(09 – 27 Aug 23) at Yukon, Canada
Ex Dragon Fireweed saw 16 members of 37 Signal Regiment spend 14 days in the Kluane National Park in the Yukon Territory. Yukon is in the north-western corner of Canada and is bordered by Alaska and the Northwest Territories. The sparsely populated territory encompasses natural scenic beauty, with snowmelt lakes and snow-capped mountains, including many of Canada’s highest mountains. With high elevation and being around 400 miles south of the Artic Circle the weather is extremely varied, going down to freezing at night but warming up to up to 26 degrees in the day. As well as stunning scenery Yukon has interesting wildlife such as gophers and red squirrels but most notable is the fact that Yukon is bear country – the Parks Canada bear guidance stating that if a bear attacks and you must fight back and not give up! This raised a few eyebrows during the initial safety brief!
Briefings complete the team made the long journey to the Yukon, flying from Heathrow firstly to Vancouver then onto Whitehorse before a road move north along the Alaska Highway to Kluane Lake Research Station. Tents were pitched on the edge of Kluane Lake. The next day the group split into two teams and conducted final admin, briefings as well as sorting out food. The expedition was split into two parts, a canoe expedition on Kluane Lake and a summer mountain foundation course.
The original plan for the summer mountain foundation course had been to complete the slims river trail and climb observation mountain. This would have involved a number of creek crossings. However, as they say, no plan survives contact and with temperatures at night hitting freezing this meant snow on observation mountain. When combined with high temperatures in the day this resulted in higher-than-normal creek levels that parks Canada staff advised were unsafe to cross, as well as putting observation mountain above the snowline, out of the remit for summer mountaineering. So, for the summer mountain foundation course a new plan had to be put in place. After climbing Sheep Creek on the first day, a long steady climb to an elevation of 1930m offering panoramic views of Kluane Lake, Slims River Valley and 360° views of the countless glaciers which blanket the surrounding mountain peaks. From sheep creek the group moved to Kathleen Lake, allowing for a stop off at the Alpine Bakery in Haines Junction. A recovery walk along the shores of the lake gave the legs a chance to recharge and the initial plan had been to tackle the Kings Throne a steep ascent of 1400m, however the area was hit by winds with gusts of around 70mph making the route not an option, so a 20km walk along the cottonwood trail was completed instead. On the map the route looked relatively flat, but Canadian map contours were every 50m not every 10m like UK maps and the reality was that it was in fact not very flat at all! The weather also turned to torrential rain for the walk which gave the group the chance to test out their waterproofs! On return to the lake the group used the communal shelter/picnic area to dry the kit and WO2 Suresh Gurung treated the group to a camp stove Gurkha curry. The final big walk for the group was the Aurial Trail, another 15km walk through a mix of forest and meadows with an excellent viewpoint looking down to Haines Junction below.
Meanwhile the canoe group had their own battles with the wind and weather on Kluane Lake, canoeing long distances during the day and setting up camp at night, a real test of personal admin and character! This group also got to see a black bear from a safe distance on the shore whilst they were canoeing.
Both groups returned to Kluane Lake Research Station for change over day, an opportunity to resupply rations. It was during this period where the group had a close encounter with a bear, with SSgt ‘Ronnie’ McDonald as casual as you like warning the group ‘There is a bear, and a baby bear, and I do not think she is pleased to see me!’ and sure enough 20 meters away was a black bear and cub. Fortunately, they were not aggressive and after checking us out they continued on their way.
Once the groups swapped over the groups followed similar activities to the first week. The canoe group had a sandstorm strike one of their camps with no tents surviving the ultra-fine sand! Meanwhile with better weather the walking group managed to tick of the Kings Throne which turned out to be a relentless slog up steep scree which was even worse coming down. The view at the top was absolutely stunning with views across the Kluane National Park Icefield, which is the largest non-polar icefield in the world.
Both groups returned to Kluane Lake Research Centre for the final night. After an evening around the campfire by the lake most of the group had retired to their tents when Cpl Jay Parr conducted a stand-to of the campsite as the Northern Lights had appeared in the sky above which was an amazing way to end the adventure!
An excellent trip, thanks must go to the now retired SSgt John Phillips who initially planned the trip and WO2 Gurung who took on the role of expedition leader and self-appointed expedition chef, cooking some amazing tasting food on the camp stoves! Both instructors, Paul Lilygreen and SSgt (SQMS) Pete Leatherbarrow offered a wealth of experience and guidance to their respective activities and it is a trip that clearly met the aims of adventure training – living out of a rucksack and sleeping in a tent for 14 days whilst completing arduous activities in changeable weather meant all of the group were working out of their comfort zone with teamwork, leadership, decision making, robustness and personal administration all being tested on a daily basis. When the scenery, northern lights and the close encounter with a bear is added to this then it results is a trip that will last in the memory for a very long time for those who took part.
