Time spent in the North

"Why are you going to the Yukon for vacation?"

Is a question that I received many times leading up to this trip.

For starters, there was a real draw to explore the territories. The farthest north that I had ventured prior to this trip was in Northern Ontario - referring to places like Thunder Bay and Red Lake - which in the grand scheme of it all, isn’t that far “north”.

What the territories had in familiarity was the access to nature and wilderness, along with similar boreal vegetation, and appreciation for long winters. So, the google searches that continued led to booking flights, and sorting out a vehicle rental. No firm plan in sight, just a desire to take a step away from this speed of life, and slow down.

As the weeks were leading up to this trip, I started to focus more on planning the details. Camping, for one, was the primary mode of accommodation. I am a firm believer that sleeping on hard surfaces, makes you appreciate the soft ones. Even though managed by national and territorial park authorities, many of the camping accommodations here do not have services like showers and hot water. If you are camping, things like moist cloths and freshwater lakes are your friend. And even if you get cold, all the campsites provided free wood for fire, but make sure to save some logs for your neighbours.

As mentioned, this trip was intenddd to be a go with the flow style, but I did seek out local advice so that I wasn’t missing anything along the way. My friend Nora provided her local expertise, and I also used other travel adventurers for inspiration, such as Danielle Marie Lister - you can find her instagram here.

Victoria to Whitehorse

We took a West Jet flight from Victoria to Calgary, and then from Calgary to Whitehorse. There are direct flights from Victoria to Whitehorse, but I had some travel credits to spend before the end of November, so this was in our cards for this trip. West Jet ends their services mid September, and aside from that, you can fly Air North. I’ll tell you why you should choose this airline amongst all the others at the end of this journal entry.

Our first evening, we stayed at Marsh Lake Campground, where we were surrounded by trees, water, and the surrounded mountains in the distance.

Move: Grey Mountain Caves / Canyon Mountain

Eat: Burnt Toast Cafe, Baked Cafe, Bullet hole Bagels

Carcross

First was to drive towards Carcross, and came up to Emerald Lake! I turned to Alex as we passed, and said, let’s go! We turned around, and it was the best decision. It ended up being the most dreamy swim spot. Pictures don’t do it justice but this moment was pure joy.

I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but there’s something about Carcross that was really healing. Maybe it was the sand that reminds me of home, and just running around so freely, or listening to the water move gently onto the shore. I felt like this place had the boreal forests that reminded me of my time in Northern Ontario, quaint rural towns of what I would see out in Nova Scotia, amongst these mountains that ground stories - where the evening light hit just so beautifully. It’s warming to reflect on what you hold on to when you encounter new places.

There was a town dog named Trixie who was curious as ever, and just wanted to make friends. She showed me her home - which included wandering through the local shops, and playing in the sand. Trixie did not want her new pal to leave, and followed our car - heartbreaking of course that we had to leave her behind, but her warm welcome was what kept us there.

Carcross Desert, Yukon.

Skagway

Driving through mountain passes from Carcross into Skagway, our travels led us to take the ferry to Haines, where the crisp cold waters welcomed us. Upon arrival into Skagway, the main street - Broadway - felt like I was moving through a movie set. The queues that were seeping out the doors of the restaurants, while the hustle and bustle of getting the 'I love Alaska' memorabilia t-shirt in your size because the store is "closing" was on display. American tourists flocked left right and centre, and they arrived in this place because of the small cities that were parked in Skagway's front lawn.

Altogether, that day there were 5 cruise ships docked. For each cruise ship, it carried between 2300-3000 people. The town of Skagway had a permanent population of just over 1100. The result, was a town that thrived on the economic impact of tourism. From the retail of goods and services on the main strip, to the buses that were carrying people off the ship and up towards Indigenous communities such as Carcross, or the helicopters that were taking off one after another every 10 minutes for the high price of viewing glaciers from above. To avoid the crows, our afternoon was fuelled by espresso at a local cafe, and taking our smash burgers to go, and sitting outside the ferry terminal facing the glaciers, watching the helicopters until they were no longer in sight.

Haines

Glaciers peaking between, and the water flowing, cascading into the glacier inlet of the Coast Mountain range. The salmon was not flowing upstream, so the grizzly’s were not out, but the remnant carcasses of past feeds appear alongside the Haines riverbed.

Views from Haines, Alaska

Kluane National Park

A stream of inspiration, and a place of retreat.

“There aren’t enough days in the day”

Here, I sat on the edge of the river or the lakes using the water from the source to illustrate what my mind is storing for later. Tracing the edges of the mountains - thinking about it from all angles - the thickness of the trees, and the textures that I feel when my hands are full of sand. It’s impossible to make the living static, but we can enjoy the view and the process of it - especially when we don’t get to practice it as often as we want.

Kluane National Park is a unique landscape. We arrived in this landscape just as the leaves from the hardwoods were beginning to change colours. The white birch popped amongst the spruce trees, and the touch of pink from the remnants of the fireweed blooms.

Kluane National Park near Haines Junction, Yukon.

Takhini River

I put down my paints and lie down. My knees are hanging off the edge of what forms this river bank - and my thoughts tell me to look up. It’s so sweet to dangle our feet and just stay awhile!

Whitehorse