Town stops are an important element of source to sea trips. They provide a change of pace, an opportunity for cultural interaction, and usually, a re-supply of provisions. In Carmacks, Yukon, we stopped at the town’s one store and got swept up in the excitement of stocked grocery shelves; sausage, half & half, chocolate, Nanaimo bars (ask any Western Canadian what these are), a rhubarb pie, one baguette, potato chips, tomatoes, and a 6-pack of Kokanee. And yes, there was gasoline. Thank you Carmacks!

Fully stocked, the days passed easily—row, motor, drift, camp. Fifty to sixty miles a day became our pace. Without the motor, only half that daily distance would’ve been comfortable.

Racers in the Yukon Quest and the Yukon 1,000 gobble up miles at impressive rates—over 150 miles a day. Early European explorers, too, covered massive distances in their huge voyageur canoes and makeshift rafts. In 1850, Robert Campbell and his team of Hudson Bay Company traders sometimes traveled 120 miles a day. We stopped at Campbell’s Fort Selkirk, near the confluence of the Pelly River.

Ahead, a boat drifted. It appeared to be captained by a Sasquatch. As we neared, the hominid figure took a black shirt off its head. The man was named Jaroslav. His gear linkage was broken. We offered a tow, food, water. He declined, explaining in his Russian accent, “this is how they did it,” referring to the Klondikers who drifted downstream to the gold fields 126 years ago. Jaroslav was a part-time gold miner himself, in between acting gigs back in Toronto. He’d just done a scene with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Jaroslav figured he’d float to Dawson City in a dozen hours. It probably took him longer than that, but he still might have beaten us there given all our camp time.

Dawson City is a fun funky tourist town, without taxis or Uber. Lisa had to hitch a ride to the airport. I re-supplied for the journey ahead, greedily gathering goods that I might not see again until my trip was over; craft beer, fancy cheese, bakery treats, good bread, fresh produce. I was due to enter Alaska, and the true north.