Northern Summer

Another lengthy blogging hiatus!
Summer is drawing to a close and with it, a string of guiding and paddling adventures.
This August found me paddling the Wind River in the northern Yukon. The beauty of the Peel River watershed was beyond my expectations.

While in Whitehorse prior to the trip, I was looking at a painting done by a local artist of the Ogilvie Mountains. The colours were vivid, too bright to be realistic and I thought it was a bit too surreal. The next day, as we began our drive up to Mayo (where we would fly into the river), I was caught offguard- the colours in the landscape really were there. It was as if the landscape had been painted by a giant watercolour brush - large swaths of yellows, oranges, purples, greens, browns and reds topped with stark grey mountains.
We hadn't even made it to the river...

The Wind River is a crystal clear vein of impossible turquoise blue water that flows through an expansive valley which is home to incredible wildlife and great hiking opportunities.

I suppose I was giving off such a vibe of love and respect for the river that I was given a few extra days to appreciate it's beauty. The float plane that was set to pick us up at the end of our trip couldn't make it in for two and a half days due to snow storms and blizzards in the mountains so we hunkered down on a gravel bar, started inventing new meals from foods in the bottom of the barrels, sat around the fire, ate lots of GORP and waited. Despite the beatuy of the scenery, the sounds of the planes engine was sweet music to our ears and people were happy to be 'rescued'. Luckily, I had heaps of extra insulin, pump supplies and Fruit Source bars to get me through!