Like geese and butterflies and hummingbirds, we migrate every spring and fall between our summer home in Pinawa and our winter home on Vancouver Island. It’s an enviable journey, through some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. We choose different routes every year, and are never in a hurry. Unlike other more rational animals, we decided to migrate via the north, north of 60 to be exact. North to the Yukon.
The Road Less Traveled
Or how to destroy a camper trailer in one day’s journey
There are two highways north through the Yukon. Highway 4, also known as the Robert Campbell Highway and The Klondike, Highway 2. In the 1840’s Robert Campbell traveled through central Yukon as a Hudson’s Bay fur trader. This 583 km road is likely in about the same shape as is was back then, or at least most of it is.
At the grocery store in Wallace Lake a random fellow offered up unsolicited advice that Highway 4 was in good shape except for a few rough kilometres. That “rough spot” turned out to be 450 kilometres of gravel pot holes that destroyed our beloved Ritz (our Tab 360 camper).
On the plus side, the wilderness of the route and the camping along the way is spectacular. We stopped for the night at Lapi Canyon, where my morning hike was cold and shrouded in fog. This is the last place we know we had a water tank and interior lights that worked.
Dawson City
Our final northern destination is Dawson City, home of the Klondike Gold Rush. On August 16, 1896 gold was discovered on Rabbit Creek, now named Bonanza Creek – a tributary of the Klondike River and Dawson City was born. The three “sourdoughs” who found that gold, George Carmack, Dawson Charlie, and Skookum Jim are still revered throughout the town.
The sourdough reference comes from the gold rush men being reliant on a certain fermented culture to make their bread – the very same culture I use in my own kitchen today.
By late September most of the campgrounds in Dawson City are already closed. Instead of staying out of town we made a last minute decision to book a hotel room. We stayed in the centre of town at the Dawson Lodge, a truly wonderful authentic Yukon experience that welcomed our Tucker with a throw cover so he could sleep on the bed with us.
Panning for Gold
That um “gentleman” with the unsolicited advice also told us how and where to go panning for gold so there’s that. It’s something that must be done even if you don’t know what you’re doing, and we definitely do not. You can pick up pans for free at the visitor centre in town and they will direct you to Free Claim #6 on Bonanza Creek – the only place you’re allowed to pan. Everywhere else is the private property of the mining companies.
We spent a few pleasant hours in the creek. We didn’t find gold but we did explore the history of the area. We met an Israeli fellow who had built an app to detect gold dust and nuggets. He checked our pans for us over and over. There are trails in the area that highlight the history and techniques used in the past. It’s a fascinating place to explore.
The Sourtoe Cocktail Club
What traditions we human beings dream up. While in Dawson it’s essential to kiss the toe, a real salt-preserved (at least we hoped it was preserved) black toe. All summer long this tradition takes place at the Sourdough saloon, but we caught up with it at the Eldorado bar. For just $18 you can buy a shot of whiskey and have the gnarly old Captain Dick Stevenson drop the rotten toe into it. Take the shot, make sure you touch that toe with your lips and hope the booze sufficiently sterilized it. Just make sure you don’t bite it, like you know you really want to. There’s a $2500 fine for biting or eating that toe, presumably because someone somewhere would have to contribute another one. Tradition!
Famous Authors of the North
“I could write the great Canadian Novel here” I remarked at the Visitor Centre. “You sure wouldn’t be alone”, the clerk interjected. I’d be in some pretty famous company.
Who reading this couldn’t recite The Cremation of Sam McGee from rote – written by Robert W Service right here on 8th Avenue. Pierre Burton’s Klondike and Jack London’s Call of the Wild made it’s way into my possession here in Dawson.
As the autumn proceeds quickly we find ourselves rushing south as the north closes up behind us. Those that stay behind for the winter are the hardy ones, and most of them seem quite jubilant about the prospect. The tourists go away, we were among the very last of them. Snow was already in the forecast. It’s a long winter up here.
The Klondike, Highway #2 is a breeze compared to our way up. If only we’d taken that route both ways.
Eclipse Nordic Hotsprings
The Eclipse Nordic Hotsprings have been on my radar since we started planning this trip. On paper, or I guess we can say on-line it looks magnificent – a Norwegian inspired spa hot spring with a campground just metres away and close enough to Whitehorse to enjoy a local clientele. Sadly it misses the mark on so many levels.
The first thing I noticed at the campground is an overflowing, open garbage bin – in THE YUKON! Here we are in grizzly country taunting the bears to come and get us. There are a couple of nice hiking trails here that I was very nervous hiking. Still hiked them but I had bear spray, bear bell and whistle in my hands at all times. It just seems reckless.
The spa itself comes with an $80 admission and if you need a towel its an extra $5. Seriously? You need to take a shower before entering, which is fine but they specifically told me I had to wash my hair. My shower stayed on for about 5 seconds at a time and was lukewarm. How does a spa get the shower wrong?
There are quiet signs all over the place. No talking allowed. Poor Ray almost exploded. You were allowed to talk outside in the pools but nowhere else. I guess the final nail in the coffin was the hot spring water itself. It just wasn’t hot. This one is not a repeat.
Kluane National Park
My whole reason for coming to the Yukon didn’t happen at all. The camping in the park was closed for the season, but Google told me we could still spend the night. The Ritz is on life support by now. We have no water tank, the lights are either on or off – the switch has broken and our fridge has decided to only work on electricity. The furnace that I often brag about turns on – for a little while – but won’t last all night. I was still willing to give it a shot, but the weather forecast of snow, and lots of it was the final nail in that coffin. Kluane is a bust. The good news is, we have to come back.
![The Yukon]()
Whitehorse
Whitehorse is the capital of the Yukon. At just over 30,000 residents it’s a beautiful little city and I honestly think I could live here. By now we are rushing south so we didn’t spend much time here but it does have all the civilized services we Canadians think we need. There’s a Walmart and a Canadian Tire but no Costco. A hospital and an International airport serve the city. I think I would survive.
Epitaph
The Yukon did a number on the Ritz and we actually thought this might be our one and only visit. Now that we’ve been, Ray has set his sites on the Beaufort Sea and driving the Dempster Highway. We will repair the trailer this winter and start making plans. Maybe we will try for a spring visit next time.
