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Author Topic: Any tips for two weeks in the Yukon ?  (Read 1990 times)

larkis

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Any tips for two weeks in the Yukon ?
« on: April 10, 2017, 12:42:31 am »

I'm planning a photography trip to the Yukon but I'm not sure what some of the most rewarding places are and what time of the year is the best in order to avoid a ton of mosquitos and black flies. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Rdmax

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Re: Any tips for two weeks in the Yukon ?
« Reply #1 on: April 11, 2017, 04:33:33 pm »

Check the yukon website for updates if there's bad weather getting in the way
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BAB

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Re: Any tips for two weeks in the Yukon ?
« Reply #2 on: April 11, 2017, 10:53:26 pm »

Bring 100% Deet!
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RichDesmond

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Re: Any tips for two weeks in the Yukon ?
« Reply #3 on: April 12, 2017, 07:20:34 pm »

Long sleeve shirts, a bug net hat (http://sonicsprings.com/catalog/alaska2008_ride_report_day7.php) and good repellent.
Be prepared for rain.

I was up there in late June, 2008. Motorcycle trip, not photography oriented so all I took was a P&S.

I was extremely lucky with the weather, very little rain and most days had glorious scenery. That's not typical though, if you read a lot of trip reports it becomes obvious that rain, and/or cloudy skies are the norm. A couple friends did basically the same trip a year later and had rain almost every day they were in Canada or Alaska.

Because you're so far north you have low sun angles all day, but if you want that "golden hour" lighting at sunset/sunrise you'll need to be up very early or very late
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skierd

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Re: Any tips for two weeks in the Yukon ?
« Reply #4 on: June 03, 2017, 05:25:38 pm »

What are you interested in photographing while you're up here, and what's your (and to a certain extent, your gear's) tolerance for cold?

The best time to avoid mosquitos is October through April.  It's also the best time to see the northern lights.  We'll have snow cover by October 31st. Freezing temps usually start by the 2nd week of October.  Sometimes the bottom drops out: I've seen -62*F by early November.  The last couple winters it's usually stayed around 0 to -10*F for highs, but this past winter was colder.  It was -58*F when I came back from vacation in mid January and stayed cold (-20 to -40) till almost the end of March it seemed like.  Typically the snow melts by the last week of April, and then the bugs thaw, the night goes away for a couple months, and before you know it it's summer!  Unless it snows, like it did on Memorial Day this year, but it melts pretty quickly. 

"Spring" in the north seems to be happening about now-ish in interior Alaska.  We're fully past bud break on the trees and should start to see wild flowers blooming any day now.  It hasn't gotten dark out since about the last week of April and won't be again until the last week of August or so.  June, July, and August are wonderful times to be in the North.  The light in the "evening" is truly magical. Sitting outside under the midnight sun is part of why we put up with the winters.  It might rain, but the sun's always out when it stops.  A bigger concern is wild fires as they can make it pretty smoky and miserable. 

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