DAY 30 - Kluane Glacier Air Tours
Today we jumped in a "light aircraft" and took flight over the Kluane National Reserve glaciers!!!! One of the main things we wanted to do in The Yukon was to explore Kluane National Reserve which is 22,013 km² - twice the size of Switzerland. Upon lots of research on how to see the best of the area, we realized you can only do so by hiking or flying. So we decided to do a bit of both!
Yesterday morning was very tough to crawl out of the tent seeing as how it was about -3 degrees outside and we had been freezing all night. Even Zack, Mr. Sleeps in his boxers with the fan on all year, was bundled in socks, pants and a sweater. So the thought of getting up and doing a hike was a little bit daunting. After pushing our alarm back and back, we ended up finally getting up and taking off towards Kluane, about a 2hr drive East from Whitehorse. The original hike we had planned was about another hour away from the airport, and it was a bit of a long hike so we had to make a change of plans. After talking to my mom yesterday about Kathleen Lake, we decided that it was well worth checking out! And also not too far from the Haines Junction Airport either, so we would have more time to explore.
As soon as we were getting close to Haines Junction, the huge glaciers started to appear in the distance. They grew larger and larger, and more abundant as we came into the small town. We were both in awe by the view. This was the ultimate scene that we were waiting to see since starting this trip!
Before we knew it we arrived at the very large Kathleen Lake. The blue skies allowed the sun to beam down on certain areas of the lake, shining straight to the bottom very clearly. The glacier fed lakes makes for incredible crystal clear bodies of water. The fog was also just rising off the water through the mountains behind it, and there was land stretching all around to explore. While Zack was putting in his contacts I read the information posts on the boardwalk and apparently this lake is home to very old lake trout, up to 50 years old and 40 lbs!! Zack was definitely wishing we could have been fishing on the lake instead lol
We spent some time walking around the lake up to the mountain base, and skipping the very flat rocks that make up the beach area. I quickly realized that I can no longer skip a rock to save my life ... I used to do it all the time as a kid, but apparently skipping rocks is not like riding a bicycle for me haha
After giving up on that, we sat on an old fallen log and listened to the nature surrounding us. The views were so beautiful, we wish we couldn't gotten out onto the lake with a boat to explore the rest of it. And the craziest part is that we were only on the outskirts of Kluane National Reserve, so we knew there was so much more to discover!
Our time in The Yukon has definitely been more focused on exploring the cities and culture which isia must in a place like this. However, we also would've loved to stay and do some big hikes through Kluane if time permitted. I guess that just means we'll have to come back here sometime soon 😉
After our stroll on the beach, we made some lunch in the truck and headed towards Haines Junction Airport. Now, I'm not the biggest fan of heights or even airplanes for that matter. So I was a little bit nervous to be going up in a very small, unpredictable plane where I am basically exposed very high up in the sky. Zack on the other hand could handle anything lol He's been telling me how bad he wants to sky dive since day 1 of being together. This trip so far has consisted of us pushing outside of our comfort zone a lot, so I guess this was just one more thing to add to that list. Heck, before our trip I would never have thought I'd be caught dead on the side of a mountain looking down but look at me now!
We pulled up at airport and immediately got a glimpse of the aircraft that we were going to be in, that's when the sweaty palms began. We went inside to register and happened to run into the 4 people that just got off their flight. They all had the biggest smiles on their faces and were lit up with adrenaline! Instantly an older woman began to rave about how incredible that just was and how much we are going to love it. She also told us how smooth the flight was (thank god) and how nervous she originally was as well. But she reassured me that as soon as you get up there, that goes away very quickly. She honestly made me feel a million times better, and at that moment the nervousness left and the excitement kicked in!
After a good safety briefing and learning about the plane itself, we climbed in and got ourselves buckled up. There was 5 of us in total including our pilot Stuart. We had actually already met the other couple that were also on the tour with us at Kathleen Lake. They were walking their SO HANDSOME chocolate lab Syd, that we almost scooped up and took home with us. The man wanted to ride co-pilot up front, so his wife took the solo back seat and Zack and I sat beside eachother in the middle.
Stuart fired up the engine and the propeller started roaring. After he did his extensive check on the runway for bears, we were clear to take off. Apparently there is a momma black bear and her two cubs that thoroughly frequent the area, even with a plane close by.
The pilot then drove to the end of the runway and turned around for takeoff. Within about 30 seconds we were off the ground and soaring above the trees. We first flew over Haines Junction and the little towns surrounding it, and quickly entered into Kluane National Reserve. Immediately the mountains began below us. The fall colours were out with lots of green, orange and red scattering the ground beneath us. The mountains at this point were brown with lots of trees, similar to what we've been seeing so far but so much higher. We even got to spot about 15 dull sheep all gathered together on a mountain side, which Stuart said he has never seen that many together in the 6 years he's been here. The entire time up there, Zack and I couldn't help but look at eachother just grinning ear to ear. We also got to wear the classic big headsets that make you look like a pilot and let us all talk to eachother through the flight.
Stuart was an awesome pilot, very safety oriented and so knowledgable about the surround area. He's also been flying since before he had a driver's license, so I'm sure that helped. The entire trip he let us know each mountain we were passing, the history of Kluane and even took us on an amended tour route because of the clouds. We found out after that he actually took us on the best tour which is much more expensive, but only charged us for the one we booked which just added so much to the experience. In terms of flying, there are only a couple different aircrafts that come through the reserve. Kluane Glacier air tours, the rescue helicopter and some ski-planes. While we were flying there were only about 10 people in that entire 22,013 square KM area, us making up 5 of them. Another 4 of them were in a teeny, tiny research station in the middle of the mountains that looked like a speck of dirt in the snow. The ski-planes are the ones who switch out the researchers each week and bring them their groceries and supplies. The rescue helicopter apparently has quite the hectic job out here too, rescuing numerous climbers and hikers through the season. As Klune is so big and a very strenuous trip to hike any of the interior mountains, Parks Canada has to grant permission and monitor each person that enters the area. The reserve is also home to the tallest peak in Canada, Mt. Logan at 19,000ft, and 17 out of 20 of the tallest peaks in North America. 2 of those mountains are even cut in half and shared with Alaska 😂 Mount Logan's was pretty incredible to witness, the base of the mountain is the size of Mount Everest and K2 put together! This year a new record was also set for the first solo female who climbed Mount Logan, and she was from Montreal! It takes at least a month to hike and usually around $10,000 worth of equipment to do so.
We also learned about some of the first mountaineers to cross Kluane National Reserve. There was about 7-12 of them starting on the Alaska side, which is a straight incline up. By day 5, with temperatures around -70 degrees, 2 of them got frost bite and turned back, 1 of them died, and the rest pushed forward. Only about 20 days in they ran out of food and had to live the rest of the way on glacial spiders and pikas. Unbeliable determination.
As we continued to learn about the area, we soared through the glaciers. We were really hoping to see some real snow covered mountains on the trip, and this definitely did not disappoint. Gradually the mountains got higher, more snow covered and the ground disappeared. Soon we were in a winter wonderland of glaciers and icefields. There were large cracks in the snow all over, which we learned were about 1km deep and many have found themselves at the bottom of one while hiking here. The view was absolutely breathtaking, certainly the most amazing we've seen. We all would've loved to land on a glacier, but it's too risky as you can't tell if the snow is packed or fluffy and we could easily end up a KM under the snow in no time.
As we made our way back to the airport, we flew over Kluane Lake. This is the largest lake in The Yukon and a stunning dark turquoise, surrounded in glaciers. Perfect view to end our flight. We came in close to prepare for landing, Stuart did another good check for bears on the runway and began desending. We hit a couple big air patches and turbulence at this point and my anxiety heightened. Right, this was the part I didn't like about flying. As I braced myself holding Zack, we lowered onto the runway with no bumps or concerns at all. It was actually quite smoother than a commercial airplanes landing. Still riding the high, we all hopped out, thanked Stuart for the incredible experience and left the airport. It was not hard to tell why so many people choose Kluane Glacier Air Tours. It was very well run, reasonably priced and an incredible experience. If you are ever in The Yukon it is a must do!!
Afterwards we headed back to Whitehorse to visit one most store for some souvenirs before we left. We also hadn't showered in far too long since most of the campgrounds here don't have shower facilities. Thankfully an RV park down the road had public showers so we stopped in there for a very good scrub down. Let me tell you, we (mostly me) have gotten VERY good at having timed 6-8 minute showers. All of the showers along the way we have paid for and are timed. I determined I can fully shower in 3.5 minutes quickly, but thoroughly enjoy soaking up that extra hot water afterwards lol
Once we were all squeeky clean we drove back to Wolf Creek Campground where we have been staying. We decided to pack up our tent tonight and sleep in the truck seeing as how it was supposed to rain all morning and we didn't want to pack it up all wet. It didn't rain ALL day, but of course just before we got back there was a nice downpoor. So after wiping the tent down the best we could, we packed it away and set up the truck for sleeping. We ended up chatting with our new campsite neighbours who were originally from Hamilton but fell in love with it here and moved about 6 years ago. They actually only lived 5 minutes down the street but decided to camp out for the night. She was so friendly and hospitable, she even offer up their house for night for us to get a good sleep, shower up and do laundry if needed! Although we really wanted to take her up on that, and definitely need to do laundry, we thanked her for the offer and hopped into the truck for the night. We were going to join them by the fire for a bit, but it was already nearly 10pm and we knew we had a very long day of driving ahead of us tomorrow!
Needless to say we had an incredible last day in the The Yukon and are leaving a part of our hearts here for sure. Tomorrow we enter the final stretch of our trip in the beautiful Britsh Columbia!
Comments
Post a Comment