Day 26 Yukon River
We woke up this morning surprised to find that our friend the fox didn’t get into our food or pull the chords on Jacksons backpack in an attempt to yank a sack of grub off of the top of the large blue food barrel it was perched on. Nice.
The water we had filtered from a small standing pool found on the sandbar we camped on odly tasted like jet fuel, not that I’ve ever had any before. We would spend much of the day searching for a fresh stream or river entering the Yukon to drink from. The water from the Yukon clogs up our filter with silt unless it’s sat and settled over night. As such, we try our best to find where creeks and streams meet the Yukon and fill up our water with the clear cold water before it empties into the largest river system of Alaska.
While on the river it was a windy but pretty day. The skies here are unbelievably big. Massive storm clouds dotted the horizon. Individual storm cells could be picked out, and between them miles of clear sunny skies would enjoy a run until eventually butting up to a different storm somewhere lightyears away. At one point a group of swallowtails engulfed our boat, flying among us as we drifted silently with the current. Dozens and dozens of birds drifted with us for quite some time, just barely out of reach of our outstretched paddles.
After coming up dry on several areas we thought a creek might join the river, we finally found one around 9 or 10pm. Our map called the little blue line “Old Lost Creek”. We filled up, happy to know that our day with no clean water had come to an end. We found camp on a nice gravel island. Chilli Mac for dinner, capped off with a healthy dose (or doses) of Rich & Rare, straight from our resupply in Fort Yukon. A few round of Yhatzee in Jacksons tent ended the night in what was actually early morning. We also realized that we had two small punctures in both our of our dirty water containers. Will try to super glue, tape or otherwise plug the leaks tomorrow.
We’re hopeful to be out of the flat, braided waters of the Yukon Flats tomorrow and back into the mountains and hills.