Spell of the Wild

13 June, Day-6, Total-7; Miles-50, Total-172 - Chuck

Yet another great day on a great river in the far North. Only minutes after we were on the river, an eagle circled low over my canoe. It went around three times and as I watched this regal display with my binoculars, the telescopic eagle eyes were riveted on me. Much later in the day, I saw two more, but no circling.

We stopped at an abandoned Indian village called Big Salmon, a few deteriorating old log cabins with some furnishings, stove, tables, etc. were all that was left. A few prairie dogs are the only current residents.

Later we passed an old dredge on a sandbar. It was a homemade contraption floated in from Whitehorse in 1940. Two guys used it to dig up gravel and separate out the gold. They accumulated 72 ounces the first summer and never came back, leaving the dredge beside the River.

Late in the afternoon, we saw another cow moose trotting in the water along the shoreline, two tiny calves were following this big momma.

Our campsite tonight is at the inlet of Claire Creek and is picturesque. Our tents and campfire are on a twenty-foot high bank overlooking both the Yukon and Claire Creek. Snow still lines the banks of the little brook and at two points long snow "bridges" cover the flowing stream. We will replenish our drinking water from this clear source.

Before dinner I washed my clothes. We ate by the fire and watched the big river flow by, neither of us saying much. Bill grunted "beautiful" a couple of times and I mentioned that we saw no boats, no people and no planes today. Can it get any better?