His travel to the edge of the arctic ocean might not even be Alexander Mackenzie's most interesting journey (fascinating though it was) He reached the Pacific

His travel to the edge of the arctic ocean might not even be Alexander Mackenzie's most interesting journey (fascinating though it was) He reached the Pacific ocean by land a full 12 years before Lewis and Clark. He also took far less time to complete the journey since the network of voyageurs in what would become western Canada meant he could start his journey in Alberta rather than much further east in St. Louis. But if you want to do further reading on someone wandering about in crazy arctic conditions, check out John Rae. He explored much of the arctic coast on foot (!) and discovered the remains of the doomed Franklin expedition. Also managed the minor feat of proving the existence of the north west passage in the process. He would be remembered as one of the greatest explorers of all time if the passage proved remotely commercially navigable, instead he was relegated to the minor pages of 19th century history. It didn't help Lady Franklin was so insulted when he reported to the Admiralty her husband's expedition likely resorted to cannibalism based on reports from local Inuit.