Saturday flight, June 10, 2023.

We are starting our journey in Prince George, and one of our first stops is at Fort St. James which for a while was the headquarters for the North West Company west of the Rockies.  The original fort is well preserved and is worth a visit.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_St._James

On this trip, there are many reminders of the fur trade around 1800, and one of the key figures in that saga, Simon Fraser.

Fraser was a partner in the North West Company during the critical years of competition in the fur trade. He began his career in 1792 as an apprentice clerk in Montréal. By 1801, he had been promoted to wintering partner, responsible for managing some of the company’s posts as well as the practical details of obtaining furs from the local people. His rise to prominence coincided with the rise of the North West Company as a major commercial force. It controlled over two-thirds of the Canadian fur trade before it finally merged with its main competitor, the Hudson’s Bay Company, in 1821. The North West Company’s expansion was due, in no small part, to the exploration of men like Alexander Mackenzie, Simon Fraser, and David Thompson, all of whom worked for the company during this period.

Like many explorers and fur traders of this era, Fraser was aware that he needed the assistance and knowledge of the Indigenous Peoples. During his journey down the Fraser River (which he originally thought was the Columbia River), he was accompanied by over 20 men which included French-Canadian voyageurs, Scottish clerks, Métis hunters, and Indigenous guides. As the expedition passed through First Nations’ territories, Fraser often sent First Nation representatives ahead of the party to inform the local communities of their imminent arrival and to assure them that the group’s intentions were friendly. The Indigenous groups provided the travellers with important information, advice, guides, food, and canoes. Oral accounts of Fraser’s travels have survived in many of these communities.

Fraser’s voyages, and the fur trading posts he created, drove the North West Company’s expansion west of the Rockies and, as a result, established a permanent British presence in a territory still unmapped by Europeans. His explorations focused on finding a water route from the interior to the coast. Between 1805 and 1808, he crossed the Rocky Mountains and endeavoured to trace the Columbia River to its mouth, giving the name New Caledonia to what is now the north-central region of the province. In 1805, he established Fort McLeod, which was the first permanent European settlement west of the Rocky Mountains in what is now British Columbia. The next year, he established Fort St. James, Fort Fraser and Fort George (later Prince George). In 1808, his final and most arduous journey brought a party of 24 men down a river to the Strait of Georgia, where he discovered he was not on the Columbia River as he thought but instead on the Fraser.

The flight plan is here:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/ea9jyvbfg13t9qh/VFR Prince George (CYXS) to Prince Rupert Airport (CYPR).zip?dl=0

We have some distance to cover so a fast single or a light twin would be a good choice.  I am planning to fly the A36 Bonanza.

Multiplayer Particulars
Date and Time: Saturday, June 10, 2023. 1800 UTC
AVSIM Discord Server: https://discord.gg/K5Vy6UxWNm  - AVSIM GROUP EVENTS-SAT. COM3
Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server.

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Edited June 7, 20232 yr by Bert Pieke

Here is Fort St James at 11 o'clock off my nose, facing the lake.