Solo Travel
Most of the travelling I’ve done in my life has been solo. Sometimes it’s been out of necessity—but most of the time, out of preference.
Outside
Yukonners love travelling outside, and sharing their stories. And by outside, we mean anywhere that isn’t in the Yukon. Find out what your adventurous neighbours have been up to while they are away.
International Travel in Covid Times
My husband Ryan and I continue our adventures travelling internationally, for the first time in two years, with flight delays…
Christmas and Potato Salad
Having spent Christmas in three countries, there is one thing which will never change for me: eating potato salad and sausages on Christmas.
Travel in Covid Times: Part 2
My husband Ryan and I continue our adventures travelling internationally for the first time in two years…
Be A Conscious Traveller This Winter
The COVID-19 pandemic stopped travel, from one day to the next, in a way that was impossible to imagine before.
International Travel in Covid Times
Over two years ago, everyone’s lives changed with Covid. Vacations and trips were cancelled; even just meeting was impossible.
A Dispatch From Namibia Part 2
Once is the name of my taxi driver in Namibia (like once in a lifetime). People have strange names here: Darling, Given, Gift, or Mistake.
A Hunter’s First Ram
For many hunters that live outside of the Yukon, having the opportunity to hunt and harvest a mature Dall sheep is merely a pipe dream.
The Phoenix Burns Brightly In Fort Nelson
John Roper, general manager of the Phoenix Theatre Management Society, greets me with friendly enthusiasm. His love for the theatre and his love for his audience shine warmly in all of his stories.
A Long-Awaited Return To Namibia, Part 1
How to prepare for my trip to Namibia?, I am asking myself a few days before boarding the plane to Africa.
Old Quebec City Is A Magical Place
When celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain travelled to Québec City, in 2013, he said he felt Iike he was in an entirely different country.
Pan-fried Fish on the West Coast Trail
West Coast Trail inspired Pan Fried Salmon & Baked Potatoe. Great recipes from Miche Genest, with an accompanying trail tail.
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.
Dining In The Dark
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to eat … without being able to see? Well, you can experience eating at a restaurant without being able to see! Yes, that’s right, your only senses would be touch, smell, taste and hearing.
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.
Try to escape (if you can)
Skagway plays host to a unique venue for their first-ever escape room. At 777 Alaska Street, you will spot an old White Pass train car that hosts the challenging puzzle.
The Gifts of Haida Gwaii
Some places, like some people, are incredibly special but also a little bit elusive. They may not make things easy; they can be difficult to reach and they don’t open themselves up to just anyone.
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.
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.
Pause and Give Thanks to Those Wonderful Summer Pollinators
Pollination is part of life on Earth, enabling plants to turn flowers into fruit. There is no more-famous pollinator than the honeybee.
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.
Let’s Build A Better Future For Waterfowl
Wetlands are vital for waterfowl reproduction. Unfortunately, encroachment by industry and humans is harmful.
Postcards: Yukon Microadventures
The summer days here in the Yukon are wonderfully long, and the midnight sun is perfect for going on adventures & microadventures.
A Convivial Conveyance
Flying to Toronto on Air North: relaxation. No change of airline, no transfer of luggage. I figured they were also going to feed me.
Welcome to Vaucluse and to Olive Oil, Wine and Sun-kissed Hills in the South of France
Mont Ventoux (literally Mount Windy). Not quite as impressive as the peaks of Kluane National Park and Reserve, at 1,909 m (6,263 ft), it is the highest mountain of the region. The “Giant of Provence” is also well-known to be the iconic climb during the cycling race, Tour de France.
Tuktoyaktuk part 2: The Arctic Ocean
Our journey continues to Tuktoyaktuk. Tips on things to see and do: Climb a Pingo, Arctic houses, Arctic Ocean, muktuk at Grandma’s kitchen
The road trip begins: Tuktoyaktuk on The Dempster Highway
When the Tuktoyaktuk (Tuk) highway officially opened Nov. 15, 2017, I wanted to drive it to the Arctic Ocean.
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.
Beverly Brazier turns to thoughts of fall
September is quite a month. There are poems about it. It’s a month that digs deep into the range of our emotions.
Yukon coyotes: The dos and don’ts
Coyotes are survivors and are very adaptable. Unlike other predators, they thrive living in our urban environment.
A bear spray refresher
They may still be good, but who wants to learn they don’t work while facing a bear? Each container has only eight seconds of spray.
Postcards from Peru – Cusco
Jessica loves being in the mountains, working with plants and exploring beyond her comfort zone. She divides time between Peru and the Yukon.
Moose Bush: The way-posts home
In the North, we measure distance by the amount of time it takes. A way-post is an item that marks your progress along a road or trail.
Birthday Pairings, Campground Treats
Jennifer’s (Free Pour Jenny) cocktail and an appetizer. The cocktail’s bright, sharp and tart. Something cheesy immediately suggested itself.
Bioblitz is back & going to Dawson City
bringing experts and aspiring citizen scientists to one location for a day of counting and identifying as many species as possible.
Pour one out during the pandemic
Almost a year into this pandemic, we’re all dreaming about travelling again. Last summer, during the B.C. bubble, my wife and I took a road trip to explore Okanagan vineyards.
Isla de Taquile
With a population of roughly 2,000 people, Taquile is one of several islands in the Peruvian part of Lake Titicaca.
Western New Mexico
From Mogollon Cliff Dwellers to Geronimo and Billy the Kid to this author, we have all made our mark on western New Mexico. Well, maybe I haven’t made a mark on western New Mexico. But western New Mexico has certainly left its mark on me.
Tall tales and fish cakes
People who live and work on the water are good at tall tales. Fisher people don’t just tell whoppers about the whopper that got away, they tell ghost stories, stories with an element of magic, stories that strike a chill into the heart. The movie Jaws is one such tall tale. For me the two …
Lessons in gratitude from my life in the Andes
there are certain days of the year that are designated to remind us more strongly of where we should direct our gratitude, but what really makes a difference in our lives are the small acts of reverence. Here in Peru, for example, it’s quite common to share a bit of whatever you’re drinking.
Postcards from Peru: Cusco
The last several months have taken their toll on Peru. Experience another part of the world while you stay safe in your own communities.
Japan must-sees
If you ever have the opportunity to get to Japan, I strongly encourage you to take it. It’s safe, easy to navigate and the accommodations were all so nice it has effectively ruined me for backpacking other countries.
Japan in a nutshell
I had high hopes for Japan and my expectations were still blown out of the water. I don’t think I could be more in support of absolutely everyone making time to go explore this very special place.
Small world, eh?
It’s a small world, at least along one of its dimensions – the line between Canada and Spain. There I was in Spain a few months ago walking the Camino de Santiago, a 1200 year old pilgrimage route, and already I’d met an orthodontist from Ottawa and two retirees from Saskatoon who knew friends of mine.
The unknown life of a butterfly
Like most, I used to just take the butterfly for granted. Like most, I never gave it a thought other than that it was nice to see one. I lived in the more northern-central part of Ontario. There were loads of flowers, a nice garden and the ditches along the rural road had lots of …
Running on a postcard
After scraping to survive the half marathon on Skiathos and then eating and drinking my way through Greece, I approached the Oct. 5 run on Santorini with some hesitation.
That’s not a trail, that’s a goat path
I was certain of my ability to casually run and enjoy the 21-kilometre Skiathos Trail Race, taking photos and enjoying the morning. Reality, however, can be a jarring experience…
Discover the Okanagan
Part 3 of 3 – West Kelowna and Kelowna Breathtaking views, delicious food and delectable wines. The Okanagan is the top wine destination in the world, according to Huffington Post and I had to go find out how true it is. Day one and two where a blur of delectable foods, stunning views and copious amounts …
Discover the Okanagan
Breathtaking views, delicious food and delectable wines. The Okanagan is the top wine destination in the world, according to Huffington Post and I had to go find out how true it is. Day one incorporated incredible views, delicious food and possibly too much wine in Naramata Bench, so the following day, we (Ryan and I) decided …
Discover the Okanagan
Part 1 of 3 Breathtaking views, delicious food and delectable wines. The Okanagan is the top wine destination in the world, according to the Huffington Post, and I had to find out if they were right. My boyfriend Ryan and I took a long weekend to fly down with Air North to Kelowna, where we …
A tasting tour of Portugal
I’m not a real connoisseur of fine dining, but I do enjoy trying out new tastes and exploring local foods, especially when I’m travelling. Portugal provided lots of opportunity for that when my friend and I went there in late March and early April. I had heard about the Ribiera Market in Lisbon and we …
Edmonton Eskimo fan-atic
My dad became a season ticket holder for the Edmonton Eskimos (EE) in 1959. I cannot say when he first became a loyal Eskimos fan, but I can tell you that the association of my father with the EE was indelibly imprinted upon the hearts of all those who attended his memorial service in 1981. …
Spread the word: free peanuts on Park Street
They say the fastest land mammal of all is the cheetah, capable of running as fast as 120 km/h without breaking a sweat. But “they” are wrong. “They” have obviously never applied a stopwatch to a squirrel the moment it is released from a live capture trap. As a gardener and freshly minted rodent hunter …
When in Faro… Portugal
Here are some of my tips on travel to Portugal as a curious 70-year-old with a “willing to try it at least once” philosophy. This is based on two weeks travelling by train with another 69-year-old woman in late March and April. We landed in Lisbon, headed south to Faro (yes, there is a Faro …
So long, smug Victoria. Welcome to Canada
The allure of even a well-crafted, lightweight shovel begins to pale after days upon numberless days of snow upon snow upon snow. There is wisdom in the old saw that everybody likes to complain about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. I have no quarrel with that assertion, and harbour no ill will …
One woman’s tale travelling solo in Iran
In 2016 I was living in the Republic of Georgia and travelled to the Islamic Republic of Iran for two months solo. Where and why you may ask? Two years prior I was travelling through Eastern Europe, and while in Ukraine, I met travellers heading to Iran. My ears perked up and I thought to …
Endings and beginnings
It was the end of my first camino, the ancient pilgrimage route across Spain, and I never wanted to put those dang boots on again.
The last great road race
The 50th running of the Alcan 200 International Snow Machine Road Rally takes place on the third weekend in January, attracting snow-machine enthusiasts from Alaska, the Yukon and northern B.C.
Surviving (and thriving) in the great outdoors
You are also cold and you need to find a way to make a fire and warm up. If you have followed the motto of the Boy Scouts, “Be Prepared,” then survival is on your side.
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 wish I knew myself, with any sort of confidence. Was it the resentment of failure? Was it the undeterrable enthusiasm we had for this climb? Was it because of a …
Jade — Green, tough, and valuable
On July 8, 1992, the Whitehorse Star reported a find near Frances Lake of what was stated to be a world-record-sized piece of jade at 577 tonnes. It was speculated to be worth $5.8 billion. There is no consensus on what is the largest piece of jade ever found. To start, there are two different …
Saskatchewan in October
Once upon a time, “back in the days” (last year, in October) when the Greyhound bus still existed, a garter snake slithered out of the way, a pronghorn bounced over a fence, and I happened to step into cactus. This is the beginning of a most auspicious tale … In the days of the Greyhound, …
Bear Mountain: A loving tribute to a living nightmare – Part 2
Things started off great when we immediately got off trail (we wouldn’t know this till days later). We attempted to follow some GPS tracks I plucked from the internet. This involved scaling a wet, lushly vegetated and slippery mountainside. This became increasingly tiresome and ludicrous, with steep precipice falls a constant reminder of our mortality. …
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Ross River coal: Transforming plants to carbon
The widespread use of coal was one of the major factors in fueling the Industrial Revolution of the late 1700s and early 1800s. In recent decades, however, coal has received a bad reputation as a major source of acid rain and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Then there has always been the proverbial threat of …
Bear Mountain – A loving tribute to a living nightmare
In the late summer of 2016, my friend Dan and I attempted to climb Bear Mountain, a 2,400-metre tall peak situated in the North Cascades National Park, just south of British Columbia. The north buttress of this mountain offers 670 metres of superb alpine granite. Tucked away in northern Washington, the base of the climb …
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Take a walk in Kluane
Fall is upon us. When I leave the house in the mornings now, the sun has yet to awaken. It feels too early in the season to see my breath, but here we are. Winter whispering at us does come with some pretty wicked benefits, though: the air is crisp, giving us unreal clarity; the …
Walk, hike, stroll …
Walk … “You weren’t in any hurry to walk,” my mother said as she showed me a photo of myself at 15 months, happily sitting on a blanket in the yard. But after a late start, there was no stopping me. I walked to school almost every day of my long student career, walked to …
South to Alberta (a.k.a. Sid’s trip down memory lane)
Fun fact: Elvis Presley drove a 1958 red MGA, just like this one, in Blue Hawaii.
The White River Ash, the mega eruption next door – Part 4
Past volcanic eruptions in Alaska have resulted in massive displacement of peoples and widespread environmental damage in the Yukon.
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.
South to Alberta – Part I
Exploration, adventure and community are among the most important aspects of living in the North. For many Yukoners, it was the “want” to explore a fantasized part of the world and to seek adventure in discovering Canada’s North, but it was the sense of community that made people want to stay.
Ten days in Germany
Sherri Green won our 2018 Condor competition with her ‘pretzel itinerary’ If I were to go to Germany, where would I go? There are so many possibilities. I usually have trouble deciding what to order off of a restaurant menu! I asked some friends and they helped me narrow down the possibilities. Their suggestion? Tour …
Cuba Impressions
Passion – that’s the word that comes to mind when I reflect on my recent Cuban holiday in January. The passion of our tour guides throughout our travels. Their devotion to sharing their love of Cuba and how Cubans are working to build a more equitable country.
Black forest cake in Namibia
In Swakopmund, Germany and Namibia come together like the Namib Desert and the ocean just outside the town. If you didn’t know that this is an African country, you would think that it’s a town somewhere in Germany.
Bridging the Divide
Author Kate Harris shucked her space dreams and, with her friend, Mel Yule, picked up the courage to embark on a different trip: to cycle the Silk Road from end to end.
This is the way…
March is the perfect time of year to plan ahead for a “camino.” April and May in Spain offer green fields flecked with red poppies, storks nesting in bell towers, cuckoos calling in the woods and grape flowers smelling sweet on the vines. Camino means “way” or “road” in Spanish. The Camino de Santiago, or …
Knowing the beaver
Evolution is an amazing thing and for the beaver, it has taken millions of years. Once almost 8 feet long some thousans of years ago, now the beaver, even though it continues to grow all its life, it will be lucky if it reaches four feet in length and hardly more than 65 pounds. If …
The Power of ‘the camino’
It’s a walk, it’s a pilgrimage. It’s called “the camino” and it has the power to make people feel called to do it, the power to make people talk about it, the power to draw people back to do it again.
There and back
The Nā Pali Coast’s Kalalau Trail is a stunning 18-kilometre there-and-back hike on the north coast of Kauai, Hawaii. Often topping Greatest-Hikes-in-the-World lists, along with Most-Dangerous-Hikes-in-the-World, it promises a rugged trek along incredibly steep rain-forest mountain-sides, long side trails to massive waterfalls, deep blue water and crashing waves, and an opportunity to sleep on a …
Go Where The Road Takes You
Many of us daydream about packing everything into a van and hitting the road at one time or another. For one Yukoner, 25-year-old Ben Barrett-Forrest, this is a dream come true, and it’s happening at this very moment. I caught up with Ben on the tail end of a brief Canadian detour, on his way from …
Colours of Autumn
Fall is the favourite season of many Yukoners. Avid photographer and outdoors person Jozien Keijzer provided this gallery of early-autumn scenes captured in various locations west of Whitehorse. “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun…” -John Keats: To Autumn
The Last, Loveliest Smile
I never took much notice of something as simple as the seasons until moving North. Pre-Yukon, I was rather unmoved by the monotonous blend of greens extending from the mossy forest floor to the heights of the coniferous giants on Vancouver Island. And as much as I love the “wet-coast”, seasons seem to meld into …
Trinidad’s Carnival: Experience of a Lifetime!
Carnival is a massive street party that falls the week before Ash Wednesday, which is in late February/early March, and is observed annually in many countries around the world. It is celebrated with especially great vigor in Trinidad and Tobago. It’s basically a culturally-rich party parade, filled with beautifully diverse people in elaborate costumes dancing …
Glück Auf! A Mini-Mining Tour of Germany
I’m not a miner, but on a recent visit to Germany my friends took me on impromptu mining tours of their regions. First Clemens and I drove 100 kilometres west of Leipzig to Wangen and the Arc of Nebra (Arche Nebra) museum, where the Himmelsscheibe (Star Chart) of Nebra was discovered in 1999. Dating back …
Vimy Ridge to Tuk
The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a great victory for Canada, To our knowledge, Herbert Lawless was the only known Yukoner to fall in this battle.
From the East to the Beautiful South
Keen on history? The Castle Wartburg in Wittenberg in Eastern Germany offers an opportunity to learn about the 500th Anniversary of Martin Luther’s Reformation. The castle is the place where Luther translated the bible and lived with his family. The castle’s origins date back to 1067. The castle is hosting an exhibition until November called …
Experiencing Theatre in Namibia
It’s 15 minutes before our performance starts and one of my actors has a meltdown. “No, I am not gonna play,” he says avoiding eye contact. Philo is 12 years old and usually confident. I would never have expected that from him. It’s Valentine’s Day and we rehearsed for our little performance the whole week. …
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 …
Erik Nielsen Gets a Long Overdue Facelift
Manlig says he’s excited about the project and looks forward to seeing it through to completion. He’s worked on similar projects before and brings a wealth of experience and a dynamic skillset to the table. The space on the main floor has been reduced slightly for the time being and there are a few construction …
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 …
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Yukon Pilgrims Gather
Whitehorse resident Dianne Homan knows people make the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage for many reasons. So on March 15, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., she and the Yukon chapter of the Company of Canadian Pilgrims are hosting an informal presentation about “the Camino experience” at Hidden Valley School. Located in western Europe, the Camino …
Experiencing creative writing in Namibia
I am sitting in the Lemon Tree Restaurant in Windhoek, Namibia, waiting for my fellow writers to show up. It is raining, and everybody is happy about that. We write in 10 minute sections to a prompt and then we share what we have written. We only give positive feedback to encourage each other; this …
Home for a Yukon Spell
When my parents drove the Canadian Shield to Whitehorse 34 years ago in a rusted, steel blue Pontiac, they were unaware of the lifelong curse they were casting upon me. No, my parents are not wiccan worshippers, or practitioners of the Craft, just a couple of Ontario born kids who had a dream of carving …
Like the Beauty of the Yukon? You’ll Love Hiking Japan
He would leave home at 6:30 a.m. and return at 10 or 11 p.m. When Japan’s economy faltered, he wanted a change. He came to Canada, trained as a mountain guide, and moved to the Yukon to set up its Yamnuska branch in 2007. Today, he still works in an office, marketing and organizing. “But …
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Unexpected Awesomeness
After 15 countries, 34 cities and 99 days backpacking through Europe I can honestly say that it was not the big name cities that ended up being our favourites. It turned out to be the smaller cities and towns that we had never heard of. These were the gems that other travellers recommended – or …
No Farmer Left Behind (Iceland Age part 2)
A square, two-storey guest house with bare, small rooms and a simple kitchen is snugged in between the trailer-cum-farmhouse and the sheep barn. The collection of buildings looks tiny against a sweeping backdrop: a deep valley that winds away from the mouth of the fjord, hemmed in by high cliffs. A woman perhaps in her …
Plant-Based Contemplations
If you think Mexican food, you might think meat. Sure, Mayan cuisine includes an exotic array of spices, herbs and plant-based delicacies- elote (corn on the cob often served with crema, chili powder, lime or cheese), tamales (pockets of corn wrapped in banana leaves and steamed), sopes (fried masa dough with beans and other toppings), …
(Hot) Water Water Everywhere (Iceland Age part 1)
Although Iceland has been getting a lot of press lately as a hot – metaphorically and geologically speaking – tourist destination, it hardly seems a likely go-to spot for an agricultural experience. That however is exactly what landed me in the middle of the blustery North Atlantic in October along with seven other Yukoners. We …
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Get Used to More Glowing, Dancing Skies
The visible green line of the aurora is about 100 to 120 kilometres above Earth, Hampton says. The rockets will soar well beyond that — up to 300 to 400 kilometres or more, as high as the International Space Station. They will take photos and measure particle and electrical fields, among many other things. Hampton …
The Lure of the Aurora Borealis
Tourists visit the Yukon to see the aurora; it’s the heart of the winter tourism industry. Visitors who have done their research will also have other activities in mind. People arrive from around the world – including Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Korea, and of course the United States and other parts of …
Learning About Ubuntu in Namibia
My African friends think that Yukoners are cannibals. When I told them the story about the Sourtoe Cocktail I expected the usual reaction: laughter and amusement. But instead I got wide-open eyes and mouths asking me: “You did this?” they asked me. “You drank this human-cocktail?” I did my best to explain the history behind …
Loco for Mangoes
Perhaps my Yukon upbringing prevented me from eating mangoes during my formative years. Especially in the grateful, sticky chin kind of way that I eat mangoes now. It’s a graceful gorging of sorts. There could not be enough of the sweet stone fruit trucked North to satisfy my Mexican mango addiction. I’ve got it bad. It’s been …
Haiti after Hurricane Matthew
The eye of Hurricane Matthew hit the Tiburon Peninsula, the southwest tip of Haiti, on October 4th. With winds that blew 230 kilometres an hour and up to 500 millimetres of rain in two days, it was the strongest storm to hit the country in 50 years, according to the NASA website. The storm stripped …
Family Vacation
As children are once again back in school — practicing their writing skills by reporting on the topic “What I did last summer,” — it is a good time to reflect on how effective the opportunities for family-related memory-making were over the past couple of months. This is also a good time to think about …
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 …
Final Days and Thoughts
The final week of Icelandic adventuring saw us completing the Ring Road, which encircles the whole country and has tourist spots dotted along the way. We followed it east and gradually north through glacier-domed mountains, bucolic sheep folds, thundering waterfalls and glistening black alluvial beaches that stretched along the coastline for miles at a time. …
Eastward Ho, at Last
They’re on the road again. Bruce Barrett and Judy Forrest, the Whitehorse couple whose van was torched by an arsonist in British Columbia last month, are rebounding from the major setback in their retirement travel plan. Barrett retired last December after 30 years as a heritage sites project officer with Tourism Yukon. Forrest’s last day …
Petting Cheetahs in Namibia
The cheetah appeared suddently, and instantly I was overcome with fear. I saw it walking slowly on the porch of the farm house. I froze and my heart was racing. “It must have come in from the wild,” I thought, “and now it will eat us.” There were three of us looking at the cheetah: …
Vestmannaeyjar Voyage
The road that encircles Iceland, called Highway 1 or the Ring Road, offers access to many of the sights on the tourist track, called the Golden Circle. We explored the usual postcard sights; geysers, rift valleys, craggy ocean shores, and flat, glacier-formed black alluvial plains. However, there is one place in particular, our first overnight …
On The Benefits of Hot Pools, Mostly
Spring in Iceland is a mostly cold, grey affair, strikingly suited to the harsh, rugged landscape. The road into the capital city, Reykjavik, from the airport in Keflavik, cuts through rocky, volcanic terrain, reminiscent of Martian landscape in its arid, reddish desolation. Tall, snowy mountains rise behind the city, which itself is an organic sprawl, emanating …
How To Do Your Part to Reduce the Risk
On July 2, 1998, as Canada Day weekend celebrations carried out across the Yukon, a wildfire ignited. It was one of the largest and most expensive wildfires in the history of the territory. It was preventable and began after a campfire was not properly put out. It started at the north end of Fox Lake, …
Not Precisely Iceland, More Like Montreal
I would like to revoke the claim I made in my introduction about being a seasoned traveller, because I have made an embarrassingly rookie mistake. Today I write you from a vibrant cultural hotbed, as per the plan. Unfortunately, it is not Reykjavik – my expired passport has necessitated that my three-day layover in Montreal …
Managing Yukon Wildfire: How, When and Why
Wildfire is as common in the Yukon as camping and bear sightings. There are roughly 150 wildfires in the territory every fire season.
Three Weeks in Iceland
Hvernig segir maður, “I’m completely lost” á íslensku? What’s that, you say? Icelandic is one of the most difficult languages to learn? On second thought, perhaps I’ll just fall back on the old standard; hand gestures and a confused, perpetually apologetic expression. Hi, I’m Willow, a fairly well-travelled Yukoner who will be guest-writing this column …
On the Hot Seat
Traveling always gives me a new perspective on commonplace things. Daily activities become challenges as I figure out the basics of food and shelter all over again, not to mention which tap controls the water out of which spout in the shower. Sooner or later, nature calls. While my Japanese language lessons often begin with …
The Dawn of Spring
Spring is more than sales on winter gear en route to the clearance bin or the emergence of chocolate eggs and Easter bunnies in store windows. It’s the sunset of winter, the dawn of warmth and a period of transition. Just like a child playing hide-and-go-seek, the transition from winter to spring happens if you …
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 …
Fish
It will not surprise many that this little planet called Earth is covered by seventy percent water. What may surprise many is that the water on this planet holds close to an estimated 17,000 different species of fish. Fish have been found in waters in altitudes of 15,000 feet and in waters 35,000 feet in …
Newspaper-Making in Namibia
Murder, betrayal or New Year celebrations – these are the topics on the list. It is December 30 and we have to decide which story will be on the cover of tomorrow’s newspaper. Unfortunately, there will be blood leaking from the newspaper on New Year’s Day. The murder of a German-Namibian farmer is breaking news. …
There Goes my Life
My hunting partner is the best. I know we’ll head out on more adventures, but it may be a while. Hayley is graduating & heading to law school.
States of Inebriation
We gratefully dropped our packs in the well-appointed bedroom of the houseboat. After one hour and five boats we had settled on the first we had been shown, and, not having found anyone with whom to share, were looking at two nights of what seemed like ridiculous indulgence: an entire houseboat complete with air-conditioned bedroom, …
Axes: Use and Abuse
Winter is the busiest and most abusive time of the year for axes. They get a solid workout in the fall when we split the majority of our firewood, but all winter long they are used for making kindling as well splitting the rest of the wood. For some reason we have gotten into the …
Hostel Hostility, Part 2
Before coming to Nicaragua’s beach mecca of San Juan del Sur, I had undergone a hostel scare in Granada – a polite-seeming colonial city with awe-inspiring architecture, nouveau cuisine and two sports bars. I had returned from dinner and was enjoying a rare private moment in my empty eight-person hostel room. Before long, an athletic …
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 …
Here I Am
I ran away from Toronto like a rabbit from a wolf. Moving to the country’s largest city from my smaller Ontario hometown had been like poking my head above ground and entering the wide and open field. It only took two years of exposure and uncertainty before I gathered my courage to bolt – across …
Hostel Hostility, Part 1
Early in my trip to Nicaragua last spring, I lost my bank card. I had a large sum of money in the bank, but no access. After frantic calls from a phone booth as claustrophobic as a confessional, I got through to the bank. As I waited anxiously UPS to deliver a new card, two …
Becoming A Role Model in India
One of the very first things that Yukoner Liam Campbell did when he arrived in India was land himself an invitation. “Within two hours of me landing in India, I was invited to a wedding,” he says. He very well couldn’t say no to an opportunity like that. How often do you get invited to …
Mindfulness is a Traveler’s Best Friend
We go traveling so we can have new experiences. So we can see new places, experience new tastes and be exposed to new smells and sights. The greatness of traveling lies in the fact that it can stretch our concept of what is normal and regular and bring us the opportunity to be immersed in …
Laughter Is The Same In All Languages
Temperatures were in the mid-30s while we were in Munich. Many of the people spoke English, but many others did not. Neither Joanne nor I speak German. We did experience moments of frustration because of miscommunications, but some of that kind of thing was to be expected. In the late afternoons we would retreat to …
A Walk in the Park
Whenever I travel to cities I seek out green space for the familiarity of trees and the relative quiet. While Day 1 in Delhi was a lesson on how it’s true, everyone is trying to scam us, and the best artists make you feel like they’ve done you a favour, on Day 2 we gamely …
The Camp Knife
Too often, I have seen people wearing knives that are really too big to take on any task except chopping down trees. These are often visitors, but locals sometimes wield these big blades as well. If we had junglelike undergrowth, maybe these machete stand-ins would have a legitimate purpose. I’m guessing that folks who really …
Head in the Clouds
The motto on the Montana licence plate is Big Sky Country. I went to Montana before I knew the true meaning of ‘big sky’ — I was raised on the slope of a mountain in the narrow-valleyed interior of British Columbia. I had a déja vu-like inkling of the meaning, though. The Pacific Ocean gave …
On Backpacks
Since people come in different lengths, so do packs. Most quality packs have frame adjustments to lengthen and shorten the unit. Some have no adjustments, but that’s fine if it fits you at the length it is. Don’t buy it simply because the price is right.
The Mystery Man
As we age do we revert to the simpler pleasures of youth? Perhaps all the way to the diaper? The symmetry of the baseball diamond and the unique strategy of this game-of-inches have inspired poets and hooligans alike. As middle age moves on, I find myself indulging more in the sport, recalling its obscure and …
Bonding in the Ballpark
This past summer I had the unique opportunity to meet former New York Times columnist Richard Kinzer in Leon, Nicaragua. During my time there I inhaled his account of the slings and arrows of the Sandinista revolution and made sure I was within handshaking distance when I attended one of his speaking events. Flanked by …
“Domingo! Domingo!” Baseball in Nicaragua
In his classic account of Sandinista era Nicaragua, Blood of Brothers, Richard Kinzer notes, “With the sole exception of Roman Catholicism, no institution is as deeply rooted in Nicaragua as baseball. More than simply a pastime, it has for generations been a way for Nicaraguans to define themselves and hold themselves together as a nation. …
Hiking the West Coast Trail
Gruelling. Gruelling is the word used to describe the West Coast Trail in the official online guidebook. The trail is a 75-kilometre backpacking trek, situated on the southwestern edge of Vancouver Island. It boasts equal parts beautiful, dense green rainforest sections, ocean cliffside views, mud bogs, old growth trees, waterfalls, and scenic ocean beach sections. …
The Encounter
The following story was my submission for the 1994 Yukon Young Authors’ Conference. There, I got to work with acclaimed Canadian playwright Guillermo Verdeccia, who first sparked my interest in dramatic writing. Happily, 21 years later, this important conference is still going strong. The 35th annual version is being held from April 23-24 at F.H. …
The Aishihik Rock Slide
For three consecutive Sundays, my husband and I have been going to a place we both fell in love with. He found it when hunting for bison, and I knew the spot from hiking up to the tors along the Aishihik Road. We discovered the rockslide while being there. Initially we liked the spot because …
Adventures in Tombstone Territorial Park
Tombstone Territorial Park, and the highway that leads to it, evoke the images of the Yukon we love so much: vivid colours, vast, open land, and jagged-steep beautiful mountains. As such, pictures of the park regularly adorn Yukon calendars and postcards. Naturally, I felt a strong pull to this place when I moved to the …
The Call of Fastnacht
I am not a homesick person, but I can hear the Black Forest calling me home during Fastnacht, which means carnival. For many people in southern Germany, Fastnacht is a far more important holiday then Christmas. Families gather and celebrate ancient traditions. It is the best time to travel to the Black Forest and to …
SOS
My phone rang at 2:27 pm. Janessa was on the other end: “What’s going on dad?” “What are you talking about?” I said. It turns out the technology I use to reassure my family that I am okay works very well to inform them when I am not. As it should. She told me that …
How Does Your Burl Grow?
Deep in the woods, mysterious trees grow. They have a deformity that makes them more valuable. No, the dark arts are not at work, but rather the magic of Mother Nature, and the growth of burls, roundish outgrowths in trees. Most burls are found in hardwood. Once the burl is split, unique artistry stretches from …
Street Level Cuisine in the City that Never Sleeps
When I arrived in New York City on December 19 and found my room in the apartment I was subletting, I dropped my bags and investigated the habitat. I had been warned about the kitchen from the girl I was renting the room from (who is also named Kitchen), and sure enough there was a …
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Thoughts and feelings of a young woman hitchhiking 10,000 km across Canada and the USA
I have been called many things. Crazy. Stupid. Brave. Adventurous. Trusting. But I‘d just like to be called human. Every human is special, and among us are some I’d consider curious. For example, the ones who don’t turn down the volume, but scream at me. Or even better, the ones who ask if I like …
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The Social Traveller
Want to be a part of a reality show that you can influence? Just hop onto Bjorn Troch’s website, The Social Traveler, and you can have a say in what he does while he travels the world. Troch, a communications major originally from Belgium, first had the idea to become a social traveler while he …
Knives For the Hunt
Generally speaking, a hunter should have two knives — one for camp chores, such as cutting rope, whittling a wiener stick, or cutting up vegetables. The second knife is for use after the animal after it is down. The general-duty camp knife should be a very convenient multi-tool as made by Gerber, Leatherman, SOG, or …
Traveling with Janet
I pulled out the flat, round, ceramic piece, which looked like a patterned cookie, and held it in my hand. Under glorious sun, I surveyed the stony shoreline and calm waters of Stewart River. This spot, off the Klondike Highway and linked to the Yukon River, was the perfect confluence of history, adventure, and wilderness …
The Sopranos, the Camino de Santiago, and How the World Hangs Together
Last night I watched episode 1 of the Sopranos, the mafia-family television series that became hugely popular at the turn of the century . It was fun, funny, violent, and vulgar; and I liked it a lot. I haven’t watched The Sopranos before, but it’s often cited as instgating “the television revolution”, wherein television began …
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Firewood: Then and Now
Firewood was a least-loved childhood chore, everything to do with firewood, but especially the process of getting it from the forest into the woodshed. The weather was either too hot or dark and grey-snow-cold. Woodchips got everywhere — in eyes, hair, and under clothes. The first part of the day was spent under the constant …
Spellbound at Kelsall Lake, B.C.
It always seems that for other people things happen quite easily. They have an idea and voila — there it is. I don’t know; maybe it’s true for some, with some things. Anyway, it took me 20 years after I first dreamed about it, to finally float on Kelsall Lake, B.C. It was better than …
Beginner’s Mind
My lack of birding skills used to be a secret shame. When it did come out, it was with an embarrassed acknowledgment that despite a background in biology and an intense love of nature, I was at best a “crap birder”. That, however, was inaccurate. I was no kind of birder, for I had given …
Parking Lot Living
My first friend in Whitehorse is an older man I meet in the automotive section of Canadian Tire the day I arrive. He helps me with my engine and ends up giving me a tour of the city, introducing me to everything from the $1 showers at Robert Service Campground to the old tourism movie …
What’s in a Name?
In approximately 100,000 years since we began to speak, we’ve classified and described plants. Carl Linnaeus devised a system of naming using two Latin names for each plant — binomial nomenclature — which has endured as the scientific standard for all forms of life. In a time of unprecedented global travel and information sharing, binomial …
Can I Come Along Again?
Germany is green and clean — there’s not much garbage, and there are recycling bins everywhere. The people are friendly. Being on a train is fun and comfortable, and riding in a first class compartment is better than flying. We went to a Catholic all-boy school in Mainz for a day, which was different from …
Use and Care of Axes
On a recent visit to a friend’s place I noticed that his axe handle had a 10 to 15 centimetre warp, and the head was loose and rusty. I’ve never seen a warped handle, but all the problems were a result of lack of care. Swinging an axe with a loose head is very dangerous …
Parking Lot Cowboys: off the grid in Whitehorse
rri Johnny Paladin says, “Have you ever been to Montana? Why is the sky so big there?” He’s trying to explain the allure of the Yukon; he keeps interrupting himself to talk about the air and the grandeur of the sky. He compares it to Montana, and makes a circle with his thumb and pointer-finger …
One Autobahn, Many Stops
If you win the Take Me To Frankfurt contest, here are some suggestions for what you should do in Germany. Fly to Frankfurt and take the InterCity express-train (ICE) to Stuttgart. Stuttgart is famous for its car manufacturing industry, like Daimler and Porsche. Visit the Porsche Museum, the Mercedes Benz Museum and the Art Gallery …
Delicate, but Determined
How does a plant know when it’s time to break the surface, to move from its protected subterranean world and reach skyward? If it gets the timing wrong, it could freeze, or encounter snow too deep to break through. Timing is especially important for early risers like the prairie crocus, currently gracing the south-facing slopes …
What’s Up With Nature Around Whitehorse
As a new season approaches, have you ever asked yourself, “I wonder what’s up with the natural world, at this moment, where I live?” My name is Roy Jantzen and I am a professor of natural history, environmental interpretation, and stewardship. I live in Riverdale and find eternal excitement in the changes I witness each …
The Beauty of Decay
I live along the Alaska Highway and when I step out of my house I am in the wilderness. Though I normally live in the wilderness, I can always find a little wilderness wherever I go. When I lived in The Hague, the North Sea and it’s beaches and dunes were within biking distance. In …
Bison Hunt: intro of the herd 1/5
1998 was the first bison hunting season. They did nothing to avoid hunters. Later they became wary so hunting them became more challenging.
Nothing But Nostalgia
I lived in the beautiful mountainous Kingdom of Swaziland from 1987 to 2002 and have returned six times since — the need to “come home” has been, and still is, strong. I arrived in Swaziland on November 12 with excitement and anticipation to see family, old friends, and all the children Canadians sponsor through the …
Las Vegas, Here We Come
Runners are fascinating. Non-runners question their sanity for participating in a seemingly monotonous, exhausting sport, but talk to a runner and their passion comes through immediately. It’s inspiring. Lara-Rae Grant and Adrienne Marsh are anything but monotonous. They have been training since July for their first marathon, the 42 km Rock n’ Roll Marathon held …
Mystery Solved
Last year, on a hike up Vanier Mountain nearby Kusawa Lake, my friend spotted a black and white mountain across the lake. The north side of the pyramid-shaped mountain was black and the south side white. It was mysterious to me. How could one side be black, and one side be white? I dug a …
Hidden Treasure in a Plastic Container: Geochaching in the Yukon, and around the world
“Okay, it should be near… here… six metres… four metres…” Shane Griffiths says, reading from a display on his iPhone. What we’re looking for, I’m not sure — just that someone has hidden a container somewhere behind Yukon College. Something meant to be found. “Ah, here,” says Griffiths, turning over a log and finding a …
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At Home, In a Pub, In Berlin
Neighbourhood pubs are a European invention. A place where neighbours meet, after work for a glass of suds, in the early evening for a game of cards or a round of darts, or after dinner for a night cap and exchange of opinions on the latest news (actually, opinions are always on the menu). Neighbourhood …
The Most Scrumptious Pastry on the Planet
Our love affair with the most scrumptious pastry on the planet began in an unlikely place – Old Crow. One dark night, during the tenth day of -40C, the most northerly community in the Yukon provided the impetus for this tantalizing discovery. My friend, this strange guy who doesn’t believe in seasons, was searching the …
Poland: More than just beautiful women.
My neck still hurts from visiting Poland, but it’s my stomach that really aches to go back… I visited Poland in 2011 to attend the World Gold Panning Championships with my brother. My expectations for this trip were that it would be like setting foot in communist Russia. I kept envisioning myself in scenes from …
Sleeping Babies
The babies sat in the driveway, tarped over, covered in snow half-melted in the April sun. I brushed them off, to let the sun begin to warm the silver shrouds, to soak some life back into the batteries. It’s my motorcycles that make me hate early spring days. The melting snow turns my dirt laneway …
Tudo Bem: It’s All Good
There is this Portuguese pastry I would kill or die for, whichever comes first: pastel de nata. The sound of it alone makes me want to catch a plane and leave for Portugal. Natas are small tarts of fluffy pastry filled with a soft-melting pudding made of eggs, sugar and cream, topped off with a …
Making an Interpretive Hike on Sima
The skiing at Mount Sima was fantastic on the last weekend it was open this winter, but besides the excellent snow conditions and weather, the energy was buzzing and the hill was incredibly well prepared. Mount Sima just has to remain operational all year round. Whatever happens to Mount Sima, the hiking trail will be …
Keeping it Simple on Long Trips
I think I have seven versions of “Motorcycle Trip Gear List” on my computer. Every time we go on a trip there are three more things I really should have left behind and one or two more I’ve forgotten or found a newly discovered need for. Seeing all the trailers going by on the Alaska …
Cardio à la ‘Just About Anything’
Cher Yukon, Comment ca va? In the world of the self-employed, contract artist, one learns how to say, “Yes, I can do that!” to just about anything. That’s how I got myself involved in a studio that does strip cabaret, pole dancing and private parties. “Whoa, Dale! What are you doing?” you are asking yourselves. …
Enjoying the Hyper-Local
The restaurant might have had a name; I certainly didn’t notice it as we were walking down an ancient cobblestone street in Piacenza, a small city south of Milan. All I remember is all of a sudden being pulled into a brightly-lit room filled with locals noisily enjoying supper. The tables were small, the walls …
Looking for Ludwig
In September 2008 I visited Scotland with Casey Lee McLaughlin. I was almost killed on the slopes of Ben Nevis and I nearly went to heaven in the Oban distillery, but before we made tracks for the highlands, we had a couple of days to kick around London. Sure, Trafalgar Square was neat and Buckingham …
Dispatch from Down Under
Dear Yukoners, Warm greetings from Adelaide, Australia! Bloody hot greetings more like it. Your very own Yukon Gold Comics (Jenny Hamilton, George Maratos, Stephen McGovern, and I) are going through a creative comedy makeover by shaking their pasty white skin cells and useless winter fat amongst tree-hugging koalas and randy kangarooters. Luckily the mad crowds …
Yukon Trail Building, Animal Tracking
All winter I worked on a trail going due south from the house. My initial goal was to reach a little hilltop in the middle of the Takhini Valley. First, I followed the firebreak to the highway, and some days that was as far as I went. If I saw fresh elk or deer tracks, …
Desperate Northern Riders
How far am I willing to go to ride? Pretty far, apparently. This past winter, my favourite riding buddy and I travelled by truck and ferry and truck again, over 7,000 kilometres there and back, to ride around 4,375 kilometres. We took longer travelling there and back than we spent touring on the bikes. Earlier …
The Yukon’s ‘Happy Ditches’
I am convinced that the Yukon has really happy ditches. I’ve always believed that places absorb the emotional energy of the human beings who have passed through. Like up on the ski hill, a few weekends ago, my smile appeared even as I drove into the parking lot. It just felt good. It’s also, I …
Sharing the Yukon With Seven Sled Dogs
BY CAROLIN FISCHER Being an exchange student in the Yukon is fantastic! When I arrived in August 2008, I had read lots about the Territory and its nature. Now I know that there is no book and no picture that can explain and show the beauty of this place on Earth. Since I was very …
The Other Two Wheels
You should always start planning the next adventure before the current one is complete. Even better, before the current one even gets started. I have quite eclectic interests. Some might say it is the result of a restless nature. Maybe it is just a short attention span. I consider it one of my best attributes. …
Hypothermia in Mexico
Picture desert backcountry … There are cacti and scrub brush and even a couple of cowboys herding reluctant stray cattle along a sandy road. Each time we stop to rest, or to try and get our directions at a fork in the road, it is so hot that our helmets and jackets come off to …
Guatemala’s greatest asset is its people
Guatemala has so many great elements to it, but the highlight of our trip (if you’ve read my other stories you may notice a common thread) was the people. Every country has exotic “ethnic” foods that are critical to a good vacation. There is always beautiful, unique scenery and “traditional” entertainment. But the make-or-break element …
Adventures on Mt. Kelvin
As I sit here looking out of my window at Mount Kelvin, a white peak above the treed hills, I dream of summer hikes past and future. A few years back on a summer day two friends and I went up Mount Kelvin. We started out following an existing trail along the grassy ridges, but …
The ‘Twisties’
Most of me loves the twisties. There is a small part of me that is disappointed with the fact that I don’t always do them justice. I get the feeling I am just going too slow. We are talking about curves, corners, bends … you know, “twisties”. Leaving Monterey, just south of San Francisco on …
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. …
You Say Goodbye, I say Hello
This Christmas I had the great fortune of visiting Guatemala. I really enjoyed answering the question, “Why did you decide to come to Guatemala?” which I was asked by locals more than I had expected. I always answered that Guatemala was the centre of the Mayan civilization and that I wanted to have front row …
Road Trip of Envy
It is really annoying being on a road trip, not on a motorcycle. I am on a multipurpose trip; however, none of those purposes are compatible with motorcycling … 2,500 kilometres and no motorcycle. I may sound like a whiner, but it’s a long, boring drive on four wheels and, given the fact that I …
Baja – the Road to Gonzaga
What happened to the road? It was the second challenge of our trip. The first was the sand of the central mountains. This second one had a reputation for destroying all but the most solid of vehicles, by rattling them to pieces. We had spent a couple of nights in our first Baja beach town. …
Cycle Oregon; A Cycling Tour for the Rest of Us
I like cycling. Each year when the Tour de France comes on television, I watch in awe and imagine what it would be like to be one of those elite riders, doing time trials and attacking hills day after day. This year, thanks to my good friend Rick, I found a cycling tour that, though …
Realization of a Dream
Over 30 years ago, in a moment of impulsive insanity, my partner and his best friend walked off into the Vizcaino Desert in Baja, California. For three days they walked without map or compass. They had only the water they could carry and two blankets, boiling in the sun during the day and freezing at …
Another Coldest Night Ever
Our plans had changed of necessity, dictated by the weather. The light rain was turning into a torrent. We stopped at a nondescript roadside café to warm up. We dismounted and with futile efficiency pulled some green plastic garbage bags over our now not-so-new leather seats and retreated into shelter. That’s really all it was; …
Belgian Street-Meat Heaven
Mitraillette: it’s the world’s most perfect food. Without a description of its component parts you may mistake this culinary art form for a simple hot-dog covered in French fries. Trust me when I say this is well beyond your common hot-dog doused in chips and ketchup. A mitraillette is started with a baguette. Nobody can …
Surviving the Culture Clash
Five months ago I left on an international exchange to Mozambique. Out of all the continents, Africa was the last one to strike off my checklist. I was the guy that felt like I had seen it all. Mr. Traveller: worldly, open-minded and easygoing. That was when I heard it: “Wake up call to Marc …
Pelican Alarm Clock
The daybreak cacophony of squawks and splashes sounded like it was inches away from our tent. We had just spent our first night on the beach in Playa El Burro, Bahia Conception on the Sea of Cortez, about two thirds down the eastern coast of the Baja Peninsula. It was the southern-most point of our …
Food = Culture?
If food defines a culture, I shudder to think about the people defined by Guerrero Negro’s demon street food from hell. We’d pulled into town late, just as it was getting dark. Having read in the Lonely Planet Guide to Baja California that the street food in Guerrero Negro was outstanding and inexpensive, we checked …
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
Alone on the Road
Neil Pert, in his book Ghost Rider, said that for “the ‘armchair traveller’, it’s only the vicarious, pristine experiences they want to share … not the unhygienic, exhausting reality … the solitary traveller is frequently invested by others with an aura of romance, myth and desire.” I read this in a $30 a night hotel …
Attack of the Gargantuan Tumbleweeds
It was a bit like being in a B movie. We were on our way north from Baja, California and had just broken free from our bypass of Los Angeles via the LA freeways. LA has serious freeways. In Mexico, Dainius and I had adopted the habit of him leading and me following. This was …
But Can We Get There from Here?
“Okay, sure. You’ll be flying into Fua’amotu International Airport.” “We’re actually interested in the direct flight from LA to Tonga.” “Yes, it only flies direct on Tuesdays. Otherwise you have to fly via Auckland.” “So the flight would be direct from LA to Tonga, correct?” “Yes, into Fua’amotu direct.” I was beginning to think I …
Revelation in Joshua Tree
Once I decided that not to ride was just plain wrong, I had to decide what kind of motorcycle to get. Not even knowing how to ride meant my criteria was practical rather than heart-driven. I wanted a deal, a second-hand bike that I wouldn’t cry over if it hit the dirt while I was …
How Do You Snorkel Backwards?
Neiafu, ‘Uta Vava’u, Kingdom of Tonga The first swimmer sprang from a standing position at the back of the boat into the warm, calm waters of the Pacific Ocean. His diving flippers smacked the surface, upsetting his balance. He teetered over, arms waving. Ker-SPLASH! “Sit down! Sit down!” our Tongan captain urged in a loud …
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 …
Yachties for a Day on the Ratbag
Neiafu, ‘Uta Vava’u, Kingdom of Tonga “Do pigs eat egg shells?” This was answered by a shake of the head. “No. They are too crunchy.” It was 7:30 in the morning. The kettle hadn’t even boiled yet. I stood, broken egg shell in hand, beside the bin labelled, “Place all food scraps here for pigs” …
Wandering in Mendenhall Meadows
The meadows lie like pearls on a string along the winding, muddy Mendenhall River. I live only three kilometres from the river as the crow flies. When there is no obvious road or trail to where I want to go, I will find one. Many years ago I created a small path for the first …
Intrepid Traveller: Janet Goes Walking – Part 2
This was it. After walking almost 800 kilometres in 31 days, I was about to arrive at what I thought would be my final destination: Santiago de Compostela. My excitement grew and my step quickened as I trekked with my two Camino friends Joanne and Moya through the outskirts of the city. After a good …
Intrepid Traveller: Janet Goes Walking – Part 1
It started with the Wife of Bath. I was about 17 years old when I first read Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. I felt a strong kinship with the Wife because of her fierce independence and the gap in her two front teeth (qualities that I share). I was drawn to the camaraderie that developed between her …
Along the Jo-Jo Lake Trail
The history of the Jo-Jo Lake trail goes a long way back, as the people of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations can tell you. “It’s been a horse trail for hunting forever, since way before my time,” 95-year-old Alex Van Bibber tells me. According to the highly-respected elder and outdoorsman, there is an outfitter …
Not Quite Alone in the Desert
The highest peaks of the Animas mountains in the east are already colouring light pink. As the road dips slightly through an arroyo, there are broad rolling hills to the west. We haven’t made many miles today, but it’s time to set up camp. Carefully I drive off the highway, navigating to avoid cacti and …
Klondike Korner: Just Watchin’ the River Flow
“But this ol’ river keeps on rollin’, though No matter what gets in the way and which way the wind does blow, And as long as it does I’ll just sit here And watch the river flow.” – Bob Dylan The ice in the Klondike River let go all the way and surged to the …
Elfin Creek Magic
This morning I heard the grouse drumming. All these signs of spring! This drumming is the mating call of the male grouse. He produces it with his wings and it carries clearly through the forest. When you live in the Yukon, the chances that you have heard a chainsaw are pretty big. It sounds a …
Finding Middle Ground on Middle
With all the snow now melting, it brings back memories of spring hiking, which is soon to start. The southern-exposed hillsides are starting to clear, and by the end of April our crocuses might bloom – along with a little yellow cinquefoil here and there. Some years ago at the end of May or early …
Intrepid Traveller: The Love Meter
I was cleaning out my dresser drawers the other day and stumbled upon my old silver charm bracelet, a Christmas present from my mom when I was 14. Charm bracelets are like scrapbooks for the wrist…and mine, being no exception, holds a multitude of memories. There is a sauna bucket from my trip to Finland, …
First Skate of the Season is Wild Heaven
This year the skating started for me on October 22 after I woke up to -22 C. The morning before, the yard was full of deer prints. They had come and gone without us noticing. I took my bike out to investigate the tracks, with the intention of ending up were my husband was going …
Passion for the Planet
Passion and excitement practically explode over the phone as I speak with Veronica Huggard. Huggard is one of five young people chosen to represent Yukon at the Northern Forum’s Youth Eco Forum in Anchorage, Alaska from May 1-8. “There is so much we can learn from each other and our different approaches to dealing with …
My Mountain
I have this mountain in my backyard. Our elevation at home, somewhere along the Alaska Highway, is almost 2,500 feet. The top of my mountain is almost 3,300 feet. Its foot is about a mile from my home. In summer I can get up that mountain and back in two hours, which sometimes is exhilarating, …
Street Side Chai Affair
Each morning I make my way to the nearest tea stall and start my day with a street side chai. It’s 8 am, and I’m already coated in sweat, but I will not refuse this hot, sweet, velvety drink. At the going rate of 5 rupees a cup, how can I? I like to push …
Snake for Supper
Creosote bush as far as the eye can see. We are driving out of Animas in the far south-west corner of New Mexico. Only small towns here. Animas active, almost buzzing, things do happen here. Haticha almost deserted, an abandoned church where people obviously have slept for a night, an old locked-up trailer with beautiful …
Search for the Perfect Tree
I admit I will take the fullest, bushiest tree out there, like hunting for trophy. I know a friend—bless her heart—who just takes the little scrawny tree. Maybe I should do that this year, because in the Yukon a young small spruce or pine is most often scrawny. My friend’s tree always looks beautiful in …
Miss Manners Goes Skiing
Cross country skiing can be conducted at breakneck speed or at a social pace. As with most social activities, there is etiquette involved.
Squash Mountain
I Iive about a 15-minute drive from Stony Creek. Stony is well known for the best drinking water ever and, of course, for the raspberries that people from all over come to pick. There are always enough, no matter how many pickers – bears, gophers, chipmunks and humans. The raspberry season in the big gravel …
Intrepid Traveller: The Power of Shoes
My love of patent leather shoes started pretty early on. I remember at the age of 11 going into the local shoe shop with my mom. She found some practical navy Mary Janes that she thought were just the ticket for me. And they were on sale. But my heart was pulled to a pair …
Into the Colour Palette
Asia is scattered with solid orange and red as monks are around every corner—making an already brilliantly vibrant country even brighter. (Their robes reflect colours traditionally worn when they used to dye the cloth with berries.) My first encounter with a monk in Cambodia was when I walked into a ruin. He was there studying, …
In Search of Pink
Last year I found out that a certain pink flower was not the one I always thought it was. My first encounter with a pink pincushion goes back to my first hikes in the Yukon. I can still visualize that first time I came upon this pink glory, when I was walking on top of …
Return to Spirit Canyon
What I love about writing for What’s Up Yukon is that it encourages me to do a little research about the things I write about. Even if I can’t use it in my article, I always learn a lot—mostly things to watch for next time. So I will have to walk into Spirit Canyon a …
Wind’s Abaft the Beam: Pt. 3
Sailing terms irk me. Wind’s abaft the beam? What’s wrong with “the wind’s from behind”? Coming about, prepare to gybe, helm’s alee? How about, “The boom’s coming for your head. Duck!” Simple. To the point. I sat in Nanaimo reading sailing books with all their silly jargon while waiting for that perfect weather forecast to …
Orpheus Mountain
We have been enjoying an endless, beautiful fall this year. A few Fridays ago, still having lots of things on my To Do list, I knew I had to into the mountains again. As I am not much of a planner, I had not arranged to go with anyone. Now, I actually do like hiking …
A Road Less Travelled
As you drive toward Kluane Lake an inconspicuous dirt road marked as “The Arctic Institute of North America” leads off to the right. If you choose to follow this path less taken you’ll find yourself confronted with a gravel airstrip and a hodgepodge of buildings populated by people sporting Carhartt pants, dirty jeans, and toques. …
Takhini Salt Flats
Hiking into the Takhini Salt Flats used to mean parking on the narrow shoulder of the Alaska Highway. Now, thanks to road improvements around the Takhini River Bridge, there is a little pull-out. So ‘thank you’ to that construction crew. On a July day, after parking about a kilometre before the bridge, my friend and …
Desert to Oasis to Desert
We stayed four nights in Bahia de Tortugas. We’d ridden across the Viscaino Desert to the very tip of the Viscaino Peninsula, and now it was time to change directions and go east for a bit. It was our second week in Baja California, México. As we left Tortuga, the wind was wild and the …
Meandering Along the Mendenhall
In most places the river is around 20 feet wide, making it a perfect thoroughfare, even for dog sleds and snow machines, although there are snags and deadfall. The people who use it have tried to cut the overhanging trees, but as the banks slowly erode, trees keep falling across and into the river. My …
Wind’s Abaft the Beam: Pt. 2
Currents, tides, winds. It is a lot for me to keep track of while trying to remember how to hoist a mainsail (loosen the mainsheet, release the boom vang, tighten the topping lift, pull main halyard, release the topping lift—and so on and so on). While honing our sailing skills around B.C.’s Gulf Islands National …
Wind’s Abaft the Beam, Pt.1
Impetuous. Reckless. Hasty. That’s how my partner John and I ended up in Victoria, British Columbia in early June last year, purchasing a sailboat when our plans had been to spend the month backpacking in Kluane. Instead, we spent June gripped with a fear that shed pounds off our frames quicker than any backpacking trip. …
Snowshoeing Along the Beach
A beautiful day in February – the sun was shining, and a south wind blowing. In February, the sun gains considerable strength and on days like that one can imagine spring. I grew up on the coast, and if there is one thing I miss, it’s the ocean and going for walks on the beach. …
Glorious 40 Below
Sunday we woke up to -40. Minus forty is the same in Fahrenheit and Celsius. To me that means everybody understands: no matter which system you use, – 40 is -40. But to really know how that feels, you have to live it. At 40 below things do change. From the usual cold it is …
Moto Psycho
Rivers of motos (motorcycles, scooters, all types of motorized transportation) are everywhere in Vietnam and Cambodia. Ladies often ride sidesaddle, and laws of physics do not seem to apply—motos are jam-packed with people and supplies, piled beyond capacity. It always seems like the moto or the load will burst at the seams and explode apart, …
A Day on Mount Vanier
Of all the mountains around the Mendenhall subdivision, I had never made it to the most prominent, Mount Vanier. I can’t see it from my house, but my neighbour Kathi had been looking at it through her living room window for seven years, longing to be on the top. Finally, in the last week of …
A Day in the World’s Best Job
I’ve heard it said that park rangers have the best job in the world. Maybe it’s true. After all, how many people get to work in such beautiful and remote areas, the kind of places the rest of us go to on our weekends? With that in mind, I decided to give my hiking some …
Intrepid Traveller: Island of Dreams
I admit to approaching the Island of Capri with some trepidation. I had heard how overrun it was going to be with wealthy tourists who have driven up prices beyond belief (the island has the most expensive real estate in all of Italy). I’d read about how it gets especially crowded in the summer Here …
It is Wilderness Out There
At 7:40, I set off on foot through the woods towards the highway. At 8:00, Mary Whitley picked me up. She had already plucked another friend from the highway. We were going on a hike following Quill Creek on the Haines Road. We had heard that part of the bush road going northeast at Quill …
Intrepid Traveller: La Dolce Vita Along the Amalfi Coast
Driving Italy’s Amalfi Coast had long been on my ‘bucket list’, when my teenage son needed some down time, I left him in our hotel.
Mambo Tanzania: Pt. 3
I made it! I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro! I’m sure I cost a few of the resort staff some betting money by doing it. When I told Gilian, the receptionist, she laughed at me. “You’re kidding, right?” I had approached the hike without any thoughts of success or failure riding on it… just eight days in …
Mambo Tanzania: Pt. 2
Mambo! Poa! Last week I explained Mambo. Poa is the proper response. Described to me as: Mambo = What’s Up? Poa = It’s cool. At the end of our visit to Tanzania, we had an opportunity to visit a local orphanage our Canadian trip organizers and our Moshi-based guiding company were involved in supporting only …
Climbing and Being Climbed
There are little leaps and big leaps, little walks and big walks. I like the idea of “keep on walking”, day after day, farther away. There are people who do that, and I don’t know if it ever will be me. I haven’t even gone on overnight hikes for a few years. Not that I …
Mambo Tanzania: Pt. 1
Editor’s Note: What’s Up Yukon co-publisher Mark Beese recently embarked on the adventure of a lifetime—an assault on Tanzania’s fabled Mount Kilimanjaro. This is the first of three articles about his adventure. Mambo! That’s not true Swahili. “Jambo” is the informal Swahili greeting equivalent to “hello”. Mambo… well, that’s the colloquial greeting that most closely …
Beauty of the Bogs
Bogs have stagnant water and swamps have some drainage. And then there are fens and marshes. A fen is a peatland, but so is a bog. The more I read, the less I understood. I don’t know if I am capable of writing the following story, because I will have to use those terms I …
Mud, Sand & Scaups
In early April, I started running every morning. I felt that I was losing stamina on my hikes, and needed to do something about it. It’s amazing, now I am in the habit of it, how easy it is to keep it up. Mind you, I only run for 15-20 minutes. Besides getting fitter, it …
Intrepid Traveller: Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
t was the wise Dr. Seuss who wrote, “Oh, the things you can find if you don’t stay behind!” And what finds there are to be had in Europe… evocative images of Tuscan towns bathed in golden light, lavender fields swaying in the Provence breeze, Bavarian storybook castles, and ancient monuments that never tire of …
Orpheus Mountain It’s Here to Stay
October, the month of change from no snow to snow, has just passed by. In the southern Yukon the year is nicely divided into two equal parts, with half a year where snow stays on the ground, and half a year where, well, there is always some snow somewhere. Last week everything dripped with melting …
A Moment in Time
A wise person in my life recently told me, “In order to get to that place or circumstance where you want to be in your life, you have to already be there.” I can see your eyebrows pinching together and your mind doing the “What?” thing as you read this. Playa El Burro is one …
Manifesting an Adventure
Anybody ever read the book The Secret? If you have, you know it is about manifesting your best life ever. I spent the last hour manifesting my next motorcycle adventure. Physically, I’ve been sitting on an airplane travelling between Whitehorse and Vancouver. That means my motorcycle is not my best buddy on this trip. It …
No Haggling At This Garage Sale
Cher Yukon, Comment ca va? Today’s story from the borough of Verdun is about our amazing “dresser find”. I will preface by saying, “Yukoners, you can be very proud of your garbage pick up and recycling system.” In Verdun, garbage and compost are not separated. It is still hard for me to throw compost into …
Music Festivals the Australian Way
BY JANELLE HARDY Scritch, scritch, scritch, went the sand as people walked through it. Sunbathers, surfers, boogeyboarders, wedding parties, everyone was on the beach basking in the scorching sun as the sounds of a music festival gearing up wafted along. Right on the edge of Australia’s Gold Coast, in a town called Broadbeach, a music …
Nina Reed’s Excellent Adventure
After seven months in the surf and sun, Nina Reed, 18, was ready to come back to the sludge and muck of the Yukon’s April. Spontaneous Reed had set out on her own after high school to explore the section of the world she had once known as home. Originally from New Zealand, Reed and …
Yukoner is an Explorer in the Far South
“What have I done? Can I handle this?” Devon McDiarmid had just stepped off the plane in Antarctica and, although it was for the fifth time in his life, this panicked thought ran through his mind. The challenges of the southern continent had obviously not diminished with repeated stints on “The Ice”. As a guide …