Day 26 - Five Mile Lake Campground, YK

We left Carmacks at the usual time knowing we were going to get to our destination early. That is exactly what we wanted to do since we were hoping to boon dock again, this time in one of Yukon’s Provincial Parks. Our first stop was just a short distance down the road at Five Fingers Rapids.

During the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush, thousands of prospectors navigated their handmade boats and rafts 1,300 km or 800 miles from Bennett Lake to Dawson City. Five Finger Rapids was a major obstacle along the route. More than a few stampeders ended up in the water after choosing the wrong channel. Whitehorse bound sternwheelers had to winch themselves over a 30 – 60 cm (1 – 2 foot) drop in the navigation channel until the underwater channel was blasted away.

The Five Fingers Island and riverbanks are composed of conglomerate rock (pebbles and boulders embedded in sand and mud matrix) which is more resistant to erosion than the surrounding mudstone layers. This is a good example of a conglomerate boulder.

Our next short stop was Pelly Crossing. In 1840, Hudson’s Bay Company trader Robert Campbell came into the Yukon from the south east to explore the country and expand the company’s territory. When his company reached these headwaters, Campbell named it after Sir John Henry Pelly, a governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company. Today, the area is now home to the North Tutchone First Nations.

We turned off the Klondike Loop onto the Silver Trail Road which takes us into Mayo, YK.

Fifty-eight km later we see our destination, Five Mile Lake Campground. It’s a first come, first serve gov’t campground. We spot two back in sites right away but we need three. Hallelujah, right in front of me there are two pull-thru sites that are beautiful. We take the first, Bob and Kathy, Ted and Bev take the second. Their site would fit all three of us if we wanted. We get set up and I have a fantastic view out my side window…the beach, lake, and hills. All  Yukon gov't campgrounds provide firewood...free. Bonus

We all saw this contraption which I figured was a place for tenters to hang their food so the bears couldn't get it. Now neat.

What a great find...now its time to do some touring around.