Month: June 2018

Whitehorse is a wilderness city.  The city is surrounded by pristine boreal forests, and there is no end to outdoor actives you can dive into.  You also don’t have to travel very far to see evidence of the rich history that led to the modern Yukon we know today.  

Miles Canyon is located about 7 kilometres south of downtown Whitehorse,  and if you’re visiting the Yukon,  this should be top of your list to visit.  The Yukon River converges at this narrow canyon, which is walled by basalt columnar joints, left over from cooling lava millions of years ago.  It’s this volcanic process that gave the canyon its spectacular views.  

Before the hydro electric dam was constructed in 1959,  the river was much lower than it is today,  and waters were much more turbulent.  For Stampeders making their way to the Klondike,  this Canyon was a treacherous gateway on the road towards Dawson, and many of them lost their lives trying to shoot these rapids.   A little further north of this canyon was another set of rapids;  they churned with whitewater that resembled the manes of running horses, which is how Whitehorse got its name.   

The challenge of the rapids created an opportunity for intrepid entrepreneurs.   A group of pioneers opened an encampment 1.5 kilometres south of Miles Canyon they called Canyon City.   There, they established a wooden log tram system,  and charged stampeders three cents per pound to move their goods around the canyon.  At one point this location hosted a hotel, saloon and restaurant, as well as a Northwest Mounted Police outpost;  a way point for weary travellers. 

Today,  this is a great hiking spot,  and you’ll be rewarded with some stunning views.  Once you’re at Miles Canyon, cross the suspension bridge and pick up the trail head for the Upper or Lower Canyon City trails.  This a short, 1.5 kilometre hike,  with very little elevation gain.    I would rate the difficulty level as easy,  with only a few section of scrambling required to ascend the ridge line on the upper trail.  For the best experience, take the upper trail in, and the lower trail back; you’ll get an entirely different perspective. 

Once you reach Canyon City you’ll be able to find evidence of where the original outbuildings were located.  There is a tram car like the ones used by the early pioneers, and lots of side trails to explore the entire site.  You’re going to come across numerous middens full of empty cans from the original settlement, and ground depressions that indicate log cabins once stood in their place. From here,  you can also pick up the trail head to the Yukon River trail, which extends for another 6.7 kilometres,  but it was getting late so I needed to leave this one for another day.  

There’s something peaceful and relaxing about solo hiking.   You can move at your own pace,  and loose yourself in your thoughts.   I must admit,  I break a cardinal rule when I’m hiking on my own.  I love to listen to my iPod along the way;  the issue is that I won’t be able to hear predators should I happen to cross their paths.   Bears and Lynx are active in the Yukon,  and you do need to pay attention.  Hopefully you’re not reading the news one day reading about a hiker who went missing only to have his iPod found in a pile of scat.  I’m sure the headline will be something like, “Bear eats hiker, while listening to dinner music”. 

Once you’re finished your hike,  you can drive up the hill to a lookout that will give your a spectacular view of Miles Canyon, the Yukon River,  and Grey Mountain on the opposite side of the valley;  and at the bottom of that hill you can follow the road along Schwatka Lake as you head back to town.    Happy exploring! 

May long weekend in Canada signals the kick off to summer.  It’s the first holiday of the season, and hikers, campers and adventurers alike head out to explore all that the  campsites, trails and backcountry has to offer. 

In the Yukon,  people head out early in the week to stake out their spot at the many government campsites in the southern Yukon.  If you wait until Friday,  good luck finding a spot at the more popular campsites in close proximity to Whitehorse.   

Knowing this,  we were prepared to head out further afield,  and we had an ambitious plan to try and make Keno City.  Unfortunately,  we got out a little later than we had planned,  so we switched gears on the fly and headed to Carmacks.  From there we branched off the Klondike Highway, and headed northeast towards Faro Yukon on the Robert Campbell Highway.  En-route we looked up a few campsites and decided to check them out.  Approximately 80 kilometres after the turn off,  you will reach an access road for Frenchman Lake Campground 10 kilometres off the highway,  followed by Nunatuk Campground 12 kilometres past that. 

The road to the campsites is a reasonably well maintained gravel road, with only a few washboard sections to contend with.  If you continue on this road for another 51 kilometres it actually loops around and connects you back with the Klondike Highway,  which is how we headed back home at the end of our trip. 

The campground at Frenchman Lake was completely full, so we pushed on to Nunatuk,  which was almost empty.  We were able to get a spot right next to the lake, with no one else around.   The lake was absolutely spectacular,  and the views were stunning.  My only regret is we didn’t bring the canoe with us…something for next time, and a great reason to bring us back in the future.

Camping is one of those quintessentially Canadian activities;  there is something very relaxing about being in the solitude of the backwoods,  campfire roaring, and wildlife roaming in and out of camp.   I’m not sure if there is a food pyramid for camping,  but if there is, I’m sure s’mores, hotdogs, and beer are at the top of the recommended items. 

Driving on the Klondike Highway you’ll have lots of animal spotting opportunities.  We passed deer and elk on the drive back, not to mention the numerous species of  birds along the way.   Although many of the lakes were still partially ice covered, the trumpeter swans are slowly making their way north, and can be spotted in most areas where the water is starting to open. 

On the Klondike Highway,  you’ll also pass Five Finger Rapids, which has a lookout about 25 kilometres north of Carmacks.  You can stop and get some beautiful pictures of the Yukon River from the road;  but if you have the time,  there is a descending staircase that lets you access a trail head where you can hike down to the river.   It’s an easy 3 kilometre hike,  with some beautiful views of the rock formations that give the rapids their name.   Depending on the time of year, you can see canoeist run the rapids from above,  which is really impressive,  given how fast the water moves through the narrow rock channels. 

Heading back to Whitehorse,  you will pass Braeburn Lodge, about 90 kilometres south of Carmacks.  This iconic roadhouse is a surviving testament to the numerous road houses and highway stops that used to line the highways in the Yukon.  Better roads and more efficient cars have rendered most of these locations ghost towns, leaving nothing but abandoned buildings,  but a few have managed to survive.   I think Braeuburn’s secret is gruff hospitality, and their world famous, obscenely large cinnamon buns, which are the size of a small football.  Plan on sharing,  likely with more than one other person. 

The May long weekend is enshrined in the Canadian psyche as the start of summer,  and has long been associated with camping and outdoor activities.  For me, it’s about a little road trip,  a little junk food,  a roaring campfire, and a whole lot of beautiful scenery.   What more could anyone ask for on the first long weekend of the summer.