THE YUKON
EXPLORING A WILD RIVER

• Personal expectations and conduct in northern regions differ widely from warmer climes.  
• Best camps are made using subdued colors at least a ? mile from a settlement. The ends of islands are attractive, as are confluences of tributaries.  Often choices are forced by river height. Private property claims are conceded to start at the normal high water mark at the start of vegetation
• When visiting towns and villages the introductory local questions will often relate to the movements of fish or game. It is social to remark sightings but not proper to actually hunt or fish or to display hunting or fishing outfit on your boat or person. These are traditional First Native subsistence areas. Hook and line fishing is notably unproductive.
• Wear modest clothing in vicinity of settlements and do not introduce playing cards, dice, and suggestive literature or aerosol devices such as shaving cream or WD40. Avoid the use of dark glasses. Do not informally socialize along the river; never consume alcohol with casual acquaintances and keep your own counsel. Very little can be assumed from Yukon River residents dress or equipment ? people are measured by what they do rather than what they can buy.
• Elders are in a position of leadership and should be deferred to through eye contact or by greeting, even if the elder in a group is not the first to speak.

TECHNICAL PHRASES

•  All compass bearings are magnetic.
• All coordinates are derived from non-differential GPS on appropriate Canadian or USA datum and expressed in degrees, minutes, and seconds.
• 'Bell' refers to placing bells on items. Useful for bear or other wild animal alerts.
• 'Bold water' is deep and safe to navigate craft in, identified by tongues and boils.
• 'Coarse supplies' are ordinary nondurable merchandise.
• 'Freeze Up' and 'breakup' indicates the formation of ice in the fall, which blocks navigation until release of the river in spring. The Yukon River is typically open from 1 June until 15 November. Lake Laberge is usually the last ice out.
• 'Head of Passes'  Yukon Delta branches at this point to its 80 mile wide discharge into the Bering Sea.
• Measurements are in statute miles.
• 'okta (s)' is 1/8th of celestial sphere, used in measuring overcast.
• 'Painter' is the line used to secure your boat. You should have at least 30 feet at each end. Bell the painter when camped.
• Radio communication. The marine VHF is used commonly for communication on the river. For informal chatting channels 71 or 68 are usually used, channel 16 calls will communicate with commercial traffic.  Many residents who do not use a transceiver have a scanner, which receives all aviation and marine radio.
• Right and Left banks facing downstream.
• Safe water is potable drinking water
• Temperatures in Fahrenheit.
• The author often mixes 'I' and 'we' in his log entries; 'we' refers to him and the vessel. 'I' refers to him only.
• Wind speed in knots.
• 'VPSO' acronym for Village Public Safety Officer.

     Follow 'bold' water as marked by tongues and boils. It is your indication of a deep and swift river. Keep your vessel lined up in the current so if snagged you will not broach. Bold water runs from cutbank to cutbank, not necessarily in a straight line. If there are two opposite cutbanks there is a gravel bar between them. Rippled or faceted water may indicate shallows.

     Bears are unlikely to walk into a noisy camp. Be loud when setting camp. Start by using a pea whistle. A camp in the open is the best plan. Do not pass your water over the side of the boat, catch it in a jug and distribute this over the approaches to your campsite.

     Most travelers and residents will carry a repeating rifle of .30 caliber or larger. Keep your chamber empty and the magazine loaded, tape the muzzle with a 6" length of DUCT tape. This is known as, Loaded and in a field-ready condition.  When a gun is passed to another, the recipient acknowledges he is in control by saying; 'Thank you'. Guns, knives, and tools are returned in the exact manner they are passed. In your choice of a knife, make it a sheath knife with a thin blade you can draw and use with one hand. Know a man by the sharpness of his knife. It is best to get safe water at villages along your route. The dangers of suspect water far out-weigh any shortcut benefit.

     Make a capsize decision with your party before you embark: will you stay with the boat or strike for shore? The river is very cold and your prior risk assessment is important. Clip the painter to your belt so you will not be unwillingly separated.  Place bells on your painter when in evening camp.

     When the sun is low, the river channel is hard to see, as it is when the wind gusts or rain obscures your path. Be prudent and take a break at a convenient landing. Always wear your life jacket and have enough equipment in your pockets to meet immediate needs if cast ashore.

     If you have a good camp, confidence in your own ability, and a good rifle you will have nothing to fear. However, if you do have fear the river will know it and will not release you.

     If you send supplies ahead in the US Mail, send it priority. Unopened priority mail can be re-addressed and forwarded to a new destination at no charge. Call it a ?Bounce Box?.