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Dawson City - Eagle

Yukon River Trimaran Expedition © Copyright by Ch. Breier

03.06

In the morning we went to Klondike Kate's, a restaurant in Dawson, for breakfast. They serve breakfast every morning for only 4.99 US$. Eggs and bacon, potatoes, toast and coffee.

Then off to the washroom. They have computers with internet access, so I was able to update the website.

Then we went to the Chinese restaurant, finally some "real" food again. Stefan wanted to buy some souvenirs for Dawson, so we toured the local shops. Finding a suitable T-shirt for him was not so easy, because he needs XXXL..

Uwe had packed his things and left today. Back at the hostel we grabbed "Hiro" and went to the Pitt. There we met a Hungarian who works in the laundry. Unfortunately it took a long time to find a free seat and the beer didn't taste as good as the day before.

Around 2am we went back to the hostel. Funny, in Germany I never drink alcohol, but over here ...

Is it the fresh air?

George in der Washeteria ( Thanks George for all your help!)

04.06.

In the morning Hiro woke us up, he wanted to go to Klondike Kate's for breakfast. But we were far too sleepy, or rather "hungover".

Around 11:00 I cleaned the boat and the equipment. Stefan went into town for lunch. After cleaning the boat and equipment, I started writing the daily reports for the last two days.

Around 15:00 Stefan came back to the hostel. We went into town and checked our emails.

The Hungarian guy from Washeteria lent us his truck and we drove to the other side of Dawson City and took some nice pictures of the city.

When we got back to the hostel, the truck wouldn't start, the battery was dead. But we had a battery cable with us to bypass the truck.

A Canadian from the hostel helped us out with his car.

In the evening we went back to the Pitt for some live music and a few beers.

Half the hostel was there again. Germans, Australians, New Zealanders...

It was a very happy night.

05.06.

It rained heavily in the morning. We went to the hostel lounge and talked to the Australians and New Zealanders. Around 16:00 we all went into town for dinner. We had fish and chips and salad and coke. The fish was very good. Now we are back in the hostel.

The rain has stopped. Hiro was still there, but he did not go to Inuvik because of the rain. It would have been a mud fight on the bike.

Stefan is already packing. He is flying to Whitehorse tomorrow around 14:00 and back to Germany the next day. He is happy that he made it to Dawson City after all. But boating is not really his thing. He prefers to ride his motorcycle.

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Stefan and I on our 10.000Km motorcycle tour to the North Cape. Camping at -20 degrees Celius, apr. 1mile above the Arctic Circle in Norway.

Motorcycle tours are more Stefan's taste !

I will stay in Dawson City until Thursday and then head on to Eagle. The first few days alone on the boat will be strange. I'm a bit afraid of the Yukon Flats. It won't be easy to be alone in the big, heavy boat. I have to avoid getting stuck with the boat, because that would be a big problem. The loaded boat weighs a lot.

But it's still a long way to Circle. Hopefully the weather will be better, there has been too much rain this year.

Today is Stefan's birthday, he's 32. At 8pm we went to the Pitt. We had a great party. We were mixed. Germans, Australians, New Zealanders, Jamaicans, Canadians, Japanese, Koreans, Americans and Bulgarians. Around midnight the party was at its peak. Everyone was on the dance floor dancing to the music of the live band.

Stefan was absolutely happy, it was a great evening, even if it was very expensive for him....

Hiro " Mr. Kamikaze San " on the way to Inuvik/NWT

06.06.

In the morning we went for breakfast together with Hiro. Stefan had packed the rest of his things before. We carried everything to the laundry and left it there until after breakfast.

This time we didn't go to Klondike Kates, but to a hotel. The breakfast there was the same price, but tasted better. We all had quite a hangover. But Stefan was really happy about his birthday party.

Around 12.30 I said goodbye to Stefan. He went to the airport with the Bulgarian. I went back to the hostel.

In the late afternoon I went back to the city and found out that Stefan's flight had been postponed to 17:00.

Strange to be alone now. Almost everyone has left or moved on. The two New Zealanders and the Bulgarian are the only ones left from the motley group.

The weather is really bad. It is pouring with rain. Hopefully the weather will improve soon, otherwise travelling alone will be even more frustrating...

Around 22:00 I disappeared into the tent and typed this report...

Craig the New Zealander at the Pitt ( Hey Mate )

07.06.

Not much happened today. Slept late and went into town to wash and shower. In the evening I met the New Zealanders at the Pitt. They are all trying to persuade me to stay at least until Sunday. I think about it, I would have enough time.

08.06.

Graig, the New Zealander, has found a job in a gold mine. And, of course, the new job is celebrated at the Pitt. During the day I can hardly upload any pictures to the website because the whole of Dawson is online. So now I have to sit in front of the computer from 2 to 4 in the night, which isn't much fun....

09.06.

Not much happened. Checked my equipment again. And continued to work on the website....

10.06.

I was cleaning the boat in glorious sunshine when suddenly it poured with rain. It is always amazing how quickly the weather can change here.

I went into town to do some shopping and bought another wok. The wok I bought in Whitehorse was not suitable for cooking. I hope the weather will be better tomorrow so I can at least start in the dry...

Dawson City, sometimes rain sometimes sun...

11.06.

Max

In the morning I packed everything and prepared the boat for transport.

Max, a 70-year-old American, is also staying at the hostel. He kept me company. He would like to come with me.
I took the ferry to Dawson and bought some food. Then I went to George's laundry to say goodbye to Nicole, who works there.

Nicole grew up in Old Crow and would love to come, but she has to help out at the washeteria for the summer.
Together with George we drove to the hostel in his truck. There we lifted the boat onto the truck. It was easier this time because George doesn't have high beams on his truck.
Max and a Canadian guy helped us. Once the boat was on the water I drove to Dawson. There I sorted out my equipment.

Max came along to keep me company. Suddenly there was thunder and lightning. Max said goodbye and drove back to the hostel. It was raining cats and dogs. I sat in the boat and tried to stay dry as best I could, but I still got wet because I only had the bimini for protection. The sides were open, so it wasn't very comfortable.

I met up with Otto, the German guy who lives in the bush outside Dawson. He still seems happy there.

After a couple of hours in the boat, I headed for Eagle as the rain stopped around 22:00. After the first bend, Dawson City disappeared and I was back in the wilderness.

Somehow I was sorry I hadn't invited Max to come along. He would have loved to go on the Yukon River...

I saw a lot of moose over the next few hours. Around 3:00 am it got too cold and I decided to camp on the next island. When I was about 2 km from one I saw a light flickering. Sometimes it was there, sometimes not.

Suddenly I saw a figure walking around the island. I landed on the island and saw a canoe. Sebastien, a Frenchman, greeted me.

He had just built a campfire. I had heard in Whitehorse that a Frenchman was on his way to the Bering Sea. There he was.

He had also heard about me and was pleased to meet me and get information about the route ahead.

We chatted over a few cups of red wine until around 5:00am.

Sebastien

12.06.

Around 8:00 in the morning I heard a roar. It was the catamaran from Dawson City passing our island. Just as I was falling asleep...
At 13:00 I woke up, Sebastien is also a late riser and likes to drive through the night like me. We had breakfast together in the beautiful sunshine. I gave him some tips and names of people I knew along the Yukon River. As Sebastian only had flyer maps, I lent him my complete topo maps of the Yukon River, which he will send home to me after the trip. He didn't have a chair either, so I gave him my second one. He was very happy because now he could sit comfortably by the fire. I continued alone towards Eagle, and about 20 km before Forty Mile there was a very nice cabin on the left. It had been for sale for a couple of years. It would be my dream cabin. The cabin is very well built and the location is ideal. Sebastien came along after a while. We looked at the cabin together. Suddenly we heard the roar of the catamaran again. It was coming back from Eagle. The captain warned us of strong winds over the ship's loudspeaker. No sooner had the catamaran passed than it started to rain cats and dogs, accompanied by very strong gusts of wind. We secured our boats as best we could. After about 40 minutes the weather calmed down and I continued on to Forty Mile. I wanted to rejoin Sebastien there. Once there, I headed up the 40 Mile River to the first bridge. The water was much higher than in 2004, so I had no problems. At the bridge I saw a good camp where I had stayed before. I headed back to the Yukon River. Sebastian was waiting for me. He put his canoe next to me and held on tight, and off we went to the bridge. We got there around midnight and set up camp. Sebastien tried to catch some fish, but he is as bad an angler as I am...

The dream Cabin at the Yukon

13.06.

Around noon I started alone towards Eagle.

Sebastien stayed in Forty Mile. The weather got worse again. Very dark clouds came up. I got some showers. But in the afternoon the weather got better.

I saw a lot of moose again. Sailing the trimaran is really fun. The boat is great on the water and waves, no matter how big, are not a problem so far. We'll see how it performs in the August storms. The only thing I miss is a closed roof. It was better on the trimaran I used in 2004. Well, you can't have everything...

Around 16:00 the Eagle catamaran came towards me again. When he saw me he immediately slowed down and everyone on board waved at me and the captain on board greeted me over his loudspeaker, nice people...

At 22:00 I camped on an island about 5 km from the Alaskan border. I set up my tent and looked for Sebastien for a while. But he was nowhere to be found.

Around 23:30 I went to my tent. At 00:30 Sebastien arrived. He had the same idea as me and wanted to camp before the border.

The Catamaran from Dawson City

14.06.

In the morning the captain of the catamaran woke us up with "Good morning", he must have seen my German flag on the boat.

I had breakfast with Sebastien. Then I set off alone in the direction of the border. Arrived there I took some pictures.

With the best sunshine I continued towards Eagle. Again I saw many moose and eagles. Actually I wanted to stop just before Eagle, but the beach was not there anymore because of the high water. So I stopped just before the town, on a bluff.

I went straight to the customs office and to my surprise it was the same customs officer as the year before, Chuck, a really nice guy. There was a cheerful greeting. We had some iced tea together and talked for a while. The formalities were done quickly.

He was a little sad because his son is going to Iraq for a year in a few weeks...

I went back to the dock. Just past the dock of the Yukon Queen II (the catamaran from Dawson City) and headed out to find my friend Mark Gilmore.

He lives just outside of town. I met his daughter on the way. We walked to the house together. Mark was happy to see me again. We talked for a while. But I was a little nervous because my boat with all my equipment was unattended at the dock. So I said goodbye for the day and went back to the Front Street dock and secured my boat to the sheet piling as best I could.

I went to the restaurant and ordered fries, salad and a Coke, now I was really happy.

Back at the boat I met Sebastien who had just arrived. We attached his canoe to the trimaran.

He did his customs formalities. Then we set up camp on a hill. Suddenly we saw someone arrive in an Ally folding canoe. It was Lech, a Pole. He is also going to the Bering Sea. He tied his Ally behind our boats and then camped with us on the hill.

From up there we have a wonderful view over the Yukon River.

Towards evening I met a helicopter pilot and chatted with him about traveling and flying. He only works for 2 years and then travels around the world for 2 years.

What a job, he gets paid to fly a helicopter in the wilderness of Alaska...

Around 24:00 we went to our tents. There were just too many bloodsuckers on the road, I was already totally stung.

Chuck the nice customs officer in Eagle
He unfortunately died in a fatal accident a few years later on a return trip to from Eagle to Anchorage....
R.I.P.

Continue with: Eagle - Circle

Only those who risk going too far, will discover how far they can go!

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