Category: History

More WP&YR railway exploring – by e-bike this time

I finally got out on an adventure worth sharing yesterday, exploring 7.8 km of the long-abandoned White Pass & Yukon Route rail line from the Lewes Lake Road to Bear Creek. Much of the line is in terrible condition, difficult to walk, much less ride a bike, but this...
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Writing a Chilliwack-area trail guide, 1988-1990

When I lived in BC (the first 40 years of my life), I spent an ever-increasing amount of time in the spectacular Chilliwack River and Skagit River valleys. In 1988 I had an idea that a trail guide would be a useful addition to BC bookstore shelves. By the...
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Another hike to the upper Venus silver mine

As I get older, the Yukon’s historic Venus silver mine (the primary subject of my first book) has become my fitness test. On Wednesday, I made my third attempt in a month to reach it. I made it. At 71, it was my slowest ever for the steep climb...
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A short hike at the historic Venus silver mill

The drive down the South Klondike on May 17th whetted my appetite for more mountain time in a big way, so on the 19th I headed down the South Klondike Highway again, with a more ambitious plan. I left Bella and Tucker at home because although it was a...
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A Whitehorse Copper Belt mine history hike

The number of historic mining sites in the Whitehorse Copper Belt is quite astonishing when you have a guide like Tim Green who is a fount of knowledge about it, and loves sharing what he has discovered. On Sunday we spent 4 hours in a very small part of...
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Road trip to the George Johnston Museum in Teslin

On Thursday (August 5th), I drove to Teslin and back to have a look at the George Johnston Museum and to meet a staff member I’d been talking to online, and the director. Part of my reason for going was the firm up a basic template for showing each...
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Another long e-bike ride to Cowley Lakes

As we were descending into Whitehorse on our Air North flight last Wednesday, I could see that much of the flooding that stopped me on my e-bike ride on June 10th had receded, so I decided to give it another try on July 30th. I’m using 2 apps on...
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Indian Residential School Memorial in Vancouver

In my wanders around Vancouver last week, I came across a memorial to the victims of the Indian residential school system. It was initially created by First Nations artist Tamara Bell with 215 pairs of children’s shoes, but it appears to have become less an organized effort than a...
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Riding the e-bike up to snow on the Coal Lake trail

On Sunday (June 13th), I decided to try a road/trail that has intrigued me for many years. I knew it wouldn’t be an easy ride, but it was tougher than I expected. In a total time of 3 hours, 19 minutes, I rode 33.7 km (20.9 mi), and climbed...
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