Absolutely, Aside from the northern access, that was my thought too when I heard that idiot make that comment. Portage around the falls not possible? Of course it was, and they were master boat builders using only axes. Back to the idiotic assumption that Vikings only had sea legs and never ever could have walked across even the smallest stretch of land between waters.
That is just like the one size fits all assumption that all early man were all hydrophobic land lubbers and didn’t know how to swim or float on water craft at all. So the only way they could have possibly migrated was by land only. That is until irrefutable evidence was found to the contrary. They still now lock out the possibility of this.
I would bet the dumb SOB has never heard of the Voyagers either.
Matter of fact, he would have concluded that they could have never came up the Great Lakes because there was no water in the puddle at the time.
There was a pioneer group that traveled up the waterways just prior to the voyagers. I cant remember the correct name for them. Them and the voyagers were kicked out by the trapping companies and hence, the French names from the lower Lake Huron all through the UP, WI and down the river systems to the Gulf in LA.
Just look at a map at the place names.
These self absorbed history “experts” need a slap right smack cross the chops for making ignorant remarks.
“and they were master boat builders using only axes.”
All they needed for the trip up river is those tools to build boats/canoes, and their weapons. Canoes would have been easier and once there, they would have built the shipping vessels there, while all the mining tools would have been made on site. If they took canvas/material for sails, then the canvas could have been the coverings for the canoes. Of course oars would have been made on site.
The funny thing here is..they were but 40 to 50 miles from the largest deposit of iron ore in North America and did not know it. All they were after was the copper.