What does a 2,000 mile canoe trip through one of the world’s most remote regions look like? Well, scroll on to find out.
Adam Weymouth, 35, from Wiltshire, has shared images of his epic paddle down the Yukon River which flows northwest from Canada through the Yukon Territory and Alaska into the Bering Sea.
The London-based writer told MailOnline Travel that during his four-month expedition one of the most frightening moments was when he came face-to-face with a grizzly bear and on the food front, he enjoyed local delicacies such as salmon eyes, salmon hearts, moose and beaver.
Adam Weymouth, 35, from Wiltshire, has shared images of his epic paddle down the Yukon River which flows northwest from Canada through the Yukon Territory and Alaska into the Bering Sea
The London-based writer told MailOnline Travel that during his four-month expedition one of the most frightening moments was when he came face-to-face with a bear and on the food front, he learnt to enjoy local delicacies such as salmon eyes, salmon hearts, moose and beaver. Above, a fishing camp on a sandy beach
A view of the Yukon River from a small plane, with the waterway bordered by dense forest
Many of Adam’s photos reveal a fish-rich diet in the Yukon, with the locals seen preparing the pink meat in various ways – as sushi, roasted, barbecued or as jerky.
But while Adam learned how important salmon is in the area, he also learned how stocks are steadily waning due to overfishing, parasites and disease.
Explaining how the depletion of salmon is starting to impact isolated communites, he said: ‘People have lived along the Yukon for many thousands of years, first nomadically, more recently in settled communities.
‘The return of the salmon each spring has always been an important time, an annual surge of protein from the oceans that can be put away to get people through the long hard winters.
Adam stopped at communities along the way and he found them to be very hospitable
Adam said he learned to eat every part of the salmon while he was traversing the Yukon
An aerial shot of one of the remote communities Adam visited. Many of these spots aren’t accessible from the inland by road
‘But now, as the salmon runs collapse, it is taking its toll on traditional ways of life. It forces people to buy food from the store, food which is both very expensive and poor quality.
‘Diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, previously almost unknown, are on the rise.’
Adam revealed that he had done ‘next to no canoeing’ when he sold the idea for his Yukon River expedition to a book publisher.
Adding to the stress of things, he decided to embark on the trip – which would involve camping in the wild and battling extreme weather – with his girlfriend Ulli Mattsson.
To prepare for the trip in the summer of 2016, he said he ventured to a few English rivers – the Wye, Dart and Medway – to do some test runs and it was more a case of learning on the job.
While Adam learned how important salmon is in the area, he also learned how stocks are steadily waning due to overfishing, parasites and disease
A little girl hugs a fish while out on a fishing expedition on the banks of the Yukon
The adventurer said that during the goldrush, paddle steamers travelled the river several times a week but now they are rotting on the banks
A view from one of Adam’s camps along the side of the Yukon River with the sun setting
Before leaving, he also did a first aid course in case of any trouble and made sure he had all of the right equipment, which included an air horn and two cans of bear spray in the eventuality of seeing a grizzly.
Luckily, Adam started his trip with a ‘wonderful guide’ named Hector who was an extremely experienced canoeist and traveller who had lived in the Yukon for the past 50 years.
Thanks to a bit of expert guidance, Adam managed to paddle the length of the river without too much trouble.
Although the grizzly bear encounter certainly shook him up!
Describing the moment he encountered the animal with his girlfriend by his side, he writes in his book, Kings of the Yukon: ‘As one, Ulli and I raise our hands and make some unplanned, primal noise.
‘It is unconscious, and indeed we have been told never to react like this, that with the grizzlies we should appear deferential. On reflection I suppose that we are puffing ourselves up. The bear is startled.
Adam revealed that he’d ‘done next to no canoeing’ when he sold the idea for his Yukon River expedition to a book publisher. Adding to the stress of things, he decided to embark on the trip – which would involve camping in the wild and battling extreme weather – with his girlfriend Ulli Mattsson
Adam ventured inside salmon factories along his way. Above, a worker sifts through a tray of salmon roe
Adam says the biggest memories from his trip was meeting the local people, who were ‘extremely capable, self-reliant yet community minded and immensely hospitable’
Salmon carcases are hung and left to dry in the summer sun. The fish is prepared in a number of ways along the Yukon
‘It drops to all fours, and then it turns, cocks its head back at us, and canters off into the scrub, disappearing through the willows with a delicacy that his several hundred pounds belies.’
Along with a spread of wildlife, Adam spotted relics from a bygone era while he was paddling along the gaping waterway.
The adventurer explained: ‘During the goldrush, paddle steamers travelled the river several times a week; telegraph wires carried messages south; thousands of people came into the country every week.
‘Now those paddle steamers are rotting on the banks, and Dawson has gone from a peak of 40,000 people at the height of the goldrush to a little more than 1,000 today.
One of Adam camping spots along the Yukon. He preps a fire while a storm looks like it is moving in
There is only short window during the summer when it is possible to paddle the Yukon River without ice
Adam said he was fascinated to learn about how the ‘people, animals and land are completely linked’ so they can live in harmony. His book, Kings of the Yukon: An Alaskan River Journey, is available to buy for £16.99 from Waterstones
‘It is the story of many places dependent on resource extraction, the bust after the boom.’
Adam says one of the biggest memories from his trip was meeting the local people, who were ‘extremely capable, self-reliant yet community minded and immensely hospitable’.
He was also fascinated to learn about how the ‘people, animals and land are completely linked’ so they can live in harmony.
The explorer concluded: ‘It’s easy to forget that in Britain, but in Alaska, where everything is really stripped back, it’s so apparent how they all impact on each other – that the changes that the people make affect the salmon, that as the salmon change, so do the peoples’ cultures.
‘I think we would all do well to remember that.’