Canada's insider blog

We were a little late getting to the boarding gate in Calgary, because we got stuck relaxing in the Calgary Maple Leaf Lounge (it was the top winner of the Canadian Interior “Best of Canada” Design Competition).  Go figure! However luck was on our side, as we got upgraded to first class on our Air Canada Jazz flight. 

I was 2A. (We have horseshoes following us, I swear!)  Stepping off the plane, a warm 24-degree breeze greeted us, along with Deb Greenlaw from Yukon Tourism.  We were happy for both and summer in the Yukon is actually summer-like.  I think the Yukon’s had the best summer weather in the country.

I’m always up for a challenge, and since I’ve never paddled before, I took Deb's advice and went on an afternoon tandem canoe ride down the Yukon River with the Kanoe People, a family run river outfitter.  Scott McDougall and his wife own the shop, her family is sixth generation Southern Tutchone and Tlingit Tribe of the Wolf Clan. (Her grandfather was the well known Native river Captain, Frank Slim.)

Sarah, my guide from Quebec, was a strong paddler, and thank heavens!  We covered 18.5 km in about 2 hours, and I've had only 4 hours of sleep (after a 13-hour travel day).  On the river, there was a fishy smell, but the emerald-coloured water was so clear that we could clearly see the sandy bottom.  Near the cliff-sided banks the wind picked-up much more than on the narrower portions covered with marshy reeds, grass and trees. 

I saw a half dozen eagles at least, some of them flying just a few inches from the water.  Their calls were scream-like, and and at one point, the vivid conversations of ravens calling, swallows chirping mixed together with the eagles' calls, almost overpowered the sounds of our paddles hitting the water.

Smooth-riding down the Yukon, just the way I like it.  The paddling was so calming, I hardly noticed the workout I was getting.  I would highly recommend the trip I took to anyone looking to connect with nature and zen-out, even if it’s for an hour.