Day 5, Dawson City

The constant sunlight makes it difficult to tell what time it is if you wake up before your alarm (or set it wrong...). When I wake up in the morning it feels like I've been napping in the afternoon, which makes me want to continue napping. Maybe I'll get more used to this constant sunlight, though they say that we've passed the longest days and it may actually start getting dark-ish by the time we leave!! I am starting to miss darkness. Though on the other hand twilight lasts for about 6 or 7 hours it seems like, and the sky is always picturesque. Here are some shots of the sky from the back porch of the Macauley House and the adjoining street at about 11:15 p.m. tonight:

A Double Rainbow!!!!

I started the day catching up on e-mails, eating breakfast, and calling my Dad via gmail. It's a great tool: it's free, it doesn't use up that much internet, and for the most part everything comes through clearly. I do use my headphones to listen to the calls because it can be difficult to hear the other person in a public space, plus it provides some privacy. 

I'd decided that I would do some hiking today and talked to my residency mate a little about it since he had tried to hike to Moosehide a few days ago. He got a little lost and had to turn back half way through. But he did get to a few great look out points on the Dome behind Dawson. He also looked completely fatigued and a little pale. He'd said that he hadn't bought bear spray and was a little wary being lost in bear country, plus didn't have a water bottle with him. I probably packed a bit too much for my little hike, but I didn't want to face the same issues if I got lost. The trail I picked is the Ninth Street Trail (basically there is no true Ninth Street, but the trail runs parallel to the other numbered streets which end at Eighth Street, so it runs directly along the rear of the town lower down on the ridge). The trail was pretty well marked, but there were a number of deer trails an other trails that crossed or branched off of the Ninth Street Trail, so if you inadvertently took these you would end up somewhere different than where you wanted to be. 

Near where I began the trail (near the middle at King Street)

Overlooking Dawson City from the East

I joined the trail about halfway at King Street and headed north towards the Moosehide Slide. It's a pretty easy trail, but the sun was high and hot enough that I started sweating, of course it probably helped that I'd worn my backpack with my came gear, water, etc. in it and had a heavy camera strapped around my neck. I'd spread some bug cream on my exposed skin before trekking out, and it seemed to be working. It said that it is about 30% DEET, so it better frigging work!! i saw a few mosquitos lingering around my exposed arms and then decide to fly off!!  The trail got tight in a few places, but was mostly open. Along the edges of the trail were remnants of the gold rush - various rusted steel canisters, old stone foundations, some wood platforms and scrap, old broken bottles, etc. Every so often there would be a placard providing historical information. At one time most of the people there for the gold rush actually lived in these hills since what is now the town was too swampy to build on top of. Once it was solidified and/or the gold ran out, people eventually moved down into Dawson City proper. 

Almost most of the way to the end of the trail you cross the Moosehide Slide, which is a massive rock slide thats been going on for hundreds or thousands of years (and is still going on). Massive amounts and weight of rock have slid and pushed down the hill, creating boulder waves. Its similar to a rock glacier, but isn't one because there is no ice beneath it providing lubrication. It is believed that permafrost may have at one time existed beneath the rocks in the slide and that as it melted it gave way causing the slide to begin (there's no confirmed permafrost under the slide at present). It's a defining mark of the city for travelers both on the Yukon River and in general.

Another great view of the city looking south from the slide.

The Moosehide Slide

the boulder fields at the base of the slide.

Looking north up the Yukon River from the slide.

Another view of the slide from just north of it.

 I finished my hike on the north side of town near the ferry, which is much more active during the day with lines of cars and people waiting on each side for its return.

While in Dawson I am cataloging ideas and images, etc for future work as well as creating work for exhibition at the end of my residency in the ODD Gallery. I have been making and narrowing down a list of ideas and pieces that are both physically plausible within the time frame of my stay here while taking into consideration the fact that I don't want to just regurgitate the landscape or beauty that exists here to the people that see it on a daily basis.

One idea that I'm following is the concept documenting construction and other rock piles as glacial kames (which refers to mounds of till, gravel, and sand that are left by a glacier often times next to kettles or ponds/small lakes) - also I believe I referred to this before as 'loess' which was wrong. I started doing this in St. Louis, but probably due to the high temperature and harsh lighting as of recent the images weren't exactly spectacular... Here I've found dozens of rock piles both newer and forgotten in many lots, near houses, and in back alleyways. Their purpose is most likely to reconstruct the roads, driveways, and lots after the harsh and long winter up here. Most look to be in a middle state (somewhat used, but still in a recognizable conical shape), others have grass and plants growing out of them.

Here are a few preliminary shots from around town from today:

Returning home I warmed up the rest of my taco fixings and sat down to watch 'Hot Tub Time Machine' on my laptop. I didn't know if I'd like this movie because it looked frat boy-ish at best, but it was actually pretty funny!

I rested for a bit, downloaded the photos from the day and mentally catalogued where I'd seen scrap wood/material while out walking. It seemed a better choice to try and grab some of this while most of the town was asleep or drinking, though it sounded and was a bit rowdy near places I needed to go to grab this material... I avoided any drunken confrontations and successfully brought back a good haul for the evening (all stuff that was on the curb side or near the beginning of the trail I'd walked earlier, nothing from  peoples piles or yards...). By that time it had started actually raining (usually just drizzles for a moment and then stops...), even so I made my way to the Eldorado Hotel Bar for a couple of beers, I just wanted to mingle with the locals a little. I was chatted up by a middle aged native of the area who'd been part of an ongoing search and rescue on the Yukon River that had started on Friday when a 60 year old man had fallen in with his brother when his canoe capsized. The gentleman informed me that at this point it would be a retrieval effort as it had been more than 48 hours since he'd went in and there was no sign of him having made it out of the frigid water. Needless to say it was a macabre conversation, but I was glad to get some local news and the feel of how some things work up here. With a couple of Yukon Golds in me and last call having passed I made my way home to rest for the evening!!