Originally posted September 12, 2014
Canoeing the Yukon River – August 2014 Mat Bozek
I did a trip up to Alaska in 1992. Saw the Yukon River on that trip, and
thought “I’ve got to paddle that some day”, so I did.
I Drove up to the Yukon River this August to canoe it, from
upstream of Whitehorse to Dawson. I started the trip at “mile 7” – almost
everybody else starts at mile 28.5 to avoid having to portage around the dam in
Whitehorse. I paddled 460 miles in 12 ½ days on the water. I could have done it
in less time if I cared to. Average speed on the river at an easy paddle is
about 7mph – easy enough to do 35 to 45 miles a day in 6 to 8 hours, depending
on what the wind is doing. Prevailing winds are from South to North, so you can
get lucky and have a tailwind much of the way. There are a lot of variations to
the trip. You can start from Whitehorse on the Yukon which includes paddling
big Lake Laberge – 31.5 miles long and it can get some rough water and storms;
or you can avoid the first 1/4 of the Yukon and the lake by starting down the
Teslin River instead, and do about the same mileage, but all on rivers. Lots of
alternative starts on other tributaries and you can take out a ¼ of the way
down, or half way, and at several other spots – you could even do just a day
trip if you wanted to. There were at least 4 outfitters serving the area, and
you could do fully guided and outfitted trips, or bring your own stuff. I drove
up, with all my own gear and boat and just needed a shuttle up top ($100), and
returned 333 miles by road via a local bus service – they will haul boats for a
fee – my PakCanoe cost me $45 in addition to my fare – for a total of $164. You
could fly to Whitehorse for @$800, and rent equipment there to avoid the
driving and save time. I drove 5600 miles round trip, and that cost about $1500
for gas getting just a bit over 17mpg. Total cost for me was about $2,200. It
is about a 4 day drive one way. The Muncho Lake area was the nicest part of the
drive up and I saw a lot of wildlife one morning through that area. It mostly
rained on the drive back, so even though I drove through Jasper and Banff and
Yellowstone, I didn’t stop much. I got snowed on in a rainy Yellowstone.
I had great weather for the most part –sunny with highs in
the 70’s and lows about 50, and nearly zero mosquitos. The river is big, at
times as wide as a mile bank to bank with lots of islands on the lower half. It
probably averaged a half mile wide. I saw people every day I think, but 98% of
the time I was alone on the water. There are only two rapids on the river. Five
Finger is CIII, but has an easy CII- bypass. Rink Rapids are CII, but bypassed
at no more than C1 if that. The river is so big that there are currents within
the currents, and lots of upwellings and some whirlpools, but nothing to be
concerned with if you just pay attention. Camping was in nice sites for the
most part, often with picnic tables and outhouses. It is not a wilderness trip,
but 99% of it seems that way, only passing an occasional private cabin, and I
think I saw a total of 6, maybe 8 motor boats and one barge. The lower third of
the river, you mostly camp on gravel bar islands. Half way down, in Carmacks I
stayed at a regular campground on the river to take advantage of a hot shower.
Another day, I camped at a free campground at Fort Selkirk – a historical sight
with lots to see – other than those two days, and the first, I didn’t have
anyone within miles that I know of.
I saw bears twice, moose twice, and one caribou, plus a
dozen or so bald eagles and half a dozen falcons. Other people I spoke with
seemed to see more wildlife than I did. It rained maybe 4 of the days, but
mostly just a very light little rain. It is really quite dry country weather
wise, and August is wetter than June or July. I choose August for several
reasons, including warmer weather and warmer water temps.
The scenery is spectacular, the river bounded by cliffs and banks several
hundred feet high in many places. Lake Laberge is more or less surrounded by
mountains, and everywhere away from water’s edge, the land was forest covered
and mountainous, though there was a lot of burned over areas, both fairly
recent and very old.
It was a great trip, and I recommend it for anyone –
logistics are as easy as can be, much easier than any other far north river.
You could do this, or part of it, on your way to or from Alaska easily enough.
I enjoyed the trip so much, I’m thinking I may just have to go up there again
in a few years – maybe do the Teslin or some other tributary river like the
Porcupine, or maybe just do a longer trip into Alaska.
I left home at 1:00 on Aug 1st, got to Whitehorse on the 4th about 2:30 and
made all my arrangements then and started down river on the 5th..
8/5/15 – Tuesday – Day 1 Up around 6 or so and had breakfast. Bothered some by mosquitos – there was a small pond near where I car camped. Drove into Whitehorse and to Up North’s shop to wait for them – they get there at 9, but had a staff meeting for 30 minutes or so, and then I finally moved my gear into their vehicle, and drove my truck to Porter Creek Self Storage lot where I left it. Then, instead of heading for the river, we detoured a bit to pick up another of their customers for a day trip and took her to their shop – at my expense! and finally, we headed South towards Marsh Lake – but Melina turned off at a road that went to below the dam at mile 7 – I was about to argue her into taking me to the lake, but decided since I was getting a late start, that I’d just live with starting my trip at mile 7 and not mile 0. Took an hour and more to set up the boat and load and tie in the gear, then I was off – think it was about 11:30 am. Decent current, but not real fast here. I’d bought a map case and guide book, but hadn’t had a chance to read through the book, so I wasn’t too sure what the map detail was telling me, but just muddled thru for a few days till I figured out the “code” and map details. My original goal for the day was to try and make it almost to the start of Lake Laberge, to mile 50 or so, but with the late start, I was now just wanting to get past Whitehorse a few miles at least. I was passed by a freighter canoe with an outboard and maybe 5 passengers – seemed to be a boat tour of the river, as I would see them a couple more times, once at a side stream, and again, heading to a campsite area where I’d guess they were going to have a cookout. My boat wasn’t trimmed right, seemed to be a bit bow heavy, but I just put up with it and figured I’d adjust when I did the portage around the dam in Whitehorse. It was relatively slow current and light headwind until I got to the first interesting section at Miles Canyon. The more or less half mile wide river gets squeezed thru a basalt rock canyon that narrows down to only 30 feet wide in places (similar to Black Rocks). So the current gets fast and swirly here, with strong eddy lines at the edges – just kept to center and had no problems, though the boat steers a bit slow with the sticky bow. There were a number of people hiking around the area and a suspension footbridge spans the river as part of the trail system. Miles Canyon is maybe a third of a mile, then you get spit out into Lake Schwatka, which is the river backed up from the Whitehorse Dam. Two float planes took off from the lake while I paddled it, one seemed to be heading right for me and went past fairly close – for a minute, looked like he was coming right at me. About two miles of lake to paddle to the dam, which is portaged on river right. The wind had changed to a quartering tailwind, and I would just paddle hard on the left side, sometimes very hard and fast to keep the boat on line, and to make better speed. I had scouted the dam portage the day before – it was a busy place as there was a “fish ladder” there for Salmon, and a little interpretive center and the area was part of their trail system. So I was a little concerned about leaving my gear out of sight for too long, especially with a shotgun being fairly obvious. The portage was about 500 yards, and I needed to triple carry. I decided to just do short sections and go point to point keeping the pile in sight. After I carried the boat the first piece, a small pickup truck stopped nearby, and I talked the young guy into helping me move my gear – so we loaded it all into the truck, and he drove it about half of the way to the start of the trail to another footbridge. That saved me a fair bit of time and work, but I still had to carry the boat, and it was two more sections before I got to the footbridge where I would put in. The water was considerably higher now than the day before, as the dam is for hydro power and water levels fluctuate as the demand for power does. So now I was looking at CII rapids for a quarter mile or so, and had a very small eddy to work from. But it worked out, though a kayaker playing in the hole there almost ran into my boat just as I started out. The rapids were just large waves, and not a real problem, and I swung way left to avoid one spot I had seen the day before that may have been a problem – the kayaker even warned me about it. Once past the standing waves, it was fast current thru the town and beyond it.. But it was getting a bit late, around 6pm now, and I wanted to camp fairly early this first time. The guidebook showed a campsite maybe 5 miles below the dam (m. 26), and that was where I decided to camp. I saw a nice looking bank to camp on, and pulled in there and unloaded the boat. Before I set up, I walked a trail a bit to see if there was a better site, and there was, but it was occupied, by a “squatter”. Blue plastic tarps everywhere and a campfire ring with 30 or 40 burned out cans in it – nobody around, and It made me wonder, but it’s 7:30 now and I decided to stay where I was. It was maybe 80 yards from that camp, and I’d already unloaded the boat, and nobody seemed to be around. Later, at dusk I hear a boat paddling/ferrying across the river to my side – the camper had returned, but was nice and quiet. Mile 7 to 33 = 26 miles today.
Day 1 – The put in m.7 On the way to Whitehorse Miles Canyon – m 24.5
8/6/15 – Wednesday – Day 2 Up at first light and after breakfast, packing up my boat. And here comes the mysterious camper – who starts talking as soon as he gets to me, while I keep packing the boat. Ben is a nice enough guy, and hands me a laminated copy of “his” river map guide, which he claims is much better than any of the guidebooks. It isn’t, but I humor him and take it, waiting for him to ask for money. To my surprise, he doesn’t – just continues talking. First he’s retired and getting a monthly check from Ottawa; then he’s working for “Washington” on a project: he’s an architect, and on and on, but he was nice enough and finally went away so I could finish loading up. (talking to a different guy down river, Ben had “flagged him down” as he was paddling past, and gave him a copy of the map also – one of the trip reports I’d read also mentioned “Old Ben” – been there every summer for years). And down the river I went, hoping to get half way thru Lake Laberge at least. Still getting used to the river map guide, and I’m looking for what I thought was “old wood road”.Huh ? What’s that mean – looks like a plank road along the shoreline ? Turns out that it was just an old road out of sight from the water, and the hatched lines were indicating a “cutbank”, and no point looking for “OGRN CB” which I thought meant cabin at first, but really meant overgrown cutbank – his term for the big slopes and river bank. It wasn’t till a few days later that I actually got around to reading the rest of the guide to see what the map codes meant, but once you become familiar with it, you know exactly where you are. Pipeline crossings and power line crossings were obvious though. Also, there is little detail of what is away from the riverbank. Rarely are the mountains shown, unless distinctive somehow – but again, once familiar with the style, it becomes easy to identify what is depicted. Not far above Little Takhini Creek, I see a moose to the far right swimming the river, except it’s seen me and swims downstream instead of across towards my side – the river is about a quarter mile wide here. I decide to check out Little Takhini Creek to see if I can get more water there. Generally, the river is very silty and not recommended for drinking water because it will plug up your filter, and in particular, you are advised to not get water from the river below Whitehorse wastewater treatment plant, until well out into the lake. So I do paddle up the creek, but it is not really flowing into the river, more the reverse, and it’s not very appealing, so I head back down to the river. There was a nice looking campsite right at the mouth that I would have tried for yesterday, but it wasn’t shown on the map. I was carrying a 2.5 gal water jug anyways, so could wait for water. Shortly after, I see the Takhini River and the bridge where the Alaska Highway crosses it, and continue on down to the lake. The wind has been fairly steady out of the SW, and is still blowing as I enter the lake at the river mouth, but it’s not too strong yet. But as I get farther out into the lake heading at an angle for the Eastern shore, the wind is picking up and waves are getting bigger – maybe two foot or so. The more out into the open water I get, the more wind of course, and I see the sky getting very dark with black clouds looking like a thunderstorm is approaching. Both books I have and other sources all say to get off the lake if it looks like bad weather, as big storms can brew up and hit fast and hard. I decide to head for the first indicated “good camp” and see what happens. I get there and its about 1:30- way too early to stop, but that sky is getting darker and wind and waves are getting very pushy – both coming in as quartering stern. Sure looks like a storm coming, so I do decide to stay and set up camp, and rig the tarp over the tent, and gather a big bunch of driftwood ( the lake shore was loaded with driftwood everywhere – lots of it looked like wreckage from steam ship disasters) and stack it to stay dry. After a bit, I see a canoe coming my way along the shoreline, not making very good progress, and I bet myself that they will want to stop. And they do. Harold, a German Canadian and his German brother Andreas. They just pull in and stop without asking, not that I minded. We chat a while and they look to be staying. Just said hope I didn’t mind, rather than asking if they could. They set up camp about 50 feet away. Only problem I had was they put their boat right where I was going to have a campfire, and Harold was a smoker, but oh well. Not too long after, another canoe comes by with a couple, and they go past a 1/4 mile or so to the next campsite. Now there are whitecaps showing, and wind is stronger, but nothing really changes. It never did rain, which was a surprise to me since it sure looked like it would. Another short day – m 33 to m 58 – about 25 miles only.
Day 2 – starting Lake Laberge at m. 52 getting dark – Think
I’ll stop here m.58
8/7/14 – Thursday – Day 3 Up early to try and get an early
start – feeling like I’m behind schedule and hope to finish the lake today if I
can. Lake Laberge is 31.5 miles long and I’ve only covered 6 so far. I’m packed
and about ready to take off when Harold gets up and chats a bit, then I’m off.
The waves are about 2 feet at first, then build to 3 as the wind picks up soon
after I start. Not too bad and no whitecaps yet, but it’s the same quartering
tailwind that pushes the waves at an angle to my direction of travel. I’ve
rearranged the load so that the boat isn’t bow heavy, but I still have handling
issues with that quartering tail wind and just take advantage of the problem by
mostly paddling on the left and not needing much correction. I switch sides
from time to time, and now have to do a hard stern rudder to keep my line while
paddling on the right side. So I mostly just paddled hard and fast on the left
to make better time. As the waves build to 3 feet, I get some surfing action
too. I’m mostly paddling from point to point, not following the shoreline, and
sometimes out a half a mile or more from shore, even though it is advised to
stay close to shore for a quick exit if a storm comes up. I’d rather short cut
figuring I can swim the boat to shore if need be. They say the lake is really
cold, but at the shore at camp it does not feel that way. Temps have been nice
– maybe about 50 in the morning and 70’s mid-day, so I’m not too worried about
hypothermia. The wind keeps building and waves are getting bigger. Every half
minute or so, there is a bigger set with 4 foot waves, and wind and waves are
getting very pushy – I just keep paddling hard on the left, and harder and
faster in the bigger gusts. This is not a relaxing paddle, rather the opposite,
intense. Have to keep constant attention on the waves and wind gusts, keeping
the boat at a bit of an angle to them to keep my line. I never stop paddling,
and its tricky to grab a quick drink – hard to flip the map book over to the
next page too. As the day goes on, I begin to hear the waves breaking into
whitecaps behind me, and I know another big set is coming by. I bob up and down
like a cork. Sometimes, the wind almost takes over and I have to switch to the
right side fast and do a hard stern rudder to keep control. Once, the
combination of wind and wave do take over and I can’t prevent turning sideways
to the waves. I look back left while sitting in the trough, and the next wave
is higher than my head. Think fast, relax, stay loose and let it go past, then
reverse quickly into the next wave, and continue on. Somewhere mid-day I pull
behind a headland at a campsite and take a break. I can now get an idea of
where exactly I am – there are very few points that are actually out of the
wind. I eat a bit and take the time to filter more water and fill my 2.5 gal
jug, all the time thinking of whether I should just camp here or continue on
I’m at about mile 65 and the end of the lake is at mile 80. I’d gone past one
guy on shore a while back – he seemed to be sitting out the wind. I’ve noticed
that all of the Gulls have gotten off the lake – they are sitting up on rock
bluffs off the water. Is that a clue? I decide to continue on – I’m getting
used to the big water and somewhat less concerned, though I still have to stay
sharp, constantly aware of the wind and waves. This is the biggest waves I’ve
ever paddled – more like an ocean with the biggest wave crests 15 to 20 feet
apart. The noise of the “surf” on the rocky shore and cliffs is really loud and
a constant. Problem is, I don’t know what the weather is going to be – might be
worst tomorrow – might stay bad for days? So I keep going, wanting to get in at
least a few more miles, but the sky is again looking black and threatening,
like a storm is approaching again. While I was stopped, that one guy I had seen
went past, paddling a Rx Rendezvous. After a while, I catch up and pass him,
having a brief shouted hello. He is having more trouble controlling his boat
than I am, and he is staying closer to shore than I do. (I talked with him next
day – he had tipped over in the lake that day or the one before, and was a bit
timid about the waves). I am more familiar with the style of the maps now, and
can keep up with where I am. Getting tired of fighting the wind and waves
though, and the black sky makes me think about stopping, and I see a camp site
ahead. It’s about 4pm and this is a nice spot, so I decide to stay. Its only
about 8 miles more to the end of the lake and I should be able to do that
“easy” tomorrow. Now, as I’m setting up camp, the wind finally dies down to a
light breeze and the paddling conditions are perfect – but I’ve already
unloaded the boat so I stay. The Rendezvous goes by a half hour or so later,
and then Harold and bro go past, and then that couple do too. It’s almost calm,
but the sky is very dark everywhere and it looks like it is raining to the NW,
and not long after the last boat went by, the wind comes roaring out of the
North and suddenly the big waves and whitecaps are back, but they would be in
your face if paddling, and a bit of rain does start. Not much rain really, but
the suddenness of the change is a bit startling – so the advice to get off the
lake if the weather is looking bad was spot on. Now I’m glad I stopped early at
a good spot and have camp all set up, and I wonder about those other 3 boats. I
hurry up and finish dinner and put the tarp up over the tent so I can exit dry
if needed. The storm lasts maybe an hour, then abates and wind is less. I do a
bit of fishing from shore, but no luck at all. I turn in early after a campfire
to burn out the trash – it doesn’t get dark till 11pm or so, and I’m not
waiting that long. I set the alarm for 4:30 to get an early start. Another
short but exciting day on the lake. Did only 16 miles today taking my time.
Camp at m. 74.5
Day 3 – taking a break – waves are starting to get bigger
Day 3 – my camp on Lake Laberge m. 74.5 Day 3 – lakeshore with terraced slopes
Day 4 morning – looking towards end of lake
8/8/14 – Friday – Day 4 On the water by 7:15 this morning. Repeat of yesterday
with the wind up and out of the SW, so it’s quartering wind and waves again.
Less than a mile, and I pass all 3 of the boats that had passed by my camp
yesterday – they had all pulled off the lake before that storm hit, and I was
glad of that. The waves start out at 2′, then after a while build to 3′, and
then back to the bigger 4′ sets. But I’m used to that now, and continue as I’ve
been going, point to point and keeping a sharp attention, but more relaxed
about it. I’ve gotten more confidence in the new boat (PakCanoe 150 solo) and
as I get near the end of the lake and study the map, I can just sit in the
troughs and bob up and down and not be concerned about the whitecaps. Hard to
spot the outlet, but eventually I do and look for a landing at the “Lower
Laberge” site – it had been a minor settlement with a telegraph station and
RCMP post etc. – I land there and walk about a bit looking at a few old log
cabins. There are several camp sites with picnic tables and an outhouse. Not
too far down river is a trapper’s cabin that the book says you can use if you
want to. My original plan had been to be at the end of the lake at end of day
2, and then to spend day 3 fishing on the next section of river, called “The 30
mile river”, being 30 miles to the junction of the Teslin river.
This section is supposed to be the nicest stretch of the
river and is designated a Canadian Heritage River. Lots of history what with
steamboats and whatnot. As I start down the river I’m debating with myself if I
should use a day here, or keep going to make up lost time. I’m only at mile 83
of 467. In any case I look for any side streams or other good looking fishing
spots, and stop at a little gravel bar to fish. This section of the river is
fast running clear water. The Rendezvous goes flying past me as I’m fishing and
he waves, seeming to be going 15 mph at least. Wow, he’s flying and I’m wishing
I had my own ‘vous – it would be perfect for this trip. I catch a Grayling.
It’s about 14″ long and the first I’ve ever caught so I’m happy. I release it
and fish another half hour without any success, then continue on. I plan to
stop at an island below to try fishing there again. The guy with the ‘vous is
there, and I stop anyway. He tells me he’s seen a big fish right there, and I
look and can see it too, maybe 18″. I try for that fish for a half an hour, and
best I get is one follow of my lure. I Try some other spots but have no luck at
all, so I give up. Chatted with the guy a bit – never did get a name. He was
only going to go half way, to Dawson, taking out at Carmacks. He’d done
Carmacks to Dawson the year before. That was when he told me he didn’t like the
waves on the lake and that he’d tipped over in the lake. Showed me his boat,
with maybe 30 or 40 sharp dings in it from being pounded on the rocks when he
got to shore and tried to empty it. I would see him passing by a couple of more
times in the next few days. Since I couldn’t catch any more fish, I decided to
just continue on down river. I’d try fishing more on and off, but never caught
another fish. I was heading for Hootalinqua, just below the junction of the
Teslin, but late in the afternoon I got hit with headwinds and decided to camp
sooner. This was another good camp – a big one with half a dozen picnic tables
and 3 outhouses in a nice grove of Aspen. The Yukon government has been fixing
up some of the campsites along the river, mainly for the outfitters I think,
but nice setups in any case. I was the only one there and the ‘vous went past
later. The weather was still fooling me and looked like it might rain so I set
the tarp up too. I saw one Black Bear about a 1/4 mile upstream and across from
the camp. He came to the river for a drink, fed there a bit and then popped in
and out of sight for a while before disappearing. I decided to hang my food bag
because of that, and this camp was right next to an overgrown river channel
that looked to be a natural travel way for animals. It was the only time I hung
my food. I had 6 days food in a Bear Canister, so no matter what, I could get
to a resupply point if a bear or other varmints got to my food. One of the
guidebooks said that there were few opportunities for hanging, and to just
trash bag and dry bag the food to avoid scent – knowing that, I bought the Bear
Can and just took the chance otherwise, and never had a problem. I filtered
more river water here, and relaxed and had a late dinner and turned in about 9.
Stopped at mile 106.5 – did 32.5 miles today. Thinking I need to do a couple of
50 mile days to catch up.
Day 4 – at “Lower Lebarge” site m. 83
Day 4 camp – m. 106.5 – saw a bear across the river at a spot between the tent
and tarp
8/9/14 – Saturday – Day 5 I had set the alarm last night, for 4:30. It’s just
light enough to see without a flashlight at that time this far north. On the
water by 7, and 6 miles later pass the junction of the Teslin River and then
the old Hootalinqua site – another old settlement now a good camp with tables
and outhouses, and a mile further on I stopped on “shipyard island” to see an
old steamship that was dry docked there. Interesting to see the “ways” and horse
powered capstans used to haul the boat sideways out of the water. The “Evelyn”
was in relatively good shape except someone had taken the sternwheel apart and
off the boat – the steel “axle” was there, but not the wooden paddles. Picture
a Mississippi River sternwheeler and you would be close. This one was about 200
feet long by 30 or so wide with 3 decks. No way to go aboard easily and
probably not safe to do so, but an impressive sight with several interpretive
signs placed around by the Yukon gov’t. I was there maybe half an hour, or
less, then moved on. It was still a tailwind out of the SW, but now there were
some big meanders in the river and when the river was going S or SE, it was
into fairly strong headwind until the next bend, with some of those stretches a
mile or more long. Made it to Big Salmon village around noon (mile 146) and
stopped there. There were several old buildings and more developed campsites,
and a big group of other paddlers there. Since I hadn’t seen them before, they
must have come down the Big Salmon River or the Teslin the day before. I
checked the place out, but only took a 20 minute break or so (after you’ve seen
one or two old log cabins, the rest are all the same). When I got back to the
boat, there was a second big group at the landing – a guided trip of Germans –
lots of Germans on the river and in the towns. On the river, it was probably
more Germans than everyone else combined. Popular destination for them, with
direct flights from Frankfurt to Whitehorse. The guide for this group made a
point of telling me where they planned on camping, more or less telling me to
not stop there. Ok. There was another threesome of Germans there as well, using
sea kayaks. I did have a spot of trouble about 10 miles downriver from there, at
“Hendricksen Slough”. Most features on the river were named, including a lot of
the rocks – from the steamboat days I guess. The river curves to the right
there around a big island, and I decided to take the shorter and straighter
left channel. Most of the river curved right and the guide has arrows which
show where the main current goes, which was to the right here. As I started
moving left, I ran over some really shallow gravel bars and was trying to do an
upstream ferry to get set up for the turn – and having some trouble doing it
with the fast current over the shallows (6″), that with a must make sharp turn
to avoid a lot of sweepers ahead on bank of the island – definitely got my
attention and full effort, but I made it ok – that would have been a disaster
if I hadn’t made it. Most of the other short cuts I’d taken had just been
slower current and shallows, and after this one, I mostly followed the
guidebook’s arrows and stayed in the main channel. I passed a nice looking old
cabin at “Erickson’s Woodyard”, but that was where the big German tour group
was going to camp, so I didn’t bother stopping. Went a few miles further to
Claire Creek and camped there. Stopped above it to check the camping at an old
woodlot, but decided to head for the indicated “good camp” at the stream,
hoping to do a little fishing at the mouth. The guidebooks had suggested
fishing in the clear feeder streams (which weren’t very many) and also
suggested to not camp at them because they tended to be frequented by bears.
Both are likely true during salmon spawning but it wasn’t at this time. Never
saw any sign of bears at the creeks, and this was another indicated “good
camp”. It had an old outhouse, but new “construction” of a log bridge across
the creek, and log “tables” built to the trees. A really pleasant spot and
suitable for large groups. I stopped about 4:00 and had time to hike around on
some of the trails there. All along the river there is an old trail that was
where the telegraph line had run and it was here as well as other trails that
went to the woodyard and probably old cabin sites. During the steamboat days,
they had woodyards about every 20 or 25 miles along the river where the boats
could stop and load up with cordwood. The stream was nice and about 15′ wide
and running clear, so I filled up with water here. About the only mishap on the
trip, I’d set a new Nalgene “Canteen” water bottle I’d just filled up on one of
the “tables” and walked away, only to hear it drop and sploosh – that’s the
technical term for the thing split and couldn’t be repaired. I’d brought it for
extra storage to back up the 2.5 gal jug, and learned a $15 lesson – no matter
how stable the flat bottomed thing was – turn your back and it would fall over.
Oh well, have to see how good their warranty is, but not likely. It had been a
long day and my biceps were tired – I plan on getting to Carmacks tomorrow, so
turned in early about 8pm. I camped at mile 170.5 – made 65 miles today.
Day 5 – Old steamboat at drydock – “Shipyard Island” m.
113.5
Day 5 – “typical” scene – this one has burned area – there were lots of burned
areas along the way
Day 5 – camp at m. 170.5 nice spot with new “furniture” and footbridge – good
water in creek
8/10/14 – Sunday – Day 6 Didn’t set the alarm last night, and made a leisurely
start around 10.The wind was already blowing, and again whenever the river bent
South or Eastward, it became a strong headwind and difficult to make headway at
times. Essentially the wind would negate the current and while it was hard to
tell, I still was making 3 mph or so. “Taylor’s Cutoff” was one such place
where it was hard work to make progress for a couple of miles. At Little Salmon
village (m 183) the “Campbell Highway” to Dawson made an appearance, and it
would be close to the river on and off until Carmacks, with occasional vehicles
seen and more often heard. Passing Little Salmon village, I could see the
“Spirit Houses” in the cemetery, but I didn’t bother to stop. Carmacks is a
real town of First Nations people, with most amenities and a population of
several hundred at least. There are two campgrounds there, one below the bridge
that wasn’t recommended (thefts?) – really just a spot to pitch a tent near the
road, or the recommended “Coal Mine Campground” which was a private campground
with a little burger stand, ice cream, hot showers and all the normal amenities
for RVs. The RV sites each had a nice little 8’x12′ lawn – the tenters,
including me, got a patch of dirt in the trees along the river with picnic
tables, and just camp wherever you wanted to for $15 a night. I stayed there
mainly for the shower (3 $1 coins for a 6.5 min shower, but it was worth it) –
the burger and ice cream stand was so busy I didn’t bother to get in line, and
I did need to eat my own food anyway to reduce volume – I needed to get down
from 3 packs to 2+boat for the ride back. There were about a dozen people tent
camping when I got there, all foreigners and a group of somewhat noisy Swiss in
a cabin. A lone Swiss bicycle tourer pulled in after I did and I chatted with
him a bit and checked out his bike. Then the group of 3 Germans in the sea
kayaks pulled in and it got a bit more noisy, and then a couple on a motorcyle
came in. But it got much noisier after the big German group came in late in the
evening – shouting back and forth and they set up a big camp right next to that
couple’s tent. I was in a less nice spot, but out of the way. Next morning they
were pretty obnoxtious early. I was already up and finishing breakfast, so they
didn’t wake me up, but they did wake up everybody else in the campground. They
went over to the table right next to that Swiss bike rider, and just took over
his table, 3′ from his tent, dropping gear on it and using it to pack up.
Another one of them kept slapping his shoes against a tree to try and knock off
the dirt – that was really loud. They just made no effort to be quiet, or to be
considerate of other campers. Glad to be out of there. camped at mile 216 –
made 46 miles today.
Day 6 – down the river – Hoodoos and clouds
Day 6 – “Sam McGee’s Ashes” – the white spot on the bank – volcanic ash left a
layer visible on the banks
Day 7 camp – m. 255 watched a Grizzly across the river, then
it went up that bank
8/11/14 – Monday – Day 7 Up at 6 and moving by 9. Planning an easy day now that
I’ve made up for lost time, and partly to rest. Canoed past the town and
continued on till just above 5 Finger Rapids. The main rapid is rated CIII, but
everybody takes the far right channel, with a moderate CII wave train that is
mostly avoided. The rapid is named for the 5 basalt towers that split the
river. I stop upstream for a picture, and do the run – no problem, and rapids
below are easily avoided. Its windy again, same old story of SW quartering
winds .A couple miles below 5 Finger is Rink Rapid. As you approach it, it does
not look like you can avoid the rocks that seem to span the river, but
guidebooks say stay far right, and there is an open channel there. Most likely
the rocks were blown up to make passage easy for the steamboats – they did that
at 5 Finger also. Since this was an easy day, I stopped to fish the mouth of
Tatchun Creek. I see two Bald Eagles sitting there and some gulls and Ravens,
so I think ok, must be fish here right? I landed on a little grassy bank, 5
feet away from the alders and brush and see fish eggs, or maybe a crap pile
that had been mostly salmon eggs. I threw in a few times, but no fish, then I
start thinking that the birds aren’t there to fish, but to scavenge on leavings
from bears, and I start to get this creepy feeling – didn’t stay long and never
saw a fish and it was only a few hundred yards up to the Klondike Highway
(Carmacks to Dawson), but I still didn’t like it – no chance if a bear showed
up, and since there weren’t any fish, I left pretty quickly. Continued on till
about 2:00 and stopped for the day at a campsite I checked out noted as “good
high water camp”, and it was about 15′ above the water at this level. Some
group, boyscouts? Had played at building a log cabin here – they cut a bunch of
4 to 6 inch logs about 8′ long and built a 3 walled roofless shelter? Made no
sense to me, but it was all recent activity. I relaxed and read my book some,
sitting in an Alite Mayfly chair I’d brought along. With only the one portage
around the dam, I brought along the chair as a luxury item – it was nice to be
able to lean back and sit and read in comfort. About 4:30 or so, I see a bear
across the river. It came out of the brush to the water for a drink, and then
back into cover for a nap. I saw it again in the evening, and this time I had
my 10X binoculars handy, and using them I could see that it was a Grizzly, not
a Black bear. I watched it for a while as it pulled down the alders or whatever
and fed on shoots or seeds or whatever on the tops. It would appear and disappear
at times, then once, it seemed to stand up and look right at me – more likely
it could see my red canoe on the shore. After a few minutes of that, it
proceeded to climb up the steep bank for 500 feet or so and disappeared for
good into the forest. So I’ve seen two bears across the river from my campsites
now – wonder how many are on my side that I can’t see? Didn’t bother me though,
except for that bit at Tatchun Creek. I would normally keep the can of Bear
Spray handy, and also loaded up the shotgun at camp. Solo, you are a bit more
of a target than in a group. But I think I was the only person on the river
with a shotgun, most people didn’t bother. camped at mile 255 – did 39 miles
today
Day 8 – another nice day on a big river.
8/12/14 – Tuesday – Day 8 Woke up about 6 to the patter of rain on the tent. I
didn’t have the tarp up as it hadn’t looked like rain last night. Now I was
sorry I hadn’t rigged the tarp. Rolled over and went back to sleep as it rained
lightly on and off for a while. It stopped about 7 and I got up and did
breakfast and it didn’t rain again. Wiped down the tent and packed up and hit
the river at 9:50. About 20 miles downstream is the “town” of Minto – just a
few houses and a landing for barges. A barge was heading in as I came into
sight, and 3 canoes had just left the boat ramp there. Minto is one of the many
alternative starting points for canoe trips. Minto itself is just a little
settlement for the mining in the area. A big rocky bluff a half mile or so back
from the river, “Minto Bluff’, had a bunch of sheep or mtn goats on it. They
looked more like sheep to me thru the binoculars, but too far away to be sure.
I took a channel on river left to avoid the barge and other canoes, but
eventually both channels merged and I said hello – group of 3 boats and 6
people – I’d see this same group from time to time for the rest of the trip. A
couple from MN and the other 4 from Ontario. For a while I kept pace with them,
but they were a lot fresher than I was, they having just started the day before
from Carmacks, and my 15′ solo wasn’t going to keep up with 17′ tandems anyway
– though I tried to pass them, it was them who passed me and kept ahead till
they stopped for a lunch break. I made it to Fort Selkirk by 10 of 4, so it
took 6 hours to go 42 miles. Ft Selkirk is an old settlement with 20 or so
restored log buildings including the old General Store, 2 Churches, and many
homes. All were empty, not really restored like Colonial Wiliamsburg, just
empty. The Yukon government and the local First Nations tribe operate the
place, with a local born interpretive guide and many signs describing life
there in the early 20th century (1890 thru 1930’s). There is a free campground
that has picnic tables and outhouses, and water, though there was a sign
recommending it be boiled. I walked around looking at many of the buildings and
the native cemetery – no spirit houses here, just little colored fences around
each grave. There were natives living there also, in cabins just downstream
from the restored area. I’d guess there were maybe 20 other people camping
there. Its only accessible by water I think. I restocked with water using a
little gravity filter that I’d rigged up – just kept it working as I cooked and
ate and walked around. I set the alarm for 6am to try and hit the river before
the rest of the boaters. It rained a little here and I set up the tarp, but
hardly any rain. camped at Ft Selkirk mile 297 – did 42 miles today.
Day 8 – at Ft Selkirk m.297
Washing machine and wringer – this bldg. had some displays
8/13/14 – Wednesday – Day 9 I got up early and hit the river first, but not by
much. As I started out, a couple of native women shouted a good morning to me
and something else I couldn’t make out. Not long after that , the group from
MN/ON caught up and slowly passed me – they told me that the natives had warned
them to not camp at Isaac Creek because of a wounded bear in that area. Good
thing they passed that info on to me, as that had been where I’d more or less
planned on camping this day. Not too far upstream from Fort Selkirk the
character of the landscape had changed from mostly sandy bluffs and high
dirt/clay banks to a now more rugged basalt cliff scenery, which would continue
all the way to Dawson. The guide was still showing the changes in height etc.
very accurately. Somewhere along the way here, I saw one canoe ahead of me
moving slowly. (I’d passed the 3 boat group earlier when they stopped for
lunch) I recognized it as being a guy and his young son that I’d chatted with
at the landing at Fort Selkirk, though they had moved on soon after. I made it
a point to catch up and pass on the warning about Isaac Creek, and also about
not camping at Coffee Creek, which was also warning of a lot of bear activity.
I went past Isaac Creek several miles and started looking for a camping spot.
The first island I stopped at had fairly fresh bear tracks when I checked it
out, so I went another mile or so and two more islands later, set up camp. It
had been a beautiful morning and I had a tailwind all day, so I took it easy
that day. I’d started at 8:30 and stopped at 3:30, so it took 7 hours to go 50
miles, averaging about 7 mph. That was about the pace I traveled after leaving
Carmacks. The islands were not the best places to camp. The bears seemed to use
them frequently, and there were always moose tracks whenever I stopped. There
was a lot of brushy willow and alder, and the woods were thick with brush,
including a lot of thorny wild rose bushes – so you would wind up camping on
the gravel bar at the head or tail of the island instead of in the trees. I set
up camp at 5, just at the edge of the brush, and soon it started to rain a few
drops. The sky had gotten totally overcast, but there were no trees nearby to
use to set up my tarp. So I just looped some rope around a bunch of alders and
bent them over a bit to make a little shelter to cook under – crude, but good
enough. It mostly kept the rain off until I finished. Then it started raining
more and steady about 7, and I went into the tent camped at mile 346.5 – did 50
miles today.
Day 9 – not camping here! Camp here instead m. 346.5 light
rain for dinner
Day 10 – Day 10 – sunset- Kirkman’s camp at m.374
8/14/14 – Thursday – Day 10 I woke up about 6 and it had stopped raining during
the night, but it was still total overcast and it looked like it would rain
some more. Everything was wet and sandy. That is the trouble with camping on
the shore; it was either cobblestone or sand or mud. I dried off the tent as
much as I could and packed up, hustled thru breakfast and started paddling
about 10. It did clear up and become a nice morning eventually, with a tailwind
again The pattern since Minto had been like that, start out with a little
tailwind in the early morning, and then transition to light headwinds – at Minto,
the river turns more westerly or north westerly rather than nearer to due North
as it had been the first 6 days. Near Ballarat Creek, I saw an animal running
on the beach about a mile ahead of me. I eased over towards it and saw it was a
lone Caribou. They never stop moving. As I got closer, it noticed me and ran
towards me some to get a better look, and I took a picture as I went past.
Coffee Creek was a couple of miles later, and a plane took off from their
landing strip. One of the guidebooks was also warning of a lot of bear activity
there. Coffee Creek was actually a base for mining activity further up the
creek, and later, there was considerable helicopter traffic, between Coffee
Creek and Dawson I guess. The guidebook showed where the small creeks came in
to the river. Some were dry or too far across the river to bother with, but I
had marked “Sparkling Creek” as a place to stop and maybe get water. Actually
though, I stopped at a nice small creek a bit above that and spent a lazy hour
or so filtering more water, having a snack, and fishing where the little stream
flowed clear into the muddy river. Not a fish to be seen, and caught same.
Sparkling Creek turned out to be smaller and not as good a place as where I did
stop. Since I didn’t seem to be having any trouble making 40 or 50 miles a day,
I decided to stop early today at Kirkman Creek. This was a private home that
you could stop at and buy fresh baked goods, and pay to camp if you wanted to.
It had a nice grassy lawn to camp on and I thought it would be nicer than mud
or sand. I paid for camping but didn’t buy any bread or anything as I had
plenty of food to use up. Some time after I’d set up camp, the ON/MN group
stopped in and did buy some stuff from the “bakery”, then they moved on a couple
more miles. I talked to them later and found out that I wasn’t the only one who
thought that the woman there at Kirkman was not very friendly. Seems a bunch of
German movie makers had stopped and did a lot of filming without getting
permission, and that made her mad. In any case, no one bothered me there and I
did some more reading in the one book I’d brought along and just took it easy.
camped at mile 374 – only did 27 miles today.
8/15/14 – Friday – Day 11 Up at 5 and paddling by 7. This
was the coldest morning so far with a lot of dew – grass was still damp from
yesterday’s morning rain and lots of condensation on everything. Not far along
after I left, I saw a moose swimming across the river ahead of me, and a bit
later I passed the ON/MN group at their camp on a gravel bar. I passed one
other camp further along near O’Niel’s Landing and also saw a barge moving up
river – I gave it lots of room as it was pushing a big bow wake. I stopped at
mile 391 at the confluence of the White River and did the recommended hike up
the bluff for the view. It was about a half a mile and maybe 800′ elevation
gain – felt good to stretch the legs. After this confluence, the river becomes
even more silty and changes color to a dull grayish brown. I’d had a tailwind
up until I stopped at the confluence, but when I started out after my hike, it
had already changed to a headwind and it stayed that way the rest of the day –
maybe 15mph wind, and enough to more or less counter the slow current and make
it more work to paddle. I’d planned on about a 45 mile day hoping to get to
mile 420 or so, but short of that it started looking like it would rain again,
so I started looking for camp sooner, around m 415 or so. First place I checked
out, an island, had two sets of fresh bear tracks heading right for the spot I
was looking at. Passed on that, and got out of there fast. Two canoes, 3 guys
came drifting past – they’d started in Mayo and came down the Little Salmon
River to the Yukon. I saw fishing rods so I asked about their luck. They had
only caught one Shefish. I stopped to check another spot where there was a
shelf up against the rock cliff, but it had too many boulders and logs and was
a tough climb up the crumbling bank. Paddled a bit farther to the mouth of
Excelsior Creek and I found a good spot there. It had been used not too long
before, and there were no bear tracks so looked good to me. One of the
guidebooks I had said to avoid the creeks because of bears, but I’d passed
locals with motor boats who had been camping at a creek, and this camp seemed
to have been used by the same or other locals with heavier gear than would be
likely with canoes, so I figured if it was good enough for them, good enough
for me. Besides, the islands seemed to be visited by the bears frequently enough
anyways (one of the trip reports I’d found was by a ”local” from Dawson – he
mentioned that he personally knew of 2 or 3 incidents of bears attacking camps
on islands; I knew of one other). It had started to rain a little lightly
before I got here, so first thing I did was to set up the tarp above where I’d
pitch the tent, and waited the first bit of rain out. Then went ahead and set
up camp when it stopped for a bit. Even though this was a little bit muddy, it
was a nice enough spot and I had the trees to use for setting up the tarp.
Earlier in the day, before I got to this camp, I’d been passed by a jetboat
full of guys, and a bit later, a second jetboat with more guys. After setting
up camp, one of the motor boats that had been at Kirkman Creek passed by too,
going to Dawson Seemed to be miners heading to town for the Weekend. You could
hear the boats coming for a mile or more, and then another mile or more
downstream till they rounded the next bend. I started cooking dinner about 6,
and it started raining again and harder, so I moved my cooking stuff under the
tarp. I’d set up wood for a fire so I could burn my trash, but gave up on that
idea, and it being about 8, just went into the tent for the night. camped at
mile 417 – did 43 miles today.
Day 11 m. 391 – The White River delta with Yukon R You can
see the difference in color
Dal 11 – camped at m. 417 at Excelsior Creek #2 creek is dark but clear, river
is gray so is the sky
8/16/14 – Saturday – Day 12 I’d set the alarm for 5:30, but didn’t get up yet.
It had rained on and off all night, and it was colder and damp this morning.
Fog and low cloud deck, maybe only 300′ above the river. I wasn’t going
anywhere soon. Took my time breaking camp, and then did breakfast under the
tarp. I did start a fire this morning, and kept it going for several hours as I
waited for the clouds to lift some. Gave me a chance to burn the accumulated
trash also. About 9:30, it looked to be clearing, so I headed down river. Until
I started out, the wind had been out of the south, but now it was in my face
again and would stay that way till I got to my next camp about 5pm. I wanted to
get maybe 15 miles or so from Dawson today, but camp this one more night on the
river. I checked out one island maybe a quarter mile long. Stopped and walked
the shoreline and saw no bear tracks, just Moose – this island was near a
cliff, and less likely to be visited by bears I think. When I landed there, I’d
heard a Peregrine skree skreeing, but thought nothing much about it – I’d seen
half a dozen or so falcons along the way, so didn’t pay much attention. I
returned to my boat by walking down the center of the island through the woods,
but it was so thick with rose bushes that there was no easy path till I got
back closer to my boat at the head of the island. Then I found a decent spot
that had been used before and decided to camp there – until that falcon started
to dive bomb me, closer and closer. I started waving a stick I picked up to
keep it farther away, but it must have had a nest somewhere nearby, even though
I didn’t see any. Or maybe it was just very territorial. In any case, I moved
on. Checked another spot or two, and checked out Caribou Creek which seemed to
have a road to it, but it was much too steep except where an old fallen down log
cabin sat. I kept looking and finally found a half way decent island to camp on
– saw some boot tracks, so it was probably used before but no good tent spots.
I wound up sawing away some alder branches to clear a decent spot up on the
bank – it was better than setting up in the sand or gravel nearer the water,
and had enough nearby trees so that I could set up the tarp. There were a few
mosquitos here in the thick cover, but not bad. Hadn’t mentioned mosquitos much
before because there had been so few. I only used insect repellent once, the
fifth morning when it was cooler. This was really pretty dry country, with
hardly any swampy ground to breed mosquitos. I’d even brought along a bug net
hut to cook in if the bugs were bad, but I never even thought of setting it up.
I’d stopped later than planned and ate about 7, and into the tent about 8.
Camped at mile 458 did 41 miles today.
Day 12 – foggy morning but it clears up nicely
8/17/14 – Sunday – Day 13 I was only about 10 miles from Dawson, so I wasn’t in
a hurry to get started and took my time. All the time while I was doing
breakfast and packing up the wind had been from the south – of course, as soon
as I started loading the boat it switched to a northerly wind and was getting
stronger, This would be about the worst wind I paddled in and it made for hard
going with waves coming upriver at me and confusing the currents. What was
happening was a strong NE wind blowing down the Klondike River valley and blew
right to the Yukon, bounced off the western side cliffs and blew downriver.
Made for a hard slog, and I was now glad I only had 10 miles and not 15 to go.
As I got to Dawson and passed the mouth of the Klondike, the wind suddenly
dropped and then changed to a tailwind for the last mile or so. I passed a Huck
Finn/Tom Sawyer raft moored to the bank with a couple of scrundgy looking
characters on it, just building a fire for their breakfast. I said hello and
went around the corner. I could see the ferry boat crossing the river below, so
I knew where the landing was. But I had been hoping to be able to stop short of
that and camp nearer the water. There was a Hostel upstream from the ferry
landing, but it wound up being higher up on the bank than I hoped it would be.
Plan A was to camp near the river so as to be able to ferry across in my canoe
to the town dock, take my boat apart and bag it, and be at the location for the
bus on the 19th. But I had to go to plan B which was to just camp at the hostel
and somehow get the boat to the bus later. So I landed just upstream of the
ferry landing, and unloaded my boat there. One of my guidebooks had said that
the hostel had showers and canoe carts that could be borrowed, so I stacked my
gear in the bushes and hiked up the hill following their signs. It was about
1:00 or so and the office was closed, but the sign on the door said if you were
tenting, just go set up and come back later. So I grabbed one of their home
made canoe carts and took it back to the boat. It was set up pretty well, and I
loaded my boat, put all the gear in it and balanced it nicely, and it was
pretty easy to haul the whole works up the hill to the campground. They had
some wooden tent platforms, but I opted for softer dirt in some trees where I
could rig the tarp up, and set up camp. Good thing I did set up the tarp, as it
was going to be raining a lot. Before I took the boat up the hill, I took
advantage of a small clear creek at the landing to wash out the boat and get
most of the mud off. There was one solo German guy, and 3 other Germans who had
come down the Little Salmon R – at the only two occupied sites, so I had my
choice of spots. There were a few people in the cabins too it looked like.
About 3 or so, and the owner came back and I checked at the office – paid for 2
nights at $14 per night. I had looked around a bit before he got back, after
I’d set up. No hot showers! and running water was just straight from the creek.
No hot showers as I’d been looking forward to, and if I wanted a bath, it was
up to me to haul firewood up to the bath house, get the stove going that heated
a drum of water and take a tin washtub bath, pouring buckets of water over my
head to rinse off. Nah, Pass on that, I’ll just stay dirty. I did take my stove
to the wash rack outside the bath house and heated water to shave with though,
but that’s as good as it got. The hostel, being across the river from the town,
did not have any power, nor city water. Pieter, the owner, had a big tank he
would fill with city water and keep a reservoir filled for drinking water. I
asked Pieter if he knew of anyone who I could get to haul my bagged boat over
to the bus stop on the 19th. He said he was going over on the 18th, and I could
ride with him and leave the boat ahead of time at the Husky Bus office. I
hadn’t known they had an office in Dawson – I thought they were based out of
Whitehorse, but it was in Dawson instead. Anyways, after cleaning up a bit, I
walked the 200 yards or so to the ferry landing and took the free ride to town.
Walked around some and had dinner – A burger and beer – cost about $20 with
tip. Everything in Canada cost about half again what you’d pay in US, though
the exchange rate was about $1.05 Canadian to $1 US. I wandered the town some
more – its small enough you could walk it all if you wanted to, with a population
of 2 or 3 thousand I think, the second biggest city in Yukon. As expected, lots
of tourist shops, and lots of tourists, and again many if not most were
Germans. It rained on and off the rest of the day. I went into a casino to
watch for a while and then had dinner in the “Downtown Hotel”. I bought a
couple of stamps there for postcards and overheard as a customer checked in,
for one night – $169 for a room there. Went back to the ferry, back to the
hostel, and called it a day.
Day 13 – heading in to Dawson – You can see the Ferry crossing downriver –
camped around the point on left
8/18/2014 – Monday. It rained most of the night and
everything was fairly wet, including my boat. I did breakfast in their shelter,
then took my boat over to a roofed over long picnic bench where I could dry it
and disassemble it. Spent several hours wiping it down and cleaning gravel out
of it. I had to be done before Pieter left for town, which he said would be
1:00. I just made that, and we put my boat in the back seat of his truck, but
that left no room for me, so I rode in the bed of the pickup down to the ferry
and across the river. The ferry runs 24/7 and was never empty that I saw. The
landing on the west bank is the start of the “Top Of The World” highway that
goes to Eagle Alaska. It had lots of traffic and was an all gravel road -the
RVs and cars coming down from it were all coated with mud spray. The way back
to Whitehorse for me was via a mini-bus. 20 passenger bus with enough room in
the end for gear. I had made a reservation for the 19th and had pre-paid my
fare in Whitehorse. So Pieter took me over to the Husky Bus office and I
checked in with Jesse, the owner, and left my big duffle bag with the boat
there – I’d stuffed my shotgun in there too and my fishing pole and my emptied
out dry bag form my food. Then I walked around some more, had lunch, back to
camp and later went back into town, spending a rainy day wondering around town.
Dawson was the town built up for the Klondike Gold Rush Many of the miners came
up the Pacific Coast to Skagway, over the Chilkoot Pass to the Yukon River, and
down the river all the way to Dawson. At one point it had about 40,000 people,
and a lot of the buildings dated from that period – about 1898. There were a
lot of interpretive signs in windows here and there and two visitor centers –
one for Yukon and another for Northwest Territories. After I got tired of the
town, I went back to camp.
8/19/2014 – Tuesday I took advantage of a break in the rain
to pack up my camp. Everything but the tarp was dry, and I dried that mostly. I
barely managed to consolidate my gear into my two remaining dry bags – a 115
liter big pack and a 40 liter or so smaller one, and a fanny pack for lunch and
water bottle. I ate breakfast at the campground, finished packing and hauled my
gear to the ferry and to town. The bus office was open, and I just left my two
packs there so I could wander around for a couple of hours till the bus left..
The bus was scheduled to leave at noon, and I had a couple of hours to wander
the town a bit, and walked the mile over to the Klondike river and back. After
everybody was loaded up, the driver made an announcement that they had a bad
tire and we would be delayed till 1:30 while it was repaired. Wound up being
longer than that and we didn’t leave till more like 2:30, arriving in
Whitehorse about 10. Nice thing about their service, they had agreed to drop me
off at the storage lot where my truck was, and due to the delay announced they
would take everybody wherever they needed to go. So I hauled all my gear from
the bus into the storage lot after I opened the gate and loaded up my truck.
Everything was closing up about now, so I got some water and drove south out of
town and back to the dam at mile 7 where I camped for the night.
8/20/2014 – Wednesday Slept in, had breakfast, and headed for town. Stopped on
the way to revisit Miles Canyon, hiking over the foot bridge and taking a few
pictures, then drove to the visitor center. Inquired about showers and was told
I could get one at the Robert Service campground just outside of town. That
worked fine – this was coin operated again, using the $1 coins, but only about
2 minutes per coin. I used two, then shaved and went back to town to get
groceries, gas, water and stop at a bank to exchange some currency – I was
about out of Canadian currency. Had lunch and started home when I began to hear
a clunk, clunk, clunk in the from left wheel. The lug nuts had all come loose!
and when I jacked up the wheel, I could wobble it a good 1/4 inch or more.
Retightened it, and all the rest and left Whitehorse about 2. Wanted to get to
Watson Lake if I could and got close. I turned off on the Cassair Highway in BC
thinking to take a back road home, and slept near a lake just off the road. Saw
only a single Black Bear on the road, that crossed in front of me.
8/21/2014 – Thursday In the morning I changed my mind and
decided I didn’t want to ride a lot of gravel road after all, and that I did
want to go back thru the Muncho Lake area again, so I backtracked a few miles
to the Alaska Highway and headed East. I saw a few caribou, a couple of herds
of woodland bison and some stone sheep today. It mostly rained lightly all day,
so I didn’t really do much tourist stuff. I did stop to see Smith River Falls,
which was nice, and stopped at big Teslin Lake for bit to stretch the legs, but
mostly drove back. After going past Buckinghorse River, I was again in heavy
truck traffic from the oil and gas activity. Made it to Dawson Creek and
stopped for lunch and gas, and continued. Wound up getting a golf ball sized
rock into my windshield thrown up by one of those big trucks, that almost took
me out – just missed hitting in front of my face and hit behind the rearview
mirror instead. Only because it hit at an angle did it not quite punch thru the
window, but it blew out a lot of glass chips into the cab. Grrr! I stopped for
an hour to clean out the glass, and was really hating those trucks now. Took a
different route back hoping to avoid truck traffic, but the truckers use that
route as well. Anyway, camped just south of Grande Prairie on a back road.
8/22/2014 – Friday drove south and eventually got past all
of the oil and gas activity, and into some nice country. This area had the only
logging activity I saw in my travels Went through Jasper and Banff national
parks, but it was another all day on and off rain with very low clouds, so I
couldn’t see much. Past Banff on Highway 1, I turned south on route 40 and this
was a surprisingly spectacular back road, west of Calgary. I camped along it
for the night.
8/23/2014 – Saturday – a repeat of the wet weather, I headed
south to US border crossing near Glacier N.P. but it was raining and so cloudy
you couldn’t see any mountains at all, so I kept on and finally stopped in
Livingston MT for the night, at an I-90 rest area. This set me up for the next
day to spend some time in Yellowstone.
8/24/2014 – Sunday Well it rained all night and was still
raining in the morning. Had breakfast and gassed up the truck and drove to the
North entrance to Yellowstone at Gardiner. The mountains were coated with fresh
snow above tree line, and even some of trees were white coated. My original
plan had been to spend 2 or 3 days in Yellowstone, including canoeing into
Shoshone Lake. I stopped at a backcountry office to check on permits, mostly
just for the heck of it, and the weather. Forecast was more rain, changing to
snow overnight. Go to plan B, and just spent most of the day driving around. I
got snowed on up at one pass. Finally the rain stopped in the afternoon, and I
finished my touring with a stop at Old Faithful. Where Yukon was overrun with
German Tourists, Yellowstone was overrun with Chinese. Cleared out of
Yellowstone and gladly took the road to Dubois where I stopped at Togwotee Pass
for the night.
8/25/2014 – Monday – about 400 miles to go, and go I did.
Back home about mid-afternoon. Paddled 12 and a half days, 460 miles. Drove a
total of 5,459 miles round trip. Cost about $2,200 for everything; spent $967
Can for Gas, and $460 US for Gas; Shuttle was C$100, Bus back with canoe was
C$164; the rest was for guidebook, map case, fishing lic $37 C., groceries and
eating. Not bad. Gas in Yukon about $5/gal BC was $6/gal Alberta about $4.50 a
gallon.
“There are strange things done in the midnight sun,
by the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee.”