Yukon Wildlife Safari

Introduction
Yukon Canada

At the end of the last century the great Klondike Gold Rush made the Yukon famous as the land of adventure. Miles of untouched wilderness, majestic mountains, clear, clean water and a rich variety of animal and plant life wait to be discovered by today's visitor. The Yukon is located in northwestern Canada next to Alaska. It is a compelling blend of historical gold rush attractions, abundant wildlife and pristine rivers and lakes all contained within one of the world's most magnificent natural setting. Anyone who loves the outdoors will experience a sense of awe at the sheer magnitude of the Yukon landscape. The land invites you to wander among the mountain meadows of wild flowers, to discover and explore this untouched wilderness. Join us on a horseback safari adventure into the remote wilderness of Canada's Yukon Territory. Located north of the Rockies and South of the Arctic Ocean, the Yukon is a wild and untamed Sub-Arctic mountainous region. We begin our safaris from our quiet and remote lodge on a pristine mountain lake.The journeys take us high over mountain passes, between jagged peaks, along raging rivers, through virgin forests and deep valleys, and across beautiful alpine tundra meadows. We work closely with our pack string of intelligent and tough mountain horses. Our groups are kept small, with a maximum of eight people so that we can remain non intrusive to the land and wild animals. With small groups we are able to see and experience far more than a large party could.
Our itineraries and routes are kept fairly flexible so that we can customize the speed and difficulty of the trip according to our guest's interests and abilities. We generally cover between 15-30 km/day. Although we attract mostly keen riders interested in experiencing wilderness and wildlife, we have had many people come with no previous experience. We feel comfortable teaching people how to ride, and confident in our horses. We appreciate hearing from our guests prior to their arrival about their previous outdoors/riding experience so that we can better plan our trips around our guest's abilities.

Accomodation

On our 7 and 9 day Safaris we travel light and leave little, bringing our camp with us as we go. Clients stay in our horse camps in the mountains with wall tents and stoves.  We only use the dome tents when we are travelling and doing spike camps (satellite camps from our base camp).  This only takes place  during 1 or 2 nights on the whole trip. in the middle of the beautiful wilderness and cook over an open
fire.

Riding

The majority of the trip is at a walk due to the mountain terrain and the packhorses.

Itinerary

Our itineraries and routes are kept fairly flexible so that we can customize the speed and difficulty of the trip according to our guest's interests and abilities. We generally cover between 15-30 km/day. Although we attract mostly keen riders interested in experiencing wilderness and wildlife, we have had many people come with no previous experience. We feel comfortable teaching people how to ride, and confident in our horses. We appreciate hearing from our guests prior to their arrival about their previous outdoors/riding experience so that we can better plan our trips around our guest's abilities.

We have a lifetime of experience with horses and the Canadian wilderness, and have traveled extensively on the land, finding routes and exploring thousands of kilometers of country. Our longest trip as a family was in 2000, where we journeyed non-stop over 2500 km with four horses through the wildest road less regions in the Yukon the Northwest Territories.
We would like to offer you the opportunity to join us and our kind, well-trained horses on a journey through remote, undeveloped wilderness.

7 Day Wilderness Ride - 5 Riding Days

Day 1: Arrival in Whitehorse and afternoon transfer to the ranch. The ranch comprises of log cabins, log bunkhouses, tack sheds, hitching rails and many horses! It is here you will meet your guides for the trip. Nice get together for an excellent dinner and then a good night sleep in a comfortable bed.
Day 2: Breakfast at 8 AM.  Pack up the horses with gear then ride to Beaver Dam Lake where you can try your hand at fishing for grayling here.  Enjoy a picnic lunch at Beaver Dam Lake then ride to Grizzly Camp where we'll unpack the horses.  Settle into camp and learn how to care for the horses in a camp setting.  Enjoy a tasty suppethe campfire.
Day3: Breakfast at 8 AM then we saddle up and head out on a day ride into the mountains and learn about moose, thier habits and what they eat.  Return by early evening to untack and care for the horses.  Supper by the campfire and then take part in a campfire Storytime from the locals.
Day 4:  Breakfast 8 AM, then we saddle up and head out on a day ride in the opposite direction from previous day. Spot some more wildlife and enjoy lunch high in the mountains.   Identify native plants and learn about the ecosystems in the area then return to camp.  Care for and feed the horses and get ready to taste a meal cooked from a dutch oven the traditional way.
Day 5: After breakfast at 8 AM, we pack up our gear and ride to High Camp where we will spot sheep on the mountainside along the way.   Enjoy lunch along the trail and then head for an afternoon dip in a crystal clear moutain lake (weather permitting).  Arrive at High Camp by mid afternoon, unpack our gear and care for the horse.  Then take some time to enjoy the scenery and relax as well you can spot some wildlife right from camp.  Enjoy a short hike from camp and veiw the surrounding areas and lakes.  Back to camp for a tasty supper and then sit by the fire and sip a freshly brewed cup of cowboy coffee.
Day 6: After breakfast, we saddle up the horses and head out on a day ride into the mountains.  Where we will veiw the workings of a functioning beaver dam and moose sheds left behind at their wintering grounds.  Than we head back to the ranch and overnight in one of our cabins.
Day 7:  After breakfast, transport back to Whitehorse.

9 Day Expedition- 7 Riding Days

Day 1:  Arrival in Whitehorse and afternoon transfer to the ranch. The ranch comprises of log cabins, log bunkhouses, tack sheds, hitching rails and many horses! It is here you will meet your guides for the trip. Nice get together for an excellent dinner and then a good night sleep in a comfortable bed.
Day 2:  Enjoy a hot cup of coffee or tea with a scrumptious breakfast. Guides will fill you in on items you need on the saddle horse and items to pack on the pack horses.
Next, your guide will match you with a horse best suited for your needs, riding ability, height, experience in the wilderness, etc. You can now spend some time getting acquainted with your horse. Your guide will then provide you with a short riding lesson in our riding arena, so you can feel very confident riding out on the trail. Our horses are quiet, responsive and enjoyable to ride.  Most of them are hardy mountain horses, giving them good endurance for climbing mountains. During the morning, you can experience your first day of observing the guides pack the pack horses, balance loads and throw a “diamond hitch” or “box hitch” over each pack.  These are special ways of tying packs on horses.
Once the horses are packed, it is time to hit the trail.  Enjoy the sights and sounds of the Yukon Wilderness, as we wind our way through spruce trees and along the edge of small lakes on our way to Beaver Dam Lake.  This is where we will stop for a picnic lunch.  You can take in the beautiful mountain vistas across the lake in the distance or watch the sandpipers and various species of ducks in the lake. 
After lunch, we will continue to ride on to our first base camp.  We call it Grizzly Camp, as it overlooks Grizzly Mountain.    We usually arrive here by late afternoon, so we have plenty of time for getting settled in to camp.
(Our base camps are complete with wall tents and stoves for sleeping, a cook tent, a fire pit and seating, and a hitching area for saddling horses.  We also have a cache (log structure high in the trees to keep supplies safe from visiting wildlife while we are away). Once in camp, there are many things you can do.  Enjoy a cup of tea, coffee or juice by the campfire, spot dall sheep on the mountainside above us, help feed the horses, try out our camp shower by the creek, or just relax and enjoy the hint of wood smoke in the air.
In the evening, we will serve up a hearty meal of traditional stew and bannock, or steak and all the trimmings among other favorites.  We can also cater to special dietary needs, such as vegetarian, celiac, etc.
Day 3:  We start with a hot breakfast before we organize to head out on the trail to our next camp.  Moving to a new camp gives us the opportunities to cover more country and see more wildlife.  Our next camp is called Skip’s camp and is nestled in among some big old spruce trees along a bench of land.  It overlooks a long grassy meadow, where we can graze the horses after a ride.  In the background are the high peaks of the Miner Range.  It is a beautiful place for a horse camp.  Usually by mid afternoon, we would embark on a short afternoon ride to spot some wildlife.  We will travel along a valley seam watching for moose, bears or other smaller critters.  We may even be able to watch beavers working on their dams.  We will often see a porcupine waddling towards a tree to get to safety.  Once we return to camp, we will put the horses out to graze.  Then we can enjoy our own supper by the glow of the campfire. 
Day 4:  We will embark on a ride into the mountains.  The scenery is spectacular the higher we go.  We will get up high on some mountain ridges to view breathtaking country all around.  We will pack a picnic lunch for this trip, and return to Skip’s camp by evening.  This is a great day to view dall sheep and take pictures from higher vantage points.  You will learn to put your trust in your horse partner as he confidently travels over the rocks and rough terrain in the mountains.
Day 5:  After breakfast, we will head out on an old moose trail in the opposite direction from the previous day.  We will picnic beside a small lake nestled in the mountains.  The long grass beside the shore of the lake provides a welcome snack to your 4 legged friend.  This is great moose country on this trip, so as we travel along creeks, game trails and on hill sides; keep your eyes peeled for a moose feeding in the willow bushes or near water. Your guides will also point out the different species of native plants and explain the ecosystems in the different areas we will ride through.  You can cover a lot of ground riding a horse in the wilderness. Once we return to camp, you can taste a meal cooked from a Dutch oven the traditional way.  Some wonderful meals have emerged from this small outdoor oven.
Day 6:  We will enjoy a leisurely breakfast and make plans to move to our high camp.  The ride up to high camp is varied and interesting.  You will travel through the spruce trees and mossy terrain, and then as we wind our way up higher, the trees will fade away.  We will ride through short willows and then short vegetation spotted with tiny alpine flowers.  High camp is situated right next to a crystal clear mountain lake.  You can view sheep from camp, take a cool swim in the lake if the weather permits, or enjoy a short hike up to a lookout point above camp.  It is a nice open camp, with short trees around the wall tents, and many moose trails all around.  The scenery is spectacular right from your tent door. 
Day 7:  We will wake up to sunshine streaming in the tents.  Cowboy coffee will be ready on the fire and those brave enough to take a swim before breakfast are welcome to do so.  Once we have had breakfast, we will ride out into the mountains for a day ride.  We will head towards a huge valley with little streams flowing down the center of it.  This is a great place for moose to spend their early winter, as it affords them protection and feed during the colder months.  Here we will find moose sheds (moose drop their antlers every year in the winter, and begin to grow new ones for the next fall breeding season).  Some of these moose sheds are definitely great for pictures, as they are impressively large and whitened from the sun.  We will also travel over a mountain pass and eventually make our way back to camp, creating a big loop.  This is a great night for stories over the campfire after supper, reminiscing about the days’ events and stories from the whole trip.  Of course the guides will always share stories from a lifetime of experiences in the Yukon Wilderness.  Everyone will go to sleep in their tents with tales of the Yukon swimming in their heads.
Day 8:  This morning will find us enjoying our last breakfast beside our crystal clear lake in the outdoor mountain air.  Once we are finished breakfast, we will pack up our gear on the pack horses and ride down the home trail back to the ranch.  We will stop at an old campsite and enjoy a campfire lunch along the way.  The ride down travels through meadows and across a couple small streams coming from the mountains.  Often you will see grayling in these streams in small pools.  It is a relaxed ride and a nice finish to the trip.  We usually arrive back at the ranch around 5 pm.  From here we can unpack the horses, and get your gear organized. Time to take a shower and get cleaned up. The last dinner is taken in the main lodge, followed by a good night sleep in a comfortable bed.
Day 9  Say your goodbyes to your horse partner and friends you made on the trip.  Transportation will then pick you up and take you to Whitehorse.

 *Highlights of these two trips
-view wildlife in their natural surroundings
-learn the flora and fauna of the area
-experience being in and understanding the different ecosystems within our area
-learn to properly care for and feed  your horse in a camp setting
-develop a true partnership with your horse after a week of riding and working with them everyday
-experience different horse camps on one trip
-See new country everyday
-learn to navigate through the mountains safely  by horseback

       Subject to changes

Rates and Dates for Yukon Wildlife Safari

Dates Note:

Other Info
Meeting: Whitehorse
Airport: Whitehorse
Transfer: Whitehorse - afternoon
Drop off in the morning

Climate:

Weather in southern Yukon can change rapidly, especially in the mountains.  Be prepared during June, July and August for warmer weather during the day (20c to 25c) and cooler weather during the evening (5c to 10c).  It can also freeze at anytime during the summer months- although rarely.  During September expect temperatures of 10c to 20c during the day and 5c to -5c during the night. 

Be prepared for generally sunny weather with short mountain rain showers during June, July and August.  September can have more wind compared to the summer months and can be cloudier at times.  However, the colors of the leaves during September are beautiful and wildlife tends to move around a bit more during this time, allowing guests better wildlife viewing opportunities.

We ask that you respect a 40 lb limit on your gear.

Please try and pack your gear in light weight, preferably waterproof duffles or stuffsacks.