We woke up around 6:30am at the boat ramp. The few hours of sleep I had gotten were spent sitting up right in a chair, as I decided not to set the tent up late last night. In a bit of a morning fluster, the two of packed up and hit the water right away, both of us itching to get back on the water and out of town.

The morning on the water was spent lazily floating along, falling asleep in the canoe while floating in the current. Very few paddle stokes were made. We spent the next 4 hours dozing in and out of consciousness, staying awake just long enough to be sure our path was clear before falling back asleep.

Around midday we arrived at 5 finger rapids, one of the few white water segments of the Yukon. Following the recommendations of a guide book and local knowledge we stuck far river right and cruised through the section with no trouble. The name 5 finger rapids is much more menacing than the actual rapid.

With that obstacle behind us and 20 miles down we took a much needed break on a small gravel bar, cooking up hash browns for our first food of the day. A long regenerative nap helped energize us and put the pervious nights escapades officially behind us.

By evening Jackson and I were both whipped. We spotted a trail on river right leading to a camp spot and pulled over to check it out. It was a beautiful spot equipped with a fire ring and flat land to pitch tents. As I walked around scouting out the area I came across a large pile of bear shit dead center on the trail leading to Camp. It looked as though it were a day or 2 old. After conferring with Jack we decided to move on. Our rule for the trip is that if we see bear tracks or signs of bear, we move on and avoid staying. It sounds like an easy rule to adhere to, but when you’re dead tired, hungry and have been paddling all day, getting back into the boat to push on to another Camp can be tough.

We did, however, stick to our rule and continued down river. Not long after we found a mud/gravel bar and decided to call it. Not an ideal camp, but good enough to get a few hours of sleep in. Coos coos, lentils and ramen noodles hit the spot.

Long day fighting an early start and little sleep. Tired. Happy to be here.

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Day 6 of a 70 day expedition canoeing the length of the Yukon River, Source to Sea, Summer of 2018 #buffaloroamer