No matter how much I love autumn, with its stunning colours, brisk mornings and golden afternoons, there’s a sadness that comes with the end of summer. I remember all the things that I had hoped to do (and didn’t) and the days I let pass by without fully appreciating the preciousness of each moment. In the Yukon you never really know when the last really “summer-y” day of the year will be. Some years the summer end early and other years it drags on into a gorgeous fall.
On the long list of things that I love about summer is how easy warm weather makes our daily lives. Everything is a little bit more easeful if you don’t have to deal with sub-zero temperatures. To get dressed, you just throw on a T-shirt and some shorts; you don’t have to bundle on the layers and look at the weather forecast to see what the windchill is. You want to drive into town? No need to plug in the car and scrape the ice off the windshield first; just jump in and go! Fishing doesn’t require you to drill a hole through the thick lake ice first and if you want some fresh produce you just go out to the garden (or do some foraging in the forest). The easiness of summer is hard to let go of.
I guess I’m not good at goodbyes in general. I hate the end of things. Even though, as the cliché goes, endings become beginnings of something new, I find the transition especially hard. That little gap of time in which you’re aware that something is coming to a close and that you don’t have all the time in the world anymore can be tough. Maybe there are people out there who like that feeling but I don’t. It fills me with an uncomfortable mixture of fear and regret. Fear of the finiteness of life and regret about not having taken advantage of the time I had when I had it.
There’s no way to turn back time and there’s no guarantee about the future but if we’re lucky we still have a little bit of summer left to enjoy this year. So in an effort to make the most of the time we’re gifted before the green leaves turn yellow and orange and the geese fly south, here are some ideas of how to savour these last few summer days. These aren’t mind-blowing or complicated activities but rather just a few simple ideas because, for me, that’s what summer’s about: simplicity.
Hike up one more mountain
I saw the first fresh snow on the mountains the other day. It caught me off guard; mid August seems a bit early but the white veil over Mount Lorne was undeniable. Even though it melted after a few days, it felt like a very clear reminder that summer will come to an end and it could be any day. It filled me with a sense of urgency for a moment and made me think of all the hikes I still wanted to go on. If you need some new ideas of hiking trails, pick up a copy of the second edition of Yukon Hiking (https://yukonhiking.ca/book) that just came out or if you’re heading out with kids, put together a scavenger hunt focusing on flora and fauna that you won’t see again until next summer.
Get out on (or in) the water
In a place where most lakes are frozen for at least five months of the year you kind of have to make the most of the open water while you can. Call up a friend who has a boat, rent a stand up paddle board in town, dust off your kayak or canoe, go for a cold dip or go do some fishing while the weather’s still nice. If that sounds like too much of an effort, pick up lunch at one of the food trucks downtown and go eat it by the river.
Cook up a locally grown meal
Foodwise, summer is a really special time to live in the North. Dig out some new potatoes, pick up some local greens at the farmer’s market, go out and catch a fish or cook up some meat from an early hunting trip. Pick some sweet wild berries to serve up with some ice cream or make into muffins and voila, you have a full meal. When the ingredients are this fresh there really isn’t a need to do much with them. Extra points if you decorate the table with some flowers from the garden because before you know it the first frost will be knocking at the door.
Go for a drive
The bright midsummer nights are behind us and the first willows are turning yellow along the highway but there are still plenty of daylight hours left to enjoy. Why not do a day trip to Atlin or Skagway, take a drive to Carcross, go on a weekend excursion to Haines Junction or Dawson City or simply spend an afternoon cruising around looking for garage sales? There will soon be plenty of chilly evenings and gloomy weekends to spend indoors so why not spend as much of these last warm days outside as possible?If you’re looking for something closer to town, check out a free hike like Early Fall Fungi at Chadburn Lake on August 28th with Sam Skinner hosted by the Yukon Conservation Society (https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/free-guided-hike-early-fall-fungi-at-chadburn-lake-tickets-995616284107?aff=ebdssbcitybrowse) or go for a free evening Wild Discoveries walk and learn about red squirrels (Aug 29th) or Kokanee salmon (Sept 4) https://yukon.ca/wild-discoveries?fbclid=IwY2xjawEsuaBleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHZ7bR0-LnpwZYhem3rWfgBVF7yXvtrMP2NLWdwsz6iguNgySz9-NMktw2A_aem_bkt2ghka980ZZFb9z6n0vw
