Migration

Sandhill Cranes and Canada Geese passing through Fairbanks on their way south.

Yukon River Sunset

Yukon River Trip

The day after getting back from the Beaver Creek canoe trip I turned around and led 11 Japanese clients on a 4 day trip on the Yukon River for Arctic Wild. This particular trip was a bit different from others I have done. First, all the clients spoke Japanese with only half speaking English (although they all spoke the international language of smiles and laughter). Second, with 11 clients and 2 guides (myself and Brad Snow) we took 5 foldable Alley canoes and a motor boat assist driven by Fred Anderson. The idea was to pack all the heavy gear like food, tents, chairs and such into the motor boat so the canoes were lighter and easier to maneuver. Fred would then disappear for a few hours, meet us for lunch then go down stream and scout for a suitable camp spot for the night. I had some doubts at first about having Fred's motor boat along but it ended up being a really clever way to operate with a canoe group that size. Plus Fred's knowledge of the stretch of river we were on was astounding. He had 30 years of experience working for Fish & Game and the National Park Service on this stretch of river.

(Photo taken by moon light)

From Circle we flew about 60 miles upstream to a gravel bar in the middle of the river close to the mouth of the Charlie River. The east side of the river had tall black cliffs topped with aspen trees towering over us at our first nights camp. In contrast, the west side of the river was a never ending black spruce forest with very little topography. The contrast was stunning. The photo above was a timed exposure taken at our first camp with the full moon behind the clouds.We had all sorts of weather. When we departed Cirlce the sky's were cloudless. By the time we reached the river and set up camp clouds had moved in. The next morning we woke up to a light rain. That's all good though. It's far better to have rain early in the trip and end it sunny than to have it sunny early and end in the rain. You always want to end on a positive note, right? Right! We put on our rain gear, broke down camp and hit the river. We had about 15 miles to float until we reached the historical Slaven's Roadhouse. The roadhouse was built as a stopover for people traveling the river in the 1930's and is now maintained by the National Park Service as a public use cabin. Contrary to having 'roadhouse' in it's name, there is no road access. The roadhouse ended up being a real benefit. The rain was still coming down and all our stuff was wet. This gave us the opportunity to dry out before heading down river the next day.... and what a day the next day was.When we woke the rain was still coming down, but lightly. We carried out our regular chores of breakfast and breaking down camp and got on the river. Due to where we were when we got in our canoes we were oblivious to the challenge that laid ahead. Less than five minutes into the float, enough time to get to the middle of the wide river, the wind hit us hard. So hard that most of us could not turn our canoe bows downstream. As soon as I realized we were not in a temporary blast of wind I looked back at the rest of the canoes to find them scattered all about. No one could safely control their boats. We managed to all get to one side of the river and recollect. To make the situation safer and easier to handle Brad and I decided to raft all the canoes together and float as one mass unit. It turned out that it also made the morning more social. We managed to take a lemon and make some pretty sweet lemonade.The lemonade got even sweeter when by lunch the wind had died down and by camp that night there were just enough clouds in the sky to make for a stunning sunset. One of the prettiest and longest sunsets I've seen in years. I must say, it was a great way to end another season of guiding. Keeping pace with ending on a good note so you always want to go back.