In 1789, Mackenzie left Fort Chipewyan on Lake Athabasca with a small party of Canadians and native guides. He travelled north to Great Slave Lake on a boat or a canoe. Then he followed the river that now bears his name, the Mackenzie River. He was the first European to travel on the Mackenzie River. It took him to the Arctic Ocean. He had hoped the river would lead him to the Pacific Ocean.