I keep getting the question:
Why 9x the Yukon River?
There are several answers!
1. Basically, I'm not interested in the Yukon River itself, I just want to spend as long as possible on a long river and in nature.
There is (yet) enough Nature along the Yukon River
There is a land where you can travel for an eternity without ever seeing everything, where you can spend a lifetime without ever leaving behind all its secrets...
It never gets boring there!
It would be much more boring for me to go to Mallorca 10 times and spend my holidays on the beach.
Tastes are different, thank God!
2002 / Ruby Alaska © Copyright by Ch.Breier
2. The Yukon River is over 3200 km long!
Even if I were to travel the river 20 times, I would still not have seen it all. Every time I go I find something new, huts, tributaries, rock formations, graves, weather conditions etc...
Yukon River Alaska 1998 © Copyright by Ch. Breier
3. I'm going to run the Yukon River as many times as I can until I feel like I've had enough!
I did not reach that point yet...
Kandik River/Alaska 1989 © Copyright by Ch. Breier
Why not other rivers ?
Most of them are way too short for my taste!
I have paddled not only the Yukon River but many other rivers in Alaska, the Yukon, the NWT, Scandinavia, Germany etc.
This website is mainly about the Yukon River!
I love big, long rivers. I have paddled many others, but none that I have ever liked as much as the Yukon.
Mackenzie River 2007 © Copyright by Ch. Breier
Not even the Mackenzie River...
The Yukon is only for beginners and nothing to challenge you!
are always people who have never paddled it all the way ...
People drown in the Yukon all the time, the authorities do not make a big deal about it because it is bad for the image and the tourists...
On my 8th Yukon River Tour I would have drowned by a hair, although I know the river better than anyone else (I thought...)!
Yukon River Expedition © Copyright by Ch. Breier
I have experienced the Yukon River in all kinds of weather conditions!
In sunshine, where it was smooth, but also in storms with weeks of rain, lightning, forest fires that reduced visibility to a few meters!
With billions of mosquitoes, horse-flies, gnats, midges and that for WEEKS.
© Copyright by Ch. Breier
With waves over 2.50m high, breaking on all sides...
People who have been lucky enough to run the Yukon River in good weather should not tell others that it is a piece of cake.
Because that's only partly true when the weather is perfect...
The picture was taken 12:00 Noon !
Eagle/Alaska © Copyright by Ch. Breier
This picture was taken in Eagle / Alaska in 2004.
The fires darkened the sky, no fun I tell you...
The Yukon River is not the route
Whitehorse-Dawson !
After Dawson City the "REAL" Yukon River starts for me!
Not for nothing many people get off in Dawson City or at the latest after the Yukon Flats.
Of course this is always because of the Yukon...
What else could it be, admitting one's own
" cowardice" ...
© Copyright by Ch. Breier
The water on the Yukon is sometimes cold and very fast. The sediments in the water, up to 874 grams per liter in some spots, will get into your clothes if you accidentally go overboard and fill every crease with sand, hopefully you won't be wearing rubber boots then, because it will make swimming almost impossible...
Fort Selkirk/Yukon 2004 © Copyright by Ch. Breier
Three minutes after this picture was taken, a tree trunk smashed one of the pontoons on my boat!
Thank goodness I had some spare ones with me...
Yukon River 2011 © Copyright by Ch. Breier
In 2011, I almost drowned when my boat was sucked into a log pile, I was very lucky again, it wasn't my time yet...
That it happened to me on one of the easiest sections of the Yukon, in good weather, should be a warning to you!
Alaska Slaven Cabin 2004 © Copyright by Ch. Breier
A complete trip down the Yukon River to the END requires a certain ability to suffer that not everyone has or is willing to accept.
I have met many people who have given up.
Not everyone likes to paddle long distances in bad weather, sometimes surrounded by "millions of mosquitoes, gnats and the like".
Yukon River © Copyright by Ch. Breier
I can also go mad at times and shout like a madman in a pipe!
I get to the point where I think about giving up.
Then you just have to beat your inner bastard or just stop!
It's all up to you!
If you really quit because you can't take it anymore, you should have the courage to say so and not blame it all on the boring Yukon River...
Yukon River 2004 © Copyright by Ch. Breier
I can only urge everyone to never lose the respect for this river.
Always watch the weather and use your common sense and get off the water early if there are signs of bad weather.
Reading about the Yukon and actually travelling its entire length are two very different things...
Some forget that...
© Copyright by Ch. Breier
Of course, you need to understand something about living in the wild.
This has nothing to do with survival or anything like that. But you should have a basic knowledge of outdoor life.
You should also be smart enough to learn from other travelers. Nobody is perfect.
I haven't been for a long time.
I learn new skills every time I travel. Be it from another traveler or a local. Of course, you should always decide for yourself if it is useful to you.
There will always be things that are out of the question for you, but that does not mean they are wrong, and learning them is guaranteed not to harm you at all.
Last but not least, for those of you who have been thinking about a trip down the Yukon River, I have some encouragement.
Yukon River- Alaska 1998 © Copyright by Ch. Breier
No one is too young or too old!
With a little preparation and common sense, anyone can go and immerse themselves in another world.
Another tip:
If you want to travel the full length of the Yukon River,
Take your time!
Of course, you could do the Yukon River in 50 days, but only people who don't know anything about it will do that, because they'll miss out on everything and do a trip like that just to show off:
" THEY MADE THE YUKON"!
If you want to sweep the Yukon, stay home, I don't want to deal with those people, sorry!
To really enjoy and see the Yukon, you need at least
90 days!
If you don't have that much time, then do it in 2–3 stages!
I would say more time, more experience / more you see the real Yukon and do not miss the best places !
© Copyright by Ch. Breier
Sailing, paddling, riding or what ever you will call it, in pairs or alone is two completely different things!
The fear factor alone is much greater than as a couple!
I get the question again and again whether I would not be afraid if I am alone underway!
Of course, I face situations in which I am very afraid...
Who says he would undertake such journeys, and he would not be afraid, he is simply a liar!
Fear is a sign of danger
If there is really danger, you feel it, and you should not suppress this feeling under any circumstances!
Whoever puts himself in danger must be prepared to live with fear.
Any trivialization would be wrong !
It is much better to be aware of the risk and to accept the fear.
But the ability to live with it is obviously not given by nature !
In general, one is afraid of being afraid and of showing oneself and others the fear that ties one's throat.
It's normal, everybody's scared someday!
One must always bear in mind in the wilderness that one is always inferior to the elements and can only outsmart them through the use of intelligence, only it can protect one from instinctive or ill-considered actions and life-threatening panic.
One can train the fear of managing the fear (not to lose!) but such a thing is a long process that not everyone is willing to go through...
Continue with:
Only those who risk going too far, will discover how far they can go!
Expedition in the USA, Alaska & Canada, Scandinavia with folding boat, motorboat, catamaran, motorcycle, off-road vehicle, bicycle...
