Bill’s Journal to 6/8/03
I did execute as forecasted. I went through Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska and Wyoming. I spent a wonderful time on the battlefield in Montana. “Custer’s Last Stand” battlefield was much larger than I had visualized and the movies had depicted. It was greater than 5 miles in length all along the Little Big Horn. I then went into Wyoming and spent almost a day in Yellowstone National Park, which is far too short a time, but time is time. I camped on a mountaintop called Horn Mountain Chain before Greybull, WY the evening after the Custer trek. Snow patches on the ground, silence, odors of the north woods – I loved it. The next morning upon my departure to Yellowstone four deer walked by and another scampered to join the four. Silence and beauty! In Yellowstone I saw herds of Bison, Elk, Moose, and Old Faithful geyser, which did not erupt when I was there. There were beautiful topographical views. As an aside, I was amazed at the central northern USA, especially Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Western Montana and parts of Wyoming – the prairie environments. We planted the trees to block wind and “spruce” up the environment. This same environment continued through central Montana and Alberta, Canada to Edmonton. After that going west the mountains and the terrain drastically changed to hills, mountains, forests of birch, aspen, poplar, fir, etc.
I tried to send my gun (44-mag pistol) when I arrived in Great Falls, Montana. Most people, even working in their position of shipping, do not know gun-shipping rules. I went to Federal Express at the airport in Great Falls and the lady said she wouldn’t send it – it has to be dealer to dealer and the firing pin must be out. I then went to the Post Office and they said the same thing. I then went to a Big Bear Sporting Store (guns, too) and after discussion with some of the “behind the counter” employees, much the same response occurred. However, the manager came out and “thought” there was a law where one could send a pistol to himself. He called UPS and one of the manager’s corroborated his beliefs and I at last sent it to Eagle, AK.
The beauty of the North really started at Edmonton and increased into a blasting bloom of wild streams, vast areas of dense woods and animals. I took photos of memories to be all along the way. The ALCAN Highway actually begins at the little airport east of Dawson Creek, BC, about 20 miles of the highway is unpaved and that is not 20 continuous miles. I camped by a beautiful stream west of Watson Lake (Albert Creek) that encapsulated the entire beautiful environment to me. I drank right out of the crystal clear stream and cooked a field meal inches away from the fast, rushing, and noisy stream. It literally put me to sleep when I went to bed.
Whitehorse, YT is just great, 22-25,000 people, it has everything one wants (that I want that is). It has an aquatic center called Whitehorse Lions Aquatic Center with a 25 meter interior pool and a weight room too. They open at 5:30AM. For seniors it is only $2.50 Canadian, this is where I cleaned up, shaved everyday and worked out at 5:30. There is a Wal Mart in town. At the moment we have 18 hrs plus of sunlight. The Kanoe People and several others supply canoe trip support and equipment. They will also shuttle individuals with their own gear to anyplace they wish to start. If one wants to ride a bike in town or around the area, that too is available for about 25 Canadian dollars per day. The restaurants are just great. My selection is the Klondike Salmon and Ribs on 2nd Ave and Steele Street. They offer Muskox, Caribou and Buffalo (Bison). I had a Muskox burger and the breads and buns are unbelievably tasty, not sterile white bread like in the states. Muskox tastes like hamburger, bison is a tender steak, and neither is offensive. I loved it. The owners (partners) Trevor-the cook and Donna the server and greeter were unsurpassed in their abilities. Crystal is their waitress and she is great, too. I once wanted to do taxidermy work, trap, hunt, etc. there are facilities here. Great for me and my interests. There is an Elks Club here too. The library on Second Ave. by the information center has three computers with only 15 minutes access for email only. There are private facilities, too, that provide more if one desires to spend the dollars. The climate is undulating, in that in one minute it is 58 degrees and a minute later it drops to the 40’s. It is windy up and down too. I love the cool climate myself – vigorous!
The people at Kanoe People, Steve, and the owner Scott McDougal, are just great. When Chuck and I sat down to solidify our plans, we went to Scott and he not only let us store our supplies and canoes on his property, but he is also going to put my car in storage at his home. Is that cool or what? And nice! His facility has almost anything one wants to acquire for their trip, except food.
Chuck and my plans now on a “cursory sense” are as follows:
Today 6/6/03 – I shall follow Chuck to Skagway to turn in his rental car – 180 km/111.8 miles, about 2 hours from Whitehorse. We are departing at 8AM therefore, say 11:00 we will have all the paperwork, etc. done. Chuck and I want to see Skagway and the Chilkoot trailhead. We have decided to forego till possibly September, the hike over the pass. When Chuck inquired about reservations, they asked if we had snowshoes. 90% of the mountain crossing was snow covered and the north slope was covered 60%. We are not properly equipped for this.
6/7/03 It is 4AM, the pool won’t open until 1PM, so I wasted time coming. This does give me the opportunity to complete a brief update. Back on 6/6/03 Chuck and I did go to Skagway. The ride was beautiful. He had some problem leaving his rental car, but at last succeeded. We went through town, which was replicating the Gold Rush era, and, is frankly, a tourist town. It still was beautiful, but it was loaded with ship and ferry vacationers and tour bus vacationers, as well, filling the narrow “antiquated” streets. We went to Chilkoot trailhead and back to Whitehorse, found a campsite and here I am in front of the Aquatic Center, which won’t open till 1PM. We are departing today on the first leg of our journey from Marsh Lake to Whitehorse. We are only taking my canoe as I said, so we can “hopefully” sail rapidly down to the dams and portage where we need to. Tomorrow 6/8 we will probably start our fully packed journey.
At about 9AM we will be carted to Marsh Lake which we have both been misinformed it is in BC, but it is in the YT. We will be dropped off at McClintock Creek and paddle/sail, my canoe only, down the lake to the Yukon River. There are two dams, one has a lock and the other just south of Whitehorse, with a wooden fish ladder, must be portaged. That is the reason we decided to take one unloaded canoe and do the entire paddle/sail from the lake to Whitehorse and Kanoe People landing. We will stay the night in Whitehorse.
6/8/03 Pack up both canoes and begin the trip. An interesting thing happened to us. We were walking down the street (4th Ave) and a fellow joked with us and we joked back. It must have impressed him and why he even selected us out of the population is not clear. He was one of the leaders of Radio 610 and he wanted to interview us at 9 the next morning, which we did.
Overview and Catchup – Bill
I got to Whitehorse a few days before Chuck made it. The ALCAN Road starts at Dawson Creek, BC and is absolutely spectacular with maybe 20 miles of gravel surface and one place maybe 5 miles long – the mountains are spectacular, the rivers are crystal clear and flowing rapidly. I saw several mountain goats right by the road, also several moose, buffalo, caribou, etc. The forests are spruce, fir, poplar, birch and WILD! If anyone has the opportunity to see this it will be well worth your time. I camped in my truck along the way. One of my favorite sites was ALBERT CREEK just outside of Watson Lake. The creek was 5- 8’ from my truck, a campfire going, rushing creek crystal clear beside me and the “Sounds of Silence”! In Whitehorse while waiting for Chuck, I got my fishing license, found a wonderful aquatic complex which I swam in each morning when they opened at 5AM, discovered a WalMart and familiarized myself with Whitehorse. What a very nice town it is of 25,000 +/- people. The people are so very helpful and friendly. Whitehorse is the biggest town in the Yukon. The second biggest is Dawson 1600 +/-. When Chuck came the first thing we did was view the town and ate. We went to see the “Kanoe People” canoe and recreation outlet owned by Scott McDougall and Joanne. Joanne is a member of the First Nation, which we in the U.S. call Indians. Canadians call them First Nation. Boy, were they helpful. After Chuck and I did some modification planning we discussed it with Scott. I have decided to leave my truck with Scott rather than drive to Anchorage and store it. It is also beneficial to Chuck because he had a rental car that he had to drop off in Skagway, AK and now I could follow him down and drive him back. During this time Chuck had said he wanted to hike the Chilkoot Trail to Bennett Lake. This trail starts just outside of Skagway and is the famous route the gold rush miners took to get to the Klondike and GOLD. I said I was game too, but when Chuck found out more about it – snow presently on the mountains and snowshoes necessary, we both agreed we weren’t prepared for it. It will be for another time. When we returned to Whitehorse we had discovered a favorite restaurant – Klondike BBQ and Ribs owned by Donna and Trevor. I ate Muskox and Buffalo! It was great.
The trip started with Chuck and I being dropped off at McClintock River, which empties, into Marsh Lake, which then discharges into the beginning of the Yukon River. We took my canoe because I thought we could sail down the river back to Kanoe People in Whitehorse and then load up both our canoes and take off the next day. The waters are much more static above the two dams than when we start on the real trip. Well, the wind was nice for about 2 miles of the 40 miles and the rest was paddling. The worst thing was I acquired a pinched nerve in my neck and I could barely move. I did paddle all the way but it killed me, and to portage the canoe, Chuck did most of the work, which just frustrated me to be so dependent. At last after 11 hours of paddling we made it to Kanoe People’s landing. Since my injury was so bad we decided to wait a day and see what would happen. The next day I was just fine. We still took the day to rest it. It also gave us the opportunity to fine tune what we wanted and send more information to others.
Sunday we started at noon, not more than a mile down river we both hit gravel bars. It was a warning that this river requires us to always be aware of where we are and what is below the surface. The Yukon is clear and rarely more than 100 yards wide at this point. Our first camp was Egg Island on the upriver end of Lake Laberge. Our first campsite – moose tracks, deer tracks and irritated sea gulls surrounded us. The next day we started to tackle Lake Laberge. Before we got to it though there were several sand bars crossing the river so shallow that we had to pull our canoes many 100’s of yards to pass over them. At last on Lake Laberge we started on the 35 mile long venture. I again, tried my sail but, of course, the wind was always in my face and tacking was not fast enough. Chuck would just paddle way ahead so I decided to paddle the thing too. We paddled all day. Soon there was no wind whatsoever and it was just beautiful. The two days we were on the lake we did not see one boat or canoe, and only saw one house. Chuck thinks it was First Nation who had a bunch of sled dogs howling. The lake is crystal clear and it is surrounded with mountains on both sides. Chuck found a beautiful campsite mid-way down the lake where we stayed. The mosquitoes and sandflies were tough there, but after I put on my Cutter repellent, it was great. Ducks and loons were all over. The next day we finished the lake paddle and got back on the Yukon River which was great due to it’s swift flow and constant changing scenery. Right after we re-entered the Yukon we saw and old Paddlewheeler wreck, which we discovered, was common on down the river. We, also, saw our first campers. We camped on another island in the rain and mosquitoes, but when set up it was just great. In the middle of the night, though, I quickly awoke because something was trying to enter my tent foyer. I soon discovered it was a mouse and it was constantly waking me up. The next morning during breakfast the mouse was running all over my tent entry and later was always around us. We called our campsite “Mouse Isle”. As the river proceeded, more rivers joined. The Teslin River was our first addition. A rustic campsite was there, but Chuck and I prefer our privacy and camped near a wreck called SS Klondike. All the islands are filled with moose signs. We are now seeing moose daily. The best campsite was Claire Creek. It was on a raised bank over the Yukon. Crystal clear creek and snow all around it with ice/snow bridges over it. It was absolutely beautiful. When we got to Dawson City, what a wonderful sight. It is absolutely breathtaking. The main access road is paved which is connected to Whitehorse and north, but all the other roads are gravel and wood boardwalks just like in the westerns of old, but it’s now and not for show. Skagway is old time and beautiful, but is almost 100% tourist attraction oriented. Not Dawson City. We photoed the place, of course, took a needed shower, washed our clothes, ate at a restaurant and enjoyed the environment totally. They were having a First Nation Celebration Day that we enjoyed as well. We met another group that had started at the Chilkoot Trail, paddled the lakes and sailed and were going to the Bering Sea. Mark, one of the group, was a logger taking the summer off. We spent the day in Dawson shopping for groceries and seeing the sights. At 1600 (4PM) we got underway and off on the real trip now and on to Eagle. About 11 miles down stream we camped. All through the night people were coming down the Yukon partying and were pulling out about a half mile farther down river from our campsite. It was a big celebration night for the Yukon people, June 21st, the longest day of the year is a big deal here. When I say all night by the way, it is light all 24 hours.
As an aside, I forgot to mention that we stopped at Salmon River Village (abandoned) with many log cabins deteriorating, prairie dogs on site, wild roses everywhere. I loved it and now wish I had camped there, but it was not even noon when we got there, so it wasn’t practical. We did camp at an abandoned crossing station with log buildings, roses and bluebell flowers, wild – everywhere! It was just beautiful.
When Chuck and I crossed the Canadian/USA border, we saw no monuments, but did see both flags on the left side of the river and Chuck saw where the forest was cut all along the line to show the border. Back in the USA and 10 miles to Eagle, AK. When we got to Eagle it was the most amazing place to me because after reading several Yukon River voyages and accounts, Eagle was described to me as a Grocery Store Customs office and upsetting people. It was completely the opposite to Chuck and me. It is a unique village with log cabins, old historic Fort Egbert facilities, museums and buildings. They even had a daily historic tour, which we took. I loved it there. We rented a motel room, washed up and took in the sights. That afternoon several people were taking pistol and rifle target practice across the river on the adjacent island – all this right in town – what a DEAL.
The river to this point is full of wild roses, bluebell wild flowers, eagles, ducks, bear (we’ve seen one), bear signs, moose, etc. Mountains with clouds crowning them were on both sides. The peace and the quiet are unbelievably breathtaking. This scenario goes all the way to Circle, AK. After Circle then 200 miles of “flats” which widens the river in some points 20 miles filled with islets. One wrong move and one can be in some backwater and get temporarily lost or have to portage and wade to get out of the place.
When we got to Circle, Alaska Chuck and I walked up the ramp and went to the grocery. Chuck John (First Nation) was at the register. They are open four hours a day. The restaurant is not open because potable water is not available there, or in town for that matter for almost one year. Chuck John is really a nice guy. It was a Saturday and Chuck Wilson wanted to see if the post office was open. Chuck John said no, but he tried to call Inga the postmaster. He called all around town until he found her and she said there were no packages there for Chuck Wilson. We asked if we could camp in town and Chuck John said we could camp anywhere we want. We camped on the bluff over our canoes, washed in a shower, which was 25 cents per “almost” squirt. It cost me $1.25 to wash up. We, also, washed our clothes. This was the only location in town that has potable water. We filled our jugs and got ready for bed. Chuck John came by and gave us a large chunk of Salmon (free) which we ate the next morning. He is really a very nice fellow and a carpenter too, which leads into the big problem in Circle. This town is very small, mostly Indians. They got a grant to build a 24 room hotel. The grant was one million dollars. The shell only was built, but most of the money was embezzled. The FBI, etc. are now investigating. All the while the town itself is without potable water. The town has no tourists so it was impossible for me to rationalize having a hotel in the first place! The next morning right before departure, Paul Nathaniel (the chief of the village) came up to me and introduced himself. We talked for a while and I asked him about the hotel. He was the foreman and was an instrumental part of the planning. The purpose of the hotel was/is because he has made several tour arrangements with Eagle, Alaska and Fairbanks. Eagle is constructing a paddlewheeler to go to Circle to be completed next year. Hence the reasoning for this hotel. The people, Chuck, Paul and Mr. Hendrickson went out of their way to make life nice while we were there. Mr. Hendrickson had the other grocery store and brought us a free $1.00 Anchorage newspaper!
The next morning, I cooked up the Salmon (oh, how good) and Chuck and I ate and departed. This is the beginning of the flats! We were concerned that we would miss the current and get caught in some backwater area. The area has no mountains, just islands, flat, full of spruce, poplar and willow. It has its own beauty. We both enjoy this new scenery. In two days we were at Ft. Yukon.
Ft. Yukon projects the opposite sense of all the previous villages. It is one mile north of the Arctic Circle on a hill. When we got to the “town” it was ramshackled, log, plywood, etc. built dwellings with trash in and around their yards, and evil smelling garbage in cans near their homes. A woman came out of her house inviting us in but causing negative vibrations to us both. Ft. Yukon is much larger than Circle and Eagle, but it was like a garbage dump. There is no central town, by the way, it is just spread all over and haphazardly constructed. After four hours we were out of the place and a few miles later on to another nice quiet river isle.
We had agreed that if we were separated in this maze of isles that we would meet at a forward destination. We, also, agreed that we would do our best to stick to one another closely in the flats, so the possibility of separation would not occur. It Did! On July 1st right after Ft. Yukon we camped in a nice couple of isles. At the last isle I had mentioned to Chuck that I wanted to stop early on July 1st to write up this paper and forward it to Betty “snail mail” so different perspectives would be presented. At 1400 (2PM) we had traveled about 30+ miles and I saw an island that “may” be ideal to camp on and following the current as we always have. I looked around, but didn’t see Chuck! As we always do, I quickly got on the radio because I, at first, assumed he was farther behind because he works on his pocketmail and sometimes drifts behind. My canoe is much slower and heavier so I must paddle all the time. By the way, after I stopped using the double paddle and began using the single paddle, no more pinched nerve. It had happened a second time and was so bad that Chuck had to set up my tent (Thanks Chuck)! Anyway, when I got on the radio, Chuck said he had caught the other drift before he knew it and was now on the other side of the isle. I had pulled over into an eddy by the isle and thought maybe I could paddle around and join him. I paddled up the eddy until I hit unpaddleable currents and told him, so he said, he thought that he was farther ahead and that if I drift down a ways we would rejoin. I looked at the map and I suggested meeting him at Steven’s Village and started drifting down the river course hoping Chuck was right and the map and the opening over the isle were wrong. I soon realized that this was no short isle like we had many other times resolved the problem and rejoined. This isle was very large and the currents were in different directions. I told Chuck this isle was very long and that when I came clear I would let him know. As I came around the bend I called in and said I saw a white building. He said he didn’t. Shortly thereafter I called in after I used my GPS system and said, “I think I am in Beaver, AK.” No answer. I did radio checks for several half-hour times, but no answer, so – Steven’s Village here I went. There was another town between here and Steven’s Village named Purgatory, AK, but like Beaver it is in the maze of Isles and can be easily missed. Steven’s seemed like it was a village that one would pass because it wasn’t confused with all kinds of islands. I drifted by Beaver, photoed it and was now concerned about getting to Steven’s Village so Chuck wouldn’t have to wait around for me or worry about what is going on.
The day, from the start of the paddle to 1400 (2PM), was still and downright hot. Don’t think that the sun can’t wear you out here. It does. But soon after losing contact it started to rain and the wind went up to 30 – 40 mph and as I said it is NEVER behind you. Following my map, my route was relatively straight to Steven’s Village so I started to paddle solidly. The wind, waves, and rain increased to such a level that I saw a route that looked a little calmer, though only slightly calmer. When the wind picks up as it often does in the flats, one can no longer see which way the best current is going. One cannot see which way the current is going at all as a matter of fact. I got to the calmer route and did see some current so I took it. It was slower, but much more calm. I figured 2 – 3 days would get me to Steven’s Village. I paddled late into the night, which as I said is virtually light all the time, until I passed Purgatory, which must have been behind some group of isles because I didn’t see it. I did know the longitude so I knew I was below it somewhere. On this route I was on, it was like I was on a large river. Since before Beaver the islets disappeared and are replaced by long wide isles like the one where Chuck and I got separated. At last I saw a gravel bar. The rain had stopped for a few hours so I could immediately set up camp. I fell into bed. I needed the sleep.
The next morning, July 2nd, I swore I would make Steven’s Village that day and rejoin Chuck. It started raining at 7AM and increased in wind and rain all day long. I saw a turn off and also a single family fish camp about 11-12 AM, and an Indian called me over for coffee. I thanked him, but I said I had to make Steven’s Village. He said it was 35 miles and that I’m right on track. He was cleaning several large salmon and smoking them. I said I wanted to see how it was done (how he does it, because I know how to smoke – my way), but I would have to find someone else down river due to this rejoining problem. He said he wasn’t selling his catch, but storing it for his family for the winter – WOW. Oh, I saw several salmon jump.
This part of the Yukon river starting at Pelly river is silty. One cannot see 3-4 inches under the water. That really makes it tough when one assumes there is a gravel bar under water and wonders how deep it is. The wind and the rain hit again and the waves in the river were beyond belief. At last, at 1700 (5PM) I took a GPS fix and saw where the map said, on a peninsula, Steven’s Village is located. I paddled and fought the wind, rain and waves all down the eastern side of the peninsula and NO Steven’s Village. I panicked. If I can’t find it then we were in real trouble. I paddled around the north/south direction of the thick peninsula and started paddling north up the west side. I saw a fish camp, called to it, but it was not inhabited. All of a sudden I saw a house, only one, and it had a motor boat by it on a high 40’ cliff. I pulled my canoe up and walked to the house. It was flooded with sled dogs raising alarm with me. A little Indian boy opened the beautiful rustic log cabin two story home door and an older Indian, Joe, said take the first small right stream one mile and I’d be there. I was relieved to say the least. My GPS was right; the town wasn’t as obvious as shown on my map.
Beside the river and the little cut off though I solved the problem by setting up my tent right in an obvious place so that Chuck would see it. Joe had told me Chuck had not come to town yet and he went to town to put them on notice. About 1700 the wind and rain had eased up and at 1800 it had stopped. By 1900 (7PM) my camp was set up right on the point. Since 1700 I had been doing radio checks every half hour without result. At 2000 I was asleep. On July the third, my Dad’s birthday, if he were alive, God rest his beautiful soul, I was up and wrote this. I ate my first hot meal in two days due to the heavy travel and rain and waited for Chuck. He made it at 1600! Boy did we have a lot to catch up on. The heavy weather with both of us, the different routes we selected and so, it was great to rejoin. We shall depart late July 4th after we stop in Steven’s Village, send mail, pick up food, wash ourselves and the clothes, if possible, then off to the Dalton Highway about 60 miles to go where we will be the day after tomorrow. Then the big town of Tanana accessed only by river.
One last thing on my update. You all ought to see the Salmon fish traps that these people construct. They are very large self-made, by logs with two opposing scoops which dump the catch into a side box. The scoops are opposing each about 8’ long and about 8’ wide as well and are driven by the current. When we get back we will have photos of them. But I will know how to build them too.
Another process I want to learn is how they drip and smoke their salmon for the winter – what wood they use – one uses Alder and how long to do it, what type of structure they use etc. etc.
For the builders, the log cabin construction is very interesting. Most of the Spruce here is straight and lightly branched with a pretty consistent width. They knock only one side as they construct it unless they add a partition within and then they usually double knock the intermediate logs. They then fill the log spaces with the forest moss and use clay like mixture over that on the outside. If an interior partition log is thick on one end and slimmer on the other end, they put in a wood wedge to insure the logs are level as they construct the wall. Moss is used as well on the interior and then an oil cloth would be placed over the interior to act as wall paper in the better built cabins. Some of the best cabins used small logs placed against the exterior spacing of the log wall covering the moss insuring that the moss won’t wash out. The roofs are amazing but I know they leak some. They use one large log as the ridge rafter then they put consistently small logs for both rafters and sheathing. Then they put dirt and grass on top. It’s great during the winter, which is most of the time. The summer rains are surely another story. The pitches are never greater than 4 and 12, by the way. In the deteriorating cabins what’s the first thing that goes? – the roof falls in! The foundation you ask? Well, they bury a large log in the perimeter, if they feel industrious, if not, they just level the ground and start construction. I have photos of them, so when I get back Chuck and I shall make some presentations. I wish all readers well and I shall update snail mail later.
Trip Summary/Update – Bill
Chuck and I got separated in the “flats” as stated before. The flats are about 200 miles long and increasing the width of the Yukon up to 20 miles wide filled with islands and gravel bars. One can be separated by an island and quickly loose contact even when you have radios, which we have. Our radios have a 2 ½ mile reception, but that is only when the area is unimpeded by hills, mountains and forested bluffs. We had already agreed to meet at a designated location in case of this separation and this actually was a reality applied. Our meeting place was Steven’s Village, but it was not as easy a place to locate as the map depicted. It did work this time, but it is very possible that one of us could have missed the village and floated further down stream. Once we miss a point on this river it is not possible to paddle back up stream. One can imagine what problems would occur then.
We went into Steven’s Village to do the laundry and to shower. As we tied up the canoes on the community landing, we quickly noticed junk and trash scattered all around. As we ascended the bluff a small scattered residential community, refuse filled, unkempt, revealed itself. There were deteriorating log cabins, unmowed living space around the cabins and we saw two young Indians on a marshy road. One of the Indians was in great pain. His elbow was dislocated and he had just injured himself before we came. Chuck and I offered to assist but he was very offensive, so we decided to let it pass. Several others came up on a four-wheel motor scooter and drove him off. Chuck had noticed he and his partner were drunk. I realized it when I saw him walk away with a bottle with only a shot of bourbon left in a fifth. We realized that we were not welcome by this offensive group and decided to leave. As we paddled away, the hurt fellow we really wanted to assist cussed and swore at us until we were out of hearing range. He then shot firecrackers which made us both wince because at first we thought he could be firing a rifle.
Later in the week, while I was camping alone, a Canadian named Bruce Duffee told me he was threatened in Steven’s Village – what a place! It is not dissimilar to Ft. Yukon, which is known as a place to avoid. I recommend that everyone should avoid these two places – let them be unhappy by themselves. It is too wonderful out here in God’s Country (Alaska) to be distracted by a few unhappy hateful people. We left and are in total bliss. Our next destination – the only bridge that crosses the Yukon in the USA called Dalton Hwy Bridge. This highway terminates at the highest accessible point in the USA called Prudhoe Bay or Deadhorse on the Arctic Ocean. I had mentioned earlier both Chuck and I on separate occasions drove to Prudhoe Bay. It was years ago, but was the inspiring reason why I decided to make this river voyage. Several miles upstream of the bridge we encountered a drifting self made boat replicating an 1890’s craft. It had a sail when usable, which rarely is the case. I have not been able to use my sail because the wind is always in our face. Their craft’s boom acted as their tent ridge. It was occupied by a German couple – David Dirk and Sabine Kocks. David is a freelance photographer for German TV stations and Sabine is an engineer doing surveying work. They have spent several years building this copy of the gold rush miner’s boats of the 1890’s. They started at Bennett Lake, British Columbia by the famous railroad track from Skagway, AK. They built their craft by using the old tools and logging saw, etc. Once constructed they sealed it with hemp and tar. It is about 20’ long and fully supplied. They had sailed and rowed all the lakes to the Yukon River and then rowed and drifted to the point where we intercepted them. They had actually just started again drifting because they had stored their craft at Beaver, AK for the winter. This is where they had completed their journey from last summer’s drift. This summer, they will complete the journey to the Bering Sea. David, while in his early 20’s, and a few friends had already done this journey in a raft they had constructed. We enjoyed their company that evening at the bridge and the next morning. David is very thorough and has a vast amount of interests. He stops at every village, at every spot of interest and at every deteriorating log cabin on the river. He now knows how to build the old log cabins and has done this too in Germany. Sabine and David are full of personality and truly enhanced our adventure.
We ate, showered, and laundered our clothes at the Dalton Bridge Motel and restaurant. Really nice people. Brett, our waiter and assistant manager, went out of his way to help us. The motel has it’s own laundry, not commercial, but he did ours. He sent our mail and there is no mailbox on site. I had broken down on the trip to Prudhoe Bay several years ago and I ran into Andy, one of the people that assisted me. By the way, the road to Prudhoe Bay is gravel and dirt – not paved and is over 450 miles!
After several camps we bypassed Rampart and stopped at Tanana, which in Alaska is pronounced Tan-an-naw. This is a town on the Yukon River that is at the discharge point of the Tanana River into the Yukon. This town is larger than most but like most of the river towns there is no road connection to the outside. Air and boat is their connection. We camped in their free public park, shopped in their hardware/grocery store and enjoyed the river town. This is a friendly town with a nice school and school library where we could use their internet computers. The town also has a fine laundry and shower but Chuck and I didn’t use it. I met another German immigrant named Christian, who has a tour dog sled team for his winter employment and in the summer has a Salmon fish camp. He was hanging scores of Salmon halves from his log structure. We asked how they dry their Salmon, because in Florida or the Southern USA, the fish would soon spoil and because of the flies they would have maggots covering them. He said the cool, dry, windy weather here is one advantage. They usually smoke the halves in a slow smoldering, covered rack area until dry to prevent maggots. It takes about 3-4 weeks to accomplish the drying procedure. In his case, he was drying his Salmon and putting a very, very weak mixture of Malathion on the halves. These Salmon halves were “Dog Salmon”, to be eaten by his sled dogs over the year. The insecticide does not affect his dogs due to the very weak mixture, he stated. Dog Salmon is not a breed of Salmon by the way. In Alaska, Dog Salmon is Salmon that is fed to the dogs. It is the Salmon caught as it is dying after breeding. The Salmon all die when they breed upstream each year – hence, the name “Dog Salmon”.
Again, Chuck and I got separated! I started an hour or so earlier than Chuck as he wanted to send more pocketmail information over the telephone. He would catch up after his mail discharge was our belief. He never caught up. We were on the radios but didn’t connect. The next morning I thought he had paddled past me to Lange Island about 3 miles farther down stream, so I started early to get together, it didn’t happen because he was not on that island, he was on an island about a mile upstream of me. The wind and waves were extreme, the wind 30-40 mph and where I was, the waves were 2-3’ high. Note: This is in a River – not a Lake! It was so extreme that when my canoe turned away from the wind I was not able to trim the bow back into the waves. I decided to set up camp on the shore at 10AM and wait out Mother Nature’s test. It lasted until about 8PM. The wind and waves receded some then, so I decided to paddle all night to catch up with Chuck. At about 11PM (2300) I discovered Chuck’s camp about 8 miles down stream from my 10AM set up. He, too, had had a difficult day. I woke him up and said I was going on and would camp in an obvious place and we would rejoin the next day. The next day about 10AM Chuck came by when I was repacking my gear from my night paddle, which had lasted until 4AM. He said he would drift down the Western channel and do some writing until I caught up after my packing. After I was packed I set out to overtake Chuck, but No Chuck Again. He had gone one way and I had gone another. At 1600 (4PM) I set up camp again on an island which Chuck missed so he paddled into Ruby, AK. The next morning I paddled into Ruby where AT LAST we rejoined.
Ruby, Alaska! What a place. Eagle, AK is a classic historical venue; Circle, AK, Tanana, Dalton Hwy bridge are enjoyable, friendly environments, but Ruby is a place no book mentions, no paddler cites and no people discuss on the river. Why? I can’t tell you. The people here in Ruby are, to the person, the friendliest, most helping, and outwardly servicing group I have yet to meet on the water. The city has built an open cabin, a covered fire pit and an outhouse for “drifters” to reside in while they are in their town. Drifters, to them, are anyone who comes down stream whether they paddle, raft, sail, or drift. While I was getting oriented Laura Vines went out of her way to acquaint me with the town. Later, while I was in the laundry she came in and we had a wonderful discussion. She works with the Indian council which is exceptional in its management from her point of view and mine as well. This city’s Indian council leadership should be the example for other villages to follow, up and down the river – most especially – Ft. Yukon and Steven’s Village. Chuck and I can’t say how many Indians came by from youth to the elderly with always a smile and a genuine warmth. One fine Indian lady in her 80’s and a leader in the community invited Chuck and I to a Potlatch that evening, for example. I cannot say how proud I am of this group in Ruby. A Potlatch, by the way, is when an Indian family puts on a very devotional ceremony for a deceased family member. The Potlatch this night was for Veronica, who died several years ago. The party lasted all night with music, all kinds of delicious foods and most important, the entire Ruby community paying homage. We decided not to go because we did not want to be any burden, but several people invited us. Again, a real honor from the fine Indian and others in the community. Prior to Laura coming, while I was washing clothes, Eileen McGlynn was also washing many clothes. I did not have soap, so typically she offered some of hers. She filled out the rest of the city orientation as well as showed how gracious she herself was. Her son, Al, was with her. Well mannered, but full of spirit! One of her relations is one of the last makers of snowshoes, a dying art, and is an Iditarod competitor racing in minus 60 degrees, 12-14 days with lack of sleep and nourishment. Eileen, to me, was a typical strong proud lady of the North and I got to meet her. Chuck and I were so impressed with the whole environment that I decided to write a Thank You letter to the mayor Billie McCarty and to ALL THE PEOPLE of Ruby, which we did and personally delivered to his home. I/we do hope he promulgates this letter for all the denizens to see and read. What a wonderful group of people. Thanks to them all.
The next morning we started late, about 10:30. It soon was raining just to bring us back to reality. We were also back to the beauty of this vast beautiful wilderness. We paddled for 6 hours or so on our way to Galena. At about 1630 (4:30PM) we hit a real windstorm with very high waves. We had decided to conform to all the book writers and the current river paddlers a week or so prior. Whenever bad times occur get off the river and enjoy a campsite or a nice meal and wait for the winds, waves, or extended rain periods to terminate. We did it for the first time this time. It made things great! The wind and the waves rushed by while we set up a nice camp and enjoyed the breeze through our tents and a nice meal. The next morning at 6:30AM we were back on the river with the wind and water in a calmer mode. However, just before we got into Galena at 1400 (2PM) the wind really started blowing. We pulled into Galena and walked to the old section of town that is adjacent to the cargo air base that used to be an Air Force base, now converted to civilian. This town is divided into two sections – the old which runs right along the river and has two nice grocery stores, a post office, a restaurant/bar and a liquor store and the new section which is two miles away with a laundry, shower, grocery store, city building, etc. We are camped right on a bluff overlooking the Yukon. The wind is whistling by at the moment and to me this is God’s gift of beauty. Till then Enjoy
LESSONS
I have learned many lessons on this venture which I shall relay to all that anticipate in similar efforts. Many of these suggested procedures should be done on any junket short or long. Since ours will be exceeding two months in a tent efficiency becomes the requisite.
1.Morning wake up
In ones tent at wake up, I completely pack all items and put them outside. When I awake, I immediately stuff my sleeping bags in their bags. I stuff a sheet in with my Slumberjack sleeping bag. I have two sleeping bags – one a Tundra Northface – minus 20-degree bag and a Slumberjack 40-degree bag. The next thing I take off is the sheet that covers my ThermaRest pad. A ThermaRest is a pad that one physically inflates. I have never been in favor of such a thing because, historically, when I have used other products, at the end of the rest one awakes on an uninflated mattress. This product is absolutely a must to own. Thanks to Richard “Tecto” Field for his advice and input. You will hear more about my man later as well. I roll up and deflate the ThermaRest and tie it on a seizing line. I have a bag which I call a miscellaneous bag that carries all other items of immediate need within the tent, such as bear repellent, 44 mag. pistol, my journal, an extra shirt, my toilet kit, selected books, Cutter Mosquito repellent, etc. I collect all my miscellaneous items and put them in the black bag. All the items are then set out of the tent and I then slip out.
When I step out, I put my two sleeping bags, 1 sheet and the ThermaRest in a large waterproof bag made by Cabello. The Cabello bag and the black bag are then carried to the canoe. The black bag is set between my knees and the Cabello is placed in the center section of my canoe.
1.Mosquito Protection
The state of Alaska has many mosquitoes as most of you know. They are most dominant during June, July and August. The good things about them, though, they are not nearly as aggressive nor do they sting so severely as do the Florida mosquitoes. The negative is that there are hundreds of them. During the day on the water or during very windy weather it is almost mosquito free. In the forest, the wetlands, and during still periods they are persistent. In the morning, the evening and during the night their activity increases. With this stated do not be discouraged to go to Alaska – God’s Country and the true Northern Wilderness. There are modern ways to alleviate mosquito stress here. First, it is usually nice and cool here so one should consider wearing a tee shirt and long sleeved shirts. Long pants, too, are appropriate. Since I do not wear undergarments, I use a little Cutter mosquito repellent on my pants or vital areas. I then use Cutter on my hands and feet (we are wearing sandals) and we are totally protected. I wear a head net with a hat and you will not be stung once with this coverage. I do this procedure before I get out of the tent and Alaska is free for the fun! During the day none of this is necessary unless you enter the woods or marshy areas. Since Chuck and I are from Florida this would be great too, except it is too hot and cutter will have to be used all over – ick! But Thank God for Cutter – this is what I use because it isn’t greasy and it doesn’t have a scent.
1.River Canoeing
The Yukon River is an extremely fast flowing river – from 4 to 8 mph in most places. In some places it is less like the “flats” (an area about 200 miles long with some areas of the river 20 miles wide) which stretch from Circle, AK to just down stream from Steven’s Village. It is very much in the canoeist favor to recognize the most advantageous sections of the river. On the Yukon, portions of the width are more active than other portions. Often, both sides near the banks are active while out in the middle wind creates waves and it is more idle. Sometimes the main activity is down the center while on the banks a back eddy occurs. The canoeist must be constantly aware of these variations to best epitomize his efforts. The Yukon has an added feature, however, that quickly erases these observation advantages and that is the wind. Sometimes the wind gets so high (30-40 mph) that it can create 3’ waves on a river ¼ – ½ mile wide. The only real certifying measure of the current speeds are observing stobs or branches sticking out of the water. Once one is located, check to see how much wash there is of water washing by the branch. Don’t count on the bank movement as the final indicator because too many other factors interact.
1.Food
Thanks again for Richard “Tecto” Field’s contributions and inputs. As I was planning my food list for the trip, Tecto suggested I pack my food in Food Saver bags and seal them with the Food Saver machine. He brought in an example of sealed rice and I was sold. Although Food Saver does not successfully seal every bag 100% airtight (this may be because of the operator – me), it seals your meal watertight. I can make a breakfast for example: 1 cup of dehydrated mashed potatoes, 3 dehydrated eggs, and ½ cup dried bacon. I can drop the sealed package in a pail of water and let it soak overnight without any harm done to the items inside. This is a real favorable quality especially when one is in a boat or canoe. On short trips, say a week or two campout, one can simply bring the open bags back home and then use them cutting down ½ the cost of the bag. The Food Saver is a real helper at home preventing freezer burn on meats and other items subject to long periods in the freezer.