Dawson Overland Trail
I’m on the Dawson Overland Trail, part of the longest trail in the world, the transcanadian trail. Let’s rewind and let me tell you how I arrived here.
I left Sarah Steel’s hut a few hours after the sun rose. I walked to the next hut, the Fireweed hut and stopped there. I decided to spend the rest of the day resting here. I first prepared some wood and started a fire in the stove, which was in much better condition than the other one. The hut itself was smaller and I had to put two benches next to each other to have just enough space to lie down. It was also much more hermetic than the previous chalet, which means it kept the heat. And the stove being more hermetic too, the wood lasted longer and I kept the fire going from the moment I arrived until I left the following morning. It did get pretty hot in there, too hot even. It was snowing heavely outside, a sight I enjoyed through the three big windows of the hut. I slept, ate and read about Whitehorse and made plans for the few days I had left. In the morning, after making sure that the fire was dead, I walked to the sport center to fill my water bag. There wasn’t much food there. I bought a few cookies and a cereal bar. That, in addition to the few dates I had left should be enough for a couple of days.
I walked to the highway where I had to wait about 20m before getting a lift. The man was supposed to turn before where I was going but he brought me to what we thought was the beginning of the Overland Trail. I thanked him and started to look for the trail. The first one I dounf brought me inside what looked like a gypsy’s village, with lots of trailer and broken cars. Lots of barking dogs too. I walked through it knowing I had to cross the river to find the start of my trail. The river was still frozen, but probably only on the surface, so I walked on the side hoping to find a bridge. I didn’t find a bridge but traces of snowmobiles going across the river, so I took a stick and carefully crossed the river, checking the ice every other step. As I crossed, I remembered a scene of Into the Wild, when he gets stuck on the otherside of the river. So I checked the map and saw a bridge a few km down the road, so if the river became uncrossable when I would come back, I could use the bridge.
And there I am, on the Overland Trail. Had I had more time I would have loved to go all the way to Dawson, but I can only walk North today and I will have to come back tomorrow. I’ll then have a last day to explore the historical trails in Whitehorse before going back to Vancouver. It’s funny how just a few days ago, when struggling in the powder I wished I could be home, and today I wish I had a few more weeks here.
My shelter for the night
The sun waking up on the Overland Trail, Whitehose, Yukon
The river crossing at the end of the Overland Trail
View from the plane, Whitehorse airport