The Klondike

As summer came to a quick end, it was time to say goodbye to the good friends and places I grew close to and prepare for the next adventure. This is always the challenge and excitement of seasonal work. By September 12^th, Lara and I had the car, or “the rig” as we started calling it, packed neatly to it’s edges leaving just enough space for ourselves to breathe. That night, we made camp between massive pines just along the beach 30 or so miles north of Juneau at Sunshine Cove. We woke up to people hurling pallets down the bank 75 feet to our right for a massive bonfire, which had been surprisingly pretty easy to sleep through.

“All ashore, going to shore. All ashore going to shore.” We took the Malaspina ferry from Auke Bay north to Haines. We enjoyed tortilla soup at Mountain Market where we met up with Lara’s cousin Wes who had been working with Alaska Mountain Guides on the rivers and lakes of the area. Afterwards, we wandered around on some trails with Lara while her cousin Wes took some footage for his video project called “No Other Land”, which I’m thinkin’ will be my breakthrough into modeling for Patagonia. Check it out!

One of the most exciting parts about being on the road is the uncertainty of where to sleep. On this section of our trip, we stayed at “the yard,” where Wes and the rest of the AMG (Alaska Mountain Guides) guides stay in the various vans, buses, and airstream trailers around the property. We hunkered down in a Wal-Mart parking lot after no camping signs and 500 dollar fines threatened our chances of staying anywhere beautiful around Whitehorse. Fortunately, most other nights we were able to find nicely located and discreet places to set up camp.

Highlights: Climbing at the Rock Gardens in the Yukon. Video shoot with Wes and Lara. Dinner at 33 mile, a historical eatery known for good food and heli-skiing (check out my childhood hero, the late Shane McConkey’s segment in the ski movie Claim). A beautiful ferry ride from Juneau to Haines. Monsters Inc. Running in Kluane National park at Lake Kathleen. Riverside Grocery in Whitehorse.