Planning-Yukon River cruise 2016

I just checked in on Jay and Jolee. Looks like they should make Grand Prairie by dark. There's a good Walmart to stay there, and usually the cheapest fuel. Not that you can call any Canadian fuel cheap.
 
WOW, what an adventure! Spent most of my Sunday afternoon reading this thread from the beginning, every link provided, the historical accounts of the river and paddle boats, and watching almost all of Jay and JoLee's videos on Youtube from past adventures. Now I have at least 20 new things to add to my bucket list, and I'm not even one who keeps a bucket list...until now!

One question for the Hunkydory crew - if you DO decide to go as far as Eagle, AK, what is the protocol for clearing customs via boat? I bet they don't get anyone floating down from Whitehorse, or even Dawson very often, LOL!

All the best, I'm definitely going to be following your DeLorme track daily!

-Mike
 
I doubt that they will go to Eagle because of the road conditions...but you never know...

AJF, I assume that it is as most over frontier crossings: when you get phone contact you immediately check in with customs, if you are not going directly to a "port". (The word "port" also means a designated where vehicles take care of paperwork, at times including weight, bills of lading, clearance of customs etc. )

When you get to a port, of any sort, you check in immediately--not 12 hours later (which has gotten some folks in trouble in the San Juan Islands.)
 
Hunkydory has made it to the launch ramp in Skagway, Ak. Now the water part of the adventure begins. The wind forecast for tomorrow on the Lynn Canal is from the north and gentle at 7 MPH. Good traveling conditions.
 
Boris, They are going south on the Lynn Canal and out Icy Straight to Glacier Bay. Then outside on Chichagof Island for a few weeks. Before starting the Yukon River portion in late May or early June.
 
Several months have now passed since we completed the Yukon part of last summers adventure, that was planned for in this thread & I will now share an after trip report on two of the pre trip advise suggestions generously given by Whitehorse, Yukon area resident, AJF.

One, he strenuously cautioned me on the importance of considering the Yukon River depth & flow on the timing of when we should start the trip or even if it should be attempted at all, if to low. In this he was absolutely right & we were very fortunate to have made it down to Dawson City, especially without serious damage to the boat. I wouldn't even consider doing it again at the level it was when we departed Whitehorse in a CD22. Part of the problem in evaluating this advise was how to determine just how low was to low without actual numbers of what's the minimal flow or depth station reading to compare for a CD22 & by the time I could tell in the water downstream from launching that the depth was to low in places, it was to late to retreat. Now I would know & if the river not a couple feet higher then it was, not go.

Two, AJF advised that we would most likely have difficulties with GPS or other satellite reception. We never lost reception on the Garmin 276C chart plotter or the Delorme Inreach & though boat placement on the Garmin chart topo map was very good most of the time, say 80%, invariably when in a place where it was really needed, it would miss Islands or put the boat in a position on the chart, that didn't match reality, so we were constantly trying to make out where we actually were & the river route needed to maintain from the two different river guide books, the Garmin chart & the sat photos on the IPad. This with the current averaging 7 mph, plus at last a few more to maintain steerage made for short decision times for best boat placement, which in some places even if best as possible, not enough water under the boat to avoid contact with the bottom.

I'm happy we made the river cruise this year & even more so the boat didn't suffer from it, but I don't think we would do the section between Carmacks & Dawson city again in any water state & between Whitehorse & Dawson City only with at least 2 feet higher water in a CD 22.

For those who haven't read it, this is the link to the thread that goes from the planning here to the actual trip. http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=24092

Jay
 
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