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Whitehorse - Carmacks

17.5.

We left for Frankfurt at around 5:00 am. The journey was great, only before Frankfurt we had a bit of a traffic jam.

When we arrived at the airport, we went straight to the Condor check-in. All our luggage was screened.

But we had no problems. However, we were a bit overweight. The people there were very nice and we "only" had to pay 100 euros for the overweight.

Our hand luggage was screened and searched twice. Even our cameras were checked for explosives, they have special machines for that in Frankfurt. We were also patted down and even our shoes were x-rayed.

Our plane was delayed, it had to be exchanged for another one because of a defect.

Better here than in the air...

We had to be taken by bus to the new plane on the runway.

The flight went very smoothly, only the narrowness and the long sitting made us uncomfortable. We flew over Lake Laberge and saw that it was ice-free. One problem less.

Around 12:00 we landed in Whitehorse. The owner of the River View Hotel picked us up from the airport, thank goodness, because we had a mountain of gear with us.

At the hotel we freshened up a bit and then went shopping. Our mood got worse and worse as we were now completely overtired.

We bought groceries and brought them to the hotel. Then we went to Kanoe People, our boat engine was already waiting for us, but the petrol tank from Anchorage was not there, I hope it will come tomorrow, otherwise we will have a problem.

Around 18:30 Yukon local time we could finally move into our hotel rooms. I wrote this daily report and then went straight to bed. Tomorrow we have to assemble our boat and buy the remaining equipment.

Yukon River Trimaran Expedition © Copyright by Ch. Breier

Our mountain of luggage is stowed away...

18.05.

In the morning the owner of the hotel kindly took us to Kanoe People in his van.

There Scott (Kanoe People) allowed us to set up our boat and camp next to his property.

After unpacking everything, the first thing we did was set up the frame of the trimaran. Then we inflated our tubes and attached them to the frame.

We thought we were almost done, but we were wrong. During the transport from Frankfurt to Whitehorse the tubes were damaged. They had holes in the tops. So we had to take everything apart again and patch the tubes...

All of a sudden Helmut Wirfler came along, I had met him on the internet. He lives in Whitehorse with his wife.

We talked and he promised to come with us the next morning to get the wood we needed for our trimaran.

When he was gone, we set up our tents, had another coke with rum and went straight to sleep. We were both exhausted.

Helmut Wirfler, thank's for your help in Whitehorse!

19.05.
In the morning we went to town and bought some equipment.

In the afternoon Helmut came as promised and we went to buy wood.

Of course we didn't get the exact dimensions of the wood we needed. But the important thing was that we had something that would fit.

Back at the Yukon we used the wood straight away. It was not ideal, but it did the job. We are still worried about the engine mount, it bends backwards a lot and I almost have a feeling it will break.

We went to bed early in the evening. It started to rain, just a drizzle at first, but then it rained heavily all night.

Whitehorse

20.05.
It rained all morning. It only improved in the afternoon.

We went to buy the remaining equipment. My tank hadn't arrived from Anchorage yet, so we bought two 20-litre tanks.

Now we had everything. Back at the Yukon we finished building our boat. The deck was now made of wood on the sides and front.

The bimini top was also in place. The only thing that worried us was the engine mount. It still bends dangerously backwards when we accelerate, despite the ropes we use to brace it. The first short test runs went quite well, a little fine tuning and everything should be fine.

Tomorrow we need to get some tensioning straps for the deck and then hopefully we can finally get going.
In the evening we sorted our luggage and had a couple of rum and coke.

The Trimaran on the Yukon, close to ready..

21.05.

We spent the morning shopping in town. Then it was time for the packing of the boat and we were finally ready for departure.

The boat was very easy to handle. The trip to the Laberge Lake was without any problems at all.

When we arrived at the Pillings we met two canoes that had taken the wrong channel. One of them immediately got stuck.

We entered the lake. It was very, very shallow until about 3 km in, due to the huge sediment inflow from the Yukon River, but then it became up to 70 metres deep.

After a while we started to feel a bit cold because of the fresh wind. We took a break. Suddenly the wind picked up and the waves got higher and we were able to cast off just in time.

After about 60 kilometres we decided to end the day in a sheltered bay. The waves were just too high, we were taking on too much water and the unfamiliar seating position was getting to us.

We had no way of leaning back, which was very uncomfortable in the long run, we definitely need to change that.

We pitched our tents and made our first campfire. We had sausages and bread and a cup of hot chocolate.

Delicious. ....

Afterwards I went into the tent to write this report, while Stefan took care of the fire. In a few minutes we will sit around the fire and enjoy one or more cocoas with rum...
As you may have noticed, we love our rum...

Jupp, live is hard on the Yukon Stefan ...

22.05.
The night was wonderfully quiet, except for the constant splashing on the water. We had the beavers to thank for that.

We woke up around 10:00. The weather had deteriorated and there were thick grey clouds in the sky. We packed our things and headed for Lower Laberge.

The lake was a little calmer than yesterday and we made good progress. We took a short rest at an eyrie on a beaver pond. When we were ready to start again, we noticed that the left float on the boat had slipped. We reattached it and continued our journey to Lower Laberge.
There we rejoined the Yukon River. We visited the site, but before we could, my digital camera's memory chip sank in the water. Thank God it was not defective.

We continued on the 30 mile section to Hootalinqua. The weather was changeable, sometimes sunny, sometimes rainy. On the way we saw a moose cow and calf.

There were many very flat sections. Just after 17 Mile Woodyard we saw 2 grizzlies but as soon as they saw us they ran away. The weather was getting worse.

Around 22:00 we set up camp on an island about 6km from Hootalinqua. We cooked potatoes with carrots, corn and onions that we had picked ourselves. After that we had a nightcap of tea with rum and went to bed tired around 24:00.

Cabin at Lower Laberge

23.05.
In the morning it rained, while packing the boat we got really wet. For breakfast we had cornflakes and milk.
We went on to Hootalinqua. There we visited the cabins and went on to Shipyard Island.

The Teslin River, which joins the Yukon River at Hootalinqua, brought an enormous amount of water. The water level was above normal and higher than in 2004, which is not a good sign for the 5 finger rapids.

On Shipyard Island we visited the Norcom paddle steamer and the grave of L.M. Davis. Shortly after the island we saw a swimming moose.

From Shipyard Island we went on without an engine and used the oars to steer. Stefan doesn't really like the Yukon, it's too boring for him to just sit in the boat. He thinks about getting out at Carmacks...

A few kilometers before Big Salmon Stefan sat down in the back, started the engine and drove to Big Salmon, that was more fun for him.

Around 20:00 o'clock we arrived in Big Salmon and already the plague of the north greeted us, the mosquitoes.
Real clouds of the pest were falling down on us. We covered ourselves as best we could with bug spray. It helped a little, but these pests kept finding unprotected places to bite us.

We quickly set up our tents and Stefan lit a fire. That scared off some of the mosquitoes, but not all of them.
I went into the tent and wrote the daily report. After that we sat around the fire for a while.

The paddle steamer Norcom on Shipyard Island

24.05.
Around noon we packed the boat and headed for Carmacks. The weather was fine, no rain. Stefan steered the boat.

At Cyrs Dredge we stopped and looked at the old gold washing plant, or what was left of it. Opposite Ericks Woodcamp there was a small lake which we entered.

At Claire Creek we set up camp and cooked some food. It was a very nice camp right next to a small creek. There were hardly any mosquitoes.

We made a campfire and had a few cups of tea. Tomorrow we will go on to Carmacks.

Camp at Claire Creek

25.05.

The night was very quiet, unfortunately I made the mistake of drinking two cups of strong coffee. So I stayed up all night.

Around noon we packed up the boat and headed for Carmacks.

At Littel Salmon River we tried to go up the river, but unfortunately we couldn't because our boat was full of water due to the bow wave. So we went back to the Yukon River and tried the self-draining system of the boat. As long as we were moving, it worked fine. But as soon as we stopped, the boat was full of water again.

(From Eagle on I only used the open bailing system)

In the village of Littel Salmon we visited the Indian cemetery. There are many graves with spirit houses.

We continued past the Eagles Nest, a rock with several large caves. After about 70 km we reached the Coal Mine Campground in Carmacks.

Dale, the owner, recognized me right away. There was a happy hello.

We unloaded our boat and reorganized our luggage. Then we set up our tents and took a shower.

Dale invited us for a beer. He lit a fire and some of his friends joined us. It was a nice evening. Around 24:00 we went to bed.

Stefan decided to go on to Dawson City.

Oh yes, for Stefan a dream came true today, he could finally drive a big US 4x4 Truck extensively....

My trimaran on the Yukon River just before Little Salmon

Continue with: Carmacks - Dawson City

Only those who risk going too far, will discover how far they can go!

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