Poops Gone Wild
We all know that wilderness in the Yukon is plentiful, and many Yukoners enjoy disappearing off the grid for a weekend or more…
Camping
Camping! The beauty, majesty and ruggedness of the Yukon landscape attracts campers from all over the world who crave a unique experience under the midnight sun. The Yukon has it all. Mountains, lakes, rivers and endless trees – all creating the perfect backdrop for an RV adventure or tenting under the open sky. Dozens of government operated sites are open to tenters or those traveling in vehicles and RVs and some of those campgrounds offer boat launches, swimming areas and even playgrounds for the kids. Most have easy access to quality trails for hikers and cyclists and offer excellent opportunities to catch a glimpse of the Yukon’s famous wildlife like foxes, moose, caribou, bison and even bears. Regions where camping at government-run sites is available in the Yukon include, Campbell, Klondike, Kluane, Silver Trail, Southern Lakes, Liard, Northern and Arctic and Whitehorse. In all, there are over 50 road-accessible (and day-use) recreation site in the territory. However, camping in the Yukon is on a first come, first served basis. Don’t forget your fishing rod, axe for splitting wood (all Yukon campgrounds offer un-split fire wood), cozy camp chairs, marshmallows, friends, family and the dog (or dogs) and get ready to take in as much beauty and majesty as you can during your outdoor adventures at one of the many Yukon campgrounds (or all of them for that matter!). For more information check out the Government of Yukon at: https://www.travelyukon.com/en/plan/accommodation?params=camping-rv-parks
Returning Home to the Yukon
Tears streamed down my face as our airplane began its descent, preparing to land at the Whitehorse airport.
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.
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 all over the world make a visit to the territory a bucket-list priority to fulfill dreams of endless hiking, biking, fishing and hunting, to name a few. Also not surprising …
Vibing High with Sled Dogs Under a Winter Night Sky
Winter camping! Natalie wasn’t comfortable dogsledding trails melted into slick iceShe offered an alternative. “We can take the Skandic!”
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.
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.
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.
Camping: Timesaving tips
Foul weather can wreck more than your mood when you’re out camping and hunting moose. Simple tips and tricks.
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.
Ziplocs and vacuum-sealing
Great for camping, canoeing and hunting, ziplocs are watertight. It can rain for days and the items in your Ziploc bags will still be dry.
Skagway: A ‘bluebird day’ with blue skies…
It’s May long weekend and we’re driving to Skagway, and it seems as though most of Whitehorse has decided to do the same with a queue of 20 vehicles at the U.S. border … It was a warm evening, and we went to Starfire, in Skagway, to enjoy some Thai food before camping for the …
Doomsday camping on Top of the World – Part 5 of 6
Grandpa, if a giant asteroid was on target to collide with Earth and everyone knew the exact day and time of the explosion to blow up the planet, where would you want to go camping for the last night?
Five camping food hacks to get you through the rest of your summer
Over the past couple months I’ve stumbled across a couple of really great hacks that make creating awesome meals while camping way easier.
Old tramways and new ziplines on Windy Arm
Conrad, on Windy Arm, is just the first of a new wave of Yukon campgrounds with eyes to the future.
Kathleen & Kokanee in Kluane – Part 3 of 6
Kathleen Lake, which is the only place in Kluane National Park you can sleep (legally) if you have rubber wheels for your mode of transportation (rather than flying machines, skis, hiking boots or birchbark).
Atlin: Boom town to burnt down … to boom, burn, bust and boom again – Part 2 of 6
Of all the cities, towns and villages in northwestern Canada, Atlin’s journey through the turbulent 20th century was more dramatic than most.
Axes
Axes are very useful tools here in the north where campfires, bonfires and wood stoves are a big part of life. Everybody has at least one tucked away somewhere.
A Kenai kickoff to a new series – Part 1 of 6
Homer, on the west side of the Kenai Peninsula, is the farthest south you can drive and became my favourite place to RV camp in Alaska because of this surprise: it felt like California.
Finding the keys to safer camping
On the Canada Day long weekend in 2012, the Congdon Creek Campground, located on the shore of Kluane Lake near Burwash Landing, played host to a furry teenaged visitor. A medium-sized grizzly found its way into the campground and proceeded to lounge around in the central meadow, feeding on the tasty flowers.
Top 10 items needed for all camping trips
From my experience, here are the top 10 items you must have when camping
Wood-fired, bacon-wrapped shrimp
Summer is coming! For the next few weeks all the recipes you’ll be seeing will be in preparation for the long summer days spent outside soaking up our precious long, warm days cooking over a fire. When it comes to cooking outside, having ingredients on hand that work in lots of different recipes is essential. …
Skagwegian Camping 101
Our American neighbours do things a little differently… I have not made the trip to mainland Alaska yet, but my experience of those oddballs and genuinely interesting characters that live in the tiny village of Skagway truly are one of a kind. Hiking and camping are certainly a great way to get out and explore …
Low impact on the land
The sites you choose look good to you or you wouldn’t set up there. Make your best effort to leave them as you found them. PHOTO: Pixabay It really wasn’t too many years ago that campsites could be obvious almost forever due to the accepted practices of the day. Tents were different with straight …
Ropes and the rope bag
Ropes are the long standing traditional way to fasten or tie things down. These days, those ratchet devices with straps and hooks have replaced knots and loops. For some of us older people, ropes are still the logical tie-down tool.
When I Go Camping
I always bring my piano. I always bring my TV. I always bring my computer. I always bring my microwave. I always bring my fridge. I always bring my couch. I always bring my vacuum cleaner. I always bring my toaster. I always bring my waterbed. I always bring my snow blower. I always bring …
My fishing buddy, the chairman of the board
When one walks along the rim of the autumn of one’s life, they can’t help but to look back to the yesterdays – the “good old days.” At the same time one questions if the “tomorrows” will also be filled with equal memories, when they too become the yesterdays. I suggest everyone should take time …
Camp guns for bears
A “bear gun” in camp or at the cabin is very common in the Yukon. It’s primary function is for protection of the humans in camp.
The wall tent camp
Sleeping on good quality cots with a wood stove it was so comfortable that I stayed eight nights and prob-ably slept better than at home.
Didee & Didoo: At my camp
I’m the doctor I’m the minister I’m the police I’m the carpenter I’m the cook I’m the gunsmith I’m the blacksmith I’m the butcher I’m the musician I’m the tailor I’m the dentist I’m the biologist I’m the landlord I’m the janitor I’m the chief I’m the surveyor I’m the psychologist I’m the photographer I’m …
Late Fall Season in the Kluane National Park
The colourful fall season is over very early in the Yukon – much earlier than in my home country, Switzerland. But I found that the month of October is also very attractive for an amateur photographer like me, even if the coloured leaves have almost all fallen to the ground. Here are some suggestions for …
Turn Your Eyes to the Skies
Yukoners – and others – who enjoy celestial pursuits may want to follow the stars to Kluane’s “Northern Nights” Dark Sky Festival at Kathleen Lake this weekend. This is the second time around for this event, which is jointly sponsored by Parks Canada and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC). Viktor Zsohar is a …
Yukon’s Best Friend: DOG CULTURE, Don McMillan
DOG CULTURE: Submitted by Don McMillan “We’re going camping, we’re going camping!!” Sophie and Greg Meredith in their 1974 VW Westfalia. What’s Up Yukon is pleased to partner with the Yukon Transportation Museum’s Dog Culture Display, “Yukon’s Best Friend: Doggedness in Love and Labour”. Your photos will be on display at the dog culture exhibit so be sure …
Two Breakfast Wraps to Stock Your Freezer
Huevos Rancheros Breakfast Wraps INGREDIENTS: 2 Tbsp butter 1 onion, finely chopped 1 tsp chili powder One 19-ounce can of black beans, drained One 12-ounce can corn, drained 10 eggs, beaten Salt and pepper, to taste 10 large tortillas 2 cups grated cheddar cheese 1 cup salsa ¼ cup chopped cilantro METHOD: 1. Heat a …
Music gets the campfire cooking
They decided it would be fun to spend the summer playing as many of the Yukon Parks cook shacks as possible. Music in the campground.
Camping Etiquette
Winter has released his icy grip on the Yukon, and that brings my favorite season: camping season. In early May I along with several friends pitched our campers and tents at Lake LaBerge. We lucked out and got choice sites along the lakeshore. As we settled in with dinner on the fire and a beverage …
Start South, GoNorth!
Winter in Whitehorse is beautiful, but long. By the end of April 2016 we traveled down south to find Vancouver fully in bloom already. A reasonably priced and very scenic train ride along the coast brought us to Seattle. After discovering this attractive city for a few days, we took over a truck camper at …
Wonder What to do with a Pike?
Pike Chowder Supreme This will take some time, but it is time well spent. Ingredients: 1 pound of freshly caught pike fillets, cut into stew-size pieces 2 ¼ cups boiling water 2 cups milk ¾ cup diced celery 1 ½ cups raw diced potatoes ½ cup thinly sliced carrots 3 Tbsp butter 1 white onion, …
Camp Fire Cake
Sometimes, you just need cake. I’ve baked this from scratch before, but this is the one time I’m going to advocate boxed over homemade: when you’re deep in the backcountry it’s just too much fuss to pack in all the things you need to make a decent cake. The last time I made this, I …
Firelighters
“It will take a few minutes.” Almost all the time, taking a few minutes to get a fire going is an acceptable part of the outdoor adventure. There are some semi-emergency or worse situations where we need the fire going right now and a few minutes is just too long. Getting warm is an immediate …
Let Me Get to Know You. How About a Little Bicycle Trip?
When Hélène met François, she’d been dreaming of a long-distance bicycle trip for years. I think the fact that François was an experienced cyclist just maybe added to the attraction. Within 18 months, they had sold almost everything they owned, and loaded what they couldn’t or didn’t want to sell into their car, parked it …
Let Me Get to Know You. How About a Little Bicycle Trip? Read More »
Bush Gypsy’s Banquette
Sometimes when you’re in the bush you need lots of calories, but you don’t have lots of time (or energy) left at the end of the day. By prepping the first part of this three part recipe for dinner, you have yourself a hearty, quick breakfast, as well as lunch or dinner the next day …
Cast Iron
Long before Teflon or other spray coatings were on your pots and pans, cast iron was easy to use and easy to clean. It’s been around for hundreds of years and although always heavy, was brought from Europe by the early settlers to North America. The large cauldrons and kettles, now no longer in use, …
Heavy Metal Mountain
As Tom unpacked he took inventory: sub-Arctic self-erecting tent, sleeping bag, water/bear proof ruck sack full of high protein granola and astronaut food, zinc for the nose, GPS, selfie stick. He hadn’t been camping in years, since his last fall in the Yukon 20 years ago. But here he was, back again. Roughing it for …
On Simple Pleasures
There is a microwave placed awkwardly in front of the little, old fashioned split-glass window. The curtains are open and on the other side of the window freight ships move across the bay slowly, deliberately, as if the water was thick as muskeg and they had to work much harder than they expected to get …
Summer Vacation
A question that pops up every now and again is, Would students be better off without a summer vacation? This stance claims that the luxurious two-and-a-half month summer break should be replaced with shorter and more frequent breaks throughout the year, since the summer break’s original purpose – of collecting the harvest – is no …
Farewell Winter, Hello Summer
After a long Yukon winter, you look forward to packing away your warm winter coat. We all look forward to the warmer days.
Family Camping
My daughter’s dad and I started taking our daughters for Dempster Highway camping adventures around 1991, and the magic and fun times of those trips stayed with them, helping them to become independent and adventurous souls. Here is an excerpt from my daughter Rachel’s 2001 essay, called “True Tracks,” that shows the kind of fun …
It is All Just About BBQ Jealousy?
When it comes right down to it, perhaps human evolution has all been for naught. My mind started drifting on that particular stream recently, as I watched my neighbour gleefully set up his patio furniture and lovingly polish his brand-new stainless steel barbecue. Several millennia ago, so the story goes, we oozed our way out …
Putting the WOW in Tombstone Park
Looking for a memorable northern road trip? The 17th annual Tombstone Weekend on the Wing (WOW) offers three days of fabulous hiking, a birding festival and interpretive events for all ages. The weekend of free events takes place June 3 to 5 and will start from the Tombstone Territorial Park campground, at kilometre 71 of …
Victoria Day Activity Guide
May two-four, the unofficial Canadian start of summer, is finally here. The question is how are you going to spend it? We have put together a list of things to do both in and around town this weekend – get ready to jump right into summer. Get sweet discounts with tour operators and local businesses …
Getting in Sheep Shape
We drove four hours from Whitehorse to one of my favourite fishing lakes, then an hour and a half across. As a sheep hunter that’s all the info we give on our hunting spots. If you know where that is, you know the Yukon better than I do. Looking up the side of the mountain …
MAKE A BETTER FIRE
Except above tree-line, good firewood is available in most places in the Yukon but a few days of rain can make pretty good wood too wet to get anything but thick smoke and little flame. A short time spent on preparation can help to get at least a good cooking fire anywhere. In other articles …
Cooler Tips
These days the word “cooler” can mean a pre-mixed alcoholic beverage, but it’s also the name of an insulated box to keep your food and drinks cool. Coolers come in various shapes, sizes and prices. A really large one seems like a good idea until you try to lift and carry it after it has …
Lists, Colour Coding and Labels
People new to outdoor activity such as hunting, hiking and camping are likely a bit more organized on the second or third trip than they were on the first one. At first the newbie often just stuffs the pack and gear boxes in no particular order and, unless they are lucky, has to go through …
Welcome to the outhouse
I’m not saying my daughter Emily is soft when it comes to roughing it. She just happened to have spent her first three and a half years living in the total comfort of a warm bed, running water, and the ability to flush her business down a toilet anytime she wants. That all changed last …
Chainsaw-chip Fire Starter
We get pretty good at fire-starting if we light enough fires, but there are some ways to make it even easier. Solid-fuel fire-starters work well but kerosene-dampened chainsaw chips are always successful at minimal cost. If you cut your own firewood, you can gather the chips around your saw-buck. If that isn’t possible, everyone has …
Water under Moss
My favourite childhood memories are when Mom would take us to Fish Lake, just a few miles out of Whitehorse. We spent our summers there along with several other families during the 1950s. Though the summers at Fish Lake were my favourite times, there were always chores to do before playtime. Our mother, Carrie, was …
A Northern Diary
About 11:00 p.m. I finally got a glimpse of McClure when our trail passed near the deep ravine the river made. I had been vainly looking for it for the last few hours, but it was hidden in the canyon. The lake is about three miles long and is a skinny one. It’s sort of …
Biking Whitehorse to Haines Junction
Welcome to the first of four articles on beginner bike touring around the Yukon. I’ll share a rundown of trips and some tips, as well as the official judgment from my quads, on which hills are the absolute worst. I’m a musician, not an athlete. “Built for pleasure, not speed,” I like to say. I …
Camp Tips and Ideas
Meat care: • Pre-cut ropes for hanging quarters. Make them six to seven feet long with a tied loop on one end to fasten to the meat. Leave them attached to lift meat up into a plane or a high truck bed. • Use a child’s crazy-carpet snow toy, or a quadruple folded tarp, to …
Sleeping bag selection
Sleeping bags are available from $25 to $2500, depending on your needs and budget. They will all be satisfactory if used as intended, but none will work very well if used other than what they were made for. Sleeping bags come in a couple of different shapes, a multitude of materials, and a variety of …
How About a Winter Road Trip?
Winterize the camper, stash the emergency parkas and boots, pack all the necessary clothing for three seasons (fall, winter, and spring), get coffee to go, and we are off. When you work in the construction industry as my guy does, you don’t always get to pick your vacation season. Unfortunately, slow times are rare when …
2014: Atlin Arts and Music Festival
Atlin Arts and Music Festival is an institution. Now in its 11th year, the event draws visitors and performers from across Canada and beyond.
Beginner’s Luck
We pulled into Frenchman Lake campground late at night to find it full. The day was like every other Friday, too busy to take care of camping preparations. We decided to move on to Nanatuk and luckily found the last spot on the water still open. I was behind the rest of the camping pack …
Mayo Campground Has the One Thing Kids Look For
MAYO 5 Mile Lake in Mayo doesn’t have a campground playground. Not right in the campground, mind you, but there is one down the short lake at the day use area. Playgrounds at the campsite have become much more important in this third evolution of camping. What the 5 Mile Lake campground does have is …
Tatchun Lake is for Us Paddlers
Tatchun Lake Campground has 20 campsites and none of them are a pull through site; there is a boat launch and a cook shelter. That’s what you’ll find in the campsite guides. But how much does that really tell you? I can tell you that those campsites are some of the most untouched campsites I’ve …
Federal Campground is Nice, Too
HAINES JUNCTION There are numerous campgrounds in and around Haines Junction. Your YTG Campground permit will let you camp at most of them … but the Kathleen Lake Campground is not one of them. The Kathleen Lake Campground is a federal campground that lies just inside the borders of the Kluane National Park: a “World …
A Cure for Those Camping Time Blues
Whether it’s the weather or the yard work, some commitment on the weekend or the fact that you have family coming to visit in a week and you have to finish the trim in the spare room, some weekends you just can’t get out camping. That’s not something we can accept easily, the symptoms of …
One Thing We All Agree On …
Heading into summer = a wonderful time. And no matter how much extraneous snow may continue to fall, nothing can dampen the spirit of the truly gung-ho. This is the time when calendars come out, the grand trips are planned and all the winter’s empties head to the recycling depot for a sweet boost of …
Can, Is Where Your Heart Is
The camping season here in the Yukon is well underway and, so far, under lots of warm weather and blue sky. When we head out to the campgrounds, one of our favourite activities is to check out the various ways people choose to crash for the night. You can find your pop tents that look …
Mirage
Sometimes, when you need a refuge, a magical place appears. It was late at night and I was driving to the Tombstone Mountains for the first time. Already on the road for hours, I needed to find a campsite, fast. I had passed on Pelly Crossing, where one lonely tent perched by the river and …
Understanding the value of a road
How many memories are created by a simple family vacation … Depending on how you look in the rear-view mirror, the road behind can seem rocky – one of bad luck and poor decisions – or like a yellow-brick road of which each stone is a shared experience in both its problems and its joys. …
Camping in April is Possible
”The bears aren’t out yet,” stated Louise in a confident tone of voice in response to a concern expressed about spring camping. “It’s too early.” In view of the fact that we were outside, seated around a cozy campfire located not far from our tent, this was reassuring information to hear, so we accepted it …
Out and Away: The Camping is the Food!
No recipes here. Too little space, too many ideas and I don’t think I have ever cooked the same thing twice
Lightweight Foods to Lighten The Load
Here are two lightweight and quick-to-prepare recipes sure to deliver loads of flavour and little weight while being carried in your pack, canoe or kayak. The taste of a meal increases dramatically when eaten in our fresh Yukon outdoors. Once you are at camp, it brightens everyone’s outlook when hearty foods are offered to weary, …
I Love the Smell of Camping in the Morning
The first camping trip of the year is unique in many ways. For one thing, there’s the anticipation of finding out which critical thing you forgot to put in the camp box (you know the one, it’s the one thing you promised yourself you wouldn’t forget to replace … like, one year, it was the …
The low of coming home
I don’t like to admit it, but I hate the feeling I get coming back home after a long motorcycle trip. There is so much stuff everywhere, routines become bad things instead of good things, and all I can think of is setting in place plans to get away again. Stuff is probably the biggest …
Wine on the Go
Last week I was cornered by someone who asked what her options were for taking wine along on a paddling trip. For me, part of the experience of enjoying the outdoors is to end a day with friends by setting up camp with a great view, a good dinner and a glass or two of …
Honing Their Outdoor Skills
“You get to learn how to notice the plants around you, how to shoot a rifle, how not to ground your boat in the river, how to pack properly for a multi-day hike, and you get to have fun and relax while you’re doing it,” says Nansi Cunningham. Cunningham is speaking about the annual Yukon …
Pushing Their Limits
Fourteen lucky young Yukoners will get the opportunity to take part in an outdoor education camp this July for free. The Yukon Fish and Game Association’s 25th annual Outdoor Education Camp takes place July 2-9 and it should provide an amazing experience for the group of youth between 13 and 16 years old who get …
Looking off the beaten path
Searching for wines is a little bit like a scavenger hunt at times, and sometimes it calls for looking at the outliers of the wine world for new and exciting finds. Here in the Yukon, we’re well familiar with French, Italian, American and Australian wines. More recently Canadian, Argentinian and Chilean wines have become more …
Winter Camping and Skiing? Get Out and Get the Sun!
Winter weather … cold, crisp and clear. When the sun shines, get outside. Ski, snowshoe, sled or run your dog to get that sun full on your face. The sun can help immensely in lifting your spirits as well as getting much-needed Vitamin D. When travelling in cold temperatures, make sure you pack lots of …
Winter Camping and Skiing? Get Out and Get the Sun! Read More »
