Day 261 - June 19
Monday, the 19th of June, 2006. Paddled into Eagle last night. Uneventful trip except at the old townsite of 40 Mile, 52 miles downstream from Dawson, Yukon. It was about 9:30 PM. I was in a narrow slough with a good current looking for the best place to pull of for the night. Tall trees, kind of shadowy with the last vestages of direct sunlight waning in the west. I was negotiating a turn to the right in to a slightly narrower channel when I saw two moose calves on the opposite shore looking back at me. Just when I was wondering where Momma was I turned to the right and there she was. About 10-15 feet from me...just off my right shoulder. She was steaming. Our eyes met and the next thing I know she's jumping into the slough trying to put herself between me and her kids. When something that big jumps in the water only a few feet in front of you several things happen. First you get wet. Her splash was like a cannonball dive. The front of the canoe went down, then up, filled about 20 percent full and then it hit her. I didn't know I could turn the boat around so fast in such a narrow channel but I did and started paddling UPSTREAM to get away. Ididn't know I could do that. But I did. I went upstream until I was out of her sight. She only followed a short distance and went back to her kids. I caught my breath, waited a few minutes and proceeded back down the slough. I heard them in the bush but didn't see them again. A close call. Owoooooooooooooooooh!
Hooked up with Jesse Naiman in Eagle. We stayed at the Falcon Inn. A fine hotel. Nice folks. Met with Dave and Scott at the local AP & T office. There aren't many offices in Eagle but the ever expanding AP & T empire is alive and prominent. Only the finest state of the art facility for their customers. They were a great help and Dave even floated down the river with me for half an hour later in the day.
When Jesse took me back to my boat on Monday AM I learned that a million or two little logs, big logs and in between logs formed a blockade around my boat and I couldn't budge it. But luck was with me. The Holland America catamaran, the Yukon Queen, was at the dock where I was marooned. Captain Andy and his trusty mate, Mark, were there and offered to help. (Jesse is sending pictures) Thanks to their benevolent attitude and willingness to help a fellow river man in trouble my boat was free and reloaded in less than an hour. Captain Andy and Mark are two fine men and I shant ever forget there assistant. AND, the really cool thing is this. They helped because they're those kind of people...just good folk. It wasn't until after we got the boat out that I told them Holland was one of my sponsors. So, if you see Dave Beedle with transportation in Holland America, tell him he hired some good people in Dawson and Eagle. Owooooooooooooooooooooh!
On to Circle where I get to hook up with Jesse and Nicky. Good grub coming up. Until next time. TA TA