Canada

The Adventure

You climb out of your tent in the morning; the day has already broken. Thin wisps of smoke still curl up from the embers of last night's campfire. We load our canoes one last time and push off. Just before we reach Dawson City, you close your eyes. You feel the anticipation of arriving at the finish. You realize just how adventurous this week in the wilderness has been. You've paddled the Yukon River 420 km downstream, through narrow valleys and the endless expanse of the Canadian wilderness. You've learned what it feels like to live in the wild, hundreds of kilometers from any civilization. No cell reception, no power outlets: just your team, your canoe and the calm of nature all around you. To wash, you bathed in the river; to cook, you lit a fire on the bank. Every day we found a suitable spot on the shore for our camp. You climbed small mountains near the river for an even better view over the endlessly forested valleys and to get a sense of the river course ahead of us. Along the Yukon you got to know Canada's rich wildlife and discovered traces of the historic gold rush of the late 1800s. We land and stow our canoes. The journey isn't over yet. A hot shower awaits before we head down the old wooden boardwalks to the saloon and spend the evening together. The next day we explore the living history of the gold rush town and visit America's first legal casino, still in operation today. The day after, we set off back to Whitehorse, where our adventure ends, for now.

Our expedition begins and ends in Whitehorse. From there we head to Carmacks, the starting point of our canoe tour. From now on, our route follows the course of the Yukon River. Where we pitch our tents each evening is decided fresh every day: depending on the conditions on the ground and how far we get.

After settling in on the calm river in our 2–3 person canoes, we reach the Five Finger Rapids. We pull over to the bank and climb the embankment to get a good look at the rapids. We pick the best line to run them. One canoe after another masters our first big adventure.

A few kilometers downstream we set up our first camp. We gather firewood and cook over the fire before retreating to our tents, tired from the day's effort.

The river calms down again, the landscape alternating between forested banks and open stretches. The current helps us make good progress as we work our way deeper into the wilderness. We pass abandoned settlements and countless river islands.

Over the following days the landscape is defined by high cliffs and dense forest. The water carries us further north. We pass the point where the White River flows into the Yukon. The river grows wider, the current a little slower, but the scenery remains impressive. We reach Dawson City, the heart of the gold rush. We spend the next two days exploring the little gold rush town before making our way back to Whitehorse.