Kluane National Park Winter Wilderness Tour
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| Following the Trapper's Trail |
Untracked powder snow, warmth of the winter sun, northern lights dancing across the night sky, wolves houling at the campfire and cosy evenings in a rustic log cabin. That's how people imagine the Yukon Winter and you can experience this during our 10 Day Tour. A Winter in the Yukon does not only mean endless snow, deep frozen lakes and rivers, temperatures to minus 40 degrees, but also cross country skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoe hiking, dog sledding and ice-fishing. Base station is a rustic log cabin at Kluane National Park from where we start our daily excursions. Enjoy the comforting ambience of the wood fired oven in the log cabin. If you wish we can exchange the cross country ski excursions with snowshoe hikes.
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Day
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Itinerary
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01
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Arrival in Whitehorse. Meet your tour guide at the airport. You have time to shop and complete your equipment. Afterwards we drive to Kluane National Park, encompassing the largest non-polar icefield in the world and Canada's tallest mountain, Mt. Logan. We overnight at our log cabin in the middle of Kluane's wilderness.
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02
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Surrounded by the steep St. Elias Mountains, the wilderness begins right next to our cabin at our snowshoe trail. We gear up and are on the way to our first winter excursion. After getting comfortable with our snowshoes we are walking easily through the deep powder snow. The crunching of the snow is only interrupted once in a while by the clamouring of the squirrels or by curious singing birds. Walking through the deep snow-covered winter landscape we find wildlife tracks from lynxes, wolves and martens. The sun conjures a glow on the top of the St. Elias Mountains. We walk across frozen creeks and wide open flats that are hard to reach during the summer season. At a remote mountain lake we warm up to a cracking campfire and barbecue sausages. By that time we are well used to the snowshoes. Back at our log cabin we make ouselves comfortable next to the wood-fired ofen.
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03
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First day snowmobiling! Our guide provides us a good introduction of the use of snowmobiles. Afterwards we are off to our first skidoo trip. Every one of us has their own machine. First careful but soon we are riding the snowmobile comfortably on snow-covered dirt roads. Riding along the frozen river the winter scenery is flashing by. We turn and follow smaller path uphill through the woods. From exposed hills we get terrific views of the surrounding area and have the opportunity to take pictures. We warm up at a campfire during lunch time. Our trail winds around smaller frozen lakes and creeks that are marked by wildlife tracks. We feel the warmth of the sun on our skin while driving back to the cabin.
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04
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Today we are exploring the area on cross country skis. We follow the tracks through the different regions - from rolling hills to flat areas. The dry snow crunches below our skis. After a while we have reached the untouched wilderness and can breath the fresh, crisp air. The sun warms us and invites us to take a break. We are looking for a comfortable place to rest where we enjoy the vistas and eat our lunch. On the way back to our cabin we enjoy a gentle, long downhill run. We are surrounded by the amazing winter landscape that let us forget all stress and worries of our daily life. Soon we have reached our warm cabin.
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05
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Our next adventure awaits: driving a sled dog team. We meet our guide and get to know the excited huskies. He shows us the handling of a dog team and we learn how to gear up the dog team in front of the sled and steering it. Then we are off on the trail. From our sled we overlook our dog team and see the amazing winter landscape passing by. From time to time we have to direct the dog team around curves or fallen trees. The huskies start to sprint once we have reached the open flats. Their excitement of running carries on to us. In the evening we give our sore mussels a rest and are enriched with new impressions.
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06
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Directly from our cabin we start once again to discover the area by snowmobile. Across densely wooded pine and spruce forests we are following a valley and cross frozen riverbeds and circle a few rounds on the lake. We are looking out for dall sheeps near steep cliffs of the Elias Mountains. The trail winds uphill to a high alpine plateau where a endless virgin deep powder snow area waits us to be conquered. Later on we drive further uphill to the next plateau where we leave our snowmobiles and walk the remaining meters with our snowshoes to a close-by viewpoint. A snow-covered mountain range is unfolding as far as we can see. This is the perfect place to enjoy our lunch. On our way back to the cabin we are looking forward to freshly baked cake and a coffee.
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07
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We spend another day exploring the area with our snowshoes. At first our trail winds through densely wooded forests. Afterwards we cross part of Mud Lake and follow the path that leads towards the mountains. Soon we reached an open area where we enjoy terrific vistas. We follow the frozen river bed to another mountain plateau and treeline where we take our time to enjoy the surrounding area. We may see some dall sheeps or ptarmigans. Filled up with new impressions we return in the late afternoon to our cabin. We wind up the evening with a hearty meal.
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08
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Today we are traveling by snowmobile a short distance to a lake. We drill a hole into the ice and try our luck ice-fishing. Sometimes we have to drill a few holes until we are successful. As soon as we catch some fish we can barbecue them at the open fire. A warming campfire helps us to stay warm. We build a snowcave, one of the best shelters to survive a nordic winter. Back at our cabin we spend the last evening in the wilderness around the campfire and enjoy hot drinks and roasted marshmellows. Maybe we are even lucky to see the northern lights dancing across the sky.
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09
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Today it depends on you if you wish to spend your day snowshoeing, cross country skiing or relaxing in the sunshine. Strap your snowshoes and explore the surrounding area or follow with your guide the ski trail along the lake shore or to the tundra. If you feels like relaxing you can snooze of in the sunshine in front of the cabin. In the evening we are driving back to Whitehorse and return to civilisation! Even a comfortable bed, a long hot shower, a delicious meal in one of the renown restaurants cannot fade away the unforgettable impressions of the past days.
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10
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After a hearty breakfast at the hotel we will transfer you to the airport. It is time to say goodbye to your guide and Yukon's true wilderness.
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