Day 2 Yukon River

I woke up to sunny skies and Jackson boiling water for coffee and hash browns. After a late night paddling under the midnight sun, I felt content with the sleep I had gotten.

By the time breakfast and packing wrapped up we hit the water around 10:30AM. The plan for the day was to knock out a big chunk of the infamous Lake Laberge, a 30 mile long lake north of White Horse. As we hit the water, a float plane buzzed just overhead, riding the channel cut by the turquoise river.

The morning brought calm water and clear skies. We quickly busted out the 10 Miles prior to Laberge, telling stories and cracking jokes along the way. By mid morning we arrived at the mouth of the lake, staring at what seemed to be an endless horizon of water and mountains.

Hugging the east shore we worked through spurts of stillness, followed by wind and choppy water. It was an odd combination, with the wind picking up for a half hour or so before dying off and repeating the cycle.

At the evenings end, dead tired and hungry we stopped at what looked to be a suitable Campsite. After hopping out to inspect, we quickly noticed a game trail descending a grassy slope to the beach. With our wits tuned on, we scoured the beach and realized that we had an issue. The rocky, muddy beach was littered with several animal tracks, the biggest of which were clear- Grizzly. Welcome to the Yukon.

It would have been an easy decision to get back in the canoe and paddle further had it not been for the wind slapping waves against the rock outcroppings lining the beach. After thinking it through, we decided to trust our paddling skills over camping at a site with fresh Griz and moose tracks. It turned out to be the right decision, as a few miles later we found the perfect site. A beach with flat land to pitch tents tucked into the tree line out of the wind.

We burned through piles of driftwood as we sat by the fire and enjoyed minestrone soup, taking in the gorgeous views of Lake Labarge, surrounded by massive white capped mountains. For both Jackson and I, it feels like a place we have dreamed of being all our lives.

Life on the Yukon is good.

……………………………………………

Day 2 of a 70 day expedition canoeing the length of the Yukon River, Source to Sea, Summer of 2018 #buffaloromaer