Big Salmon River Yukon: 230 Miles and 12 Days Unsupported in the Canadian Wilderness

There's a moment I think about a lot from our Big Salmon River trip. We were sitting in a van with a stranger, bouncing down a two track in the middle of the Yukon mountains, and I looked at Kyle like, what exactly are we doing here? We were excited and scared and hopeful and nervous and ready, all at the same time. It was the best kind of terrible feeling.

Where This Trip Fit in Our 90 Day Road Trip

The Big Salmon River, Gyò Cho Chú was one stop on our 90 day road trip from Michigan to Alaska, and it ended up being my favorite part of the whole adventure.

We aren't new to long, unsupported trips. Our 10 day canoe trip in Wabakimi Provincial Park with both dogs is where our whole "it was hard, but never bad" attitude comes from. So we knew what we were getting into, at least in theory. This river still managed to rattle us.

Why We Picked the Big Salmon River

We picked this river because of how remote it is. We knew it would be a real challenge, and we wanted something that would push our boundaries. It did.

Getting to the Big Salmon River

We rented from Kanoe People, and the way you get to the river is by van. It was a long, rough ride. Five hours through the mountains, and most of it on a two track. By the time we got to Quiet Lake, where we put in, I'm pretty sure all of us (me, Kyle, and the dogs) were ready to be anywhere that wasn't moving.

Once the van drove away, that was it. This is a river deep in the backcountry with no cell service. There's no turning around and no easy way out. Getting out meant going down the river, or pushing an SOS. That's a heavy thing to sit with while you're unloading gear on the bank.

Nerves Before We Even Started

The hardest and the best parts of this trip happened at the same time, and the beginning was the hardest of all. We felt like we were in over our heads. The water was fast and high, and we had no idea what was ahead of us.

The company that sent us out hadn't sent anyone else down the river that year, so there was no one to ask what it looked like. All we had was a paper map that was 10 years old, and a let us know how it goes when you get back. We didn't know what the weather would do. We didn't know about the wildlife. Are there bears on this river? Will we see them? How do we handle cooking, catching, and eating fish out here? We were so nervous the night before and the morning of that we could barely function.

What the River Was Actually Like

We paddled a MacKenzie 16' Clipper the whole way and we loved it. The trip starts with a string of three lakes, and we pushed hard to get through all of them, because we had no idea what was waiting for us downstream. Looking back, that uncertainty made us move faster than we needed to.

Rapids were something we could see coming, but we were nervous every single time we approached one. And finding campsites was a mix. Sometimes we found a good spot with no problem, and other times it felt like we might not find one before dark.

Bugs were another story. There were so many that I don't think we would have survived without our Thermacells. Seriously, bring them.

The Weather Was Unreal

I'll be honest, I was worried about the weather. It was snowing on July 2nd, and we showed up about a week later, so I had no idea what to expect. We were so lucky. We got sunny days, cool nights, and only a little wind. We had one day of rainstorms. And it was nice enough at one point that we got to swim. I did not see that coming.

Wildlife on the Big Salmon River

We saw a grizzly bear. We saw several moose with their calves, and a couple of black bears too. We'd spent the night before the trip wondering whether we'd see any bears at all, so having a grizzly show up was a lot, in the best way.

The morning of day 6 we heard a wolf howling. That was the same day we saw the grizzly, and I'm pretty sure there was a kill nearby that was pulling all the wildlife out. It was eerie and exhilarating at the same time. The dogs, by the way, had an amazing time through all of it.

What We Ate on a 12 Day River Trip

Food was simple. We ate MREs, fresh caught grayling and pike, and lots of rice. Nothing fancy, but when you catch your dinner out of the river you're floating down, it tastes pretty good.

Down Days at Carmacks Campground

We took out at Carmacks, and when the trip wrapped up we got a couple of down days at Carmacks Campground. We met new friends and plenty of other adventurers. We ate at the food truck and drank too many IPAs to celebrate what we'd just done. We sat around a campfire with strangers and traded stories from the road and from our past lives. 

After 12 days of quiet, that campfire was the perfect way to end it all.

What We'd Do Differently on the Big Salmon River

Knowing what we know now, we'd spend a bit more time fishing in the upper stretches of the river. We rushed through all the lakes because we were so unsure of what was ahead, and we missed out on some fishing because of it. Next time, we'd slow down early.

Why This Trip Meant So Much

It was hard, but never bad. I went into the Big Salmon scared and I came out of it proud, strong and overall a different person. Out of everything we did on our 90 day road trip, this was my favorite.

Big Salmon River Trip: Questions We Get Asked

How long was the Big Salmon River trip? 12 days and about 230 miles.

Where did you start and finish? We put in at Quiet Lake and took out at Carmacks.

What did you paddle in? A MacKenzie 16' Clipper. We loved it.

Why did you choose the Big Salmon River? Because it's remote, and we knew it would be a great challenge to push our boundaries.

What would you do differently? We'd spend more time fishing the upper stretches of the river. We rushed through the lakes because we weren't sure what was ahead.

Did you have cell service? No. We had no service and no easy way out. Getting out meant going down the river or calling an SOS with a 24 hour minimum rescue time.

Did you see bears? Yes. We saw a grizzly bear and a couple of black bears, plus several moose with calves. We also heard a wolf howling on the morning of day 6.

What did you eat? MREs, rice and fresh caught grayling and pike.

How were the bugs? Bad. We wouldn't have survived without our Thermacells.

What was the weather like? Way better than we expected. It was sunny with cool nights and mild wind, with one night of rainstorms. It was even warm enough to swim. It had snowed on July 2nd, so we'd prepared for worse.

Did the dogs come along? Yes, and they had an amazing time.