Travel Striking it Rich in the Yukon Million-dollar panoramas IMAX-movie scenery awed us on a flight-seeing tour of Kluane National Park, departing from Haines Junction, a 1.5-hour drive northwest of Whitehorse, Yukon’s capital. Our Kluane Glacier Air Tours plane skirted over massive peaks, rugged ridges and breathtaking glaciers in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. We swivelled our heads to view mountains poking their rocky heads through snow blanketing their flanks like downy comforters. Clouds flowed like champagne foam between their peaks. Some glaciers looked like elongated ski runs. Others, such as Kaskawulsh, resembled curving superhighways. To see a larger ice field, we’d have to fly over the North or South Poles. Our jaws dropped as we circled Mount Logan, Canada’s highest mountain. Its massive peaks are only the tip of the 5,959-metre mountain. The rest is buried in 1.5 kilometres of ice. We halfexpected a woolly mammoth to plod across the landscape. Story and Photos by Barb and Ron Kroll Lured by gold and Klondike heritage, we discovered a fortune of scenic, natural and human treasures Before we travelled to the Yukon, we associated Canada’s northwestern territory with the Klondike Gold Rush. During our midsummer visit, we did discover gold, but we also found far more encompassing riches. Half the size of Ontario with a population of 37,600, Yukon is home to the world’s smallest desert, Canada’s highest mountain, the planet’s largest non-polar ice field, tranquil lakes, fast-flowing rivers, vibrant wildflowers, wildlife galore – including twice as many moose as residents – and some of the friendliest people you’ll meet anywhere. Emerald Lake CSANews | SPRING 2017 | 17
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