Atlin Lake

The Most Beautiful Lake in the World

Our schedule allowed for us to take another trip into the southern lakes region for a couple of days before we took to the Yukon River.

We headed to Atlin, the most northern town in British Columbia; a very remote First Nations Village.

Life in this part of the world is laid back and simple. The scenery is spectacular and the locals are very kind. However, all this come s at a hefty price….. The bugs were the worst we’ve ever seen. Mosquitoes, Horseflys the size of… well horses!!! And many bugs we’ve never seen before. #@!! they were BAD!!! They hung like clouds around your head.

We witnessed one of the most incredible sunsets ever at Atlin on the first night. After the bugs went to bed.


We had a look at the Tarahne, the first gasoline powered boat in the Yukon. It is being restored in hopes of offering first class Tours again.

Off to a campground at 12:30 a.m. with the evening Alpenglow to our backs.

The next day we went to an old gold mining ghost town called Discovery and on to Surprise Lake.

We discovered some warm springs and went for a dip. “Yukon” Johann’s first real bath in about a week.
It was relaxing sitting in amongst the mountains and getting away from the bugs.


The “RubiKon” Warrior Adventure vehicle was a bit dirty. All the roads are entirely gravel and glacial silt deposits mixed with Calcium-Chloride… courtesy of the gov’t to control dust and bind the gravel together. YUM!


At the end of Atlin Lake, nested in the mountains is the Llewellyn glacier. It is in one of the most remotes parks in the world… accessible only by boat or plane. Someday, we must come back and paddle there. It is nothing shy of spectacular.


We couldn’t help but stop every so often and soak up the views and take a picture.

Later that day, we decide to climb a trail up Monarch mountain… we begin hiking at 9:00 pm!!!!

The views were undeniably beautiful and worthy of several stops for pictures along the way.


The flowers were in full bloom.


Best pals!

One happy father!

The summit was the best of all. Here I am at 11 pm. No bugs above tree line.

At 12:30 am we went to bed. What a day!

Must come back someday and paddle the lake and the surrounding areas. The scenery is to die for.

Yukon River Quest
The Indy 500 of Paddle Racing

Each year the annual Yukon River Quest is held towards the end of June. It is a 3 day boat race from Whitehorse to Dawson City. The rules are simple, paddle as fast as you can for 3 days. There are several categories for folks to enter. The race is, howver, limited to just 85 boats. There is a mandatory 7 hours rest break in Carmacks (just over the halfway point). We chatted with folks from Australia, England and even locals who were doing the race… even folks from Bellingham Washington.

This team was serious, comprised of about 8 paddlers from Bellingham, Wa and folks from Texas. Their homemade craft came in at over 30 feet in length. Made of Kevlar and carbon fiber, they are a team to be reckoned with.

We toured the “pre-race” pit area where paddlers were making final preparations to their boats and gear.

Whoa… what’s this? We took this as a good omen for our 2 week expedition. We must look them up after the race.

The start of the race begins on Main Street. Racers line-up and run to their boats, ala LeMans style. The pre-race ceremonies where all the racers are introduced along with speeches by sponsors and city officials happen here. It really had that small town feel.

At 12:30 p.m. (GPS time) THE’RE OFF!

The goal here is not to get injured before arriving at your boat. There are a lot of miles to paddle and getting injured on Main Street before getting into your boat would be detrimental to the final objective.

Team BAB (The Big-Ass-Boat team as we called them) were the first out of the chute. They wasted no time in taking the lead. Their rhythm and timing seemed to be perfect.


Yet, there were others who take the race as a personal challenge to just finish in 3 days.


Watercrafts of all types and classes were there. Canoes, kayaks, double kayaks, homemade boats, etc…
We wished them all luck from the shore. In a couple of days we will follow. It will take us 2 weeks.

It was great to see and talk with racers from all walks of life. Perhaps the most interesting was the team from England who had a paraplegic and a blind man on their team. The race isn’t done for the money (the prizes are small). Most raise money for charities while many, do it just for the personal challenge. Someday, perhaps, we may join them.

Chilkoot Trail
More Than History - A Real Backpackers Delight

The Chilkoot Trail provides one of the best backpacking treats ever. It is a well known Heritage trail and most everyone is familiar with the history. What surprised us the most, aside from the historical significance, were the artifacts strewn along the route and the infamous Chilkoot pass, it is an excellent backpack trip in its own right. During the 33+ mile hike, you experience rain forests at sea-level and trek over the top of Chilkoot pass on icy snow to a sub alpine wonderland with grand views of glaciated mountains and glacier fed ponds, alpine flora and great opportunities to see wildlife. Waterfalls abound everywhere and the climate changes from a coastal rain forest to a dry piney eco system as one treks towards Bennett. The historical artifacts and interpretive signs at each of the significant points along the trail are a bonus. Carrying a full pack on your back gives you a hint of what it must have been like for the goldseekers of the era.

“Yukon” Johann and “Moose” Lee prepared to leave the ranger station. The lower portion of the hike was wet as we traveled through the lowland rain forests, not unlike what we have done numerous times in the North Cascades of Washington. There is one major difference though, the trail was littered with bear scat. At times, very deliberate steps had to be taken to avoid stepping in it.

As we ascended from the rainforests into the sub alpine zone we saw many artifacts. Many pack animals were treated harshly and left for dead.

The area known as the “Scales” was perhaps the most dramatic of these scenes.
Only 50 people are allowed on the trail at any given time and folks must camp in designated sites. Each site contains a very nice enclosed cook shelter. This is a nice touch as the weather is usually damp, windy and cold.

A small group ahead of us ascended the pass first. The picture here gives a hint of the steepness of the legendary “Golden Stairs”. It was a bit daunting from a distance and we were told that the day before we left that two packers slipped on the ice and had to be medi-vac’d out to Juneau. An ice axe and cramp-ons would have be an extra layer of safety. A side benefit of following this party was the fact that they scared some Mountain Goats over towards us. We saw Nannies, Kids and a couple of Billies acting as sentries.
“Yukon” Johann made the climb without incident and I was the proudest papa in all of the world when we reached the summit.
At the border, just before the summit, there was a monument. We were told that there are numerous remains of buildings and artifacts here, but the snow covered them.

Crossing into B.C. at the summit was refreshing and a sense of accomplishment.

The landscape quickly changed into an arctic-like environment. It was quite surreal.

As we approached “Happy Camp” the arctic scenery gave way a bit.
…well so much for dry land. We had to climb back up over a ridge in the snow to reach Deep Lake.
This picture of Long Lake was typical of the lakes we encountered. They had just thawed out. There were many little icebergs still in many of them.
Seeing a molting Ptarmigan in all its colors was a real treat.
Deep lake was the site where the miners could finally start floating their gear in boats.

From here the weather got warmer and warmer as we descended into deep lush forest.

"Yukon" Johann wasn't really that tired. "C'mon papa, let's go"
As we left Lindeman towards Bennett, we had incredible views down the valleys of Lake Lindeman and Bennet Lake. The forest began to get “piney” as we were now in the rain shadow of the coastal mountains.
About 2 miles form Bennett, we came across this rugged heritage cabin.
We finished the trail on day 5 and had a refreshing lunch at the Bennett train station.
The train ride back to Skagway across White Pass was incredible.
It is a train ride unlike no other and really worth doing once. The nice weather was a bonus.
Along the way we saw the remnants of less traveled trail #98, alternate route across the mountains over White Pass.

Overall the trip was impressive and we had excellent weather...a rarity we've been told. The trail provides for a very scenic pack trip. The historical significance provides insight as to how this country was settled. We didn't see any bears, but signs of them were all over. We were told that the day before we arrived in one camp someone was pepper sprayed by accident as moments before a black bear was investigating a tent and screams were heard.

This was truly one of the best backpack trips ever. However, I would not recomend it for beginners.

Did I mention we are experiencing 19 hours of daylight now!

Until next time... "Moose" Lee & "Yukon" Johann

Skagway, Alaska
Tourists Trap Ala-Carte

The Klondike Highway ends in Skagway, Alaska. One crosses the Yukon-British Columbia border and then the B.C.-Alaska border into historical Skagway. It is rich in history and the town comes alive when the cruise ships arrive as tourists scamper about town picking up trinkets made in Taiwan and take them back to their ships. When the tourists leave, the town basically closes up and begins to look like a ghost town. For the curious, there is a side trip to the remains of Dyea, where the remnants of a thriving gold rush village and a disheartening site of the slide cemetery (where 60+ miners are buried from an avalanche at Chilkoot pass). Among the dead were many from the greater Seattle area. It was a tough area to live in. In amongst the tombstones, a lone marker identifies the grave of a boy who was shot as he was mistaken for a bear in a tree. We camped out on the tidelands near Dyea and soon discovered that we were not alone. A local informed us that there were two grizzly bears (brothers, who had been set free last year by their mom). We pulled closer in to a dog sled camp and dined with the grizzly brothers at a safe distance. Dinner was scenic with the glaciated peaks and the Lynn Canal serving as a backdrop for the bears out our window that evening.

The local dog sled camp gave rides to tourists and the trails in the woods served as a training ground for the owners as they plan to do the Yukon Quest (An annual dog sled race from Whitehorse to Fairbanks). The ATV was a nice touch and really the only way to go in the summer.