Drury Creek at Little Salmon Lake

View of Frenchman Lake. It's a HUGE lake; this is just the south end.

Frenchman Lake

In the morning I wasn't sure what the weather was going to do, whether it was going to clear or rain some more.

Not trusting the weather, I didn't want to set off on a long paddle, and the lake didn't look that interesting anyway. A bunch of fisherman roared off in a power boat early, contributing to my feeling of not wanting to get out on the water. Plus, going out on the boat would have meant staying in camp afterwards to dry everything out (wasn't sure if that would even be possible), and the small campground didn't really have room for a vehicle that was not in a campsite.

I knew I didn't want to stay here another night, so I had a bit of breakfast and then set off on a little hike around the lake. As always, you never know what you are going to find.

Lichens and mosses

The way meandered above the shoreline, leading to a secluded campsite where a motorcyclist had set up camp, complete with clothesline for drying out (catching that theme, are you?).

In places it was really boggy. There were a few mosquitoes, but it wasn't bad, maybe an MI 3.5.

There are always treasures.

Sometimes it's the little things that are the most interesting.

Here in the north the ground is covered by an amazing diversity of life. In just one square foot, there can be three different mosses, a variety of lichens and worts, and wildflowers and small bushes.

Just in the photo at left, which may be all of two inches wide, see how many different living things you can find (you should find at least five, including the red fruiting bodies of a lichen!)

I was also on the hunt for spruce roots. I realize this isn't the best time to get root, but I figured I would look. One source I'd read said that creek overhangs were good places to look, since the roots are already exposed, and it means less digging!

Puffballs

I figured that road/trail cuts would also be good places to look, and I was right! I ended up collecting some roots. I've put them in a plastic bag and will see if I can use them when I find some birch trees!

I was also entranced by the puffballs along the trail. They almost looked alien. I've looked these up and they are supposed to be edible, so maybe I'll gather some next time...

Back at the campsite, I amused myself by collecting trash from under the table.

Now MOST campsites in Canada are remarkably clean. There can be some cigarette butts and an occasional bottlecap or hair elastic, but there don't seem to be the bits of plastic, fishing line, paper, gum wrappers, aluminium foil, and other packing material that's so familiar in the US.

What I found here was a bit of a surprise: brass shot casings. There must have been 40 casings under the table. I'm not sure if I'll really do anything with them, but at least the campsite is cleaner.

Cloudberry

Also at the campsite, I had spotted a cloudberry the night before, and I'd hoped to have this tasty tidbit for breakfast. I'd become familiar with these last summer: they are sweet with a taste somewhat reminiscent of apricots. Quite delectable.

Unfortunately, somebody beat me to it, because when morning came, it had been nibbled away.

There were a few others in the woods in back of the site, but none of them were ripe enough to eat. I think part of the attractiveness of these is that they feel rare — each small plant only puts out one berry!

After eating my berry-less breakfast, it was time to push on.

I decided to continue up to the next campsite — Nunatak — just to see what it was like, since this is a scouting mission, anyway!

Nunatak has two parts to it, an upper section that was completely empty... of people. There was, however, a big black bear roving the site.

Bear at Nunatak

While this photo isn't the best, I'm including it because it shows the challenges of trying to do wildlife photography. So often, the photos we see in galleries, books, or online, are the best of the best. They are clear, spectacular, have perfect lighting, and are in focus. It's not easy to get those pictures. By the time I saw the bear, stopped the car, and grabbed the camera, he was alerted to my presence and ran off.

He stopped, and looked back at me, but by the time I got the lens cap off, he had run through the thick trees and brush. Running bears look ungainly and fat, with their fur rippling as they lope off.

I was hoping for that one shot when he was looking directly at me. He did, and I have that shot in my mind: his black nose and brown snout just below his two round classic teddy-bear ears, and his big, furry body in the forest of aspens.

But I did not get that shot.
It's okay, because it's pretty indelible in my mind.

Osprey in nest

The lower area of Nunatak is on the water of Frenchman Lake (yes, it's a big lake), and was really crowded. A nice lady asked if I was looking for a spot, and she mentioned that there was one still available, it was just hard to find. I thanked her, said I was just scouting and wasn't going to stay, and told her that there was a bear in the upper campground. She thanked me and put her dog on a leash.

Back on the Robert Campbell Hwy, it was nice to be back on pavement. The road to Nunatak was a good dirt road, but it was quite washboarded and potholey.

So, it was nice to be able to look around when driving, and not look for the next pothole!

And then I saw the big nest on top of an electric pole. Thank goodness these highways are not crowded, because I could pull over to the side, and get the binoculars out to see if anybody was at home!

And... YES! There was an osprey in the nest! I think this is one of the adults, as the babies don't quite have that distinct marking, and as Cornell Labs says, the juveniles have darker orange eyes. It was quite a treat to see this, and to get such good pictures after the failure with the bear this morning.

So today, I'd seen a bear and an osprey. Not bad!

Little Salmon Lake

I stopped at another campground (Little Salmon Lake), but it was a zoo with huge (and I do mean HUGE) motorhomes and people — it was Saturday, after all — and it was also very, very windy. There was an available site right on the water, but it was really exposed, so I pushed on after getting out and walking around a bit.

I finally stopped at Drury Creek with yet another perfect campsite. The breeze was not quite as brisk as it had been further up on Little Salmon Lake; there was a great view, lovely beach, and the entire campsite HAD NO PEOPLE THERE.

Campsite at Drury Creek, on the shores of Little Salmon Lake

Red-breasted merganser (female)

I set up the tarp, partly for to get some practice setting it up in wind and alone, and partly because I didn't know if it was going to rain or not. Turned out that it was a good thing, because I ended up here for two nights and the tarp provided not only rain cover, but also sun shade and a windbreak. All good things!

There is always life around lakes and water, if you are just quiet and watchful enough to wait for it.

That night I saw a red-breasted merganser down by the water. Mergansers are such distinctive birds — even the females — that it's a relief to see one because they are so easy to identify. There are only three kinds of mergansers and they all look different from each other.

And when on a walk after dinner, I noticed a willow branch floating off shore. It seemed peculiar, and then it started to move all by itself, away from the shoreline. It took me a moment to realize that it was a BEAVER that had chewed the willow branch and was making off with it!

Beaver eating willow

I stood and watched it for quite a while. I could get within about 20 feet of it before it became uncomfortable and started to move away. It wasn't that disturbed, though, as it came back to the same spot and munched on the willow. They sure can eat a lot!

Turns out there actually were three of them. "Busy as a beaver" is the old adage, and they certainly were.

It was evident that they had been working this stretch of beach for awhile. Now that I knew what to look for, I could see stripped willow branches, and odd lines in the gravel where they had dragged branches down the beach.

Breakfast by the lake

It was a real lesson in SEEING. I had looked at this evidence as I'd walked down the beach, but I didn't truly see it and comprehend what it meant.

The next day was lovely. It was calm in the morning, but I was nervous about rising wind, so did not go out to paddle. I had a long, leisurely breakfast of cinnamon-raisin french toast with all the fixin's, and made enough to have some left over for another day. Custardy leftovers with maple syrup or blueberry jam can really be tasty!

I started a drawing (the first of this trip!!) and it went so well, that I decided to spend the afternoon, which meant that I had to stay another night. Boo-hoo!

It still needs more color, but I like the texture of the trees on the hills. The color of the lake (and sky and clouds) kept changing, so I sort of abandoned it, giving just a hint of color. I continue to be amazed at the way light changes over the course of the day, and how features are revealed as the light changes. This drawing took about four hours (from 11am – 3pm) to get to the point where I felt I wanted to stop and do something else.

It was so wonderful to totally relax and concentrate on things that I haven't had the time to do for a very long time.

Sheer heaven.

Here's the reference photo, which is the view from my campsite:

Little Salmon Lake

Beading project coming along

One of the curious things about this site on the lake was that it was right where Drury Creek emptied into the lake. The creek has quite a current, so where it spills into the lake, the wind-driven waves hit the creek current and make quite a mess of complicated waves. It would have been fun to paddle into, but there was just too much wind, and I was happy drawing.

And then continuing on the beading project. I am learning so much...

The beavers frolicked in the water, and one of them even brought a branch up the creek!

For two nights there just two campsite occupied, mine and the other by a couple from Whitehorse and their dog "Don," who looked like a fluffy little fox.

It was just another day in the Paradise that is the Yukon!