Gruelling Yukon River trip proves a challenge for local travellers

By Mark Ribble

A Leamington couple is happy to be back in warm and cozy Essex County — even as the local temperatures start to dip a bit — after an eight-day river adventure in the Yukon in late August.

Miriam and Jim Horne booked a canoeing trip on the Yukon River as a once-in-a-lifetime vacation and were supposed to leave in July, but the trip got delayed due to forest fires in the area.

After that delay, the adventurous retirees flew into Whitehorse in late August and were transported to a small town called Minto for a 312 km canoe excursion north to Dawson City.

They departed Minto on a Saturday with nine other travellers and two guides — an older woman and a younger man.

Miriam says they were told it would be an “easy paddle” due to the strong current flowing in the same northerly direction they were travelling.

“It was far from easy,” she said. “The current was so strong, we had to keep paddling the whole time.”

Jim says they had to turn against the current anytime they needed to reach shore at the end of a gruelling day, which was the most difficult part of the paddling.

The Hornes are experienced canoeists and thought they’d be able to handle a strong current, but were unprepared for the strength of the mighty Yukon.

The group camped in tents every night along the shore of the river and then were on the water by 7 am each morning to continue their trip.

They were allowed only the clothes on their backs and a pair of long johns to sleep in, which meant that they were putting on wet clothing and shoes every morning in single-digit temperatures.

“It wasn’t a vacation,” said Jim. “It was an adventure, though.”

They can now chuckle about their misfortunes while on the trip, but while it was happening, it wasn’t as enjoyable as they’d hoped.

Their lead guide was relieved of her duties just two days in for some mishandling of the group’s food and landing strategies. The younger guide took over and got them to their destination — tired and wet, but they arrived in Dawson City unharmed.

Jim was disappointed that he didn’t get to see the Aurora Borealis because it stayed light out until around 11 pm, and he was so exhausted he was in his tent by 9 pm.

The food was mediocre at best — supplemented with plenty of granola bars, pepperoni sticks and other snacks.  Dinner usually consisted of a bowl of stew, or ‘slop’, as Jim called it.

They spent at least four of the days paddling through smoke from the forest fires.

In fact, their first campsite was on fire when they arrived at it, so they had to move down the river to stay out of the fire.

“Was it an experience? Yes!,” says Jim. “Would I do it again? No… but the scenery was breathtaking.”

The positives they were able to take from their trip — besides the scenery — were mostly related to the great people they met along the way and those who travelled the river with them.

“We met a lot of Ontario people up there who have been there for years,” they said.

In Dawson City, they were treated to a dose of local culture, which included the opportunity to kiss a severed human toe prior to taking a shot of whiskey — something the locals call the Sourtoe Cocktail.

“We didn’t do it,” chuckled Miriam. “But one of the girls in our group did.”

Now back home safe, sound and dry, they’ll settle in for winter – which should be a piece of cake, considering what they’ve just accomplished.