Yukon

The old barn at my parents’ property contained its fair share of treasures. One interesting item my dad found in there was a framed photograph of a steamship making its way through a narrow channel. There weren’t any accompanying details, and my dad was curious to know more, so he brought the picture to one of the Nanaimo Historical Society’s Show & Share events. Members and guests bring artifacts, stories, and memorabilia to discuss, and he was wondering if anyone could identify either the ship or the location.

Parker Williams, a retired marine engineer, immediately suggested Five Finger Rapids on the Yukon River as a location where the photo might have been taken. Other members with connections to the west coast’s shipping industry strongly agreed. And they were absolutely correct!

Someone who worked for Yukon Tourism and Culture saw my online post asking about the photo and she also confirmed the location as Five Finger Rapids. She suggested reaching out to the Yukon Archives in Whitehorse for help with identifying the ship. I was in touch with Yukon historian Murray Lundberg, who identified the steamboat as the W.K. Merwin. Finally, the mystery was solved!

The W.K. Merwin was a sternwheeler than carried passengers and freight on the Yukon River during the Klondike Gold Rush. She was originally built in Seattle in 1883 and worked for a time on Puget Sound and on the Skagit River before being abandoned. To meet the demand of those rushing to the Klondike, she was put back into use. She was towed up the coast to the mouth of the Yukon River and she arrived in Dawson City in 1898. The W.K. Merwin was wrecked on the beach at Nome, Alaska in August 1900.

Once I knew more details about the photo, I was able to find it online. It’s a photograph taken by Eric A. Hegg from around 1898, and it is in the collection of the Museum of History & Industry in Seattle. A photographer based out of northwestern Washington, Hegg joined those rushing to the Klondike, setting up photography studios in Alaska, first in Dyea and later in Skagway. In the summer of 1898, Hegg headed to Dawson City, travelling north on the Yukon River in a boat with a homemade darkroom onboard. I wonder if the photo of the W.K. Merwin is from that trip.

On the drive from Whitehorse to Dawson City, the Five Finger Rapids Recreation Site was a must-see for me. We spent about an hour making our way down (and then slowly back up again!) the 219-step staircase that takes you to a viewing platform. Even though I didn’t have my dad’s picture with me, I wanted to see if I could get a modern-day photo of relatively the same spot.

According to the Government of Yukon’s website, the name “Five Finger Rapids” comes from the four islands that split the river into five channels. The rapids were a major obstacle for those heading to the Klondike, and only one of the channels was deep enough for sternwheelers like the W.K. Merwin. Sometimes ships even had to use a cable attached to the rocks to winch themselves upstream. Starting in 1900 and continuing until about 1927, blasting was done to widen the channel.

If you’re looking to visit a historical landscape as well as stretch your legs a little during the long drive between Whitehorse and Dawson City, I recommend you stop in at Five Finger Rapids.

I was happy to take a recent trip with a friend to Whitehorse, Dawson City, and Atlin, and over the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing a series of posts about my time there.

While I would have loved to make the drive, timewise, it made sense to fly to Whitehorse from Vancouver. We travelled with Air North, and I’d just like to say: “Wow!” Not only did they not charge me for a checked bag, but there was also a complimentary sandwich and a WARM COOKIE! Two thumbs up!

My first significant stop was the S.S. Klondike National Historic Site in Whitehorse.

The S.S. Klondike was launched in 1937 by the British Yukon Navigation Company, a subsidiary of the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway. She replaced an earlier sternwheeler of the same name which had been active from 1929 until her wreck in 1936.

The Klondike carried both passengers and freight, and primarily worked between Whitehorse and Dawson City. Notably, she was the last sternwheeler to be used commercially on the Yukon River. The Klondike was hauled ashore at Whitehorse in 1955 and donated to the Government of Canada in 1960. She was moved to her present site in 1966, designated as a National Historic Site in 1967, and opened to the public in 1981.

There are multiple guided tours offered by Parks Canada throughout the day, but access to the Klondike itself is currently somewhat restricted as she is undergoing restorations. One of just a few remaining steam-powered paddlewheelers of the hundreds that once worked on the Yukon River, the Klondike was definitely worth a visit.

My first day finished off with an evening visit to Miles Canyon. The beautiful turquoise waters of the Yukon River are a lot tamer now due to the nearby hydroelectric dam, but during the initial stages of the Klondike Gold Rush, many boats were wrecked in the canyon’s dangerous rapids.

We hiked for about an hour on parts of the extensive trail network in the area. The first point of interest was the Robert Lowe Bridge. Named after a long-serving politician, the 85-foot suspension bridge was built in 1922 as a tourist attraction. We also checked out the former site of Canyon City, a gold rush ghost town. Very little evidence is left of the townsite, which at one time apparently included a hotel, saloon, restaurant, store, stables, machine shop, and a North-West Mounted Police post, but there’s some interpretive signage and a restored tramway car. Prior to being a stopping place for those heading to the Klondike, the area was used for fish camps by local First Nations communities.

Even though we’d spent a good part of the day travelling to get there, I felt pretty happy about my initial day in the Canadian North.