Reptile Creek to Milky Creek - Aug 3

Setting off in the morning fog

We woke to a cold and foggy morning, but later it cleared up for fabulous mountain views.  We passed cliffs with groups of Dall sheep.

and later we spotted a caribou crossing between 2 islands.  There was nothing too difficult today, but we had to keep alert to choose the right channel so we wouldn't get stuck in the shallows.  For a while we chased a family of mergansers ahead of us, until they finally turned down a different channel.

We wanted to stop at Milky Creek so we could do some hiking in the shadow of Mt. McDonald, the highest mountain in the Bonnet Plume Range, and we fretted that we'd miss the creek if we went down the wrong channel.  We weren't sure which mountain was McDonald, until we turned a corner and there it was and soon after we came to a beautiful campsite across from a rocky cliff, right where a milky creek entered the river.

Milky Creek enters the Snake

Soon after we set up our tents it started to rain hard, and Milky Creek became Chocolate Milk Creek.  But it cleared up after the shower, and Cathy made cinnamon buns.

 Delicious!

Reptile Creek Layover - August 2

View from the ridge above Reptile Creek

We took a day off to hike along Reptile Creek.

We were able to follow game trails along the creek until we reached a canyon

and then had to bushwack up above the cliffs.  Lots of lichen,good caribou habitat, I guess.

The going was rough, with scrub birch, hummocks and bogs.  We followed a good game or horse trail for a while but it eventually led to a swamp, so returned to the creek and ate lunch overlooking the creek in a really good blueberry patch.

Berry of the Day

On the River - Duo Lakes ton Reptile Creek, August 1

The next morning we took our camp down and portaged the rest of our gear to the put in.  The Swiss men were still camped there and had decided to fly back to Mayo as one of them was not feeling well.  They gave us some much-appreciated fresh apples and Ritter Sport chocolate bars, and the guys helped them portage their gear back to the lake.

Put in on the Snake River

Eventually we were all packed in and hit the river.

Ready to go

And we're off

The first day's paddle turned out to be more challenging than we expected; water levels were quite high, and there were some tricky narrow channels with sharp corners and difficult to avoid headwalls.

Both the raft and our inflatable kayak were pushed into one headwall, the raft bounced off, but when we hit the wall, Leo and one of our drybags fell into the river.  We didn't capsize and Leo jumped back into the boat, we collected the bag, and were on our way.

More seriously, Birgit fell out of the raft and got caught up in some netting and dislocated her finger.  The netting was immediately removed, but she had to paddle all the way to the end of the trip with her injury.

With the portage, it was a short day on the river, and after 10 km and two hours we reached our first camp at the mouth of Reptile Creek,

Campsite on Reptile Creek

It was a sunny day, so we were able to dry everything out after yesterday's rain.

Layover at Duo Lakes

The scenery here was fabulous so we spent an extra day and hiked up a ridge toward one of the peaks and got great views over Duo Lakes (left) and the river (right):

Bird of the Day:  Lapland Longspurs

Berry of the Day:   Oops, been informed by my sister that these are bearberries!

In the evening a big thundershower came through so it was early to bed!

Fly into the Snake- July 30

The gang at Blacksheep Aviation before our flight

The next morning we reported to Black Sheep Aviation in Mayo for our flight into the Snake.  We loaded all our gear into the plane 

and took off from the Stewart River for the 40 minute flight over mountains, lakes and rivers toDuo Lakes where the plane landed.

All our gear unloaded and the pilot prepares to leave.

We set up camp on the shore of Duo Lake

and then portaged the boats over to the  river, about 1.5 kilometres away.  There were two Swiss men camped at the put in, they had arrived earlier in the day and were waiting for their paddles, which had been left behind in the plane and were brought in with us.

Then I proceeded to empty out all the drybags full of food to find out where I'd put things, a job I'd repeat many times over the trip.  The hot chocolate I never did find till we got home again.

July 29 - Whitehorse to Keno City

The next morning we drove to Keno City,about a five hour drive northeast of Whitehorse.  Five hours, that is, if you don't miss the turnoff and drive 1 hour the wrong way towards Haines Junction before you figure it out.

However, Glen, Cathy, Birgit and Dale were patiently waiting for us in Carmacks at the Coalmine Campsite where we camped on our Yukon River trip 4 years ago.  Great cinnamon buns,great hamburgers, andthey roast their own coffee!

We stayed at the Silver Moon Bunkhouse, with very nice units, a separate bathhouse, and a great lounge, kitchen area, kind of like an upscale hostel.  

Keno is an old mining ghost town, with a vibe like Wells and Atlin, BC, but smaller.  There's also the original hotel, which looks very not renovated, and a funky cafe where we ate our supper, home cooking and pizza.

Keno City Snack Bar

They have a pretty good museum, with three buildings full of old mining equipment. I liked the collection of photos from the 1950s of locals in their homes.

Spoiler: We survived!

Got a bit caught up in Olympic fever after we get home, but I'll be posting about our Snake River trip in the next few days.