June 26, 2009 by Rae

Crossing the Yukon

Last week, I crossed the Yukon on the Dawson ferry for the first time. The ferry runs 24/7 during the summer except for a 2 hour shut down for maintenance in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. During freeze-up in the fall and break-up in the spring, residents are trapped on their side of the river for about a full month. During winter, the ice is thick enough to drive on and there is an ice bridge. Crossing on the ferry is free and the boat can accommodate very big vehicles, including RVs. The ferry is small and wait times for RVs can be long since locals have priority.

waiting to get on (I crossed over on foot)

heading across the Yukon

Dawson is getting to be pretty small 🙂

the ferry

The beginning (and the end) of the Top of the World highway

June 26, 2009 by Rae

The Ninth Ave and Lookout Trails

Dawson has a fabulous mostly level cross-town trail called the ‘Ninth Ave Trail’, thusly named because it runs parallel to Eighth Avenue, the last road before the Dome. The Ninth Ave Trail ends at Mary McLeod Road. Kitty corner to the left from the end of the trail is the beginning of the Lookout Trail (just before the yellow sign). This gently sloping trail takes you up to the Lookout (hence the name), which offers a more intimate view of Dawson and the Yukon River than does the view from the very top of the Dome. I’ve been up this trail a few times and never grow weary of it as it offers an almost jungle-like experience before emerging into the open Lookout. From the top, you can continue up to the Slide, and from the Slide, you can reach the Dome’s summit.

Yukon River

Poplars at the Lookout

Dawson City and the Yukon River

Yukon River (looking up river towards Eagle, Alaska)

the Slide (seen from the opposite side of the Yukon River on another day)

June 24, 2009 by Rae

Camp Hosting Tips, Redux

Eight weeks into my disastrous camp hosting experience last fall, I came up with a list of camp hosting tips. Let’s look at them again and see how they apply to my current non-disastrous camp hosting experience.

1) Confirm the details of the arrangement before moving in and sign a written contract

That’s not how things are done in Yukon, so this tip was not applicable to my current situation. How things are done here is that you move in, get comfortable and caught up on your online stuff, have a brief discussion about arrangements, hit the ground running, and then smooth out the arrangement as time goes on. How well does that work? I was supposed to be here for three weeks. Three days into the job, I agreed to stay for three months and to come back next year.

2) Make sure you and the manager agree on what constitutes hours that qualify towards the minimum expected to cover your rent (or whatever you’re bartering for)

This time around, I decided to get hired as a ‘contractor.’ I was given a set daily rate for my rent and an hourly wage for all hours worked. How I decided to do my bookkeeping is that I invoice them every two weeks for the hours worked during those fourteen days minus my daily rent for that fortnight. This way I don’t have to budget for rent. It also makes it very easy to agree to extra hours because I’m going to get paid for them. Here, I work as hard as I did at the park in Oliver but what I get at the end of the week is at least four times as much as I got back there.

3) Get a bit of background on the people you will be working with (how long they’ve worked there, what they do, what their expectations are for temporary staff)

My arrangement is with the manager and if anyone has a problem, they go through her. This was the problem last fall; the manager did not know how to manage staff and she let the camp host with a stronger personality make managerial decisions that weren’t hers to make. A strong manager makes this particular point moot.

4) Don’t allow them to make significant changes to the contract without a new contract being signed

Again, this is not how things are done in the Yukon. One’s word is one’s bond. My staying on for the whole summer changed every single term of the previous arrangement (positively!) and my first pay cheque was all I needed to confirm the new arrangement.

5) Don’t assume that you and the manager speak the same language. Reiterate very instruction that you are told until you’re sure you know exactly what s/he means

This is not an issue here because the manager actually remembers most of the time what she’s told you and believes you if you say that she said something different. Another big difference here is that if I forget to do something or simply don’t do it because I didn’t know I had to do it, I am left a note as a reminder. If I don’t understand the instruction, I ask and it is explained to me and that’s that. I don’t have to listen to a lecture for a half hour about what a useless lazy slob I am and I am never faulted for not knowing something.

6) Be aware of just how much value you are being given for the number of hours you put in. Camp hosting can turn out to not be cost effective

Refer back to point no. 2. I know exactly how much money I am making in my day. It’s a fair wage and I even occasionally get a few dollars in tips for cleaning motel rooms. Moreover, this is a very pleasant work environment and I have a very varied workload. Add to this a town that closes very late and I rarely watch the clock. I was supposed to be done at 4 today, but finished at 5. Woohoo, an extra hour’s pay that will more than cover a drink if I choose to go out later. Another thing that makes working here so nice is that the manager and owner are appreciative and fully aware that, hey, people need lunch breaks, or breaks, period. I did two large days of housekeeping this week and was ‘treated’ to a morning in the office today.

7) Carefully evaluate the proposed schedule to ensure that it will not be damaging to your health

My schedule here is all over the place, but I never have to start early after a late night. There is also plenty of staff to cover the ‘off’ hours so there is no reason for guests to come knocking at my door in the wee hours of the morning, allowing me to have a life separate from the RV park and motel. Most important, however, is that I do not constantly feel belittled and devalued, so my emotional health is much better and I have more energy.

I guess it’s pretty clear that my current camp hosting position is working out just fine. 🙂

June 22, 2009 by Rae

A Night on the Town

When I arrived in Dawson City, I promised myself a night on the town with dinner and a show soon as I got my first pay cheque. Since getting first said pay cheque, no night felt ‘right.’ But, after today’s grueling workload, a night on the town was just what I needed, so I went out and had some fun.

First stop was Sourdough Joe’s for dinner. I’d heard good things about this restaurant, so I didn’t explore other options. I had the ‘special’–king salmon with lemon-butter sauce, steamed veggies (carrots and green beans), and herbed rice. The meal was very good; nothing fancy or special, but the price was just right for a homestyle dinner. I had a beer with it and came out at 26$ with tip which would not be considered expensive south of the 60th parallel for such a meal. I will definitely go back to this restaurant and try their ‘famous’ fish and chips.

Next stop was Klondyke Cream & Candy. As it turns out they rotate flavours, so the triple chocolate brownie I was addicted to is no longer available. No problem, I am now addicted to New York-style cherry cheesecake over peanut butter chocolate. 😀

And, then, the pièce de résistance: Diamond Tooth Gerties. This is the oldest casino in Canada and it is non-profit to boot, so all the money taken in goes back to the community. There are three cancan shows a night. Entrance to Gerties for two nights is 6$ per person. In case that’s not clear, a 6$ pass gets you access to all three shows for two nights. What a bargain! As an employee in the tourism industry, I get an even better bargain, a free season’s pass! I like to go out for a drink on occasion and will make it a point to time these outings with a Gerties show!

I went in a bit early tonight and played the slot machines, something I do very rarely, but which is fun on occasion. I never play more than my budget and I find it sad to watch the compulsive gamblers who are so stressed out and focussed on winning. I played the penny slots and had fun watching my fortune wax and wane. Then I sat down in front of the stage and ordered a drink, trying out a house special called ‘Gertie’s Garter’ which is rum, some sort of fruity liqueur, and cranberry and pineapple juices; very tasty!

The show started promptly at 8:30 (next shows are 10:30 and midnight) and it was a lot of fun. I loved watching the incredibly athletic gals kick up their heels, showing off beautiful coloured petticoats. All the staff at Gerties is dressed to the nines, with the servers and show girls dressed in period costumes. When the music starts, you are transported back 120 years in history to the Gold Rush days; it is quite an experience!

When leaving Gerties, I suggest putting on sunglasses inside the dimly lit building as the glaring 9PM sun will just about blind you. 😀

June 21, 2009 by Rae

Into the Tundra

This post is a bit out of order as I have two other outings to write up, but this was the most exciting. 🙂 The internet has been misbehaving (a territory-wide issue), hence why I’m behind in my posting. Believe me, a lot has been going on and I’m making the most of my nightless summer in Dawson City!

Today is the solstice, the longest day of the year. Up here, the sun sets for just a short moment; it is the night where we come as close to 24 hours of daylight as possible. True 24 hour daylight is found further north, past the Arctic Circle.

Last year, I set as a goal that I would spend this solstice on the Dempster Highway at the Arctic Circle. I didn’t think it was a realistic goal, but it motivated me to at least be north of 60 by June 21st.

Sunday is a short work day for me, 7AM to 9AM, so I decided that a day trip onto the Dempster was in order. I drove 100km up the highway to Two Moose Lake and celebrated the solstice a ‘few’ hours early (I have to get up at 6 tomorrow!) at the southern limit of the tundra, 300km shy of the Arctic Circle. Wow! 😀

My original plan for the day was to just go hiking in Tombstone Territorial Park, but my manager told me to go 30km further north to Two Moose Lake so I could see the tundra. Great advice! I drove straight to the Lake, then did my planned hike on the Grizzly Creek Trail.

The Dempster has a reputation for being a very rough road, but the 100km I drove were easy. There were perhaps two sections with really bad potholes, but, otherwise, it was very smooth going on a road that was more dirt than gravel. My average speed was 70kph, but my return was more at 80 and 90kph since I knew what to expect. If the road is like that all the way to Inuvik, I am not worried about taking Miranda on it. I was disappointed that the first 30km or so are incredibly boring and that there are far too few turnoffs once you start to hit the incredible views! Small quibbles. 🙂

I only drove one seventh of the Dempster and was already struck by the sheer isolation of the land I was driving through. I saw a homestead or two that were obviously self-sufficient, but, otherwise, there is nothing but mountains and tundra as far as the eye can see. It was land a person could disappear in.

The Milepost guide has a section about the Dempster and includes the following helpful information about Two Moose Lake:

Moose can be seen at twilight.

What about the season when there is no twilight?! 😀

Even though I wanted to keep going after the lake, I knew I had a long drive home and an even longer hike planned, so I turned around and headed back into Tombstone Park. I stopped at the campground and information centre to get the latest trail report and to find out if there had been recent bear sightings on the trail (nope).

The day had dawned very grey with heavy clouds and they let loose during the time I was the information centre. By the time I reached the Grizzly Creek trailhead, the sun was out in full force. I always have ‘luck’ with the weather the day I decide to climb a mountain. Hopefully, that streak will hold up with the Chilkoot!

The trail leads to a backcountry campground, but my goal was the observation deck, about halfway. I hadn’t done any reading on the trail, so I didn’t know what to expect and was prepared for anything. My pack had everything I needed to take care of myself if ‘anything’ happened in the bush. I set off at 2PM with an ETA back at the car of 4 or 5 based on the little information the Milepost gave me.

The trail starts off gently, meandering through thick forest and lush vegetation, following the eponymous Grizzly Creek. The going is a bit treacherous as the trail is composed almost entirely of exposed tree branches, which are very slippery. The path slowly and sneakily starts to climb until you reach a staircase. From there, the slope is obvious and it’s a hard haul to the summit, with a patch of rock scrambling. Without exaggeration, the bit leading from the stairs to the top of the rocky area could be described in the same way as the trail from Sheep Camp over of the Chilkoot Pass is described in books, only in extreme miniature.

What impressed me the most was how the trail takes you up above the treeline to fantastic views of the valley below. Standing up at the summit was very humbling; I felt very small and insignificant, but, ironically enough, very much part of the world around me.

The hike down was much harder, jarring my poor knees. I would have twisted my ankles in a couple of spots had I not been wearing proper hiking boots with high tops. But what great practise this was for my next backcountry hike!

At the trailhead, there is a box with forms for ‘voluntary self-registration.’ The purpose is to find out how many people go into the park and for what reason so that the Yukon government can best manage the land. I filled in some of the info, such as where I was going and how long I planned to be there, but did not fill out the personal information as I am growing a bit paranoid in my older age ( 🙂 ). Upon returning to the trailhead, there is a second form to complete, which asks if there were changes made to the itinerary or length of journey. One of the last questions is “Did you encounter any wildlife?” I replied “Yes, mosquitoes.” Next question was “Why do you think this encounter occurred?” To which I replied “I didn’t wear bug spray.” I’m such a smart ass. 😀

I was back at the car by 4, where I inhaled a snack of yoghurt and a granola bar before heading back home, about an hour and a half away. I am very amused by the fact that I had to stop halfway and take a short nap! I haven’t had a real solid night’s sleep in weeks and have been surviving on catnaps, which explains my exhaustion. 🙂

What a fantastic day it was! I am so thrilled that I got a ‘taste’ of the Dempster this year; it will tide me over until next year, when I will finally go to Inuvik.