July 1, 2025
- mikepearsonsafety
- Jul 4
- 4 min read
Our time in the Yukon has been awesome but too short! We arrived at Caribou RV campsite on Friday night, just before the evening entertainment started – live music and great dinner! We ended up talking to a local couple (Lisa and Niels) about our journey. Lisa had worked with two ALS patients a few years ago, so she was very aware of the impact of this disease as well as the hope we are trying to give. We had a great chat, which ended in her giving us a long list of ‘things to see/do’ in Whitehorse!
Saturday was a ‘town’ day. We went to the Beringia Interpretive Centre (checked that off the list!). Beringia is the time/land mass that linked Siberia and Alaska, thousands of years ago. Well worth the visit! It was pretty incredible to see thousand years’ old bones (mammoth,…..) that have been discovered in the Yukon, often during excavations for mines.
Next stop was the Visitor’s Centre (another check). And this is where we made another ALS connection. The young lady at the counter has a neurological disorder and was well aware of ALS, as her symptoms are similar. We chatted a while, then headed off to the Woodcutter Brewery (next check) for a snack and a local brew. Both were yummy!
Sunday was a road trip to Carcross. Although Carcross is only ½ hr away, we spent all day exploring the area. The first stop in Carcross was the Visitor Centre, where we met Shirley, our next ALS connection. We told her of our journey and she shared that she’d made friends with a couple that came to Carcross annually. Then they stopped – he had been diagnosed with ALS. She offered me to select a coloured rock from a basket full. I picked one, then turned it over. It said “What do I want to nurture today?” I got a bit teary and managed to tell Shirley that I was leaving painted rocks from family and friends in honour of my mom at each race location. Mike and I left and had a long hug once outside, then continued our way. Next minute, Shirley was headed towards us. She wanted to give me a special gift – it was a metal eagle (like a fridge magnet but bigger). She said my mom is flying over me. I cried again, and told her that whenever I see an eagle, I think it’s my mom. More tears and a long hard hug. Thank you Shirley – you are a very kind, thoughtful person.
Off we headed down Klondike Hwy, passing back into BC towards the US. One black bear was munching red berries along the road, and we watched lots of Dall Sheep high up on the mountainside. The mountain ranges are spectacular, but unfortunately many were topped with clouds.
We did spend a bit of time in the Carcross Desert, called the most northern desert in North America…but it’s actually a big sand dune generated by wind pushing glacially deposited sand from the nearby lake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcross_Desert
Sunday night we realized we hadn’t read maps very well and discovered that the road we were planning on taking to Yellowknife is over 200km gravel! We did a 45 minute drive on gravel and that was long enough, so we didn’t want a repeat. Our plan is now to drive down to Fort St. John then go straight across into Alberta then up. This will add about 10 hours to our trip, resulting in 3-4 very long driving days to get there by Saturday afternoon (we race Sunday). So on Monday we spent some time preparing….stocking up on groceries and buying Gerry cans for storing extra diesel as gas stations are limited and may not be open when needed.
Tuesday, July 1st, was Race #7 at Marsh Lake. We knew it was going to be a tough one, and it definitely was. Luckily the rain and wind held off, and had sunshine all day.
Bike-Run Transition Area – the green and black bags contain our runners and vests with bear spray.
The 6.5km canoe (thanks to Tatshenshini Expediting for providing and delivering the canoe and equipment!) was about an hour, and we felt every stroke!
The 30km bike was along the Alaska Highway, pretty cool!! The 9.0km run was through the woods and is the cross country ski trails. Hilly, bushy, rooty….and there was a bear sighting so the organizers drove their quad out to let us know to be aware. Great! Just what we want to meet when we’re tired! But we only saw a red fox which quickly disappeared into the bush when she saw us.
We were the last finishers by about ½ hr, taking about 4 hours! We are tired puppies! But the Yukon Triathlon Club gave out prize for last finishers, so we got swag from Yukon Brewery (fitting!): beer glasses, a hat, and a Mac-jacket type shirt (which just happens to fit me nicely!). The community here is great and it was fun (not sure it that’s the right word!) to join in their local events. A young couple at the race gave a cash donation and several asked for our contact cards. People at the RV locations saw our trailer, scanned QR code, read our story, then came over to give us another cash dontion. Once again, people are amazing and want to help find a cure for ALS.
A plunge/swim in Marsh Lake was a great way to finish the day. Chilly, but pretty amazing!
