June 13, 2009 by Rae

Countdown to the Chilkoot

This time and day next month, I will be camped out at the Chilkoot trailhead in Dyea, Alaska.

I have cranked up my training and am now hiking several hours a day. My job keeps me on my feet and moving all day, so the length of my shift determines the length of my hike and how strenuous it will be. Tonight was the first time I added a proper pack, weighing in at 25lbs, half of what I was told to prepare for on the Chilkoot. I spent two hours hiking about eight kilometres, including getting halfway up to Crocus Bluff, which is some pretty darn steep terrain!

An average day on the trail will be 10.6 kilometres, with the longest and most difficult day being that of the summit climb. My goal for the next four weeks is to keep climbing the dome with a progressively heavier pack. A few days before I’m set to leave for Whitehorse, the hiking group will be going all the way to the top and I was invited to do the climb with my full Chilkoot pack. The guide as well as a gal at the visitors’ centre who have done the Chilkoot before, say that if I can get to the top of the dome with my pack I will be able to deem myself ready.

Right now, my pack is filled with nonsense–sheets, towels, a 4L jug of water, and cans of food. When I increase to 30lbs, I will start to add my proper Chilkoot gear. My goal is to leave here with full supplies and a pack weighing no more than 20lbs seeing as I will need to add a tent, sleeping pad, cooking gear, and food when I meet up with the group in July. I won’t be able to control how heavy that stuff is, so the only way I can ensure myself a pack weighing less than 50lbs is to bring as little myself. We’ll see how realistic that 20lbs goal is. I backpacked around Scotland for a month in ’98 (um, the more recent ’98, not the ’98 of the Gold Rush! 😀 ) with a pack weighing 30lbs and I was ready for all weather.

Speaking of packs, I’ve gone back and forth over which one to bring with me and have decided that although it is a bit small, I’m going to aim for the same pack I took to Scotland. It’s moulded to my body by this point, sturdy, and lightweight. It was suggested we bring packs with an internal frame so that all our gear could be packed into the bag, but I cannot get used to the weight distribution of such a pack. So, a dry run at getting the pack filled is necessary in case I have to go emergency pack shopping in Whitehorse.

Looking at our itinerary tonight, it does not send shivers down my spine the way that it did back in February, so I’d say I’m making progress!

June 11, 2009 by Rae

Dawson’s Cemeteries

I hiked back up to Crocus Bluff today to get in some Chilkoot training and also to explore the numerous Dawson City cemeteries along Mary McLeod Road. There is a much less exhausting way of getting up there, of course, straight up King Street, which becomes Mary McLeod. Park at the Crocus Bluff Recreation Area parking lot and prepare for some slight uphill strolling.

There are several cemeteries in Dawson City, one for Catholics, one for Jews, one for Masons, one for the general public, a new one for the general public (since the older one is filled up), one for the NWMP (Northwest Mounted Police) and one of the members of the Y.O.O.P. (Yukon Order of Pioneers).

In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, it was very expensive to have marble brought up the Yukon River on a barge, so grave markers tended to be plain crosses painted white black lettering. Much of the markings have worn off now, but historians and family members have managed to identify a surprising number of graves. It would be easy to spend a full day exploring the cemeteries, there is so much of interest.

The weight of history was very heavy and I sort of melancholy overtook me as I respectfully made my way through the cemeteries. What struck me the most was how the majority of the graves were of people born a world away. In fact, no one is born in Dawson City today. Expecting mothers are flown to Whitehorse.

The Dawson Visitors’ Centre has a booklet about the cemeteries containing information about some of the more interesting graves. Much of the info in the following gallery is quoted from this guide. Let me add that the booklet is written with a tone of affection and respect, like the author knew and loved the people he or she was writing about.

This evening, guests asked me where they could find the cemeteries, so my timing in going there today was perfect!

Catholic cemetery

age 3 days

old marker with new

born in Buenos Aires, died in the wilds of Canada

Nolasque “Jack” Tremblay, a respected and admired “Grand Old Man.” His wife Émilie opened up a ladies shop.

Emma Woods, a member of Dawson’s sizable black community.

Merilda St. Pierre whose marker is now home to woodpeckers

Mainville Twins, Arthur & Albert, who died within days of each other of ‘summer complaint’ (probably dehydration). Their parents had lost another young child 17 months prior.

a recent grave; what a lovely resting spot

interesting grave marker

Jack and Hazel Meloy. This pioneer couple, the last of their kind, epitomized the spirit of rugged independence and self-reliance.

Y.O.O.P. (Yukon Order of Pioneers) Cemetery

Jan Welzl. This intelligent eccentric was an explorer, inventor and author. He was born in Czechoslovakia and led a life of adventure and discovery across the north. Each year small delegations of followers visit this site to conduct memorial services.

interesting grave marker!

NWMP cemetery (these men died young!)

NWMP cemetery

the Jewish cemetery

the sad state of the Jewish cemetery, with only one grave marked

The names of the Jews buried in the Jewish cemetery

Solomon Packer was a popular merchant who owned a hardware store on Front Street and passed away at the age of 57. He was a member of the Y.O.O.P. but chose to be buried in the cemetery of his faith.

these ropes are the only thing identifying the final resting place of Dawson’s Jewish dead other than Solomon Packer

water barrel

a lovely inscription

recent grave

Joe Vogler led a movement for a “free Alaska.” He sought secession from the U.S. and the joining together of Alaska with Yukon and part of northern British Columbia to become a separate county with laws favourable to miners. Although an American, he vowed he would never be buried in Alaska until it was free.

A modern-day tragedy. When 76-year old François became gravely ill in their cabin on upper Bonanza in December of 1977, 65-year-old Zdenka set out on foot to seek help “in extremely cold weather.” She was found frozen to death on the trail very near a neighbour who could have helped them. When the search party arrived at the cabin, they found François had also died. They were (and still are) missed by the mining community.

water barrel

Otokichi Arami, born in Japan, died at age 36 in August of 1901. His death was not reported in the local newspaper and little is known of him. However, he was not forgotten as this marker was erected in July 1904 by H. U. Matsumoto, relationship unknown.

English translation

the English translation is hidden behind this door

Ruth Mellish, aged 13

June 10, 2009 by Rae

A Question of Residency

With the way Canadian law is currently written, I have no choice but to have a real, physical ‘homebase.’ I also need to spend six months in one province or territory in order to meet the eligibility requirements for health care.

I knew from the get go that Quebec was not going to be my homebase, the reasons for which I’ll get into shortly. My new homebase needed to meet the following criteria:

1) low taxes;
2) low automotive registration fees;
3) low insurance rates;
4) easy to get to;
5) have a positive attitude towards itinerant workers and lots of work for them.

Quebec loses on all points but the 4th. Same thing with Ontario. British Columbia meets criteria 4 and 5. Alberta might have been good nine months ago, but the economy is tanking and is now risky. Manitoba was a good option for the first four points, but I wasn’t convinced about 5. Scratch the Maritimes since they can’t keep their own workers and don’t need new ones. Scratch Nunavut for being inaccessible by vehicle (kind of important for me). Scratch the Northwest Territories for point number 4. So, that left me with Saskatchewan and Yukon. Saskatchewan lost on item 5 while Yukon lost on item 4. However, Saskatchewan lost full points for 5 while Yukon lost only half points for 4. Yukon is far, but it’s not hard to get to, and the northern tax benefits would cover my gas each way every year.

So, while it seems that I picked Yukon residency for the novelty, it’s actually the most logical and sensible choice!

I chose Dawson City for my new permanent address for the simple reason that PO boxes are free here and I shouldn’t have issues with not having a ‘physical’ address as there is no such thing in Dawson. I’m not sure yet how I’ll handle mail when I’m not in town, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.

I’m not scheduled to work tomorrow, so I’ll go into town and get information on what I need to do to get my Yukon driver’s licence, vehicle registrations, and health card. It’s going to be a long process, but I have a feeling it’ll be less tedious than was my return from Ontario to Quebec. We’ll see. 🙂

June 10, 2009 by Rae

The Road Ahead

A lot has happened ‘behind the scenes’ in the last few days and the final piece of the puzzle has clicked into place, so I can now write about it.

A little over a year ago, I approached my boss and asked her if I could take a year’s sabbatical to try out full-time RVing. We both suspected from the start that I would not be returning to my old life, but she let me go with her blessing.

Over the year, I’ve frequently mentioned that I could not see myself going back to Ottawa and my old life. At the same time, I could not envision the future beyond the end of August. Coming to the Yukon has changed that and I can now see clearly five years ahead of me.

So, in the last few days, I’ve been going back and forth with my financial planner regarding my choosing a future of my own making spent on the road.

It’s important to understand that we were talking about my giving up lifetime job security, health benefits, and one of the best pension plans in the country, of taking a gamble that the joys of this life would outweigh being less than financially secure. He feels that I am making my choices with my eyes wide open and we’re going to work together to make sure the dream doesn’t turn to nightmare.

So, I’ve quit my job and am in process of severing my ties to ‘back east’ by starting the process of becoming a Yukoner. I will be spending six months of the year up here for residency requirements for reasons that will be explored in a future post. I need a new home base and Dawson City is it. I already have my Dawson City address and this is going to be as ‘home’ as a nomad can have a home.

I’ll be here in Dawson until the end of August and then, if the money’s good, I’ll head up to Inuvik. If not, then there’s next year! I’ll return to Watson Lake for the late fall and then go to Vancouver Island for the winter. Come spring, I’ll come back to Watson Lake, then Dawson. It’s not going to be as nomadic a life as I’ve lived in the past year, but for the time being I can’t afford for it to be. I will be content in going between set contracts and picking up several times a year. There are also a few different roads which lead to Dawson, so I can pick a different route next year.

Eventually, once the debt accumulated over the past year is paid off, I’ll be able to spend my summers up here working my tail off and then use the winter to explore warmer climes.

So, expect a little less traveling with Miranda over the next year or so as a brand new full-time RVer figures out just how she’s going to do this for years. I do have a winter project in mind that will keep interest piqued. 🙂

The best way I can explain my decision to people is that I had a choice between making a living and making a life. I choose life.

June 9, 2009 by Rae

Crocus Bluff

This summer, a couple of local gals have scheduled twice-weekly hikes around town. I thought that joining them would be the perfect way to get in some much needed Chilkoot training as well as to meet people. Tonight was the first hike and we went up to a place part of the way up the Dome called Crocus Bluff. It was quite a steep hike, with spectacular views. We came down the ‘old’ Dome Road past some cemeteries.