I still can't get used to the quiet. Even after 14 seasons of hiking in the Yukon, I remain surprised at how empty the trails can be here.
It's bright blue skies Saturday on the Auriol Trail, one of the few established, moderate day hikes in the vast wilderness of Kluane National Park. Aside from the grizzly bears and moose, which I know can't be too far away, my small group seems to have the place to ourselves.
The narrow, well-trodden trail climbs gradually through waist-high buckthorn and spindly northern trees, a mix of cottonwood and spruce. A two-lane road that connects the town of Haines Junction, Yukon, to the small port of Haines, Alaska, is behind us. Before us are the snow-capped peaks of the Auriol massif.
My dog, a husky recently retired from a racing team, leads the way by pulling on his leash. The only thing he'd rather than shoot is run free, but we'll spare his attention to the local wildlife.
Kluane National Park and Reserve occupies the southwestern part of the Yukon. There is the Kluane Icefield, which is the largest mass of glacial ice in the world outside the polar regions, as well as Mount Logan, the highest peak in Canada.
With three adjacent parks – Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park in British Columbia and Glacier Bay and Wrangell-St. Elias – Kluane National Parks is a huge UNESCO World Heritage Site. The mountains that fill the horizon as we hike are just the nearest edge of a band of peaks that stretch on and on.
The Auriol Trail is a 15-kilometer loop, gaining 400 meters of elevation gain over the first eight kilometers or so before descending back to the trailhead. It never goes beyond the tree line. But at its summit, experienced hikers have the option of continuing, off-trail, and following a stream then a rocky moraine to a high alpine basin.
As we get closer to the top of the loop, we see a splash of bright color in the bowl: a small tent belonging to someone with more ambitious plans than those for the day. This is the only indication that we are not completely alone here.
We go around a small lake and my girlfriend stops to take a few photos, crouching at the water's edge. I stay with the dog so he doesn't penetrate and spoil the perfect reflection of the trees and sky on the surface.
On the way back, the silence is broken. Our cautionary cries of “Hey, bear!” » receive similar responses to similar calls from another group on the trail below us, and as we pass them we share the usual small talk of happy hikers.
Further down, we meet another small group – musicians we know from our home in Whitehorse, a two-hour drive away. They had played a show at Haines Junction the night before. This is a classic Yukon hike: you barely see anyone, but the person you do see is someone you know.
There are shorter, easier hikes in Kluane: the peaceful Dezadeash River Trail or the round trip to picturesque St. Elias Lake. There are more spectacular hikes, like the steep trail to the King's Throne, as well as challenging multi-day hikes. (The crown jewel of these is the Donjek Route, a challenging 8-10 day adventure that takes hikers to the edge of a glacier.)
But today, for me, it is the perfect relationship between effort and landscape and between solitude and community. As I approach the trailhead and our waiting car, I feel like Goldilocks gobbling up a baby bear's porridge: the Auriol trail was perfect.
Eva Holland lives in Whitehorse.
