the unique yukon

The Yukon. The word conjures up thoughts of some place cold, snow-covered,remote and uninhabitable. Then there are the thoughts of a Yukon ripe with red-coated Mounties and gold seekers.

What you won't think of is a very modern era place with an internet presence (www.yukonweb.com), as easy to reach via e-mail as it is difficult to reach by jet airplane. While there are still Royal Canadian Mounted Police dressed in red coats, it's usually only for special celebrations. Gold mining is big business with heavy equipment long since replacing the solitary miner with a pick ax and shovel.

As for being remote, the Yukon Territory is that. You don't get there by accident. So, I came to the Yukon by choice, after a chance meeting years before with RCMP Pete Greenlaw, who heads up the Klondike Snowmobile Association (klonsnow@yknet.ca)and is an avid snowmobiler. We had agreed that if ever there was a chance for me to visit the Yukon, he would help me secure sleds and guides.

There I was this past February, just arrived via Canadian Air 737 from Vancouver. Pete met me at Whitehorse, the territorial capital where all but 30 percent of the Yukon's 33,500 hardy residents live.

Pete formally introduced me to Trig Bakkie, who would be my host- guide-mechanic while I settled in Haines Junction, 100 miles from Whitehorse. Quite an accomplished snowmobiler, occasional racer, definite sled head, local Polaris dealer and fix-it guy, Trig's pride and joy is an Indy Storm with custom chassis, rolled chaincase, and tuned pipes.

Haines Junction, not to be confused with Haines, Alaska along the coast,is a small cross roads town on the Alaska/ Canada Highway. Settling in at the Gateway Motel proved easy, as it follows the traditions of small northwoods type snowmobile accommodations with cable TV and telephone.

It was agreed we would join the local club and go up in local hill areas, about 4500 feet in height. There are about 40 active riders, mostly favoring Polaris, the brand Trig sells.

In Haines Junction, as well as the Yukon, you find first name familiarity rules. Haines Junction lies 100 miles from Whitehorse and 100 years back in time as people treat your worth for what you do. They look out for each other. They know each other- good and bad.

The area around Haines Junction has served as back drop for movies. It is where portions of the movie "White Fang" were filmed. Remember that commercial highlighting a Jeep burrowing through the snow? It was filmed nearby.

With dawn came breakfast at the Cozy Corner and the start of our first ride. Three of us left the Gateway, Trig, Wade, the motel manager and former Canadian Army trooper, and myself. After a burst down the ditches along the Al-Can Highway we met up with the others at Ralph's, just outside of town. His wife, Deb and son Brian, 16, joined up. They were the Cat people. And a minority, so you know the ribbing they caught. Roland's wife Sue had been only riding two months and had a standard track Trail Indy while Rollie had a Widetrak LX, seemingly an unlikely sled for this area. But low gear, torque and traction are handy in the Yukon bush. As a groomed trail system is as rare as a $120 million lottery winner, Yukon regulars look for sleds that will get them back from wherever they go.

Our first day's weather reached into the 20s Fahrenheit. At first it was overcast, but once in the higher mountain areas, the sky became sunny with some clouds. That first day's outing we traveled about 75 miles. While it may not sound like an imposing trip, the ride was reminiscent of western rides, where you start from a trail head and eventually make your own way.

That was pretty much the plan. We banked off hillsides, climbed whited out mountain notches and whisked through terrain that at some points looked all the same for many miles. We rambled through a gold field that was first worked in the original 1898 gold rush. To end the day, we enjoyed a quick return along an old pipeline.

Following the first day's tradition of breakfast at Cozy Corner, we joined our group and prepared to head for a downed airplane site. The plane had crashed decades earlier, so local folklore varied as to what the plane was carrying and how the crew were ferried out of the crash site. The adventure to getting to the plane consisted of long valleys, sloping hillsides and stealthy movements through creek beds and along creek sides.

The plane was hard to spot for a tenderfoot, but the experienced Wade, Brian and Trig headed seemingly straight up to the aluminum remains of the cargo aircraft. It had nearly cleared the hill and by crashing had become a trail adventure for Yukon sledders.

As I watched the trio climb and maneuver to the plane, I worked up my own courage, first noting the steepness of the attack and then paying attention to the more tricky problem of winding through a varied rock field. Figuring that if the rocks were visible from the bottom of the hill, they must be imposing near the top. I aimed the Indy 600 RMK uphill, poured on the Made
in USA power, and held on. As steep as the hillside was, the Indy gripped and ripped so well that I had to back off the throttle! This Polaris creation has outstanding power, easily defeating this hillside challenge.

Picking my way through the rock field, my pride swelled at making the climb. Pop! Instant humility. I was face up in the rock field. The sled had nicked a boulder, hidden by the snow cover. There I was, on my back, ego dinged, but at the crash site.

Getting up was the easy part. Getting back down was tricky. Speed was a concern. Brian and Wade threw drivebelts over their sleds' skis to help brake them. Wade and I relied on making wide slow turns to control our speed and to conserve our brakes because the bottom of the hill ramped out before dropping into a high speed flat run off.

The deep profile RMK track and hydraulic brake worked well to moderate speed for an easier than expected return. Maybe the Indy wasn't our style favorite, but when it came to day- to-day living with a sled, this Indy 600 RMK was a prime choice.

The airplane crash site was our destination, but side trips included a brief rest at a creekside cabin. This was not a remnant, but had been choppered in to location. Prefabricated in town, the cabin was flown out in sections.

My final day in Haines Junction was a quick trip up to the provincial park. It was an easy trip and a time to say "thanks" to all for their kindness as Pete and his wife, Deb, came to return me to Whitehorse.

While I may have felt my experience was adventurous, Deb Greenlaw's experience of literally snowmobiling across Canada was much more awesome. She traveled 6,500 miles in 60 days on an organized Trans-Canada expedition before returning home to the Yukon.

Is this Yukon a recommended destination? It is unique. I saw a ruggedness that is truly beautiful, and enjoyed a warmth from strangers that is essential to this lifestyle. There is a part of me that will always carry a piece of the Yukon with me. There is the snowmobiling. And there is the belief that someday I will return. The Yukon does that to you. Makes you want to go back.AS