Planning-Yukon River cruise 2016

H

Hunkydory

Active member
Our 13th boating season on the Hunkydory, which included 1843 miles on the water, 5611 miles trailering & 94 nights aboard has been finished since my return from Lake Powell & now is the time to start planning for the 14th season. We are considering a return to Skagway, Alaska for further Southeast Alaska cruising in very early May if the early season weather is similar at all to this year with perhaps a shorter period on the ocean this time, followed by a cruise between Whitehorse & Dawson City on the Yukon River, during the last half of June. This is the section of the Yukon River, the Alaska Klondike Gold Rush prospectors went down after crossing the mountains near Skagway, Alaska over the Chilkoot trail & still a remote & challenging stretch of water for a CD22. There are 460 miles of river between Whitehorse & Dawson City & in 2003, the 1st season of boating with our CD22, we cruised the upper 200 miles both up & then back down between Carmacks & Whitehorse & this time, we would like to do the other 260 miles also, plus possibly make runs up some of the tributary rivers in this section, such as the Pelly, Stewart & Teslin in the Mokai. We are undecided on whether to start at Whitehorse & go down river to Dawson City & back or just do a downstream slow run from Whitehorse to Dawson City. Safe places for truck & trailer storage along with how to do the positioning of them will be some of the determining factors. The distance on the road between Whitehorse & Dawson City is approximately 315 miles.

Information about places for truck/trailer storage in Whitehorse & Dawson City, a good place to leave the boat in the river near or in these towns, while positioning truck/trailer & possible bus transportation between them or other information that would help us prepare for this river cruise would be appreciated.

Jay
 
Hunkydory":x8xtvk4n said:
in 2003, the 1st season of boating with our CD22, we cruised the upper 200 miles both up & then back down between Carmacks & Whitehorse
Click to expand...

I remember reading about that trip, and watching some video, and it really inspired me. (What a first season!) Thanks for all the effort you put into documenting your travels, and I hope you get some good info (for the logistics) in this thread. I know I'll be reading along.
 
Jay,

Back when I was in high school, which was a stretch back now, I read a book about a fellow who took a boat the full length of the Yukon River. I believe it was called something like "The Arctic Arrow". It was one of the influences, for me, to pursue an continued interest in marine activities.

I applaud you efforts in remote travel, and wish you the best. I will be following your posts enjoying with some envy.

(On Edit: Whoops, it was not the Yukon, but the Mackinzie River) Sorry.
"Go adventuring with Charles and Virginia Cooper as they build their own boat and sail 1000 miles down the Mackenzie River to the Arctic Ocean!"
"By C. S. Cooper
ISBN: 081633921x | 80 pages | Pacific Press Publishing Association | Copyright 2014" Voyage of the Arctic Arrow

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

IMGP1872.thumb.jpg
 
I have been thinking about this trip too. I think it would be AWESOME!!!!! I live in Juneau and it would just be a short ferry ride and tow up to Whitehorse. The way I would do it is put your boat in at Whitehorse and leave it there. Then make the 330 mile trip to Dawson City and stash your rig there. Then fly back to Whitehorse via AirNorth (http://www.flyairnorth.com/) and take off. If you time it right you could do all that in less than 12 hours. There is a great bookstoer in Whitehorse, Macs books and they suggested this guide for the floating the Yukon (http://www.yukonbooks.com/shop/customer ... =48&page=2). I will be watching this thread. I am few years away from pulling this off. I have two young kids. Maybe 5 years from now. But this will pave the way.
 
Sunbeam, thanks for the uplifting post. It is appreciated.

Harvey, that sounds like a good read. Jolee & I went up the Mackenzie River for a short ways in our rubber inflatable in 2002, from Tsligechtchic, after going up the Arctic Red & finding the Arctic Red not a good river to be on in a rubber boat. The Mackenzie is huge there & was rather intimidating to us at the time.

tbag, yes you're in a good spot to start out from & will make such a cruise easier for you. We on the other hand do enjoy our road trip & feel it's all part of the adventure, so either is good, but yours better if one is limited in time.

Thanks for the link to the airlines. It looks like it's around $180 US to fly & they have twice daily flights except for none on Saturday. That would work. Now if someone comes up with a good place to store the rig in Dawson City or by calls, I can find a place, then we'll be set. It would sure be best to know a place is secured before driving the rig there, so as to make for a smooth round trip & the least amount of time away from the boat & JoLee in Whitehorse.

If this trip does work out for us, I hope my shareing of it does help in your doing it too.

Jay
 
hardee":apuksb9x said:
Jay,

Back when I was in high school, which was a stretch back now, I read a book about a fellow who took a boat the full length of the Yukon River. I believe it was called something like "The Arctic Arrow". It was one of the influences, for me, to pursue an continued interest in marine activities.

I applaud you efforts in remote travel, and wish you the best. I will be following your posts enjoying with some envy.

(On Edit: Whoops, it was not the Yukon, but the Mackinzie River) Sorry.
"Go adventuring with Charles and Virginia Cooper as they build their own boat and sail 1000 miles down the Mackenzie River to the Arctic Ocean!"
"By C. S. Cooper
ISBN: 081633921x | 80 pages | Pacific Press Publishing Association | Copyright 2014" Voyage of the Arctic Arrow

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

IMGP1872.thumb.jpg
Click to expand...
Hmmmmm.... Nice try Harvey, but I'm not buying a 2014 high school experience. ;-) (original publication date was in 1964) :lol:
 
rogerbum":3urya1qd said:
hardee":3urya1qd said:
Jay,

Back when I was in high school, which was a stretch back now, I read a book about a fellow who took a boat the full length of the Yukon River. I believe it was called something like "The Arctic Arrow". It was one of the influences, for me, to pursue an continued interest in marine activities.

I applaud you efforts in remote travel, and wish you the best. I will be following your posts enjoying with some envy.

(On Edit: Whoops, it was not the Yukon, but the Mackinzie River) Sorry.
"Go adventuring with Charles and Virginia Cooper as they build their own boat and sail 1000 miles down the Mackenzie River to the Arctic Ocean!"
"By C. S. Cooper
ISBN: 081633921x | 80 pages | Pacific Press Publishing Association | Copyright 2014" Voyage of the Arctic Arrow

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

IMGP1872.thumb.jpg
Click to expand...
Hmmmmm.... Nice try Harvey, but I'm not buying a 2014 high school experience. ;-) (original publication date was in 1964) :lol:
Click to expand...

Roger,

I noticed the new copyright date but figured you would just know I had an "redo" HS experience. Cooper was a friend of my Dad's when we lived in BC.

BTW, on the steering with twins thread, I hope you know I was not picking on you. It was a subject I had wanted to bring up for a while and found that thread and just put it together.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

IMG_2044_sized_1.thumb.jpg
 
hardee":hskrtoz8 said:
Roger,

I noticed the new copyright date but figured you would just know I had an "redo" HS experience. Cooper was a friend of my Dad's when we lived in BC.

BTW, on the steering with twins thread, I hope you know I was not picking on you. It was a subject I had wanted to bring up for a while and found that thread and just put it together.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

IMG_2044_sized_1.thumb.jpg
Click to expand...
No worries Harvey - I didn't feel picked on. In the situation described in my earlier thread - e.g. near the docks at Tofino in HUGE current, complete loss of steering would have resulted in my being screwed since I wouldn't have time enough to react and steering with differential throttle would be tough under those conditions. I had to go almost half throttle in reverse on one engine just to get my dock line untied! In other situations, like failure in an open area, I could probably get the engines straightened by hand and then could get them fixed in place with copious amounts of tape and or line and steer quite comfortably with differential throttle.
 
I noticed that you plan on doing this trip in late June. You might not be aware of this but the "World's Longest Annual Canoe and Kayak Race" takes place between Whitehorse and Dawson City on June 29th. to the July 3rd. There can be up to a 100 race boats plus safety boats on the river during this event depending on registration numbers. We ask all power boat operators to be extremely careful when passing the racers on the river as there has been operators that have not shown the proper courtesy when passing these human power boats. The trip down the Yukon river is well worth the time, but it can also present some navigation challenges picking the proper river channel to go down. I've done it in canoe and power boat, but much prefer the canoe. http://www.yukonriverquest.com/
 
AJF, thanks for the information on the race, as I have zero desire to go up or downriver amid racers, so will avoid those dates. During our July 2003 trip we met very few canoes or Kayaks & were very careful around those we did. The video, I took & posted of that trip as we headed backdown stream from Whitehorse, very early in the morning with patchy river fog, does show us going faster than perhaps prudent, but having seen only one small group of canoes on the 200 mile run up river & knowing, they rarely get a very early start, caused them not to be a real concern at the time. Of the only two groups we met during the 400 river miles total, one was at the wreck of the Klondike & the others very near Carmacks on the return & we slowed & gave them a wide berth.

Have you been both up & down the river between Dawson City & Whitehorse or Carmacks & Whithorse on a power boat & if so what size & drive. In our 2003 trip we only saw one powerboat & it was small, being a approximately 14 to 16 foot aluminum skiff heavily loaded with a small outboard & couldn't have gone anywhere but down stream. On the more remote Yukon & Northwest Territory rivers, we have been on, the boats were long & narrow with mid size outboards & used mainly by the 1st Nation folk.

I've spent enough time in canoes & rubber boats & even more time in the mountains where a tent was a luxury to really appreciate being able to go up or downstream on the Yukon & other remote places in the comfort of our CD 22. The addition of the Mokai allows us the ability to go up the tributaries & float back down, so really I feel we have the best of both.
This is a link to my write up of our 2003 trip which included the Yukon River.
http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=7717
This a link to Part 3 YouTube video of our 2003 trip which includes the Yukon River
http://youtu.be/MxmnyfhXEb4

Jay
 
Travel by jet boat on the Yukon River was for work when I was with the Water Resources dept. I could never afford the cost of fuel nor wanted the hassle of hauling 5 gal Jerry cans or 45 gal drums of fuel down to the riverside to fuel a power boat with a large enough engine to travel the river both directions.
The long and narrow river boats are still the most economical way to travel the river by power. Even so the changing channels of the river between Fort Selkirk and Dawson still catch the most experienced of river travelers. Least it is easy push a canoe off a gravel bar.
The racers go 24 hrs a day except for the mandatory stops and Carmacks and Kirkman Cr.
 
I find the Yukon River from Eagle Alaska up to its head waters in the Southern Lakes of the Yukon and British Columbia, probably some of the best water travel I've ever experienced. Before we had a boat to cruise SE Alaska in we had a freighter canoe with 4hp outboard and a lug sail when the wind was blowing in the right direction. We traveled the lake system and the rivers, and spent many enjoyable years (1970s) doing this. Just recently we rediscovered how enjoyable this is after spending some 25 years years cruising SE Alaska.
 
My only real boat experience was scores of years ago on the Innoko and Yukon rivers. Long and narrow was what I remembered.
 
AJF":347bxbq3 said:
I find the Yukon River from Eagle Alaska up to its head waters in the Southern Lakes of the Yukon and British Columbia, probably some of the best water travel I've ever experienced. Before we had a boat to cruise SE Alaska in we had a freighter canoe with 4hp outboard and a lug sail when the wind was blowing in the right direction. We traveled the lake system and the rivers, and spent many enjoyable years (1970s) doing this. Just recently we rediscovered how enjoyable this is after spending some 25 years years cruising SE Alaska.
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AJF, We too had a large canoe with a very small outboard & have great memories of times on our high mountain Wyoming lakes including Yellowstone & Jackson & others in the Wind River Mountains. All these lakes are similar to but not as remote as those that feed the Yukon & I agree at least for the type boating we enjoy your area is a fantastic area to boat. If we didn't have commitments already for the 2nd half of this coming summer we would follow up the Yukon River with more time on Tagish & Atlin Lakes & check out some others we haven't been on before, but as of now that will have to wait for another year.

Jay
 
Jay,
if your main concern is a safe place for your Truck and trailer, you are
welcome to leave it at my Place, after launching the Boat at the Yukon
Government Building.
There are different options to get your Truck back to Dawson at the End of
your Trip.
You have traveled the Yukon River in the past, so you have some Idea what it is like. Conditions always change. I also have a 22' Freighter Canoe/35Hp
and have traveled parts of the River and I would not travel up river for any
great distance.
Cheers, Peter.
 
Peter, it is a major concern & I'm very appreciative of your offer to possibly store it at your place. The other concern is the safety of Jo-Lee & boat while in Dawson, while I return to Whitehorse for the truck & trailer after our run down river. On Goggle earth it shows docks on the water front of Dawson & I know there is a Campground & boat launch across the river from Dawson. Do you know if it would be OK to leave the boat in either place or anywhere else & if so, which would be best. If you or another C-Brat from the Whitehorse area can't tell me, then I'll be making some phone calls to Dawson.

It appears there are good options of either bus or air between Dawson & Whitehorse, so I will probably choose one of those with air being 1st choice, if I can get a ticket with the limited time, I will have, to know for sure when the flight will be needed.

I realize the river will be different than our last trip on it & the stretch closer to Dawson with its braids can be a real challenge, but I feel we're up to it, especially if just going down stream, though if it weren't for the high cost of fuel & packing it to the boat at Carmacks to make the run back up & if river flow was at least as high as our last trip, I would make the attempt to do it also.

Thanks for your post & offer & if nothing stops this trip from happening, I'm looking forward to meeting you.

Jay
 
The dock in Dawson has a paddlwheeler (tourist) tied up on it during the summer. Dock can be used for unloading, but not for overnight moorge. Most people just beach their boat down stream of the dock during the summer. Security is a tenative thing on the shoreline. You take your chances, most times there is no problems.
There is a real time monitoring station (web site) on the Yukon River near the White river were you can get information on river flow. Whether the the river will be high enough for unobstructed travel down it at that time of year will be dependent on winter snowpack and June weather conditions. I would expect you will probably run a ground in one of the channels at that time of year, but you could be lucky..
 
AJF, thanks for the information on the Dawson dock & river monitoring site information. Do you know if near where the boats beach just down from the dock, is there a launch & retrieve place close to get the boat back on the trailer.

Do you think the chances of groundings & the results from them so bad that you wouldn't recommend a CD22 going up or down the river between Dawson & Whitehorse & if so would you say the same between Carmacks & Whitehorse. Being lucky is a good thing, but I've never based the outcome of my adventures on it. I prefer to measure all that I do with risk assessment & judge the value of what I would like to do with the level of risk to do it.

Jay
 
The shoreline below the dock is mainly hard packed river sand, and many people launch from that. There use to be a concrete ramp, but it has been many years since I've actually looked at it, so I'm not sure of the condition.
If you run aground at displacement speed on the gravel or sand bars it should not be a major issue. But I would carry a spare prop, just encase. Also at that time of year there can still be a far bit of debris in the river (trees). Remember that Minto Landing is the last point of road access to the river. Once you pass Minto you are committed to Dawson. Lots of Yukon River channel chart publications out therre, just try to find a recent one. Yukon River Quest site has some good information as well.
You will get your exercise in Carmacks hauling fuel from the gas station to the river.
 
AJF, thanks once again for the added information on the river access below the dock & the rest of the information. I agree with your assessment that sticking to displacement speed is better as it does lower the chances of damage to boat or getting badly stuck in sand or gravel encounters, as I have been through this before, though fortunately not on the Yukon. I have found that going up stream at times easier & more safe than down, due to being able to use the current to maintain boat steerage while barely making way over ground below the water with it also being easier to slowly back off under control if underwater obstacles are encountered. Going down stream the main problem to avoid in my opinion is a braid off the main channel where one can becoming trapped in a log jam or anything else that prevents backtracking to regain a favorable braid. I still have my old chart book, but as you advise will be updating it & thoroughly checking out the Yukon Quest site. I always carrier extra props so that's not an issue for me. River debris is a concern, especially during or shortly after higher water & I will be doing my best to avoid it. By only going downstream, I can easily carry enough fuel to not need to stop at Carmacks for it & is something like you, I wish to avoid.

I really appreciate the good information you have provided, instead of just advising me not to attempt this effort. Just prior to our 2003 run up & back from Carmacks to Whitehorse the person who stored our vehicle & trailer at the Tagish Lake crossing Marina, when we spent several days exploring the upper end of Tagish Lake, had spent considerable time on the Yukon in a jet boat & told me we would never be able to do it in our CD22 & though a pleasant sort offered no help or further advice, when I told him we would be making the attempt.
 
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