn’t expected. “It was amazing. You feel like a different person after and it’s not as bad as you imagine. It reconnects you with who we all are.”

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"The Quiet of the Forest"

You only have to walk a few steps from the shore at Glacier Lake to be completely immersed in forest. Sky high pines and evergreens rise from a soft, mossy floor. The lush vegetation seems to absorb extraneous sound, leaving you with only the soft bubbles of water trickling over river stones. It’s a chance to ruminate on the privilege of being in the space and the responsibilities that come with it, says Vitale.

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Time to leave, Glacier Lake

The only way out is up. But when it is time to leave this sacred space, Vitale found herself emotional about the time she had spent there. “It allowed me to kind of see things differently. It’s a perfect place for dreaming.”

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Eagle country

Nahanni National Park Reserve is a bird lover’s paradise. Over 180 different bird species can be found in the area. Among them bald and golden eagles that feast on the trout, lake whitefish, and more that fill these waters.

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Midnight light in the North

Sunset shifts with the seasons in the north. And the pinky hues of this summer sky call to fishers in search of quiet spaces and ample lake trout. It’s almost impossible not to stop and watch, and while doing so to marvel at the myriads of ways that Mother Nature continues to impress.

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Mud pies on the shores of Łutsel K’e

Thirteen years ago, Vitale traveled this area with Dene teens excited to preserve their lands for future generations. She returned to find those kids are now grown-ups with children of their own. And on the banks of Łutsel K’e—the site of the new Thaidene Nëné National Park Reserve (“Land of the Ancestors”)—she met some of them playing quietly in the mud, amusing and entertaining themselves as their parents worked catching fish nearby.

Audio From Ami Vitale

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Soul Surrender

Ashton Gahdele, 20, seems to give himself over to the environment in Łutsel K’e. The teen was part of a group of Dene youths on a canoe trip that aims to reconnect young people with Dene ancestral waterways. In many ways, encountering the group was a full circle moment for Vitale and a reminder that reconnection can be as emotionally fulfilling as connection when it comes to the people and places we’ve loved.