🛶 this section: 410km | 🛶 total: 880km

Five finger & Rink rapids

While team saxony was waiting for a spray cover for their canoe (in hindsight, not really necessary on the Yukon), we headed downriver. Given the rather “feuchtfroehliche”  (boozy) previous night, we had to resupply beer again (30 cans of lager had gone missing … mmhh). While in Carmacks, we also fixed the drone app using the publicly available wifi … and we finally got it to fly! Hurrah! New perspectives ahead …

About 40km after Carmacks are the only rapids on the river – first the five finger rapids and 30mins later the rink rapids. Stay right for both though this is rather obvious. We passed both without problems though a few buckets worth of water splashed into the canoe as we passed the five finger rapids. Harrys socks got wet. Sorry mate. Otherwise very unproblematic especially with current low river levels. Best views of the rapids are acutally not in water, but from a viewpoint above (Harry kindly provided a picture from his return journey).

That night we found an amazing campsite about 10m elevated from the river, cooked up an overly large dinner and took the drone for a spin. Totally amazing views … (and too many “supplies” still to get through … cheers!). Noteworthy: We finally used our fish grilling equipment … to grill tons of pork belly!

We also got to play a little with the drone. Here a short flight around camp.

Yukon River Quest catches up with us in Minto

Back on the river we had a slow day with maybe a bit too much leaning back enjoying the wonderful scenery around. We lunched at a small yet super idyllic side arm of the river and let the drone fly again. To our surprise, the drone couldnt be charged off USB-C as the shop keeper had promised (our solar panel and battery pack only supply 5V power and not the required 12V). So either we fly very little or find another energy source.

On our hunt for a power socket, we spotted some cabins on the right side of the river and hiked up to see if anyone was around. Eventually we encountered a man (and his enormous Labrador dog) in his huge campervan. He is a student and works for the parks during summer. He looked a little surprised to have someone knocking on his door right in the middle of nowhere. Anyway, he pointed us to a campsite 5min further downriver called Minto.

Indeed, we could charge everything there and got an unlimited-hot-water-shower as well. Amazing stuff! That evening we spotted the leading canoes of the Yukon river quest people and their support teams. Amazing how fast they had made their journey to this point, but surely we had more fun. 

The Yukon River Quest Race

Every year some 200 paddlers from all over the world come to Whitehorse to participate in one of the toughest races globally – the Yukon River Quest. The race takes the paddlers the 715km from Whitehorse to Dawson with only a few mandatory resting stops (6h in Carmacks & 3h in Coffee creek). The record is just under 40h for the entire journey.

This years fastest were the mens teams with the winer coming in at 44h (there was also a winner from Dresden, saxony in the mens doble kayak at 50h). Our quest – which coincided with the 2019 race – lasted 12 days instead. However, we looked a lot more alive than some of the participants we met on the way (well, they overtook us mostly).

Exploring historical Fort Selkirk

Next morning we paddled towards a historic First Nation village on the left river bank. Fort Selkirk used to be an important trading post, but is now abandoned yet its buildings (including two churches) maintained. German traces again everywhere with a German bible laid out on the altar – interesting to read that also the bible requests women to subordinate themselves to men. So it is not just islam that is against equal rights for women. One learns stuff in the strangest places sometimes. By the way, take a walk to the first nation cementary about 10mins from the boat landing spot. It is pretty well preserved.

We also used the time to talk to some of the voluntary workers helping with the river quest as well as some of the pretty exhausted crew members. Some had come from as far as Australia just to do the race and one womoen reported of haluciantions on the river due to exhaustion (apparently that commonly occurs). Good luck guys!

That night we stayed on a river island with not so great camping and finished off the last liquid supplies – a fair amount of red wine alongside a once more rich dinner and plenty of boys´conversations. We I think neither of us slept well that night and I had to nurse a hangover in the morning sun and was pretty useless paddling until after lunch. Well, well … no more drinks until Dawson!

When a pike outsmarts you & a Moose pops by at night

How time flies! It was already end of June today and the sun was blazing hot. We made camp on a river island and I enjoyed several swims in the river. Down here the water is refreshing and no longer dead cold as it was in the upper lakes.

While following some bear tracks, we spotted a pike in a side arm in its typical habitat e.g. grassy, shallow water. We tried to catch it, but drew a blank as the fish didnt want to bite even though we put food almost into his mouth. Pity.

At night, i struggled to sleep. If it doesn’t rain, the sun keeps temperatures in the high twenties until late and it just never gets dark that time in the year. I mean we had 30 degress atg 10pm. Anyway, as I was dosing away a noise of splashing water got me interested and as i looked outside the tent. I spotted a moose coming over to our island near where I had a swim earlier. I got out for a few pictures and caught him/her standing in the muddy water. After a few looks it decided to swim on towards the other shore. Amazing swimmers they are as we already witnessed on one of the lakes before Whitehorse.

The Saxons are back!

After a decent day of paddling, passing by an active gold mine at coffee creek, we spent the night on a campsite by Kirkman creek as we feared onsetting bad weather (an unwise decision with hindsight).

No shower. No electricity. You can also get some basic meals (burgers, egg breakfast etc), but buckle up for the steep prices. The really annoying bit were the flies. More flies than there is sand on Caribbean beaches! But heh, so far we were really lucky with insects and flies at least dont bite. So overall, its not worth staying there.

While I was busy cooking garlic and onion bread, team Saxony caught up with us. They had put in a long day and opted as usual to stay at a campsite. We didnt have too much time to talk, but agreed to meet in Dawson.

Last camp before the gold rush capital

The last full day on the river ahead of Dawson was pretty enjoyable and we almost made 100km (99km exactly). We spent most of the day listening to audiobooks – in this case I think it was Winnetou Two after we finished Jack London in the days before. We also spotted some white sheep on the way, which we had not seen so far. Nice. We had more time to play around with the drone and once more a moose stopped by to show off its amazing swimming skills.

Made it to Dawson!

After 1,5 days further down the Yukon we arrived in Dawson a day behind my original schedule. It was now the 2nd of July and thus we missed the Canada Day celebrations (1 July). We also missed the German family which we met at lake Bennett. They had arrived in Dawson a few days earlier and had left the morning of our arrival.

We opted to stay on the campsite on the left riverbank (Dawson City River Hostel) in what is called West Dawson. It is a quirky place run by Dieter from Germany and a good place to re-energise. The government run ferry nearby operates 24h and is free of charge. So you can alwasy get across into town. Only downside is that you have to carry your gear up to the campsite though Dieter provides little trolleys to make life easier.

So we had made it! Lake Bennett to Dawson and thus followed the same route on lakes and river as the gold prospectors did back in the days. Now it is time to relax and enjoy the last few days with Harry who will continue by bike from here.

Hanging out in Dawson & an unexpected turn of events

We ended up spending four days in Dawson enjoying the wild west style old town, gold rush themed museums and the amazing nightlife. Well, to call it nightlife is pushing it really for it never gets dark.

Anyway, you got to visit the casino and its can-can themed show (beer prices in the casino are the most competitive in town between 10pm and midnight) or any of the 10 ten bars available. Its really buzzing! Our favorite was the westminster hotel, which operates a pub daytime and a lounge / dance bar at night.

Having enjoyed the first night on our own, team saxony joined us for the other three resulting in more than one hangover that needed curing. We also got up to a bit of sightseeing, namely up the Klondike to see the place where gold was first found in 1896 (Bonanza creek), the see a dredge (after initial gold rush, commercial gold mining took over) and to try our luck gold panning as well. We all got lucky and found the 4-5 gold flakes the folks at claim 33 had put into the pile of dirt they gave us to wash.

Technically, time had long come to continue the jouney to Emmonak. However, on one of those nights in the casino I had a change of mind. The long journey and time before/after meant being almost 4 month separated from Laura. Neither of us liked that, least of all her. So I took a decision to cut the journey here and head over to Santa Marta, Colombia, for a surprise visit. One day I will complete the journey … maybe together with Laura.

Thank you Yukon people!

Leaves me to thank all the people we met – be it Sara in Whitehorse, the couple near the windy arm, the people on the White Pass train that helped with the bike, the Swiss couple that gave us spare supplies, the gold panning championship contender in Dawson, the canoe people in Whitehorse for storing our gear … well, the list could go on and on. Special thanks go to team saxony. The nights with Jochen, Michael and at times their mum will remain legendary. Team Dawson is born – need to catch up sometime … Cologne anyone?

Well, what to say to Harry. It is a remarkable story to meet in Laos and then end up in a canoe on the river. We also got on really well, which is not always a given. Thanks for helping paddling Mr Motor and for all the conversations. It was a real pleasure and you are now definately my favorite WEST German :o)))))

The Yukon was an amazing experience be it only 1/3rd complete. To be fair, I think we caught a fair share of the best scenery and both Harry and I believe that the section with the lakes before Whitehorse was the most spectacular. Being so close to nature for such a long time will rest in our memories for a lifetime. I will be back!

🛶 this section: 300km | 🛶 total: 470km

This section on the Yukon river offered spectacular campsites especialy on lake Laberge though we saw a lot less wildlife than on the upper lakes (Yukon River 🛶 🇨🇦 🇺🇸: Battling across the lakes) and no luck witth fishing either. All very enjoyable especially on sections where the river flows faster and does a lot of the work for you (that is, until winds blow in your face interrupting your rest). Skills gained: Bakling Black Bread.

Whitehorse – Lake Laberge – Carmacks

Lake Labarge: Last lake on the tour

We sorted all the things in Whitehorse that were needed, most importantly supplies and transport for Harry´s bike to Dawson. After about 40km of fast flowing river we reached Lake Laberge in the afternoon after leaving Whitehorse with all our newly acquired food & drinks (including free food & drinks from a Swiss couple at the end of their journey). To our suprise, the canoe took the extra load very well and almost didn´t fel different than without its load. It was a sunny and hot day. We enjoyed the fast current of close to 10kmh and covered distance faster than at any point before. It felt good and so we enjoyed a few beers on the way.

Once on the lake – a treacherous almost 60km part of the journey begins where winds come and go, change direction and can cause 2m high waves in seconds (stay on the right side of the lake, NEVER cross in the middle even on calm days). I later learned that two Dutch paddlers wewre the last to fal victim to the lake. We were lucky and had mostly calm water until the very end where a storm moved in and we set up camp in a heartbeat. Generally, the weather can change very quickly here. Best be prepared to stop. We took two days to cross the lake.

Notable events: We enjoyed an amazing, super-red sunset and baked the first bread. The latter turnerd out black and the yeast didnt work … so flat, very dark bread about 90% baked through was the ultimate outcome. The positive news are twofold – first Hary´s effort with the potatoes was equally bad and secondly we tried the bread again later on and it worked! Not all is lost …

Heading to Carmacks

Once we left the Lake, our pace quickened again and we made it to Carmacks in 2.5 days including two days of 85km. Scenery remained awesome. On the way, we stopped at a First Nation village (Little Salmon), which surprised with an ancient grave yard in poor condition and a (recent) huge poster of the stock market seemling part of a village foundation investment planning meeting.

We also got a taste of the nasty side of the Yukon – thunder and lightning en masse. Initially it was quite scenic, but once the lightnings drew closer we pulled out of the water. Safety first.

We arrived in Carmacks at the same time as another German team that had passed us in the morning. More on that later.

Carmacks: Little Saxony for a night

The camp ground is about 2km upriver from Carmacks village (named after one of the thre guys involved in finding the first Yukon gold in 1896) and offers great campsites and hot showers. What a feeling! After a quick lunch that included a presentation by management to a group of mainly elderly travellers, we headed to town.

As so often in the countryside, hitchhiking is a really good option and Harry managed to flag down the first car that drove past us. The driver was a older man of the First Nations and quizzed us as to where we came from and where we are headed. He dropped us of at the general village store. Thank you very much!

We didn´t need that much. Few vegetables (onion, carrots), fruit (banana, apple), some pasta, meat and snacks. We also resupplied drinks (wine, beer). After dinner in one of the restaurants, we walked home. Ahh … when shopping, dont leave through the basement door with the big label “ALARM will SOUND if you open the door” …. because an ALARM WILL SOUND.

On the way back we werent as lucky and covered most of the distance on foot until the camp owner picked us up. He pointed out that we could have bought beer at his camp site… well, CAD6.25 for a 35ml can wasn’t all that appealing.

Back at the campsite we spent the evening emptying our new supplies with the help of three fellow saxons (well, not originally but they grew up or still live in Leipzig) – a mum with her two sons. They are paddling the Teslin river and then on the Yukon to Dawson. It was her 60th birthday present and adds to a fine record of 14 years paddling all sorts of places including the Elbe several times.

It turned into a long night as each of us shared interesting stories. Be it Michael´s time in Mexico, Jochen´s time in vietnam or her paddling trips. Naturally we shared info on the remaining Yukon paddle, catching fish etc. Everyone was rather eager to share stories. Next morning was slow for all of us (bar mum).

Jochen is the gazelle like figure in the background

🛶 this section: 170km |🛶 total: 170km

Lake Bennett to Whitehorse

Checking out Carcross: Hello Harry!

A taxi picked me and my gear up in the morning to take me to the White Pass and Yukon route bus stop near the river. My driver was Victor from Moldova. He emigrated and picked Canada over Russia yet was still not 100% happy – he doesn’t like the money focus and that people here tend to be late. But generally he seemed happy.

The bus to Carcross (500 inhabitants) took about an hour and was rather entertaining as the driver, a 66y old lady from around here, shared a few stories about the white pass and yukon railway, alaska highway and the time of the gold rush. She also pointed out how low the water levels on the Yukon are this year. The bus was full with mainly older folks on vacation.

Carcross used to be called CARibou CROSSing and was populated by taggish first nations (indigenous people in Canada). Apart from the railway station linking it to Skagway via the white pass, it boasts the oldest still operating general store in yukon, a first nation learning center and a nice museum.

Right after lunch the train that would take me to the other end of lake bennet arrived and to my surprise harry was onboard (instead of waiting at Bennett). We left his bike at the train station and off we went to our put-in location at Bennett Station.

Picturous Lake Bennett & the White Pass train

Lake Bennett is right at the end of the famous Chilkoot pass that gold prospectors had to take before waterways connected them to Whitehorse and ultimately Dawson. It was here that in 1898 about 8,000 boats were launched when the ice melted – the biggest armada of ships in history!

The hour long train ride along the lake was magnificent and offered plenty of time to catch up with Harry.

Once arrived, we assembled the canoe and decided to stay at a hut near the station. Later on a german family joined us. They carried their kayak over the pass and also paddle all the way.

We enjoyed 7 steaks lakeside before hitting the sleeping bags. Tomorrow the journey would begin.

Crossing Lake Bennett: Stormy conditions

The day started well, as the fishing rod we had attached to the stern of the canoe caught a lake trout. Dinner sorted!

Otherwise we faced increasingly harsh conditions as the day passed. At times the waves hit more than one meter – something i had not encountered on the canoe before.

We decided to sleep on the only large island of the lake (be it that it is a fake island with a land bridge) and leave it at 20km for now. Safety first.

Just before reaching the island we spotted a grizzly bear on the railway tracks and later a moose with baby. Amazing! Sadly due to the windy conditiona the fotos are pretty rubbish.

The island offered immediate protection from the winds, was very warm and offered amazing views across Bennett and its surrounding mountains. We put up camp and prepared a few things – chiefly food (beans & trout). Harry went fishing, but without success. We both slept well that night.

After a good night rest, we got going 10am.a bit late as winds already began to pick up again, but we felt more in control today and reached Carcross after 4.5h. Lake one done!

The German family was there too and also struggled under the conditions, especially since they paddled without spray cover so far (much of their stuff having been stored in Carcross).

We did some shopping, Harry washed clothes and we both used the wifi at the very well run visitor center. On the way out we chatted to the German family again and the tourist office people sent us some cherries and grapes – a valuable gift up here. Thanks!

Another 4km on and 26km all in today we camped on Nares Lake in a little cove pointed out by a lovely local couple. Beans only tonight.

Lake Nares & Taggish Lake

The couple advised us to better start early to avoid strong side winds of ‘Windy Arm’ (get past it by 10am is the rule). By 5:45am we paddled into a calm Yukon morning watching eagles and listening to the sound of our paddles.

It turned out a pretty efficient day as we managed 44km and passed both lakes initially benefitting from low winds and later riding the waves at good speed with the wind in our backs. On our way a swimming moose or elk provided for entertainment.

Once we reached the community of Taggish, more specifically Ten Mile, we enjoyed pizza, burger, beers and a CAD7 shower at the 6 mile river ressort in a heap of afternoon sun.

From there we entered the last big lake before Whitehorse (Marsh lake) and camped in a side stream of the yukon that felt akin to a birds reserve (lots of birds around on that fine evening). To our surprise, we had a 800g pike our fishing rod. Food for tomorrow.

Across Marsh Lake: Fine lunching 🍷 🐠 🥔

Marsh lake was another about 40km of paddling without much support of the current yet stunning views. Highlight of the day was an amazing lunch were we prepared the pike on the bbq and enjoyed it with boiled potatos and wine. Yummy!

After 25km we stayed not far from the end of the lake in a dried up part of the lake. Lots of space! Big fire. Music. Nice.

Into Whitehorse: Longest day yet…

We finally reached the Yukon river after completing the last section of Marsh lake. The current was not strong, but enough to lift speed to 7km/h vs. 4-6 across the lakes.

Just at the end of the lake we saw the nest of a bald eagle (White head) with chicks. Cool.

From here we continued to our lunch break near a bridge and a weir. The German famiky caught up with us (to our surprise we had been faster) and together we passed the manual lock past the weir.

Now rain kicked in and would be with us for a while as we paddled downriver. Music on and go. The scenery was amazing and the mix of wind and rain was very atmospheric. We spotted a lovely swimming beaver and raced him for a while to get a decent foto. Reminded me of the Elbe beavers Laura and I saw last year.

We did about 30km before reaching todays final obstacle – the Whitehorse dam after passing the 9 mile canyon successfully. Take the boat out on the right side and carry all your gear about 1km downriver. Dont put in too close to the dam – the currents are treacherous. By 11pm and after 55km we had finally made it back to Whitehorse. Tired!

Resupplying and resting in Whitehorse

Before heading on to the next town Carmacks some 5 days away, we went shopping groceries. Lots of them as options down the river will get worse.

We also sorted Harrys bike (arrived from Carcross and sent on to Dawson…) and did a little sightseeing. The SS Klondike, in the 1930’s the most powerful steam ship on the river, tells the story of gold and mining in its own way. A tour with guide is highly recommended.

We stayed at Beez Kneez hostel (where i stayed before) – a place i cannot recommend more highly. Thanks for all the help Sara. Shower and a bed… What a treat 😊

One thing we still struggle with is the permanent daylight. Even at midnight it feels like early morning. Well, lets enjoy the summer while it lasts.

Where we stand: 170km in five days is about 34km on average. About 40km is what i need to make it to Emmonak in time. Things should speed up now after the dam with the exception of Lake Laberge (60km) that can trap you for a while if winds are strong.