Canoeing the Teslin and Yukon rivers was an amazing experience. Manrico and I (Liz) were lucky to be invited by our friends, Marilyn and Jim, and their friends, Helen and Martin, to canoe 765 kilometres from Johnson’s Crossing (near Whitehorse) to Dawson City in Canada’s Yukon territory. We allowed 16 days total from July 18 to August 2 with 15 days of paddling and one day off at Fort Selkirk.
The rivers are easy, just Class I, but they move. We still had to know our strokes and anticipate turns. There are two rapids: Five Finger Rapids, which goes well if you take the right channel, and Rink Rapids, which can be avoided by staying hard right.
The trip was a semi-wilderness experience, despite seeing the occasional village, boat, or other canoeists. The scenery was lovely. Camps were at the river’s edge in the forest or on gravel islands. We watched birds, bears, moose, and the ever-changing sky. It was special to follow the historic 1897 Klondike Gold Rush route, and see abandoned cabins, rusting equipment, old telegraph stations, and decaying sternwheelers along the way. Arriving in Dawson City by canoe was indeed the grand finale to a great trip. We absorbed some Canadian history and gained insights into the lives of literary figures, such as Robert Service and Pierre Berton. We’d definitely canoe the Teslin and Yukon again.
Following is a video including seven minutes of parts of the trip followed by a three minute Google Earth tour of our route.
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