Experience, preparedness and a chartered helicopter got two canoeists out of a spot of trouble Tuesday after their boat capsized on the Jarvis River.

The two Whitehorse men, along with two dogs, were paddling on the river about 30 km north of Haines Junction, when their canoe came upon a log jam.

With the river running high and fast, the two didn't have time to avoid the floating timber.

Their canoe flipped and was pulled under the jam; one man went under with the boat. His shoulder dislocated in the tumble, but he managed to pull himself out of trouble and onto the logs, while his fellow paddler did the same.

Both men walked over to the log jam to shore, where their dogs were waiting.

Using a satellite phone they were carrying, the men called for help shortly after 1 p.m.

Whitehorse emergency dispatch put the men through to the Haines Junction RCMP. From there, Const. Dale McCarty determined they were both in good condition.

"The guy had popped his shoulder out about 10 times over the years," McCarty told the Star this morning.

"He knew how to take care of himself."

He was in no condition to pack back to town, however.

McCarty chartered a plane from Kluane Helicopters and contacted Andrew Lawrence, the local Parks Canada ranger, to go in for the two men.

Pilot, ranger, paddlers and dogs all flew back to the Junction together.

The canoeists, whose names were not released, are now back in Whitehorse.