Canoe Expedition in the Yukon Wilderness

Thoroughly enjoyed the trip. We were spoiled by the weather, just one rainy evening, and some excellent guides. Isadora, Rory and Felix worked tirelessly and had us all ferrying across the river in a very professional manner by mid week. Fantastic group of people to paddle with and I will never look at the clouds in the same light again!

Absolutely fantastic experience, highly recommended, our guides Isadora, Rory and Felix were outstanding working tirelessly to keep everyone fed and informed. Loved it 😃

This is one of the best adventure trips I have had. The guides were excellent, as were the equipment they provided, and the food, all helped by the fantastic good luck of rain for only an hour and almost no wind. Having said that, although not technically difficult, paddling 360km over 9 days, between 20 and 60km per day, is challenging. Once you are on the rivers there is no way off.

The trip was better than we could have expected, in part due to luck - we had amazing weather the whole time with only a little rain, and our whole group were fab, working together from the first and providing great energy and entertainment. Our 2 guides from hosts Ruby Range were exceptional - skilled and knowledgeable, joining the banter and keeping us safe and amazingly well fed. They also made sure to include some fascinating and beautiful lunch spots. The paddling was hard at first, but by day 4 I’d found my rhythm with paddling and the days got easier. Nothing was better than a quiet hour of paddling and watching for wildlife. Despite some long days on the river, there was plenty of time for chilling, fishing, swimming and relaxing.

Quite simply a superb trip. Perfectly judged so that canoeing novices could develop the required skills and experience as they went along. Our guides Julianne and Jan were absolutely first class; considerate, hard working, knowledgeable and great fun. Their personal contribution to the success or otherwise of the trip was vital, and they were both excellent.

This was a fantastic and unforgettable trip. The guides Julia and Jan were knowledgeable and approachable and they helped the group to form and be a cohesive supportive group. They were humourous and hard working. The food was excellent throughout and was supplemented with fresh caught fish. The canoeing was sometimes hard because it was hot and we had little experience , but we got better and grew stronger throughout. the week. Thank you to those involved in both planning and application. Terrific trip.

We went canoeing on the Teslin and Yukon Rivers, guided by Jan and Julia. They were knowledgeable, helpful, had great humour and were incredibly hard working. They made sure it was a truly special event, pointing out wildlife and keeping us fed with wonderful meals throughout. I loved every minute - thank you very much!

I'll make no bones about it, this trip requires some serious endurance - some days travelling between 50-60km on the water. That being said, it was completely incredible. We were absolutely blessed with the weather, seeing approx 20 mins of rain for the whole trip, for which I am sure is an anomoly and not the norm - but we were certainly grateful for it! The views were breathtaking, heightened by the sunshine no doubt. We saw moose, eagles, a beaver and even a wolverine! We were immersed in the history of the yukon territories and the gold rush - seeing old first nations settlements, abandoned stern wheelers and camping at the sites of old mines and logging operations. There is truly something for everyone. Our guides, Juli and Jan, were fantastic - keeping us safe on the water and well fed (hunger is not a problem on this trip!) with a sense of humour to boot. But it's the group that make it what it is - everyone pitched in, whether it was prepping river water to be filtered, setting up the kitchen, getting the fire going or pitching tents - our guides showed us what to do and we just got on with it, running pretty much like clockwork from day 1. On a practical note, I definitely over packed initially - taking more clothes than needed on the water, so quite a lot was left at the base before even seeing a canoe. I ended up taking x2 sets of clothes (leggings, long sleeved base layer to protect from sun and cold, lightweight wicking fleece) plus waterproof trousers which were a bonus protection from the mosquitos, a down jacket and a waterproof. In terms of footwear, I wore crocs the whole time which was fine for on the canoe and dried quickly if getting wet and was also fine for in camp. I don't know if I'd have had the same opinion if we'd have had lots of rain. There are no shower/washing facilities. You have the river. That is all. Bug spray is a must - I got pretty much eaten alive but then again I'm a bit sensitive like that. Additional layers in camp helped, as well as after-bite cream and a head net when mozzies eere excessive as some camps were worse than others (we were mostly fine on the water). Bring a carabiner to clip your water bottle into your boat when on the water. A couple of people in our trip lost theirs to the river in an involuntary capsize. Thankfully there were a couple of spare bottles lurking around but don't rely on this - you are a long way from civilisation and if someone else doesnt have it, you will go without. We also took electrolytes which were very helpful for recovery each day. Invest in a good roll mat to sleep on. We took thermarests and got a fantastic night sleep each night. 9 nights is a long time to be uncomfortable at night and have poor recovery for the water the next day. I think the trip was accurately rated as moderate - I'm fairly fit though didn't actively train on the run up and it was fine. That said, your back and shoulders do take a lot of strain so if you're weak here/suffer with back pain, I would encourage you to do some form of strength/endurance training to accomodate this. Absolutely 1000% would recommend. This trip was amazing.

WHAT A PLACE! Bear (black), moose (mamma and calf), otter, beaver and more eagles (golden and bald) than you can count. To echo something in an earlier review, if you're at all considering this trip then just do it. I'd agree with other reviews that say that this is probably closer to challenging than moderate, depending on the weather. On a good day it's certainly not difficult, but once the wind picks up then it's hard work - not a bad thing at all, but something worth knowing. A couple of people in our group had been on MBA trips rated as 'challenging' and said that the hard days on the Yukon were much tougher than those, but then again, the easier days were much less so - in short, it varies, but everyone managed it and felt a huge satisfaction. Our guides were fantastic. Quite different from each other which meant each had their own strengths. Between them, their knowledge of the Yukon and of paddling was extensive. Food: you will not go hungry on this trip and you need not worry about having typical expedition freeze-dried fare either; every meal was amazing. Even better is that as you eat your way through the provisions, the boxes get lighter to load each day. Unless you're especially fussy then there's no need to bring extra snacks - the snack barrel is your best friend and makes regular appearances. Kit: we spent a lot of time second guessing our footwear choice as we chose to ignore the welly advice on grounds of weight. I'm glad we did. When I told the guides what was written, they looked very confused. If water goes over wellies then they take a very long time to dry. They're also heavy and cumbersome. Some people just paddled in crocs. One guide had sandals and another some specialist paddling shoes with neoprene underneath. I think everyone who took wellies ended up not really using them by the end. However, we went in July so the water wasn't really cold (we swam most days). I get very cold feet and opted for 4mm neoprene socks with old trainers for grip (I just ditched the shoes at the end) and this combination worked perfectly. I agree with an earlier review that said don't bother with any hiking shoes/boots for camp - crocs were fine. Take waterproof socks for under them if you want. I'd also say it's worth reading up a little on the history of the region (gold rush of the 1890s). It certainly gave me an appreciation for just what those prospectors went through . We loved the trip so much that we're planning to return and do Part B (from Carmacks, the end point of this trip, to Dawson city).

An adventure not a holiday!! That's what we say when someone asks about our trip. It was challenging but rewarding.