From The Back Country Columnist Jozien Keijzer is a visual artist, writer and avid hiker who lives in the Mendenhall Subdivision.
The landscape east of the Klondike Highway, between Log Cabin and Fraser, B.C., is a giant jigsaw puzzle of water and rock. Large, round rocky outcrops are surrounded by water, with scattered vegetation growing in-between the rocks.
Water and rock – Hiking and loving “the mystery of it all” Read More »
Once upon a time, “back in the days” (last year, in October) when the Greyhound bus still existed, a garter snake slithered out of the
Saskatchewan in October Read More »
I never understood how people love to go camping at the same spot year after year, or walk the same trail over and over, canoe
Hiking the Same Ol’ Trail Read More »
Last year we had an early spring and I found the first prairie crocus blooming on April 1st. Most years the crocus blooms near the
Yukon Wildflowers that Bloom in April Read More »
From “Don’s Descent,” the small hill behind our house, one can look as far as Haines Junction. Mount Decoeli and Mount Archibald loom on the
Fata Morgana and other Atmospheric Optics Read More »
Another strange phenomena occurred that happens to me in the mountains. We looked up the side hill for Nancy, but we couldn’t see her at
I use the word ‘bug’ here, to describe little creatures with … legs. Insects, but more than that. Not everything I call ‘bug’ living underneath
Waterbugs in Winter Read More »
I am pleased to announce that I recently had my first encounter with a sandhill crane. I have never gone to the Crane and Sheep
A Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) Read More »
This is a story from many years ago, about the day I was followed by four bears – a close-call bear encounter kind of story.
On memory, and bears Read More »
For me, the summer of 2016 has been the best berry year ever. My berry season starts with wild strawberries and they were bigger than
Mushroom season starts in spring. On a hike at the end of May, I came upon some black morels. In the Yukon, morels usually only
Mushrooms in the Yukon Read More »
Breaking out of sheer rock, on the barren ground, or beside a mountain stream, hundreds of different kinds of wildflowers grow in the Yukon mountains.
Wildflowers on the Mountaintop Read More »
Kinnikinnick’s Latin name, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, comes from arctos and ursi meaning bear and staphylos and uva meaning bunch of grapes. Amazing: the taste of those
Talking to my friend Mary Whitley, a fellow explorer, we started discussing how many trails we had found this summer that we did not even
Things the Forest Hides Read More »
Why have I never written about hunting before? Maybe it’s because writing about an experience makes it more real. In the face of hunting, that
Hunting or not, wild animals are my teachers Read More »
Atlin Mountain might have lost some of its white stripes, but Atlin itself is still as much fun as ever – all inhabitants 100 percent
Exploring Atlin and the nearby volcanic field Read More »
Yes! This month, Jane Vincent is coming with me on an attempt to climb the pinnacle. It’s a pinnacle I now call Dragon Mountain. Recently,
A smoky pinnacle beckons in a hiker’s personal Shangri-La Read More »
It’s a cold morning. While I’m writing, the twin deer are in the yard — last year’s fawns, without their mother now. May was full
Life on the Edge of the Forest is a Hoot Read More »
For three consecutive Sundays, my husband and I have been going to a place we both fell in love with. He found it when hunting
The Aishihik Rock Slide Read More »
As her husband describes her, Mary Whitley is an elusive mountain creature. Mary’s favorite bird is the northern wheatear. I am proud to say that
An elusive mountain creature: Mary Whitley Read More »
When the girl-gang goes hiking, we like to do as little driving as possible. The girls live in town. I don’t. So, we try to
Hiking “Winter Mountain” Read More »
I always keep hiking until the snow becomes too deep. On October 18 it was snowing. The previous day I had gone for a full
Not the Last Hike of the Season Read More »
We name her Loesje (pronunciation Lousia). We do not want to leave her home alone, so she just goes with us everywhere we go. Ours
To Loesje, My Savvy Loveable Wilderness Cat Read More »
It always seems that for other people things happen quite easily. They have an idea and voila — there it is. I don’t know; maybe
Spellbound at Kelsall Lake, B.C. Read More »
July 1st 2014: What a beautiful sunny day it is amidst this not-yet very warm summer. My husband Don and I are off to our
Our Grand Yukon Canada Day Parade Read More »
At 3:45 a.m. we hear the local bus driver over the loudspeaker: “Good Morning. We will be arriving in Whitehorse shortly. The only restaurant open
An Odd Family: The Art of Bus Travel Read More »
Meet Gabriel Rivest, a Yukoner. Last summer, Rivest and five friends spent 63 days canoeing 1,500 kilometres through the six rivers in the Peel and
I live along the Alaska Highway and when I step out of my house I am in the wilderness. Though I normally live in the
The Beauty of Decay Read More »
I haven’t written about Stony Creek before, even though I drink its water daily and follow its bank up to the mountains a few times
Hiking Stony Creek Read More »
The mist is seeping through the trees surrounding the house, and the sky directly overhead is starting to show blue. This would have been a
A Misty Morning at Taye Lake Read More »
Last year, on a hike up Vanier Mountain nearby Kusawa Lake, my friend spotted a black and white mountain across the lake. The north side
On July 16, 2013 I saw a super big moth. I am not into moths yet, I’m just getting to know butterflies, but this Bedstraw
The Butterfly Report Read More »
I have been on several day hikes this spring, and spring was very marginal this year. Winter just didn’t want to let go. On the
The skiing at Mount Sima was fantastic on the last weekend it was open this winter, but besides the excellent snow conditions and weather, the
Making an Interpretive Hike on Sima Read More »
All winter I worked on a trail going due south from the house. My initial goal was to reach a little hilltop in the middle
Yukon Trail Building, Animal Tracking Read More »
As I sit here looking out of my window at Mount Kelvin, a white peak above the treed hills, I dream of summer hikes past
Adventures on Mt. Kelvin Read More »
In the summer I am forever identifying wild flowers, but in the winter it’s animal tracks. For me identifying animal tracks is a little simpler,
When you drive the Alaska Highway towards Haines Junction you get glimpses of the Takhini River on your right, but it disappears from sight once
Wild Encounters Between Road and River Read More »
The history of the Jo-Jo Lake trail goes a long way back, as the people of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations can tell you.
Along the Jo-Jo Lake Trail Read More »
The meadows lie like pearls on a string along the winding, muddy Mendenhall River. I live only three kilometres from the river as the crow
Wandering in Mendenhall Meadows Read More »
This morning I heard the grouse drumming. All these signs of spring! This drumming is the mating call of the male grouse. He produces it
With all the snow now melting, it brings back memories of spring hiking, which is soon to start. The southern-exposed hillsides are starting to clear,
Finding Middle Ground on Middle Read More »
This year the skating started for me on October 22 after I woke up to -22 C. The morning before, the yard was full of
First Skate of the Season is Wild Heaven Read More »
I have this mountain in my backyard. Our elevation at home, somewhere along the Alaska Highway, is almost 2,500 feet. The top of my mountain
I admit I will take the fullest, bushiest tree out there, like hunting for trophy. I know a friend—bless her heart—who just takes the little
Search for the Perfect Tree Read More »
I Iive about a 15-minute drive from Stony Creek. Stony is well known for the best drinking water ever and, of course, for the raspberries
Last year I found out that a certain pink flower was not the one I always thought it was. My first encounter with a pink
What I love about writing for What’s Up Yukon is that it encourages me to do a little research about the things I write about.
Return to Spirit Canyon Read More »
We have been enjoying an endless, beautiful fall this year. A few Fridays ago, still having lots of things on my To Do list, I
Hiking into the Takhini Salt Flats used to mean parking on the narrow shoulder of the Alaska Highway. Now, thanks to road improvements around the
Takhini Salt Flats Read More »
In most places the river is around 20 feet wide, making it a perfect thoroughfare, even for dog sleds and snow machines, although there are
Meandering Along the Mendenhall Read More »
A beautiful day in February – the sun was shining, and a south wind blowing. In February, the sun gains considerable strength and on days
Snowshoeing Along the Beach Read More »
Sunday we woke up to -40. Minus forty is the same in Fahrenheit and Celsius. To me that means everybody understands: no matter which system
Somewhere high in the mountains there is a small, deep lake in between three mountain peaks. It’s a magical place. It was a golden summer
Yukon’s Own Middle Earth Read More »
Of all the mountains around the Mendenhall subdivision, I had never made it to the most prominent, Mount Vanier. I can’t see it from my
A Day on Mount Vanier Read More »
At 7:40, I set off on foot through the woods towards the highway. At 8:00, Mary Whitley picked me up. She had already plucked another
It is Wilderness Out There Read More »
There are little leaps and big leaps, little walks and big walks. I like the idea of “keep on walking”, day after day, farther away.
Climbing and Being Climbed Read More »
Bogs have stagnant water and swamps have some drainage. And then there are fens and marshes. A fen is a peatland, but so is a
Beauty of the Bogs Read More »
In early April, I started running every morning. I felt that I was losing stamina on my hikes, and needed to do something about it.
Mud, Sand & Scaups Read More »
October, the month of change from no snow to snow, has just passed by. In the southern Yukon the year is nicely divided into two
Orpheus Mountain It’s Here to Stay Read More »
