Exploring the Yukon

Thanks to the good folks at Toyota Canada for helping support the cost of my trip and providing me with the Toyota Dash Cam to document our journey.

Earlier this summer we left our home in Squamish, BC and drove North in search of empty roads, scenic camping and some of Canada’s best bike trails. Ever since I was young I’ve had a deep fascination with the Yukon. In my eyes it has a sense of mystique and elusiveness to it – along with truly incredible geography. A land that holds a lifetime of exploration and indescribable beauty – with a unique remoteness to it.

The Stats:
23 Days, 7804km, 17 Hours of Daylight, 8486 Photos, 5 Ecosystems, 10 Mountain Passes & 50+ Bear Sightings.


The Truck:
2017 Tacoma Double-Cab 6FT Bed
TRD Sport Upgrade
80,080km

Growing up, my family had a Toyota Sienna and we drove that van down to California, through the Rockies and across the Prairies more times than I can count. A decade later and I was doing those same trips in my 2010 4Runner – driving it to Alaska, along the Coast to California and across most of Canada and the United States. This year, I decided to switch things up and try a pickup truck. I was looking at both the Tacoma and Tundra – but decided that the Tacoma is the perfect truck for my adventures. It fits all my gear, has a narrower wheelbase and the V6 works great for all of my current needs.

On these early trips with my family I found a love for taking pictures… pointing my camera at whichever landscape we drove through. For this trip I had a Toyota Genuine Dash Camera installed so I could document the most scenic stretches of road while focusing on driving. With its wide angle lens I never missed those spur of the moment wildlife encounters on the road.

We decided to keep the truck mostly stock but the few modifications and accessories we added were: The aforementioned Toyota Dash Camera, Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs (265/70R17), Truck Bed Rack, Wild Coast Roof Top Tent and a Thule Awning. The storage system in the truck was three rubber totes for our camp, cooking & outdoor gear. When it came to hauling our bikes – we went with the tried and true Thule T2 Pro with the Hitch Swing which was a must-have for tailgate access


Heading North on the Alaska-Canada Highway
Our trip started off on none other than the world famous Alaska-Canada Highway. Built in 1942 during the Second World War – this stretch of road runs from Dawson Creek, BC to Delta Junction, AK via the Yukon Territories. We spent a few days driving this road and took this opportunity to be on the lookout for Bears, Fox & Bison – this highway is an endless “wildlife tour”.




Dawson City
When we made our way up to Dawson City – we didn’t even know that there was much biking there. Our first day in town we went and rode Hammerstrand – a new machine groomed jump trail that a handful of locals told us to check out. We ended up lapping this trail over and over again because it was just so fun. A mix of berms, wooden features and small to large jumps. This trail was a definite highlight of the trip!





Whitehorse
Yukon’s capital and a town that is filled with trails – we spent a few days around here exploring the Dream Trail, Blown Away and B&S. The trails are just out of town and offer some incredible views over the Yukon River and Whitehorse Valley. We managed to time our trip really well with the Fall colours and for me as a photographer, I couldn’t of been happier. Here’s a few photos from riding ‘Blown Away’ with Fish Lake in the background.




Carcross
If you’ve ever researched biking in the Yukon – Carcross is usually the first place you’ll see. The trails here are world-class and were made by Carcross/Tagish First Nation Youth as part of their Singletrack to Success Program initiated in 2006 with the mandate to develop a world-class network of single-track trails on Montana Mountain.

If you ever ride here – I definitely suggest donating to help progress this trail network and provide local youth with summer jobs.

]https://destinationcarcross.ca/carcross-biking/s2s/



Haines Junction
This is a town I find myself coming back to time and time again. We left it till the end because I knew it would be hard to leave. This small community sits on the edge of Kluane National Park & Reserve – which is home to Canada’s tallest mountains and holds one of the largest non polar ice field systems in the world.



Heading South on the Stewart-Cassiar Highway
Also known as Highway-37 – it is British Columbia’s most Northerly Highway and offered some of the best wildlife viewing we had on the entire trip. From Moose to Bears and Lynx to Buffalo – this road had it all. We took 4 days to drive this 874km stretch of road and made sure to take some time to turn off onto the Glacier Highway into Stewart, BC. Driving in we had little to no expectations but this road was one of our favourites. The valley is filled with giant old growth, waterfalls and glaciers running straight down to the valley bottom. On top of that – the small town of Stewart has a handful of amazing cafés and restaurants.


The Yukon was far more than we could’ve hoped for. We really did luck out with quieter roads than normal and some incredible stretches of clear weather. One of my favourite parts of the Yukon is just how spread out it is – you really are immersed in the wilderness. Whether you’re looking for machine groomed jump trails or remote adventure riding – there is something here for everyone.