Capillaries In Urethra

De Rose Lake to Whitehorse ... via Mud Lake: we must come back ...

third and last part ...

February 18.

No wolf attacks! At sunrise, all dogs are there, fit and ready to go. The whiskey jacks (birds curious, cheeky and tame) revel in the leftover soup thrown by dogs.

Rose Lake stretches between the peaks of the Coast Range under sunny skies. This lake is illustrated by a thin layer of ice.

whole team is working to prepare the teams. It must indeed go fast to enjoy the cool morning and do the bulk of the climb before the heat does degrade and deplete the snow dogs.

It's finally starting. We leave behind the peaks to the south are the border between the Yukon and British Columbia, and a little farther west, one with Alaska.

The climb takes us back on the board plowed by caribou. Now, the trail winds among the willows and the dogs are unpredictable jumps to avoid scratching the belly.

The slope is steep. We still have within us the memory of the sudden descent of the day. A few moments of rest to allow dogs to regain strength. The sleds are heavy and demanding the mushers. ... It's a dogs life!

In places, the trail is narrow and sleds graze trees at full speed. When cornering, the work of wheel dogs (closest to the sled) is important because they are the ones who avoid a sudden kidney collision with an obstacle. However this is not always as simple and cornering a bit dry down, our respective sleds fit into a bush. Barely released under the tensile and powerful of the coupling, the sled jumped and it is difficult to control the fall. Françoise good idea to let go and doing well. Stop dogs from Pierre few tens of meters away. Marc insists on holding the device while following prone. All stops on his ribs fit into a stump hidden under the snow. The pain is intense and the individual folded in half to find her breath. But we must continue our journey!

The air warms and the snow is getting sticky. Tired dogs and humans too. It is time for a break and eat some cereal bars that are eventually grew tired. It is also an opportunity to cut wood to replenish the reserve of Mud Lake, which does not help ... the weight of the sled and ribs Marc.

Along the way, ptarmigan fly. A few minutes later, gunshots ring out. In fact, Matthew had a bit late and laid his gun on the sled (one Verney Carron "for ever" to guns Adrian Bunk told him pending his return). Outstanding ...

As for our dogs, they did not enjoy this ride and the spinning Tucker and enervation benefit for shear lines tug of a bite. Fortunately we had prepared quite a few lines of replacing the previous evening.

Matthew joins us finally with a big smile, apparently not empty-handed.

It is almost 16 pm when we find Mud Lake and the cabin 4 stars. Do not dream, it is out of question to go today and far reaching the hut in Vanier that we could not reach until late in the night. Dogs are exhausted. It should quickly feed and a fresh start would be conceivable that two hours later. So we decide to repossess the premises.

Matthew reveals his list of conquests. He is proud ... and so are we! Ptarmigan are skinned using a technique very quickly and efficiently. There are no more than decide the nets. Everything is prepared with a sauce of maple syrup. It is worthy of a great chef and our shelter becomes a Michelin starred restaurant ... The night also will be very starry and very cold.

19 February.

early morning, mercury displays -18 ° C. Stone tumbling into the cabin, while we're still deep in our sleeping bags. In his approach, we understand that he has failed to put on his boots: they are completely frozen like the rest of his clothes, because moisture from the previous day. We have to quickly turn the fire to heat (thaw?) Our guide. Matthew is still sleeping deeply when we root out of his sleep.

sunny day ahead and we prepare for our departure. While everyone is ready, the dogs start to howl and suddenly our eyes meet loaded questions. Wolves immediately answered: Ouuuuu! they seem to be very close. Stone jumps on the roof of the cabin and carefully scrutinizes the area. There is indeed only a few weeks he has saved in extremis Eddy dog teeth of a wolf twice as big as him, chasing him with kicks. He is also aware that if a mob attacked, it could go wrong, even if the rumor that they only attack dogs .... And without dogs would become of us ?

Finally, we shall not see them, probably hiding in the bushes neighbors. We must leave quickly. Dogs are very nervous and departure is dazzling.

few miles away, the tension is released and we can contemplate Mud Lake one last time before he disappears behind a col. We're now heading north to get to Fish Lake with beautiful mounted front perspective to see our final destination.

We meet a colony of more than 20 snowmobiles are heading in opposite directions. After discussion with the drivers, it appears that they are Rangers who leave the district in "seminar" in Rose Lake. Snowmobiles and their trailers are heavily loaded (including fuel) and crews struggled on steep slopes. The tracks are damaged by caterpillars, but the crossings are no problem, since the stop when a snowmobile sled arrives. Is is a rule or a gentleman's agreement?

Our dogs benefit from these breaks to roll in the snow as the temperature begins to rise.

We do however see any animals that day, which does not mean they were not at the roadside.

The trail goes through beautiful scenery. The peaks are so numerous that very few are named. Ibex Mountain summit is our favorite. It reminds us of an ancient volcano, which we have checked on Wikipedia.

As we practiced throughout our journey, Peter opens the track, followed by Françoise then Marc and Matthew closes the convoy.

arrived at the pass, we see emerging Fish Lake and mark a break before tackling the descent. The sight of the mythical Lake Whitehorse is certainly reassuring, but we also announces the end of the adventure ...

The slides on the frozen lake is an opportunity to do some family photos of the respective teams.

Crossing the lake by day we can also see which routes allow access to the cabin in Vanier, and the track leading to the Bonneville Lakes.

Back in Pierre, we admire his cabin and its new production of logs which will soon welcome tourists. And it around a fondue that we end our trip in the Yukon, along with Wendy and a Belgian couple who is about to leave for the tenth time with Peter and his dogs have no secrets for them.

Thanks to Peter professionalism, friendliness and excellent knowledge of the terrain.

Thanks to Matthew for his organizational skills, cook and a hunter ....

Thank Polar Cousteau, Mickey Mouse, Kluane, Reeko, Dancer, Tucker, Spin, Skookum Umiak ... and all others for their courage, perseverance and affection.

Yukon? Rude and grand at once!

Finally, and to better follow our journey ... a map covering the area of Fish Lake to Rose Lake.