YUKON RIVER DAY 6

Day 6 was a much quieter day after all the excitement of the rapids. We woke up to a promising day, which unfortunately turned into a rainy day by the time we were packed up and back on the river. But we were looking forward to seeing some new sights.

Rachel and Ray were the most experienced canoers in the group. They made the whole trip look so easy. While Brian and I were working hard just to keep up they seemed to be effortlessly paddling yet managing to stay well ahead of everyone else. (Rachel told me later that she was working hard too.) They rarely made mistakes in reading the river currents. So, it was with great amusement that we watched them get stuck on this sand bar.
One of the interesting points today was Minto. Apparently there is a settlement at Minto and Brian had his heart set on getting some pie. We never found pie here unfortunately. I think we just missed the town. We did, however, find the barge that transports mining trucks across the river. It looked like a pretty quiet day for the barge, so we pulled over at the opposite bank and had a lunch break.

We were keeping close watch in case the barge needed to move across the river. Of course, that is exactly what happened. So, we quickly packed up our lunch stuff and raced back to the canoes to get out of the way. The captain of the barge was very accommodating and gave us time to clear the area before he landed.
We really didn't expect to see so much barge traffic on the river. These barges (there are actually 2 here) are used to haul supplies to various mines along the river. They are based in Fort Selkirk.Our destination for the day was Fort Selkirk. Brian was convinced that he would get his pie here. But his plans were thwarted again.
They had a really nice camping area, so we pitched our tents and continued the drying process.
There was a fabulous dining shelter complete with drying racks for all our gear. Since we were the only ones at the site we quickly took over the shelter. Some people arrived a couple hours later, but had only put in at Minto and had no need to dry out yet.
The gang.

The settlement of Fort Selkirk is an historical site for the Northern Tutchone people. They are restoring all the buildings. It was a very interesting stop. Here is a virtual museum.

The dining shelter.
It was quite a haul up some rickety steps with our gear.Another successful day on the Yukon River. But, still no pie.