Whitehorse

So good to finally be in Whitehorse! Though I think both of us felt pretty underwhelmed last night and this morning. Too tired and too frustrated with minor problems to fully appreciate the gravity of being in the town we have dreamt about for a long time. 

After heading Downtown though the excitement was back! Crossing the train tracks to stand on the banks of the Mighty Yukon River was a real thrill. That water really moves! Apparently the SS Klondike, a paddle steamer still used into the 30s, could get from Dawson to Whitehorse in 36hours. It would take 5 days to get back up stream!

The history of this place really hits you. Some incredible people have come through these parts. Mostly unknown but with what must have been incredible personal stories. There is a statue dedicated to the prospectors. Surrounded by survival and safety gear, GPS, Sat Phones etc I find it inspiring to think these guys where heading out into the complete unknown with a shovel and a bedroll. Not all of them made it mind you. I'll stick with our gear for this one!!

We particularly liked the inscription......

Whitehorse is a great place to pick up supplies. Great to see Light My Fire in this remote corner of Northern Canada!

Something we just don't get in Europe is the normality of firearms in the outdoors. We made the decision to just use bear spray on this trip. Partly to reduce the risk of shooting ourselves but also with the film equipment space is at a premium. Visiting the local gun store did give us momentary second thoughts. 

Chatting to the guys about the best lures for fishing (and having bought a license) we met Randy who was, as he put it, just checking out the store for anything he hadn't bought already! Randy very generously took us under his wing and drove us out to another store and spent a couple of hours with us selecting fishing equipment and even a gold pan! A really great guy and a shining example of the joys of travelling and meeting kind and interesting people. 

So here we are; last night in civilisation. It's pretty late so I better turn in as we are up early to drive to Mayo, then strap the canoe on to the Beaver floatplane, and fly into Lake McClusky. We will be in full on wilderness then so further updates will be limited to text from the satellite communicator only I'm afraid until we are back. We will keep you updated though :)