Upriver in a Locally Built Boat

A week and a bit ago this was filled with icebergs coming from the Crow River.

Before moving to the Yukon, a long time Yukoner was giving me some tips on what to bring, Yukon weather and Yukon way of life. He told me of the viscously cold winter and the warmest of the warm items of clothing that I should be sure to pack. He went on to say that in May it would be an almost immediate switch to summer. As hard as this was to believe, after the snowstorm on May 1st this advice couldn't have rang more true. The snow melted almost immediately and I went from sporting layers and a coat to wearing a t-shirt.

Twelve Mile Bluffs (cliffs seen in distance) with sun reflecting off them

Spring in Old Crow is beautiful. I once again again felt lucky and honoured to get asked to go on a trip with a family here. We went in a boat that the Father built last spring. It took him 2 weeks of on and off work to build it. The daughters helped paint it, and it is truly a useful and practical work of art. We traveled about 57km up river in the boat and saw many amazing things. I'll truly never forget this day.

The photos in this post are not from the trip upriver. I was just recently able to borrow a cable to charge my camera, so I didn't have a camera for the river trip. I will describe it the best I can. Lacking my camera on this day got me thinking about the act of taking photos on a trip and an incredible experience. Does it take away from the present moment? Is an amazing experience better without a camera lens between you and it? Are memories less potent when you experienced them from behind a lens? Or do they fade sooner if we don't have a camera to remember them by?

3 cranes flying above my house

We packed the boat with food, blankets (including a caribou hide blanket) and guns and set out. I definitely did not dress warm enough. On the river it was winter again. My amazing hosts lent me a parka and I was toasty warm for the rest of the day. We saw black ducks, mallards, swans, cranes, geese and a muskrat. They were hoping to see a caribou and shoot it, but there were no caribou crossing the river when we were out. I have been told the caribou cross at night more often than in the day.

I have seen more ravens in Old Crow than anywhere else

We stopped a few hours upriver for lunch. The girls and I explored the camp up from the river and found a caribou antler that I brought for my dog to chew (apparently great to clean their teeth and definitely gives her something to do) and so much ledie muskiit (laborador tea). The girls collected a bunch to bring home with them. We climbed to the top of the hill where we were afforded an amazing view of a lake called Fish lake and a few others. Near where we had lunch was a cabin where a woman raised 17 children and expertly lived off the land for many years.

Old Crow Airport

Swallows swooping and darting; Arena in the background

We continued up river for another few hours and stopped at a place where the cliffs were steep and towered over the river. We skipped so many stones into the river and I learned so much about the land and the history of Old Crow. We saw a section of river that chunked off in a landslide so massive that it could apparently be heard from Old Crow. The girls and I learned how to use my new GPS and followed our trip on there. The trip back to Old Crow was incredibly windy and my face looked and felt like I had been outside for much longer than one day. I wished I could have been, as this day was one of my favourited ones in Old Crow yet.

My class made lunch for their parents and some Elders of the community yesterday. They picked ledie muskiit and made a tea to serve to the Elders. It was a wonderful experience to experience and I am very proud of them for their hard work.

My apologies for the lack of posts in the past little while. It has been a hectic few weeks and my motivation is not as great when I don't have photographs to include with my writing. Maybe that comes with being a very visual person, learner and thinker. I hope you are all well. I am so excited  to see those of you in Vancouver in a few weeks, and to see those of you in Ontario in August. We will have many stories to share and catch up on.

Warm Regards from Old Crow,

Haley