Week 72-74 - Recap September

A small update from us in Yukon, Canada.

We are of course still busy working. Franzi has now settled in well and organizes her days herself. She has gotten used to the working hours (starting late and sometimes working until late in the evening) and has found her rhythm.

Julian, on the other hand, has passed his driving test and can finally do the tours with the guests, as well as pick them up at the airport and bring them back at the end.

To be able to drive his first tours, he had to learn quite a bit of material beforehand so that he can share the information with the guests. A tour can last up to 4 hours, and he has learned directly for 2 different tours. There's quite a bit of information to take in.

Currently, he is still in the learning phase and is accompanied and supervised during the tours by our manager. Soon he will be driving the tours alone. With each tour he drives, he becomes more confident with the information and stumbles less.

As a guide, Julian is now also receiving tips more often. We gladly accept this and hope it continues that way ;-) The tips given privately can be kept by each individual, while only the tips paid to the team are shared with everyone.

We have met some exciting guests. One guest, for example, worked for 30 years in the northern, remote areas of Alaska and helped build infrastructure like airports. He talked extensively about the cold 3-month work cycles in Alaska and how he managed to balance work with his family.

The guests mainly come from the USA and many from Texas. No one knows exactly why that is. Additionally, we have many Canadians and Australians. Most guests are wealthy and successful in their professional lives. Some even work while on vacation here. We certainly have many exciting conversations, and all the guests are also interested in us and our story.

Stockbrot has become a staple of the campfire, and most guests find it intriguing since they usually only know marshmallows.

Last Tuesday, we had a very special mission: a scenic flight in Kluane National Park.

We had already been in the national park on our way to Alaska and unfortunately had no time for a flight. But postponed is not forgotten.

50 kilometers from the airport, unfortunately, our tire burst or rather, the outer casing detached. We had not stood on the roadside for a minute when a car pulled over. The two women asked if we were okay but immediately said they unfortunately had no idea about changing tires. We also didn’t know how. Luck was on our side, though, because shortly after, another car stopped, and the man offered to help us. It’s important to know that there isn’t much traffic on the road, so it was indeed lucky that someone even passed by.

So we tried to get the spare tire down with the man (it’s attached via a mechanism at the bottom of the truck) and failed miserably. But fortune was still with us because another car passed by. A friend of that man. He also drove a Ford and knew how we could get the spare tire down. With the men's tools, we were then able to change the tire together.

For a moment we thought we wouldn’t make it to the flight, but we arrived 3 minutes before the scheduled time. With all the stress, we had no time to be nervous, as we jumped straight into the plane. A 90-minute scenic flight over the largest non-polar icefield in the world. The UNSECO World Heritage Site protects a gigantic wilderness of mountains and valleys and is home to Mount Logan, the highest mountain in Canada at 5959 meters. There are no roads or trails there, and most of it is inaccessible to ordinary people.

The flight was breathtaking. We had clear visibility and were surrounded by ice and mountain peaks jutting out of the ice. At the deepest point, the ice is about 1 kilometer thick. The countless glaciers grow into each other. We even saw an icefall. Surprisingly, we also saw Mount Logan, as well as the second highest mountain in Canada nearby.

The money was definitely worth it! Even though the day became much more expensive because of the tire. By the way, the spare tire is a regular wheel and tire, so we were able to drive home at a normal speed.

By now, the autumn colors are almost faded and winter is approaching. At night we already have some freezing temperatures, and the mountains around us already have snow. We’re not really ready, but we have to get through this.

We have decided to write a blog every first Sunday of the month. The next blog will come at the beginning of November.