Day 27 - Windbound afternoon, Sunrise to Sunset paddle
I woke up this morning feeling the effects of last night's Rich & Rare Yahtzee game. I immediately wanted to chug as much water as I could get my hands on - the only issue was that we had no good water. The water from Old Lost Creek smelled and tasted like jet fuel. No good. The water from the Yukon is far too silty to push through a filter, and thus, a hangover with no water in the remote wilderness of Alaska ensued.
It took us a while to get out of camp today. The wind was blowing just enough to make us consider sticking around camp and staying off the water. We almost called it, but in the end decided to wait it out for a few hours before pushing off. Once on the water we fought through wind and waves. Rollers and white caps bounced the boat like a bucking bronc. Just before eventually having to pull off the water we attempted to cross the width of the river from one bank to the other. In doing so we exposed our broadside to the crashing whitecaps, and as the wind picked up we began taking on more and more water, and fighting harder and harder to reach shore up right. Waves poured over the bow and gunnels of our 16 foot Old Town Penobscot canoe. Once safely on shore we parked on a gravel point, unloaded our soaked boat, and set up shop. With this wind, we weren't going anywhere soon.
About 15 yards from the boat we found a small opening among a thick willow shrub and pitched a tent to relax and get out of the wind. It looked as though the flat spot we choose to post up in could have been a moose bed, based off the space and tracks around. We killed time out of the wind by playing yahtzee and taking a nap.
By evening the wind had laid down a bit, and following some coffee and rehydrated backpacker meals we hit the water as the sun as setting. It’s amazingly peaceful being on the water at night. Everything is so calm and still. The only sound was the water moving around us and the wind brushing through the trees. We watched the sky as the sun set, giving way to a pink hue on the horizon, before rising again in the north and emitting infectious golden rays throughout the northland. I think it’s pretty damn cool to have paddled through a sunset and sunrise in the same day. Hoping to reach Yukon Crossing tomorrow, where the Alaskan Pipeline and the Dalton Highway cross the mighty Yukon River. There’s also a cafe near the bridge that we’d love to hit.
Life on the river rolls on.
Life on the river is good.