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See our new page on Trip Advisor New videos posted on line. http://www.vimeo.com/9585808 . http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1112025 . You will see some familiar faces in this video from the Denver Glacier in Skagway where Matt is working this summer..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haVEMBdhnIQ&sns=em . Cleaning out some paperwork I came across an interesting picture. Here is our very first Sierra Club Tour group waiting at the Eagle Air Strip for the charter flight to pick them up for their return to Fairbanks. Picture is compliments of Bob Thorton.
Just in case anyone thinks this is a serious picture...this was a fun loving group who had a great time setting this photo up. 2013 tours May 11...has us waiting for meltdown in order to get the boats into the water and working on next winters tours. We are excited to be offering an expedition traveling from Eagle into new country for the guides. The trail will follow the Yukon River, turning up the Nation River with trail breaking over a pass into the Kandik River and then cross country into the Black River territory. This expedition will be in two legs...one going from Eagle to the Black River which will take about a week. A bush plane will fly expedition clients out and other clients in to do the trip in reverse. It is a beautiful and remote section of country. If you are interested in this expedition contact us for more details. The tour dates are in mid to late February. There are also dates open for custom tours in January, parts of February and parts of March. Touring and KENNEL UPDATE and BLOG May 7...Time does have a way of passing and getting away from me. April brought warm weather and melting snow. The river ice became dangerous to cross early but then the last bit of winter held on until a few days ago when the ice from Dawson finally pushed through the area. I spent some time down south with my mom so I missed break up but arrived back to a shoreline lined with huge piles of ice. No way to launch a boat. Wayne had scouted out a landing sight near home so friends helped me launch a canoe and once I felt balanced and stable I pushed out into the river amid the flowing ice. I had 6 miles to work my way across the river. It was actually a lot of fun once I realized I had total control and could work around any large chunks of ice. Wayne and 4 dogs were waiting to pull me in near our boat landing area. We then put the supplies I brought into backpacks and hiked along the ice packed beach to the 4 wheeler and proceeded to work our way along our water logged trail. Last winter's freeze on Last Chance Creek has caused the water to divert and it is running across about 200 yards of our trail system. It will be awhile before we can easily drive the trail and launch the canoe. So we are enjoying time here with the dogs, enjoying some quiet and getting some chores done. Matt is on the Skagway glacier with a lot of the dogs...waiting to hear how they are all doing. 
EXPEDITION 2012 COMPLETION...the guys are home, tired but happy. The dogs are crashed in their houses sleeping on beds of fresh straw. Listening to their tales tonight I will have to put some of it into print soon. They had some very interesting happenings. March 21...The guys left 40-Mile at about 10:45. They are expecting a slow run to home so may not see them until about dark tonight. Sounds like they have had a good trip from all feedback I am getting. March 20...The team pulled into Clinton Creek about 4:30 today so will have a good evening and then shoot for home on a long run. March 19...The team spent the nigt in a cabin on the 40-Mile by Steele Creek. March 18...did not receive a SPOT but talked with the guys on the phone. They are at what is called the Kink.Got its name from a major bend in the river. Will try to locate it on the map and post their location. They are in good spirits and traveling well. Hum, I do not know how to mark a SPOT link but click the March 17th link and following the routing about 30 miles south east along the river and you will see a location that is a big loop to the river on the right and a very straight river section on the left...like a big island. March 17...Missed a call this evening by 4 minutes but they called this morning and all were sounding good. It was disappointing for them to make the summit and then realize that because they did not know how far the deep snow went they had to go on the assumption that it could be several days before they hit easy travel and that would not have gotten them back in time for the team members to fly out. March 16...The guys made the summit and then spent 5 hours trying to snowshoe a trail down what was to be the easy side. The were hoping that by the time they got into the creek drainage that the creek would have overflowed and the snow levels not as deep. That is not what they found so they had to confer and decided that they did not have time to continue on ahead. They have to be back in here by the 22nd. So they decided to reroute and are taking a different routing back home. It will be just as beautiful and remote as the country they were headed into. And they did make the summit! They overnighted at the same campsite as on the 15th. March 15...the SPOT came in very late. From the look of the map they are a mile and a half from going over the top. It appears to have been hard going but from all indications once they get over the top the travel conditions become much easier. Hopefully we will get to talk to them tonight and if not tomorrow night. March 14...the teams made Josephs and the food drop today. They are poised to head into the pass. Another day and there will be no chance of going back. It will be absolutely onward. Once they make Gelvins which should be in 2 to 3 days they will be homeward bound. March 13...finally a phone call from the team. They had a really rough day but are moving forward and hope to make it to Joseph's and the next food drop tomorrow. If they get that far then the next step is to start heading over the mountain pass. March 12...Looks like they had a pretty hard day of trailbreaking. Hopefully their distances will pick up as they move higher up the river corridors. No phone calls so do not know if they are just in some tall cliff areas and can't get signal or a malfunctioning sat phone. We will try to get another sat phone dropped to them if we do not get a call in the next couple of days. March 11...still no sat phone connection but the team made it to the food drop at the Fork on the 40-Mile. Tomorrow the really hard work begins as they are now well beyond any trails. March 10...no sat phone contact from the guys yet but did get an e-mail from some friends who live remote near the 40-Mile bridge. They saw the guys pass and talked with them for a few minutes. There was one glacier they had to cross that took some work and care but all made it fine and from their SPOT tonight they are camped about 10 miles up from the bridge on the 40-Mile River. March 9, night spent at our summit cabins. The last hour or so of the trek up the mountain appears to have been in a snow squall but then things calmed and cleared. The northern lights were active directly overhead and temps dropped to minus 30. It will be much warmer on the guys up top. March 9, 2012 Summit cabin March 9, 2012...It looks to be a great crew again this year...Nate Becker, trip leader and guide, Wayne Hall, guide and clients Craig Price of South Africa, Tim Groves, Will Jiroux and David Marsalis of the US. A lot of hard work went into the preparation for this trip and we especially want to thank Earl Rolf and Seth McMullin for their help in making this happen.The routing this year is over American Summit and down to the bridge at the Forty Mile where the teams head up the 40 Mile River, take the North Fork and head to an area called Joseph's. Then the plan is to find a route over the mountains dropping into the Charley in the vicinity of Gelvin's and then proceeding down the Charley River to the Yukon River and turning south to go upriver to Eagle. Each night they are supposed to send a SPOT of their location which I will post on here with any updates when they check in. The first SPOT is the homestead Click the link.. March 9, 2012 Touring and KENNEL UPDATE and BLOG Mar 3...Ouch has it really been this long since I posted on here...Life gets a little busy around here during touring season. Tours have gone well even with the up and down weather. We finally got some wonderful snowfall and the trails are nice. January seemed to break all kinds of records for cold and then February rolled around and tried to melt us. March is getting more back to normal with temps around zero and below. The dogs have had a good year and they are all in great shape. Our clients have come from so many different areas of the US, Europe, Asia, India, Australia, New Zealand and South America. It has been so interesting talking and relating with everyone. I am finding out that we are not that different...as the saying goes just a horse of a different color. We are into our final month for the 2012 season and it is a busy one. Jan 14...has it a mite chilly at minus 50 and clear skies. The sun made a small appearance in the cabin a little while ago. Nugget and her 3 pups are doing well. The smallest one tried hard to survive but was not able to. The other 3 are growing by leaps and bounds. For those of you wondering about the snow. We finally got enough snow to be up to normal and the trails will be good when we can get them in. High winds have been blowing the trails out right behind us as we break trail. Luckily we are not in an area that is being hit with lots of snow so our touring season is on track. Dec 31...has us wishing you a very wonderful New Year, may it be a good one. The last week for us has been hectic with the start to our tour season, severe cold temps and Nugget our female developing a problem over the Christmas weekend. She was due to have a litter of pups app Dec 28th. She developed an extreme infection in her uterus and it looked like we had lost all the pups. We were able to get her on a plane to Fairbanks and Dr Renee Rember. An ultrasound showed at least one live heartbeat so they got busy and went in to remove her uterus and pups. 4 of the 7 pups were alive. The pups were not quite 48 hours old when they made the flight back to Eagle with temps nearing 30 below. We grabbed the kennel and slammed it into the sled and headed to the store to warm her and the pups up. She had the pups so surrounded with her body that we decided to leave them there. The original plan was to have Wayne hold them inside his coat. We made a very slow trip down the river in the dark and only ran into problems on the steep hill coming off the river. So had to pull sled and machine back down and circle for another run at it at higher speed. But Nugget being a good mom did not squish anyone and warm hands were waiting at the cabin to hold pups as we got mom settled under the kitchen table. They will stay here until the weather warms some. They are a very contented set of pups. One is still very small but appears healthy and growing so hopefully it will catch up with the other 3. 3 females and 1 male...Rudolf, Vixen, Prancer and Dasher are a much wanted addition to our kennel.  ,
Dec 23...the snow has been lightly falling all night. A very fine misting snow that does not build up to much depth but it is still beautiful. We are going to have a quiet Christmas here at the homestead before our season starts. Have a very Joyous Christmas Season! There are new pictures on the TRIPS and PHOTOS pages. Check them out. Dec 7...has the river still knee deep in overflow in spots. Kind of a different year out there but when it finally settles down there should be a good running edge for trails. Wayne and I have enjoyed looking at some of the "from model to musher" pictures that are in a lot of web sites so we thought we would add our own. We have titled this...Before and After... 
Dec 1...Thanksgiving was a lot of fun with company from downriver and then Hugh, Nicole and Jessie mushed in from Tok, with 37 dogs in 2 teams. I think most of the run was a lot of fun but the ice and our low snow trail system here at the homestead had the departure a little bit exciting. Just after they left to go back the river decided to rise and we are dealing with a lot of wet stuff right now. Once it freezes back down then travel will be good once again. This is a picture of Matt as he did some dog training back and forth in the overflow.
Nov 19...has us waiting to see what the river looks like. The ice came to a grinding halt the morning of the 17th and then gound along again for a few minutes packing in harder. Yesterday we had a great running edge of frozen overflow covered with lots of hoar frost. We heard that the ice in Eagle stopped yesterday morning but then in the afternoon was moving again so we are waiting for daylight to see if anything changed here overnight. With luck Eagle was just packing in filling in the holes which is what the movement the day before did here. There is the possibility of some great travel if we get some snow...snow...snow... Oct 30th...Second snowfall and ice flowing in the river have us antsy for enough snow to start running dogs with sleds. The dogs really enjoy the free runs and it is a great time to get puppies out on ice and used to different weather/winter conditions. But for us it is more fun to be flying on the back of a dog sled rather than avoiding them with a 4 wheeler that has soft brakes. Oct 19th...First snow on the ground. Sure is pretty and the dogs are excited to be racing around in it. Matt made it home yesterday ahead of the storm. So we are all tucked in awaiting the river freeze up. There might be another trip or two into Eagle to check mail as long as the temps keep too much shore ice from forming. Oct 7th (I think)...winter is just around the corner and we are just about all tucked in waiting for it. Got the fish wheel parked high and dry today. Winter meat is hanging alongside some of the chum salmon that is hanging drying for some dog food this winter. We look forward to the coming season as it is a time to relax...a little...finish off some chores...and work at getting the dogs into shape. Matt (Garf) has gone south for a couple of weeks to visit Alyssa but is looking forward to a good winter training and running dogs. Matt has a website going as he starts preparing for racing. If you get the chance check out http://smokinacekennels.com/ He came home with a surprise for us. It seems he was picked as Tour Guide of the Season in Skagway. Mom and dad are very proud of our kid.
2012 EXPEDITION Several years ago we were asked to outfit and guide a true expedition type sledding trip into some of the most remote wilderness area on the continent. We traveled into country that the guide(s) have never seen before and very few human footprints have ever left their marks. It was a huge success. Every year since then we have organized a hard-core expedition into new areas in prime time travel conditions with “selected” clientele. Last years expedition went flawlessly, but one year the expedition ran into impossible travel conditions and was aborted 200 miles from the start. This is all part of the “adventure” of what a real expedition is…the UNKNOWN factor. This year’s expedition will begin approx March 9thth and end approx March 22nd or 23rd. We will travel from our homestead off the Yukon River to the top of American Summit above tree-line…then down into the drainages of Champion Creek and the 40 Mile River, then into the headwaters of the Charley River through a pass into the Charley, then 80 miles down the Charley to the Yukon River looping back up-river to Eagle…300 plus miles. Two airdrops of dog food caches will be dropped along the way and additional caches along the Yukon River. For safety reason two guides will be employed…myself and Nate Becker. 100 plus miles of this expedition will travel through country the guides have never seen….you will experience ALL types of terrain and conditions ranging from high mountain ascents and descents, small drainages just wide enough for a dog sled to maneuver and huge drainages like the Yukon River, deep snow, trail breaking and overflow conditions. Most of the expedition will camp in tents…a few very rustic turn of the century type mining and trapping cabins to overnight in and on last years expedition we slept in our dog sleds two nights (with a canp fire off to the side). We never know the level of difficulty we will encounter until we actually encounter it on the trail…..therefore you must be very physically fit and physiologically stable if the conditions merit extreme effort. For this reason we screen our clients really well, normally taking only return clients. 2012 WINTER SPECIAL Our season is pretty full but we do have space available from mid-January
to mid-February and can offer tour rates of $325.00 per day, per
person for one to two people. Group rates are available for more
than 2 if you want a larger group. Please contact us at bush_alaska_expeditions@hotmail.com September 12, 2011...just this second the sun has topped the rise and lite up the bright yellow leaves into a very vivid color. Fall is here, frost is on the ground and ice is in the buckets. The fall chum (fish) are passing through and we are busy catching food for ourselves and the dogs. Matt made it home from the glacier with all the dogs intact and then I clipped one of his pups with the four wheeler. It has been touch and go but looks like the leg is going to be okay. We have had a nightly visitor for a few nights and were thinking it was a bear but it turned out to be a large black wolf. Matt shot it just outside of his dog yard. We should have realized it was a wolf as the dogs closest to it each night were terrified. Guess we were lucky. I love to see the animals but when they come into the yards it becomes too risky. A dog can be a tasty morsel for a wolf.
Aug 31, 2011...cannot believe that another summer is coming to a close. It has been a really nice summer, even with all the rain. The river has continued to be high but is now dropping. The fall chum salmon are starting to arrive and the run looks to be good. Matt will be home from the glacier in a few days with most of the dogs. It will be good to have everyone home. The garden has turned out really nice and there will be lots of veggies to eat for awhile this winter. July 21, 2011...finally the liquid sunshine has given way to 2 days of true sunshine and it is really nice. The garden is loving it. The river is still up into the willows, record heights for this time of year but it will hopefully start dropping and stay down. The dogs are enjoying their relaxed summer and the daily romps that they get to have. Two of the retired girls just hang loose in the yard, all the time and Rita, Wayne's favorite leader, has been loose for 2 months. Her perimeter has extended from her dog house out about 20 feet into the grass of the yard. She knows she is loose but will only come further when called. The garden is growing well. The king run has stayed weak so we really cut back on our personal fish this year. We are hopeful for a good chum run which is used to supplement the dogs food throughout the winter. July 3, 2011...rain, rain go away..........................Days...no make that weeks of rain and things are wet. The yard is one giant puddle and the trails are running water and mud. Made a quick trip out for supplies so that most of our supplies would be in here in case the road goes out again. It has been closed 3 times already this summer but only for short periods. Keep your fingers crossed. The trip in was done overnight and what fun it was...2 hares, 2 porcupines, 1 large black bear, a duck and oddles of her young created a line across the road that had us hooting with laughter. We also saw 15 moose. The water in the river is the highest it has ever been on the 1st of July. We are unable to put our fishwheel in while it is this high but I am not too upset about it as right now the Chinook...king...run is shaping up very poorly. We are thinking of not doing our strips and only getting a few cases canned. Talked to Matt today...he and the dogs are all doing well on the glacier. June 25, 2011 is a sunny day after days of rain. Rain hard enough to cause washouts and mud slides but it gave me a good excuse to get the new pictures on the photos page. Please check them out. Check out a neat video, "Twenty-four Feet Across the Yukon," that one of our clients, Court, has put together. His video covers so much of what happens while on tour with us. http://www.vimeo.com/21423713 . May 27, 2011...has things fulling into summer operation. Wayne and I helped Nate and Matt move dogs for their summer on the glacier in Skagway and in Chicken. A wonderful friend from England came and houseset for us as we took our first vacation and had a great time. We returned home with a truck and trailor loaded with supplies, dog food and lumber and it is still sitting in Eagle waiting until we can get the large boat into the water. Break up extended a little with cooler weather and then went out nicely except that our trail system wound up under water from the iced creeks. We had to back pack whatever supplies we wanted. Wound up getting the ranger stuck in a mud bog and had to winch out. The honda 8 broke and we had to put a 30 hp on the canoe in order to get into Eagle to get it fixed. Mush have been a fun sight. The dogs that remain at the homestead are being spoiled rotten and having a great summer. Racky our matriarch is physically strong but totally deaf and mostly blind. She has the run of the yard and we have to look for her before we move anything as you can drive a 4 wheeler inches from her and she does not respond. She loves to go hiking with us but stays almost within touching distance in order to not get left behind. Last summer we got ahead of her and it took us a long time to get her attention as she was roaming back and forth on the riverbank looking for us. The garden is basically in. The planted seeds are up and the starts went in yesterday. The potatoes will hopefully go in tomorrow. Hopefully...salads in a few weeks. Expedition 2011 Map Erik Larson, one of the members of Team "A," has put together a map on Every Trail of the Expedition: Every Trail EXPEDITION UPDATES: March 17, 2011 EXPEDITION 2011 ENDS... In the opposite column are just a few pictures from the Expedition. It will probably be awhile before more pictures from the Expedition and the touring season get posted. test
March 27th...Team "A" pulled into the yard last night around 10:30 after deciding to break and do a night run in cooler temps. They came in with smiles on their faces and stories to tell. So today is a day to kick back...look at pictures and relate all the neat things that happened to both teams. Each group had some wonderful experiences and the expedition was a total success. Pictures will be posted later as we have time to process things. Team "1" made it into the yard with teams of very happy dogs. All 4 and 2 legged critters with smiles on their faces. They are planning on a rest day and then maybe a fun trip on Sunday. The 70-Mile river water was beginning to flow over the ice and much of their last 2 days were in 4 inches or more of running water. Team "A" is near the Nation River and will roll in here later tomorrow at which point everyone will swap stories and look at pictures. Hopefully I will be able to put up some of the photos. March 25...Nate checked in with me at the Percy DeWolfe Dog Sled Race Checkpoint yesterday which is where I was last night and why I did not get to post last night. Team "1" is moving fast and should be in tonight. They are doing well and have had a great trip. Team "A" is back on the Yukon and have done a side trip downriver to an area called Slaven's and will start heading back up the Yukon today. March 23...The teams have headed in their opposite directions and appear to be doing well. Team "A" is well on the way down the Charley and Team "1" has made the hard climb and descent ot the mountain pass. March 22...Both teams are still at Gelvin's and plan to begin the return trip in the morning. Team "A" plans side trips to Slaven's cabin and a trip up the Tatonduk. Team "1" will probably head back in without a side trip. So Team "1" could be back in 4 days from now and Team "A" will be rolling in in about 5 days. The report I received tonight is that they are very happy and things were very successful during the first half of the trip. Team "1" will have a hard day tomorrow as they have to climb and descend a 4000 foot mountain. March 21...Both teams have had a great run to date and are ahead of schedule and are resting at Gelvin's. Team "A" and Team "1" March 21, 2011 March 20...Talked to Team 1 and have a message from Team A. Team A will call back later. Team 1 is near Hannah Creek on the Charley River and expect to be at Gelvin's tomorrow. They have had a great time and have been graced with lots of wildlife sightings. 8 to 10 sheep, a dozen wolves, moose and beaver. They expect to be at Gelvin's tomorrow. Team A pulled a suprise as they are at Gelvin's. They made it up and over the pass today and hopefully I will get to talk with them in about 45 minutes. Wayne just called back and Team A is proud of the work they did today. They broke with snowshoes 7 miles of trail in some really deep snow. Were in knee deep overflow and climbed a 4000 ft mountain and decended the opposite side which is why I was so confused when I looked at their spot and the mountain was on the wrong side, the river was going the wrong way. Now that makes sense. Teams A and 1 should be together tomorrow and will probably give the dogs a day or two to rest. Matt, the main snowshoer, also needs some rest time. MARCH 19...Spoke with both teams tonight (19th). Both teams are doing great and apparently ahead of schedule. Team 1 is 15 miles up the Charley and Team A did not say specifically where they were but that they had a mountain in front of them so I am thinking they are starting up tomorrow. I am a little lost with following them as they took all the maps so I am not able to pinpoint their locations for you, except with their spot checks. Their only problem seems to be a failure with the sat phones to connect with each other so they will check in with me at night. If I do not hear from a team and/or a SPOT does not come it is not cause for worry as it probably means that they are in a steep canyon and will get messages out when they get out of the canyons. Team "1" March 18, 2011 Reached the mouth of the Kandik River and should reach the mouth of the Charley River on the 19th. EXPEDITION 2011 BEGINS MARCH 17...And they are off or should I say, "the race is on!" What a great group of guys have come together for this 2 week expedition. With all the good natured ribbing it was hard to pick who would be Team A and who would be Team B or Team 1 and Team 2 so I made it easy...Meet Team "1"...David, Nate and Dries.
Meet Team "A"...Erik, Wayne and Matt
These are the last pics I will have of them until they return home. Team "1" left first and headed 45 miles down the Yukon River for their first overnight and Team "A" left a few minutes later in the opposite direction to head out the 70-Mile River. The goal is for each team to work, breaking trail up and over a pass in the mountains. They will meet somewhere in the middle and give each other trail on the way out. Each night they will be sending SPOT locations which I will post here so that you can follow their progress. Both teams are tucked in for their first night...I will post any info when I received phone calls from the groups. New 2011 photos on opposite side of page. March 3, 2011...wow, time flys when you are busy and having fun. It has been a very cold winter but the trails have been great and all the clients have been wonderful. The dogs are in great shape as they head into their last month of the touring season. It is a full month, busy with clients and the expedition. This year's expedition is sending two groups of 3 teams in opposite directions with plans to meet up somewhere at the headwaters of the Charley River in the middle of nowhere, to complete a 300 mile loop. Jan 23, 2011...the weather keeps teasing us...giving us one day of warmth and then back into the deep freeze but all are staying warm and the dogs are enjoying the activity. Jan 20, 2011...Has Eagle in the grips of cold. Everyone is dressing with extreme caution to avoid getting cold. The trails that are in are great and conditions are setting up for us to get others opened up. Short of it being on the chilly side it is a good mushing season and the dogs are healthy, happy and enjoying the activity. Happy New Year! We at Bush Alaska Expeditions want to wish each and everyone a peaceful and happy New Year. On the home front the temps have warmed to a balmy 15 degrees above zero. The dogs are beginning to get into excellant touring shape and the trails are starting to all come together into some great trail running. Merry Christmas...sounds like a lot of the lower 48 is having a white Christmas. For us it is definitely white and beautiful. Trails are beginning to be established and the river running is great in this area. The dogs are getting into shape and loving the trips. Weather has been a bit nippy but it has warmed a little. Good gear is essential. Clients arrived yesterday and were a little cold after the plane flight but once they got suited up they were amazed at how warm they got. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO COME! Dec 1st...FREEZE UP...sometime last night the ice stopped moving, coming to a really easy stop here at our bend in the river. It is setting up to be a superhighway of travel this season. Right now there is massive overflow going on but with the little jumble and the cold temps things are going to turn out sooooo nice. The only drawback will be that wind might blow the snow down to the ice at times. So dogs will get a lot of ice work this year.
Nov 21st...We finally got a good dump of snow...deep enough to run single file and get hung up here and there. Any good dog sled maker will tell you that the distance between the brush bow and the foot -pads on the runner that the musher stands on is a critical distance. You know you have it right when the brush bow clips a tree and the entire snow load of the tree falls directly on the head of the musher.....cooling him off from the difficult trail-breaking routine  
Nov15th...and the river is still running ice. The temps have continued to stay mild and snow stays light. But it has snowed 2 inches today and a cold snap is moving in so we are hopeful that in a few days things will change. Our pet marten came home just after my last post. It was great to see him after his summer of exploring. We have had a grizzly wondering around the fish crib and the cabin but he appears to have moved on but a lone wolf and 3 legged fox keep hanging around. The dogs are enjoying their free runs but that is changing to runs in a team with Wayne or Nate on the sled. This time of year it is a good time to do additional training and get the dogs into top form before tours start. The dogs are loving the runs and so far most of the runs have ended with the guys very happy with their teams and the training that went on. Oct 25th...third day of ice flowing in the river. It started with some slush on the 22nd which formed into ice pans on the 23rd. This picture was taken yesterday. Each day will have the ice pans thickening and growing larger, with pans freezing together and forming much larger ice formations. This will continue until ice is strong enough to jam in narrow or shallow spots. Then travel on the Yukon will begin again only this time over the ice and not in the water.
Oct 20th...2 inches of snow on the ground but the river is still ice free. We went to town yesterday and drove through the road construction to the 40-Mile and put up the tent that we use sometimes and the Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race mushers use as a rest stop in February. Last week the guys went downriver to drop off a cache of supplies for winter touring and had 2 bull moose come out to see them. The pics are of the one that heard them rattling around in the brush and swam the Yukon before coming up within feet of the boat. Our son, Matt had placed himself up on the bank to get the picture as he walked by.
Oct 7th...Matt and the dogs settled in and fishing began to take over the days. The chum run was smaller than the fish biologists had predicted but we filled our racks for the first time in 3 years. It is a pretty sight. Everybody quickly got busy and pulled the fish wheels out of the water and parked up on the shore. The next day snow hit the ground and stayed for about 4 days before a warm up brought us back to more normal fall temps. All supplies are in...well...still 1 ton of dog food to come but it is slated to get here, so we are set for winter. The dogs are enjoying their free runs and we are looking forward to a little slack time as we await a couple of litters of pups. Both Matt and Nate are working on expanding their dog teams. Moose hunting did not go so well for us and the guys were getting pretty tired of the early mornings and late nights, especially not seeing even a cow. So when friends notified us that the caribou had made it to the summit Matt and Nate took off. Wayne stayed here as we had some business to take care of. Just about dark the guys came in with 2 medium sized caribou. So that with last years moose should give us enough meat for the winter. Sep 16th...all are home safe and most of the supplies are in. Here is a pictorial of the past few days.
Sep 12...the road construction crew has really socked it to Eagle. They will not have another opener until the 27, 28, 29 and 30 and say it will be the last. This has everyone scrambling. Matt and our dogs are waiting on the other side of the closed road (which is traveable at the moment...if you work on the road crew you have plenty of access back and forth) and will head to the 40-Mile townsite in the morning as Wayne and a friend head out in large boats to pick up the 30 huskies. Then hopefully we can get someone to get the truck and trailer back on the US side of the border before it closes as we will not have a chance to do it. With luck Matt and all dogs will be here late tomorrow and we will be able to spring someone loose during the last big fish pulse to get into Fairbanks for the last of the dog food and straw. Sep 8...almost there...the road crew gave us 4 days to travel. Wayne and I headed out early by boat up the Yukon to pick up Nate's land cruiser and trailer at the 40-Mile Townsite. Made the dental appointment and hit Fairbanks on the run. Got to the Convoy site in time to catch the first convoy into Eagle and I headed back out on the convoy the next morning for another run. Got most of our groceries in and a large portion of the dog food. Still some dog food and straw to come and, of course, Matt and the 30 dogs need to get back in here. They are due off the glacier any day but will have to sit tight until we can get a road opener to get them in. The border closes on the 15th, so the option to come down the Yukon is getting slim. The chum run is starting and Wayne and Nate moved Nate's wheel into a new location today in anticipation of a larger catch. It is a small run this year so it may be hard to get the numbers that we need. Aug 24th...Nate got a few pretty shots this summer...
Aug 22nd...Heard the crackle of the radio about 5:30 as the guys neared Eagle. So went down and could see a large object in the river way ahead. Wayne swung the raft around as they neared the landing sight and then nosed it into shore with Nate throwing me the rope that I quickly hitched around the safety line on shore. Wayne and Nate had huge smiles on their faces and the 8 dogs were very happy to get on shore and come visit. 
Aug 21th...More heavy rain is contineing to hamper efforts to get the road open. Nate and his fishwheel should be on their 10 hour float down the Yukon. Hope all goes well! Plans for the expedition tour in the Yukon Charley Rivers Preserve (National Park) are in full swing. Aug 12th...Things are starting to dry up a little and we are finding all the washouts around the homestead. The bank gave way down at our creek so it was good that I had repulled the pump as it could have been sucked into the void. Wayne was zipping around on our trail at the Helibase (Outback cabin) and nearly rolled the 4-wheeler as he was not looking down at the trail. A before unknown wash area had eaten out a hole about 3 foot wide across the whole trail. And on a hopefully fun note, Nate is trying to get the fishwheel here and the plan is to drive into Canada, and go down Clinton Creek Road to the mouth of the 40-Mile and launch from there. Wayne will boat up and hook onto the fishwheel for the float down to Eagle. That is if they do not have trailer restrictions on that section of road which the paper said today that they would have. So Plan C may be in the works as Plan B may come to a grinding hault or have to be delayed. Aug 8th...Things are beginning to settle in the river again. Yesterday I walked down to the wheel with 6 dogs to check on things. We had previously pulled the wheel into the shoreline to keep drift from catching on the wheel. When I reached the slough I knew we were in trouble...usually drift goes out into the river and the far side away from us but I could count 24 root and tree sections that had been swept into the slough. Never, even in the worst drifting debris, had I seen that much on this side and in the slough... By the time I got in site of the wheel I could tell it was bad. So, after getting Wayne, we spent about 3 hours prying, pulling and swimming huge trees and debris away from the wheel. Good thing we were pulled in as I would hate to think of what it would have looked like had it been out in the river. There was nothing for it but to wade in and start work. Spending hours in cold water is not all that much fun but it brought back memories of old when our wheel was on the other side of the river and would fill up with junk. Aug 6th...Rain, Rain...go away...or better yet...3 strikes and your out. Sounds like the Jack Wade portion of the Taylor washed out for a 3rd time. And as they have not even started fixing the Eagle section I can only imagine that more of the shaky sections of roadside clinging to the mountain gave way today. Wayne and I geared up in rain gear and bailed boats and pulled the fishwheel into shore. Have to head down in a little while to bail again and probably let the wheel come further in as the water is rapidly rising. Just put out pump back in the creek yesterday but by the sounds coming over the hill should probably go back down and pull it back up the hill again. Interesting weather we are having right now. Some of the dogs do not like the sound of rain on their houses so they just stand around and look miserable. But things are shaping up for winter. The sleds are about all overhauled and ready to go and bookings are looking good. We are beginning to sweat when the road will be open for travel with loads and trailers. I like to have all my trips over the mountains done by mid-September as I do not like to travel when there could be ice and snow flying. July 31...the road into Eagle is still closed although the road between Dawson and Tok has been reopened. The Chinook (King) Salmon run has come in weak but after last year and not even getting to fish for kings because of the disaster from the Yukon River break-up we are enjoying ever bite that goes into our mouths. The dogs are enjoying the scraps. Because of our lifestyle we try to utilize every bit of fish that we take from the river. We strip and can the meat. The dogs get the heads, backbones and other scraps of meat which is cooked up with rice. The guts are put in a barrel and added to the garden the next spring. The eggs are sometimes dried for treats for the dogs or added to the barrel. Funny thing is that the dogs hate to eat raw eggs and most pick them out if they get cooked and put into their food dish but once it is dried they will take your fingers off if you are not careul as they try to get at their snacks. July 26, 2010…has found Eagle still cut off because of heavy rains. Road repairs had reopened the Tok to Dawson section of road and the section into Eagle was about to reopen when more heavy rain fell onto the already saturated ground and there was a repeat performance of road washouts and land slides. In the beginning sections of road coming into Eagle still had a single lane but this last deluge wiped out the whole trail…not even a 4 wheeler could have skirted around. But hopefully the rains will stop and the road work get the road open enough to allow locals to travel and get supplies. The dogs, on the other hand, do not know about all the hassles and tho they do not like the constant rain they are having a fun summer. Today Triton found a porcupine and wound up with a few quills in his nose. Luckily I was able to keep the other dogs moving with me so that they did not join in his fun. We were able to hold him and pull the quills with pliers. Today the sun is out and the smoker is smoking heavy as I am trying
to take advantage of the sun and heat to speed up the strips that
have taken days and days to dry. We have been lucky to have not
lost any with all the constant rain. Keeping a smoke and heat going
inside the smoker gets a little hard but it kept the strips drying…just
very slowly. Sure taste good! Winter tours will get to enjoy the
strip snacks that we put in their sleds for munching as they travel. July...Hum, interesting summer so far…where to start…Warmth came early to our area and the gardens got a good head start and then things cooled down a bit and the plants stood waiting. Then they took off and began to grow and now so much cloudy, wet weather has them growing slowly. Eagle was able to breath easy when the Yukon gave us a very mild breakup this year and then the normal high water did not appear to come. June began to edge by and July loomed ahead with the Chinook (King) salmon run coming in late, which put the early arrival of kings starting in the 2nd week of July. Wayne and I got busy and got the fish wheel off the bank, ready to float and launched it in a new fishing hole. We were pretty hyped at how things went. We were not yet ready for large catches so the first day the 2 fish were a welcome treat. Then the second day we saw how good our spot was when we had 15 beautiful fish waiting to put me to work. The dogs have loved it all as they get to run free and chase the boat along the bank to the fish wheel site where they play around while we work. In the winter all you have to do is touch a dog sled to get the yard to explode and in the summer it is touch the 4 wheeler. Then all X@#$X broke loose in the sky and the rains poured and poured. The 40-Mile River at the Taylor Highway Bridge rose 24 feet in 24 hours. We are talking straight up, not along the edge. The water almost covered the bridge. The 40-Mile rise caused the Yukon to come up 5 feet in 24 hours. Debris was heavy and all fishing stopped. The 40-Mile is slowly going down but the Yukon has only gone up and is at high bank level because of continued rains here and all along the upper Yukon. We will have to wait for it to go down at least 2 feet before we can reset the wheel and even then it will not be a good set until the water goes down another 2 to 3 feet. Many miles of the Taylor Highway are washed out or covered with landslides, which makes the road impassable. They are saying it could be months before it is opened. We are hoping that is not the case for locals and that once construction gets so far they will allow locals through for needed supplies, doctor and dental appointments, as the summer is when we can take care of things and get the many tons of supplies we need in for the winter for us and the dogs. The local economy in Eagle and Chicken has ground to a halt and it is going to be hard for the people who depend on the tourism for their yearly income. Thirty or more people were stranded for days in between wash outs
and waited for the road crews to get some kind of temporary trail
in so they could pass. The really sad thing is that a summer local,
the border agent, Chuck was traveling out a small distance ahead
of another vehicle. He made it around one bend and the following
car was cut off by a landslide and had to return to Eagle, barely
making it over now washed out sections. We can only guess but the
assumption is that Chuck was watching in his rearview mirror at
the landslide or to see if the young gentleman made it safely around
the bend and appears to have driven straight off the road in a bend
near where Wayne ran his snow machine over a few years ago. There
was no indication of swerving or braking. The vehicle was washed
downstream and when rescue crews went down found the seat belt undone.
Chuck even wore his belt in town so it appears he tried to get out
and did but was not able to get out of the floodwaters. Searchers
are still hoping to find his body. June 29, 2010 is another wet one. Which has been good for the ground and gardens. The Chinook Salmon are headed this way but the run is still not as strong as we would like to see it. We are beginning to work on the fish wheel getting it ready to put in the water. The dogs have been having a great summer. Our 4 legged visitors have disappeared and we hope that we have seen the last of them. I am getting tired of peaking around the outhouse door before I step out of it. June 7, 2010 is a dripping one. After really hot, dry weather produced a lot of thunderstorms; which, produced fires the rain was welcome. Our latest visitor still comes to visit but so far is staying out of trouble. The dogs are enjoying their runs along the beach. May 23 has had the dogs very excited with 2 unusual visitors into the dog yard. On at least 5 visits that Wayne and I witnessed a lone white wolf came calling. This has had us pondering the question of is it safe to allow the beautiful animal such close proximity to the dogs? There are many stories about such visits and some have bad endings but many have interesting and wonderful endings. Ours was a good ending. The wolf meandered about showing no aggression towards the dogs or us. He has not visited in the past 3 days. Neither Wayne nor I thought to grab the camera in our excitement at getting to watch him. Now last night and today is a different story! This bear has no problem allowing us all the time we need to practically pose him for shots. As long as he stays to the trails we are going to enjoy him. 
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Mush your own sled dog team of Alaskan Huskies through the Alaska, Yukon Wilderness. Our sledding trips and adventure tours specialize in extreme wilderness travel using highly trained Alaskan huskies. This area of Alaska is one of the most remote locations left on earth and includes the Yukon Charley Rivers National Preserve, which is a 2.2 million acres protected wilderness area. http://www.nps.gov/yuch/planyourvisit/dog-mushing.htm There are expeditions above tree line over mountain summits, along creek and river drainages and into boreal forests. Because a true wilderness experience becomes tainted with a large
group or "party," we limit our tours to one or two clients
plus your guide. (Except on special request for a larger group,
by you.) You can customize your tour to your own personal physical
abilities and expectations which can include day trips and simple
overnight adventures in a tent camp or an original miner/trap line
cabin dating back to the early part of the century or you can experience
a full-blown expedition as long as you want, mushing into country
inhabited only by God's creations, including caribou and wolves.
Along with the experience of riding the runners behind the dogs,
you can spend time hiking, skiing, ski joring, snow boarding, aurora
watching, (on clear nights the northern lights often grace the sky),
or just kicking back in a relaxed, remote location. See our new page on Trip Advisor New videos posted on line. http://www.vimeo.com/9585808 . http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1112025 . Two of our clients did a journal style review of our trip. Click on Alaska trip when the page opens. http://www.abbucketlist.co.za. Check out a neat video, "Twenty-four Feet Across the Yukon," that one of our clients, Court, has put together. His video covers so much of what happens while on tour with us.http://www.vimeo.com/21423713 . VIEW AN 8 MINUTE VIDEO: Sierra Club member Mickey Murch made this video in Feb 2007 while on a Sierra Club Tour with us. The clip is called Metabolic Transportation and is on vimeo. To watch the video, once the page pulls up, click the starting arrow on the window. VIEW A YOUTUBE VIDEO OF A 2008 EXTREME TRIP! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAqWKDkDJBI View a video of some advanced mushing with direction from guide, Matt Emslie: Sometimes mushing can get difficult and exhilarating as this video of Louise directing her team and working her sled around a narrow ledge of ice on an exploratory trip into the headwaters of Eagle Creek. Once the page opens up, click on the starting arrow on the window. View 3 clips from the 2009 Herchal Island Expedition. These clips are from areas that are within our normal routes and might be something that you would like to experience. We customize our trips and routing to what you want to experience and the difficulty level that we feel is best suited to your abilities. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhYc3yKS9P8&NR=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVo6jWtr2Es&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF5QChCgX2s&feature=related MEDIA ARTICLES: New York Times Travel Magazine "The Great White Way" by Alix Browne in the November 20, 2005 issue. http://travel.nytimes.com//185789 http://query.nytimes.comUSA TODAY Travel>>Destinations "Dog Sledding Keeps Gliding Along, Snow or No Snow" by Laura Bly February 14, 2008 Australian Financial Review, The Sophisticated Traveler Jan 2006 MUSHING The Magazine of Dog-Powered Adventure July/Augush 2008 "Bush Alaska Expeditions" by Anita C. Strindberg CONTACT: For
more information and/or questions e-mail us at bushalaskaex@starband.net
or bush_alaska_expeditions@hotmail.com ask for our brochure
or write us at: Bush Alaska Expeditions, P O Box 161, Eagle,
AK 99738. No incoming phone calls due to the remote location
but there is Internet access via satellite. Phone calls can
be arranged via computer and satellite. 2011 EXPEDITION PICTURES
2011 Pictures
Previous pictures
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Touring
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