Paddling the Yukon River

As we clambered aboard the canoe for a paddle down the fabled Yukon River, guide Tom Dyers calmly offered practical advice.

“Let’s paddle out into the current at about 45 degrees and let it turn us downriver. If you go out straight from the shore, it can flip you over,” he said.

We were in the heart of Whitehorse, just a short walk from where we met Tom at Up North Adventures, who had arranged our day of canoeing. The river is central to Whitehorse’s history and very existence, a First Nations highway for millennia and a gateway for the Klondike Gold Rush just over a century ago. Once bustling with paddle wheelers, it is now celebrated by the 21st century city with a lovely, landscaped riverfront of walking trails and lookouts.

Upon arrival in the territorial capital, my brother and I strolled down to the Yukon and wondered how we could ever take a canoe out into it. The current was particularly strong after a record spring run-off that brought floods elsewhere in the territory — not white water by any means, but impressive.

As we pushed off from shore, we briefly wondered if we were in for a bone-chilling dunking, but Tom’s advice was effective. After a couple of paddles, the current gently brought us around to face north and we were off. It was quickly evident that the river was our friend. With virtually no turbulence, the Yukon carried us along without even the need to paddle much, other than to steer.

“If you wanted, you could just fall asleep and the worst that would happen is that you’d gently bump up against the shoreline,” said Tom.

A former RCMP officer whose career took him to postings in Ottawa, Alberta and Yukon, Tom chose to retire in Whitehorse, taking on a part-time job as a guide with Up North, which allowed him to pursue his passion for the outdoors and get paid for it.