The Yukon by Mountain Bike
Over 700 kilometres of trails, and growing every year. For most residents, it’s a short drive or bike to the mountain biking trails.
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The Colour Of Light
There are many different ways we experience energy—from singing out loud, while driving to work, to using hydro-electricity for our power.
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Tombstone Tips for Fall and Winter
If we could offer any word of advice on travelling to Tombstone, any time of year, it would be “Be ready for anything.”
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Ode To The End Of Autumn
Fresh snow covers the mountaintops, and time seems to be flying by. Blink and you might miss the end of fall.
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The Hunter’s First Rifle
The .30 calibre, is 112 years old and still high on the list as one of the most-versatile hunting cartridges in the world.
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Hunters Should Definitely ‘HEED’ This Course
The Yukon’s Hunter Education and Ethics Development (HEED) course is a great, free tool for new hunters to begin their first steps.
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Biking With Dogs
What makes dogs great biking companions? They never complain, they always want to go with you and make you get outside.
Biking With Your Spouse
Mountain biking, like relationships require work. From the first date to the wedding day, you’re constantly learning how to be with someone.
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The Unexpected Joys of Fishing
I never thought that I would like fishing. In fact, as with many things our minds convince us of, I went through the better part of my life certain that I was very happy having nothing to do with piscine pursuits. I didn’t particularly like eating fish and I felt no need to try to catch one. And then I fell in love with a man who loves fishing.
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The Yukon 1000: One Canoe, Two Women, One-Thousand Miles
Known as the longest paddling race in the world, as well as the most-remote and self-reliant, the Yukon 1000 is an extreme undertaking that requires strength, endurance, bush smarts and thorough planning.
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Coming Back To The Yukon (Part 2)
“I cannot cross the river,” I told my friends as they were about to move on. (The truth was I didn’t want to cross the river.) We were a group of seven people hiking … two of us were staying behind on the beautiful sandy beach at Kusawa Lake, as the others went farther. I felt like sitting back and relaxing. My other friend was feeling the same. We are queens, we said. We don’t like to cross rivers.
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Behind Every Great Flea Is A Lesser Flea
An area of land that includes habitat like water, or sources of food and places where animals seek shelter will support specific animals or birds. Because that parcel of land would support a grouse, does not mean the same parcel would support a different population of birds.
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Mountain biking, a solo sport (but way more fun with friends!)
Learning to mountain bike solo can be daunting. Having a chance to ride with others and learn the ropes can build skills and confidence.
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Cat Camping
Camping with a cat can be both rewarding. Howie the cat got his first taste of camping in the Yukon and made some memories along the way.
Mindfulness on Two Wheels
Exploring the Yukon while exercising mindfulness on two wheels can help you take in all the splendour the territory has to offer.
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Coming Back: A German In The Yukon
The call of the Yukon or the call of the wild that so many have heard and have followed, like my friends … they came here and stayed.
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Let’s Build A Better Future For Waterfowl
Wetlands are vital for waterfowl reproduction. Unfortunately, encroachment by industry and humans is harmful.
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Connection and Healing: The Distances We Go
Learning to appreciate how much time and travel is needed when living in the Yukon can actually provide a calm perspective on life.
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Postcards: Yukon Microadventures
The summer days here in the Yukon are wonderfully long, and the midnight sun is perfect for going on adventures & microadventures.
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Paddlers are back and ready to race!
Yukon River Quest 2022 has 119 teams. The 2020 race was a no-go due to the pandemic, and 2021 was cancelled due to flooding.
Paddlers are back and ready to race! Read More »
Summer: The wait is (almost) over!
What to do in the Yukon? Since summer begins on June 21, I have compiled a list of 21 super-fun things you can do in the Yukon,
Summer: The wait is (almost) over! Read More »
The Simplest, the Smallest and the Most Profound
I was heading to the land for a night, to stay in a small cabin near Atlin. It would be me and the three dogs.
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Could You Survive In The Backlands?
If you drove to the forested backlands, could you actually survive a month, a week or even a single day? Yukon Survival.
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Wandering Into the Known and Unknown
I decided to take myself for a drive to somewhere I had never been before. I ended up in the Donjek River Valley & Kluane National Park.
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Government Camping Fees Set to Rise This Year
World Class. That’s an adjective that sums up the beauty, majesty and ruggedness that is the Yukon landscape. So it’s no wonder that people from
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Three voices on the love of snowmobiling
Notes from ‘Sled Head Lane’ Three voices on the love of snowmobiling “You need to have an intimate relationship with your snow machine.”
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The value of hunting & fishing to tourism in the Yukon
Since the early Gold Rush days, hunting and fishing have played a major and valuable role in tourism in the Yukon.
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Five years of kicking up a storm
As the Kicksled Revolution rings in its fifth birthday, owner and founder Anne Middler reflects on the past & what she hopes will come.
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Photography: Fish Lake Rd. Marshlands
The morning sun back lit the ice fog rising from the open water in the marsh lands on Fish Lake Road during our recent -40 cold snap.
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New kid in the park: Hello, bonjour! Welcome to Kluane National Park and Reserve
I’d moved 2,000 kilometres north, alone, for a 4-year term in a little place called Haines Junction. At Kluane National Park and Reserve
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Sam McGee Hike from Conrad
If you’re looking for an adventure day hike with rewarding views at top, look no further than the Sam McGee trail near Conrad Campground.
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Grey Matters: Age-friendly outdoors
“Mr. Spock,” my 1998 camper van (pure luxury) is put to bed. My old arthritic bones will no longer take sleeping on the cold, hard ground.
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Spotlight on St. Elias Lake: A family-friendly backcountry experience
St. Elias Lake is a manageable day hike or overnight that can help gauge managing the backcountry, or just a beautiful destination.
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Yukon coyotes: The dos and don’ts
Coyotes are survivors and are very adaptable. Unlike other predators, they thrive living in our urban environment.
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The Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in BioBlitz
Search and identify species in Dawson City and its surrounding in the traditional territory of Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in
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Getting to the Other Side: Tips for safe creek crossings
There it is, a roiling torrent of water in place of the babbling brook you crossed in the morning. Here are some things to keep in mind.
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Old Boler, older bones
The Boler trailer was built in Manitoba around 1973. It’s not as old as my old bones, for sure, but there are a number of similarities.
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Rev your engines!
Ride for Dad’s annual motorcycle rally helps raise money for prostate cancer research and awareness and it’s back for another summer.
Reconnecting with natural places
People who contemplate the beauty of nature do it in many different ways, some by exploring places that are new to them, others via the familiar rhythms of where they can go from their doorstep.
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How to travel the Dempster
Travelling the Dempster Highway is an iconic Northern experience. If it is not on your bucket list, consider revising your list.
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A hidden gem – Thechàl Dhâl’ Visitor Centre in Kluane National Park
The beautifully renovated Thechàl Dhâl’ Visitor Centre in Kluane National Park and Reserve opens for the 2021 season.
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The joys and surprises of the annual birdathon
Saturday, May 29, birders will head out to identify as many different species as they can. They’re encouraged to go by their own power – foot, bike or paddle.
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The Road Less Travelled: The Dempster Part 2
A Canada 150 project gave us the Dempster Highway, linking Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk, the shores of the Arctic Ocean were newly accessible.
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Racing the clock
The only rule that water seems to obey is that of gravity. Parks Canada collects water samples of The Dezadeash twice per season.
Canoeing this summer?
Whitehorse’s canoe and kayak rental companies are shifting their focus to the local market for a summer without tourists.
Canoeing this summer? Read More »
The Road Less Travelled: The Dempster Part 1
The Dempster Highway, for me and many others, became the new Holy Grail. It enticed us with the promise of adventure, of unseen vistas.
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Starting off on the right foot
Walking, hiking or backpacking is one of the most uncomplicated ways to connect with the natural world.
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My experience on the Beaver River
CPAWS Yukon organized a paddling trip on the Beaver River for the youth of the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun.
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Learning to be a good person through fishing
In 2017 Paul Rath attended the North Words Symposium in Skagway. He joined an early morning session in the library hosted by Deb Vanasse, an
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Know before you go
James Minifie maintains one of the Yukon region’s remote weather stations. The data provided by these units is used to help produce the avalanche forecast.
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Hot tips for cold camping
Let’s start from the ground up. There’s a reason thick sleeping pads are a hot item, so to speak. The more insulation you have from the ground, the more you’ll increase your warmth.
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Green talk with the Yukon Conservation Society
Evolving out of the old tradition of a Boxing Day bird hunt, where people competed to see who could shoot the most birds while walking off their Christmas feasts, birds have officially been counted, and the numbers compiled, by the American Audubon Society, since 1900.
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Taking water for granted
In the Yukon, we are spoiled with our abundance of water. Sadly, here and throughout most of North America, we use it (read “waste it”) as if the supply is infinite.
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Learning from the land
The Porcupine Caribou Herd is one of the largest barren-ground caribou herds in North America. It numbered approximately 220,000 when it was last counted in 2017, a record-breaking high. Despite this, the herd faces challenges.
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Meet the seep monkeyflower
If spring brings Monkeyflowers, what do monkeyflowers bring? Springs! Seep monkeyflowers indicate the locations of underground freshwater springs.
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The twice-caught fish
This is a story about an Ontario Northern pike that was caught twice on the same day by two different anglers.
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Conservation Photography
I have a confession. I work for CPAWS Yukon and I’ve never been into the Peel Watershed. (The small exception is the time I canoed
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Are beaver ponds wetlands?
Since writing a column on wetlands, a question has come up for me—is a beaver pond considered a wetland?
Are beaver ponds wetlands? Read More »
The Percy DeWolfe committee is ready for its last race, but the event will carry on
In its present form, the Percy DeWolfe Memorial Mail Race is a 210 mile (338 km) run from Dawson to Eagle, Alaska, and back. If you can do that, then you can try your hand at the Yukon Quest or the Iditarod.
The Percy DeWolfe committee is ready for its last race, but the event will carry on Read More »
Revitalizing the routes that connected the people of North Yukon
North Yukon is honeycombed with routes. It’s an intricate network of trails and waterways that the Gwich’in people have used to move through the area for thousands of years.
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Spring snow-ventures
The Thursday evening of the 2018 Easter long weekend was predicted to be perfect bluebird weather with warm temperatures. The snow had not been the best during the season, so it was time to come up with an adventure.
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Time on the land – take a child with you
In my fairly lengthy experience dealing with kids in and about outdoor activities, I have found that they are like sponges when it comes to
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Christmas bird counts are fun for kids too
The Christmas Bird Count is part of an international citizen science program for monitoring and conserving birds.
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Read the land
As long as I remember, I’ve travelled throughout the Mackenzie Delta and Beaufort Coast with my dad. We travelled all over during different seasons hunting or trapping different animals.
Buying a knife
Part 1 of 2 One of the more common errors made by someone young or otherwise inexperienced in selecting a knife is to buy something
Feather adventures
It was 7 a.m. on a Sunday in late January. We put all the ski touring equipment in the car while trying to simultaneously keep
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The perfect canoe paddle
There are many canoe paddles on the market today, made in many styles, of many materials. The key to buying one to fit you personally
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The life of a conservation officer
Murray is seen here as a young conservation officer in Ontario In the autumn of one’s life, one often sits back in the easy chair
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Buying a knife
Part 1 of 2 Different knives are for different purposes, so peeling potatoes is not as easy with a Leatherman as it is with a
Much ado about nothing
Zero may be nothing in the world of math, but in weather the significance of this integer is amazing. October is a good time to
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Hikes fall away
When the aspen and willow are sporting their rich reds and yellows, some of the most scenic landscapes can be found in our backyard and
Walking stick – what you see, but don’t see
There is an old saying, “I can’t see for looking.” That could be very true when it comes to actually seeing a “walking stick.” The
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Snow can keep you warm
With a little know-how and little or no tools, a snow shelter can save your life. It will amaze you how warm you are inside a snow structure.
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The history of the canoe
Back in the early 1970s I wrote a monthly outdoors column for an Ontario outdoors magazine. One evening, after a day spent hunting moose, we pulled
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How was Your Summer?
How was your summer? That seems to be the question Yukoners ask each other at this time of year. Along with recounting various adventures, most
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Get healthy, get outside
Adventure therapy is designed to enhance the support work done in the health, mental health, education, justice and related human service fields. The 7th Canadian
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Friends discover Yukon
Part 2 of 2: Showing the delights of why we choose to live in the middle of nowhere Day 2 We awoke to a ferry
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Wildlife viewing program offers free nature walks and talks
What do mushrooms, squirrels, Kokanee salmon, a salt lake and elk have in common? They’re all things you can see in the upcoming Wild Discoveries
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Friends discover Yukon
When you tell your friends and family that you’ve finally found the place you want to settle, they get a little excited. I mean, after
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Get out on the land
The Yukon Fish and Game Association’s Youth Outdoor Education Camp took place June 22 to 28 In an increasingly digital and wired world, the annual
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Camping: Timesaving tips
Foul weather can wreck more than your mood when you’re out camping and hunting moose. Simple tips and tricks.
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A Northwest Passage to the sea
(Ed. Note: The following article was first written for the Northwest Passage Project excursion to take place last summer from August 23 to September 13
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Can you get to Canyon from here?
Are you into history and/or walking? Maybe you prefer history and exploring beautiful places, but not walking? Either way, I’ve got you covered. If you’ve
Can you get to Canyon from here? Read More »
Driven to explore
A seven-hour drive north of Whitehorse, or one hour and 30 minutes north from Dawson City, the Tombstone Interpretive Centre sits as the gateway to
Just keep paddling
Carmen Gustafson is gearing up for her fourth Yukon River Quest. For those who are fond of stats, that means that by this year’s Canada
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Who invited all these bugs?
Larry has some tips for getting rid of those pesky mosquitoes I’ve often wondered what it would be like to go camping, fishing, hiking or
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In pursuit of the perfect shot
The Porcupine Caribou Herd is thought to have the longest mammal migration on the planet. The image I wanted to capture is hard to describe, but while doing research on the caribou, I saw videos of them in winter, migrating in long lines of thousands. It reminded me of images of the Klondike Gold Rush a hundred years ago, where there was a line of 400 men following a trail straight up the mountain.
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Fire – RIGHT NOW!
Many situations need a fire, right now! An emergency or something you come upon. May not even be an emergency or survival situation, yet.
Watching the River Thaw
Members of the Yukon Order of Pioneers (YOOP) have placed the Ice Pool Tripod on the ice of the Yukon River and the tickets for
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Get a quick and easy fire going
I put wood in the stove, set the Hurlburt fire starter under it and struck a match. Within seconds there was a six-inch flame. After a minute, the wood ignited.
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Snowmobile survival gear
A little planning and preparation can save your day in many situations. The winter bison hunts and Dempster Highway caribou hunts are true examples of
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Snowmobile ice travel
Larry Leigh has some tips to stay safe when venturing out onto ice on your snowmobile
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Are you prepared for a forest fire?
First and foremost … I have the greatest respect for all firefighters when they fight a fire—be it a house fire or a forest fire.
Are you prepared for a forest fire? Read More »
Tips for cold hands and feet
In cold weather, a head without a hat on it can lose up to 50 per cent of your body heat and some of that
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A mountain of possibilities
What’s the best part of winter in the Yukon? Why, it’s sleeping in and still being up at the crack of dawn to go on an adventure, of course.
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The cooking fire …
A cooking fire isn’t just a miniature bonfire, and to make a good one takes luck, experience or some advice from someone who’s got a reputation for being a good campfire cook.
The cooking fire … Read More »
Managing avalanche terrain
Eirik Sharp, owner and operator of The Sharp End: Mountain Adventures, with his extensive avalanche background, is bringing change to how the Yukon manages avalanche terrain.
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Bear Mountain – A redux
If you’ve read about our first attempt to climb (or even glimpse) Bear Mountain, you may be wondering how or why we ever returned. I
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KD, rice and Pilot Biscuits
If you have a big budget and a small appetite, freeze-dried meals will work to keep you healthy on the trail. I have always found
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What’s on the river? – A winter warm-up to the Christmas Bird Count
It’s snowy and cold outside, and most of the Yukon’s migratory birds, such as swans, pretty yellow warblers, ducks and shorebirds, have long fled the
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