Day 61 Yukon River
Trying. Today was a very trying day. Rain on the tent fly kept us in the tent until around 11AM, when a small window of clearing allowed us to breakdown tents and pack gear mostly dry. Fresh picked Alaskan blueberry pancakes and coffee hit the spot for breakfast.
As we loaded the boat the sky began spitting, and it rained all day long. As we first began the whipped white caps on the bow of our boat. Gnarly wind whipped rain pelted our faces as we worked our way down an island shoreline. We needed to make a river crossing to the left shore to get out of the wind, and as we paddled I worried we would need to wait on the tip of the island for the wind to die before we made our crossing. Luckily for us, the tip of the island extended far toward our intended shore, and allowed for a short, windy crossing.
The rest of the day was spent sitting in the canoe, soaking in a misty rain that completely saturated everything. For the past 20 days we’ve had rain and clouds, and today was the worst yet. Mother nature was testing us. It felt as though she had to make it hard on us for this Alaskan expedition because it was so pleasant for most of the trip. In the evening we found a puddle of water to harvest, and sitting in the rain collecting water, the cold set in.
Later we worked our way in the soaking rain to a creek that our map had marked with a cabin. Unfortunately, our map is from the 1960s, and the cabin was nowhere to be found, other than one plank of old wood. It did not go without a solid search, however. For much of the day, I was dreaming of finding the cabin, with a roof and wood burning stove. Walking in the door. Getting dry and warm. It was more my mind looking forward to something to help me get through the day than me actually thinking it would be reality.
As we set up camp the rain died, and we were able to get our wet clothes off and into dry clothes while also setting up the tents dry. After dinner in the dark I sat by the river edge, thinking and knowing that in a few days time I’ll be leaving the wild, amazing place. Sooner rather than later I will look back and miss these moments. Sitting on the banks of the Yukon, listening to the stillness of the land, geese chirping in the sky, and watching the water go by. Despite the trials of today, I love this shit. We handled the day well. After 20 days straight of this shit it would be easy to break, but we kept it together, make our miles and took every punch she gave us. Hopefully tomorrow, mother will reward us.
3 days to Emmonk. Life is good on the Yukon.