Exploring Kluane National Park
Ariel Pass
An unknown man led the way last night, across crusty snow that bridged rushing streams, against cliff faces, and kick stepping up the final snowy ascent to Ariel Pass, I stepped in each of his faint snowy tracks. Similar stride, similar shoe size, but as we crested the Pass and as the sun went down his tracks seemed to drift into soft, deep snow. How can someone my size have gone that way? I guess I wasn’t thinking too clear last night, I followed a cat...
Stumbling off of the snowy Ariel Pass, the terrain was lit only by the moon that shined beyond the storm. I would have kept going, perhaps I can hike through the night I thought… But there were cliffs in the shadows that night, maybe it’s best to stop here for the night.
Bocks Pass
Perhaps a mile away and 2000ft up, Bocks Pass rests in the saddle beyond. As the sun set, I figured that on the hard morning snow I could be at the top in under 45 minutes. How fast do you think you could get there?
Bocks Pass, beautifully rugged under a coat of snow. A wise man would have brought a pair of skis to get up, then the wise man would also have a rope to get down. But then again, the wise man might be too heavy, and he may have been too wise to continue.
Coming from the lower 48, the sun seems like an indecisive beast above the 60th parallel. Teasing it’s arrival and taking it’s time as it sets, it takes some time adjusting to the dramatically ever changing length of days.
The Donjek River was cold, the winds were fast, and the day was hard. But the land was beautiful, and the solitude was immeasurable. It’s my opinion that we should all, at least once, find ourselves in a place that encourages a step back, and forces upon us a feeling of inescapable awe. Donjek River, Kluane National Park, Yukon Territory.
The Donjek Glacier grinds to a halt, placing the river where it wants, and moving debris as it wants. The only force that can impose its will against this glacial titan comes from the sky. You can look upon the glacier to see the battle ground, the sun firing away, as the glacier summons all it’s might to defend and reflect against the onslaught. Just don’t look too long, else your eyes may find themselves suffering from the battle as well.
It’s bigger than it looks.
To be alone amongst such impressive forces of nature is quite the privilege. To know that no matter what direction you turn, there isn’t a road, trail, or human for miles and miles is humbling, and breeds cautiousness.
Packrafting, sunsets, and white water. The color, not the rapids. Sure would like a drink about now.
The wind has been pervasive, now, as the sun begins to get friendly with the horizon a friendly chill begins to sink into the valley.
Is it just me, or are there layers to these mountains?
Floating past this massive shear wall of dirt and dense brush had me questioning whether or not I had properly planned out my route. If this continues, could I get up? If I get up, could I get through?
The Duke River is a bit too low to paddle in Spring, but the walking isn’t bad. Just a slog through a bog, there is so much water running through the brush that if you stripped it all away it might be considered a river in itself.
How many pictures have you seen of a packraft acting as a sled in the Yukon Territory on a snowy ridge?
Snow is just frozen water right? So maybe on a technicality this can be called proper use.
It’s the extremes that shape the world. The size of the Alaska / Yukon floodplains is mind blowing. Vast expanses orders of magnitude larger than the rivers and streams that weave inside them. To witness the events that fill these plains with rushing water I imagine can only be described as biblical.
Nowhere had I experienced such a constant and dusty wind than while walking up the White River. Sandblasted with every gust, any exposed skin received a new hard coating that took days to remove.
Most people don’t think of the Yukon as being a mountain paradise, they think of the Yukon River, they think of endless trees, and that’s if they think of it at all. Fair enough, that’s all true, but they have some incredible mountains too!
Sometimes it’s nice to take a seat and appreciate what’s in front of you.
Maybe solitary remoteness makes me more sensitive to it, but the lighting that the sun sheds on Northern latitudes is nothing less than magical. Every day held stunning and unique light shows that seemed to trap my gaze.
It’s the extremes that shape the world. The size of the Alaska / Yukon floodplains is mind blowing. Vast expanses orders of magnitude larger than the rivers and streams that weave inside them. To witness the events that fill these plains with rushing water I imagine can only be described as biblical.
The difference between life and death in these environments is found in the gear you carry and knowing how to use it.
It’s the extremes that shape the world. The size of the Alaska / Yukon floodplains is mind blowing. Vast expanses orders of magnitude larger than the rivers and streams that weave inside them. To witness the events that fill these plains with rushing water I imagine can only be described as biblical.