----- Original Message ----- 
From: Bill Maloney
To: David Saum http://www.infiltec.com/gold/yukon/
Sent: Friday, March 08, 2002 12:13 AM
Subject: Re: Yukon River Trip


> David:  Sorry for the response delay.  Things have been very busy around
> here.
> 
> Taking the questions in order of appearance:  I have never left the airport
> in Vancouver so do not know the town at all.
> 
> Upper body weight training would be a good idea, but I think the load on
> your shoulders is not that bad in a plastic/fiberglass canoe because they do
> not have much drag on the water.  If you are planning to canoe upstream alot
> that is a very different story.
> 
> On the bug spray front, We just use Cutters or the REI brand.  The sticks
> are handy for applying the stuff w/o getting it all over your hands.  We
> take a couple of the small spray bottles because they are good for a quick
> thorough application on your clothes.  If the buggers are really out in
> force a blast of spray around the tent zipper before unzipping it to go in
> will keep most of them out of the tent.
> 
> We take head nets, but have not needed them except out on the tundra further
> north, where you are doomed without them.
> 
> We use freeze dried food and take almost all of it with us packed in the
> duffels in checked luggage.  I never heard of a limit on food going into
> Canada.
> 
> I never tried MREs and think the freeze dried stuff has gotten so much
> better than it was 10 or 20 years ago and is so cheap we us it.  Other dried
> stuff from the grocery store is good too.  Look for dried scalloped
> potatoes, dried humus, beef/turkey jerky, etc.  With freeze dried the stuff
> is so light bringing it as checked luggage is no problem.  Whitehorse has
> stores with that sort of stuff if you want to supplement the supply.
> 
> I think long guns may be legal, but our friend the wilderness guy has lots
> of reasons why he does not like them.  Something about using them in heavy
> brush, etc.
> 
> I think you can get by with a light bag.  We have never had really cold
> weather on the Yukon in July.  If you have the highly recommended poly
> fleece jackets and warm long johns, that can supplement the bag.  No
> goosedown!
> 
> The stretch between Whitehorse and Dawson is pretty well traveled.  In July
> we saw 5 to 6 canoes/kayaks a day.  I do not know how many will be on the
> river in June.
> 
> On the Sheenjek trip Pam and I got what turned out to be immersion foot
> (formerly trench foot).  Why we got it and the other two people did not is a
> mystery.  We all wore Teva sandals, so feet were wet all day.  In subsequent
> trips we have made a big effort to keep feet dry if possible and at night
> kept them dry and covered with antibiotic ointments.  I do plan to do more
> research before the next trip to get a better medical fix on the avoidance
> and treatment of it.
> 
> We have Teva sandals but wear tennis shoes and socks if we think we can keep
> the feet dry that way.  Light hiking shoes should do for trail journeys.
> 
> None of the canoes in our trips have ever turned over.  We are very careful
> to scout rapids and with multiple canoes we use the FSR walkie talkies to
> communicate about river conditions from the lead boat to other boats.
> 
> Have waterproof bags for everything and make sure you have a way to securely
> tie the bags into the canoe so they will stay put even if the canoe
> overturns in the rapids.  Its lots easier to find and retrieve one half sunk
> canoe than several buoyant dry bags moving fast down stream.  Get multiple
> sizes and colors so you can sort of know what is in a given bag without
> having to dump all the contents out.  If you are going to hike distances, I
> would get a day pack and just tie it to the canoe until you needed it.
> 
> 16 days should be plenty of time for the trip.
> 
> We have taken the bus from Carmax to Whitehorse and it worked fine, but you
> want to get your tickets in advance so you have a seat.  The bus from Dawson
> is the same one, it just stops in Carmax on the way to Whitehorse.  Our
> friends took it and said it was no problem.  I personally would  not
> hitchhike on those deserted roads, but I see people doing it.
> 
> I do not mind if you post the e-mails as long as everyone knows its just one
> person's opinions and experiences.  Please delete my e-mail address as I use
> this one for business.
> 
>  Bill