Visiting Canada’s mighty and majestic Yukon is a privilege

I didn’t aspire to get to the Yukon just for its ice-capped peaks and wildlife. My trip to Canada’s far northwestern corner marked the completion of my travel to all 13 provinces and territories – no small feat given the size of the country and the inaccessibility of so much of it.

The Yukon revealed that remoteness at every turn. We were up reporting in Dawson City and decided to take a day trip on the Dempster Highway to Tombstone Territorial Park. The Dempster, as it’s known, is the only road in North America that leads to the Arctic Ocean. Locals warn visitors not to start the journey without proper supplies: food and water, blankets, and at least two spare tires.

The remoteness felt freeing at first, but then it turned threatening. As we drove back, plumes of smoke from wildfires that had sparked a few days earlier suddenly were tinged red. At the bottom of the road, at the crossroads back to Dawson City, flames licked one side of the highway. We made it back to town just in time – only to find that all roads in and out were closed because of fire.

Traveling to such an isolated place always entails some adventure. We spent the night in Dawson City and woke up with a choice. We could remain stuck for a week (according to a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer) because the road connecting us to the highway going to the Yukon’s capital, Whitehorse, was closed for the foreseeable future. Or we could take the road that temporarily reopened that morning – via Alaska. And thus we headed off on an exhausting 13-hour journey down gravel roads.

When we finally reentered Canada, the Yukon of my imagination stood before us. The Alaska Highway took us along the border of Kluane National Park and Reserve. We saw a young grizzly bear feeding on the side of the road. We passed a black bear and wild horses, ice fields and forests. The ice atop the mountains shimmered in the evening during the summer solstice, when the sun hardly sets.

The Yukon was unlike any other place I’ve traveled in Canada. As the last place I visited, it in some ways felt like the Canada of my expectations and ideas before I moved to Toronto. The landscape was majestic and rugged. The people were independent and self-sufficient in a way that underlined how urban my lifestyle is. They taught me how to tie a butterfly knot and what to do if you encounter a grizzly in the wild.

The vast majority of Canadians live, like myself, close to the U.S.-Canada border. Spending time in the “north,” however, feels like a completely different Canada, one that is a privilege to visit. I met a couple from Toronto whose 20-something daughter relocated to Dawson City for a job. They love it for her. Why? Because you can’t get everything on demand here, they explained, you need to learn about patience and getting by with what you have.

And, of course, they have some pretty spectacular scenery when they come to visit.

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