Wilderness Adventures.CA / Sea to Sky Expeditions 1-866-383-9453 [email protected]
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Wilderness Adventures.CA / Sea to Sky Expeditions http://wildernessadventures.ca/YukonRiver.html 1-866-383-9453 [email protected] YUKON RIVER CANOE TRIP: Minto – Dawson City (315 km) WHITEHORSE SEAtoSKY will pick up for all expeditions that originate in Whitehorse. Should any problems or miscommunication arise, check for or leave messages on the bulletin board at the Whitehorse Tourist Information Center. Please see the accompanying literature for accommodation options. GETTING TO WHITEHORSE Air Canada [www.aircanada.ca] has daily flights to Whitehorse. Air North [www.flyairnorth.com] has scheduled flights from Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver. Please check with your travel agent for details. PLACES TO STAY The following represent a cross section of available accommodation in Whitehorse. Former clients have stayed at these and have indicated a satisfaction with them. The asterisk [* ] means a budget and clean accommodation. The Yukon Inn has agreed to discount their rate for our clients. Indicate that you will be doing a trip with us and you should receive a preferred rate. EdgewaterHotel 1-877-484-3334 www.edgewaterhotel.yk.ca Best Western Gold Rush Inn 1-867-668-9432 www.goldrushinn.com High Country Inn 1-867-667-4471 www.highcountryinn.yk.ca Westmark Hotel 1-800-544-0970 www.westmarkhotels.com Yukon Inn 1-867-667-2527 www.yukoninn.yk.ca Aerie B&B 1-800-863-7779 www.yukon-accommodation.com Birch Street B&B 1-867-633-5625 [email protected] Midnight Sun B&B 1-866-284-4448 www.midnightsunbb.com Sourdough B&B 1-867-667-2087 [email protected] [*] Beez Kneez Hostel 1-867-456-2333 www.bzkneez.com [*] Family Hotel 1-867-668-5558 [email protected] [*] Stratford Motel 1-867-667-4243 PREPARATION Prior canoeing experience is not necessary. Our guides will provide basic instruction in the strokes you will need, along with safety awareness. It is in your interest however to take a flatwater canoe course from a local canoe club/association, or rent videos and library books detailing basic canoe instruction. FOOD We will look after all meals while on the river. WEATHER Weather conditions in northern environments range widely between extremes. The only fact you can bet on with the weather is that it can change instantly. This means that although we may enjoy fine weather, we must also be prepared for changes. On any given day you may 1 experience sunny, hot, dry weather that is interrupted by periods of rain or, on rare occasions - even snow. In general, the weather is moderate with average temperatures of 16oC (62F) in July, and 14oC (56F) in August. When packing, please be prepared for heat waves and cold spells. MOSQUITOES Mosquito populations vary according to temperature, rainfall, and wind. Be prepared with mosquito repellent and a head net if mosquitoes annoy you. YUKON RIVER In 1896 the discovery of gold near Dawson City altered the history of the Yukon River forever. It became the main route for 30,000 goldrushers as they floated in an armada of over 6,000 boats to their dreams of adventure and wealth in the Klondike gold fields. Over the next fifty years towns and villages sprang up along its shore and paddlewheelers carried people and supplies up and down its waters. When modern highways were introduced into the region the river became redundant. Homes and entire villages moved to locations closer to the roads and the Yukon River was allowed to return to its natural state. Please note that you have entered into a group dynamic. Decisions taken by our leaders are directed to the welfare of the group. Although they will strive to meet individual needs, they may not be possible under given circumstances. Day 0 (This is 1 day before your trip starting date) Arrival in Whitehorse. We will meet in the evening around 7 pm to discuss the adventure ahead, go over some basic paddling strokes, distribute dry bags, and answer any last minute questions. Air arrangements should be made to be present for the evening meeting. We will leave a message at your accommodation detailing where we will meet if you are out sightseeing. If it is important that you contact us, you can leave a message at 867-668-2827. It is not practical to give a day by day itinerary for the river. We will paddle approximately 50 km/31 mi per day. Our plan is establish camp on the many islands and sandbars which characterize the river. This will lessen the remote possibility of bear encounters as well as reduce our contact with those pesky mosquitoes. The following, highlight some of the more interesting features of the river: Days 1 & 2 After breakfast, you will be picked up and driven to Minto, about an hour past Carmacks [Carmacks is about 2 hours from Whitehorse]. We will load our canoes and begin retracing the Klondike adventure to Dawson City. The sight of Fort Selkirk on a high bank remains one of the trip's highlights. The Hudson’s Bay Company established it in 1848. Only accessible by water, Fort Selkirk includes a campsite with well water, tent sites, kitchen shelter with cook stove, bear- proof garbage containers, and a warming cabin. We plan to spend a second day at Fort Selkirk. The area has some hiking trails and plenty of history to explore. It will also give tired first day muscles a little time to adjust. Fort Selkirk has long been a gathering place for First Nation peoples. Stone tools discovered near this site have been dated to 10,000 years old. In 1848, John Campbell descended the Pelly River to establish a Hudson Bay Company trading post at the junction of the Yukon and Pelly River. In 1852 the coastal Chilkats, who had previously maintained a monopoly on trade with the local First Nation peoples, reacted to this challenge by looting and then burning the trading post. Campbell fled for his life and it was thirty years before white men returned to the region. In 1889, Arthur Harper re-established a trading post here, calling it Harper’s Landing. 2 In 1894 Bishop Bompass erected a mission house and school. In 1899 the North West Mounted Police built a station here and a post office was opened. With the opening of the Klondike Highway, and the subsequent demise of riverboat traffic, Fort Selkirk was abandoned in the 1950. Today the Canadian Heritage Branch has restored the settlement with the Taylor & Drury store, Mounted Police building, Protestant and Catholic Churches, and schoolhouse among the more than 30 buildings that are open to the public. Days 3 - 7 Once past Fort Selkirk, the surrounding country is at least as impressive as ever. Certainly there is no shortage of historic sites along the banks. The White River (120 km from Dawson) sees a dramatic difference in the colour (and the sound) of the Yukon River. The colour is the result of a combination of glacial silt, and ash from a volcanic eruption about 1,250 years ago. The ash layer now makes a convenient dating tool for archeologists at sites throughout most of the south and central Yukon. At Stewart City (100 km from Dawson) the river is slowly reclaiming the site. The Stewart River, which joins the Yukon near Stewart City, was one of the earliest of the Yukon's placer mining areas. Prospectors were probably working on the river by 1880, and in 1885, several fairly rich bars were discovered. Arthur Harper soon set up a post at the mouth of the river to serve these miners. However, when much richer deposits of gold were discovered near Fortymile in 1886, everybody moved there. The Stewart didn't attract much attention again until the Klondike rush; a fair-sized town was built, with a sternwheeler dock, a NWMP post, a large warehouse, two hotels, a large number of cabins, and an even larger number of tents. The population may have reached 1,000 over the winter of 1898-1899. Although the boom ended, the island maintained a population of between 25 and 50 into the late 1930s. Several buildings have been moved back from the river's edge in recent years. As we get closer to Dawson, a number of old woodcamps and homesteads have been taken over by new owners and new cabins have been built to replace the old ones. The relatively fertile islands were particularly popular spots for combined wood-cutting / farming operations. Little or nothing remains at most of these sites. Some have been lost to river erosion, or were moved to new locations when the original site was no longer viable. Days 8 - 9 / Dawson City The anticipation heightens with each bend in the river as we near Dawson City. This same thrill and anticipation must have been present with the Klondike goldrushers after their long journey. Finally the Dome, Dawson’s well-known landmark, can be seen in the distance. One more bend and we have arrived. We should arrive in Dawson City in the late morning/early afternoon. We will stay at the Bunkhouse in Dawson City. It is a hostel like accommodation, very clean, hot showers, and located in the heart of Dawson. Plans are to take a short tour of the town on Day 8. On Day 9 we will drive to the original goldfields and the lookout [Dome]. There still will be plenty of time set aside for you to select an itinerary that meets your interests. Days 10 We will leave Dawson after breakfast on the last day and return to Whitehorse, arriving late afternoon.