At the moment I am sitting next to a driftwood bonfire. Jackson and I are camped on a gravel bar about the size of a football field in the midst of the Yukon River. It is truly a wild place to be.

Today the river transitioned from being a large winding river to a massive moving entity, snaking through various islands and channels, reminding me often of the Mississippi. In the mid afternoon the confluence of the White River broadened the size of the Yukon and also flooded it with sediment, giving the river a chocolate milk like hue. The days of crystal clear turquoise water are long gone. From here on out the Mighty Yukon will be sediment rich, reducing water visibility to virtually nothing. Once the paddle enters the river it quickly disappears out of sight, almost as if looking at your hand in the darkness of a pitch black cave.

I’m excited to see what this river has in store for us. After 9 days of solid paddling we are on schedule to make Dawson City well before our June 21st goal. With a big push we could likely make it tomorrow, June 19th.

Energy levels were much higher throughout the day today as both Jack and I made it a point to actually eat food throughout the day rather than eat nothing, or like yesterday, just 6 Oreos.

We ended the day around 7pm, the earliest stop time yet. It felt great to take in a relaxing evening of fishing, napping, and enjoying dinner and a fire without being dead tired getting into camp. I’m looking forward to getting back on the river after Dawson when we will have no schedule to adhere to and less people along the way. So far it seems we have averaged seeing or passing at least one or two groups a day, most traveling from White Horse to Dawson with rented gear and boats from White Horse outfitters Kanoe People or Up North Adventures. It will be nice to put the “tourists” behind us.

The Sun has now dipped behind the mountains to the west. The midnight sun has tucked behind the horizon, but the light still fills the sky.

Life is good on the Mighty Yukon River. 11:56pm PST 8/18/2018

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Day 9 of a 70 day expedition canoeing the length of the Yukon River, Source to Sea, Summer of 2018 #buffaloroamer