While the seasons changed, we headed back south on the Alaska Highway. From Fairbanks we made the drive out to Delta Junction, where we stopped at the end of the Alaska Highway, and the town of Tok before crossing back into Canada. At the border, we stopped to participate in the International Climate Strike in our own way, by protesting at the border since there were no schools or towns in the area.

Everyone in their Ecowomb Shop shirts speaking out against climate change.

As we rolled along the banks of Kluane Lake, I saw fresh snow on the peaks of the Coastal Range. We stopped at the same pullout we had been to back in June. Everybody had fun running around the lakebed, and the kids found fresh grizzly tracks in the sand!

Izzy was super excited to follow the tracks and see where they led!

We planned to go straight to Whitehorse, but decided to make a stop at Kathleen Lake: a place I had been wanting to go to for over a year. The small, deep and frigid lake is located in Kluane National Park, and features the parks only campground as well as a day use area.

When we pulled into the campground, we thought there would be plenty of room, considering the next day was the last of the season. But every spot was taken. I went down to the day use area and found out that today was the last day of the Dark Sky Festival: an event with music, workshops and and a focus on stargazing.

We decided to hang out for a bit and enjoy the festivities. A fire had been lit, and people gathered around to hear the stories told by a local First Nations man. He caught my attention with a dramatic tale about a man named Ukchese. The story is long and twisty, so I’m gonna give you a summarized version. Here we go….

This is the story of how the Crow clan got their hunting & fishing grounds.

For many years the peoples of the southwest Yukon lived in relatively uninterrupted peace. They depended on the salmon in the river, and the plants and animals that lived in the valleys. One day, all of that changed. This is how it happened…

There was a glacier, a long and tall glacier that flowed down from the high mountain peaks. It had been slowly advancing for years, but no one paid any attention. One day it surged across the river valley, blocking the flow of the river and cutting it off. With nowhere to go, the river flooded over, filling the valley with water and creating a whole new lake. With their hunting grounds destroyed and the salmon going elsewhere, the clans were desperate for food.

So the clans gathered a party to go look for new hunting grounds. They headed south along the shore of the new lake, and passed it, towards what is now Haines. As the group went south, they saw little life in the area. Days and nights went by. After some discussion, everyone came to the conclusion that there was nothing beyond here, and they must turn back and search elsewhere.

They suddenly saw a herd of elk not too far away. They crept up towards the elk before jumping up and shooting arrows at them. The animals scattered, but several elk were shot. Three died, but one was injured and ran away with the rest.

Within the peoples of the southwest Yukon, the custom was if you had injured an animal on the hunt, you could not leave until you had killed it. It was considered wrong to leave an animal to suffer from an injury you had inflicted on it.

The man that had wounded the elk was known as Ukchese. As everyone else began to butcher the animals, he set off into the windy night to track the elk.

The elk ran a long way, twisting and looping through the mountains. Ukchese followed closely behind, focusing on nothing else except the chase. When he finally caught up to the exhausted animal several days later, he was in an unknown valley. He killed and butchered the elk, then went to sleep.

When Ukchese woke up, he realized he was right next to a river. He walked up to the edge and looked down to see the sole reason he came on the trip: salmon. The river was choked with salmon, so much so that when the river narrowed around a bend, the fish had no room and forced themselves onto the shore, where hungry bears awaited. Ukchese was filled with wonder. He quickly realized he must share this discovery with his starving people.

Ukchese began the journey back, heading north towards his home. On the way, he spotted caribou tracks in the mud. They led towards a mountain on the east side of the valley. When he got to the mountain Ukchese found the caribou herd. He also saw many sheep on the rocky cliffs. Ukchese was joyful at such a great find.

The search party had slowly moved back north, getting more and more discouraged as they went along. They were running out of ideas. One night came when everyone was so down that some considered moving far away from the homeland.

Imagine their surprise when Ukchese walked in. He drank and ate, and when he was done they asked where he had been to. He said: “I have been to the south, past where we have been before. And I have found a river, a river full of salmon. And I have found a mountain, full of sheep and caribou. This river and this mountain I claim for myself and my clan, the Wolf clan.”

There were two clans in the region, Wolf and Crow. They lived cooperatively in the areas around the valley. How this works is that if you are a member of the Wolf clan, you had to marry into the Crow clan. It was not a matriarchal society, but gave women some control over their lives. If a Crow man married into the Wolf clan, he would keep his designation, as would his wife. But their children, if they had any, would be fully Wolf. It was in this manner the Dün people lived and continue to live.

So Ukchese declared that this new land would be his and his clan’s forever. Stoked about this new discovery, the hunters changed course and went to the new river and mountain. It was as amazing as Ukchese had proclaimed.

So Ukchese lived by the mountain alone for a while, then he married: he married a lovely Crow girl from down the valley, and they had many children. Her relatives came to live with them, for that was how it went in those days. Ukchese want too pleased, but he went along with them. For a while everyone was happy.

Then one day, Ukchese was walking all alone on the mountain, his mountain. He heard a noise, looked up, and saw his wife’s brother, hunting a sheep. Ukchese was shocked, then filled with rage that a Crow would dare hunt on his mountain, his clans’s mountain. In a fit of rage, Ukcheese pulled out his bow and shot his brother-in-law dead.

Later his wife noticed her brother had not come back from his trip. She asked Ukchese if he had seen him. Ukchese decided to be truthful and said “Your brother hunted on my mountain, so I had to shoot him.” She was obviously shocked and angry. Ukchese begged for her to keep it secret, for if her relatives knew they would kill him for revenge, leaving their kids without a father. She sadly agreed. The next trip up the mountain, she asked Ukchese to tell her where her brother had died. They walked by, and she stopped at the site of his death to cry. And every trip up the mountain after that, she would stop and cry at the same spot.

his had gone on for years, until one trip when Ukchese’s oldest son stayed behind with his mum while she cried. When she was finished, he asked her “Mama, why do you cry here? You’ve been doing this my whole life, and I’m grown now. I want to know why.” She looked at him and said “Alright. If you want to know I’ll tell you. Your father killed your uncle.” She explained how it happened. The son was angry and upset. He started to walk away. She called after him but he did not listen.

Ukchese’s son caught up to his father and said “Come father. I must show you something”. He pointed to the top of the ridge. Ukchese said they were done here, but the son insisted.

They went up to the top of the ridge and Ukchese’s son pointed to the edge. “There’s a sheep down there.” he said. Ukchese walked up to the edge to look for the sheep and the son backed up. He was ready to push his father off of the cliff. He began moving in towards him when he noticed the back of his father’s head was covered in gray hairs. Ukchese was an old man now. What his mother had told him happened so long ago.

Ukchese turned back towards his son, and the son saw in his eyes that the old man knew what he had planned to do. Ukchese’s son said “I know what you did to my uncle, father. I shall not kill you. What I will do is go back and tell the Crows what you did. They should’ve known long ago.” Ukchese nodded. “Do as you must. They will come to kill me. I shall leave.” Ukchese turned and walked away.

So Ukchese went over the mountain, away from his family, and journeyed south. He went to his river, where he set up a small camp and fished alone. Ukchese’s son went back to the Crow village and told the elders of the death of his uncle. The whole clan was furious, and a war party was sent to hunt Ukchese down.

They found his trail and tracked him down to his camp by the river. Everyone was ready to kill Ukcheese for shooting his brother-in-law. But an elder had traveled with the group, and he voiced his concerns. “Let me talk with Ukchese first.” he said.

So the elder went across the river to Ukchese’s camp. He sat down and talked with him. They want to kill you, you know.” said the elder. “I know”, replied Ukchese. “But I do not want to die. I miss my family, and I would like to see them again.” The elder thought for a moment. “What could you do or give to to Crow clan to appease them?”. “Nothing.” Ukchese said. “All I have is back with my family.” Then a thought struck him. He spread his arms. “This is my river. That is my mountain. I found them and claimed them for me and my clan, the Wolves. It can all be yours, if you won’t kill me.” The elder pondered the idea, then said: “I shall see what my people think”. So he went and told them of Ukchese’s offer. They accepted, and Ukchese returned home.

And ever since that day, the Crow clan has hunted on that mountain and fished that river.

-Dün

We gave him a round of applause. Several, in fact. Everyone in the party moved quickly inside, to hear music played from the heart, beneath darkening skies.

Me and Jack walked down to the shore to take some pictures of the mountains. We found a pair of red chairs sitting on the shore of the lake. Canada’s National Parks feature red chairs individually scattered around each park. I had found some in Waterton Lakes National Park earlier that year, and hoped to find some in Banff and Jasper in a couple weeks.

It turned out that the supervising ranger was absent that night, so we (under the radar) stayed the night there. **DISCLAIMER** (You are technically not allowed to camp in the day use area. Most times the campground is never very busy. We explained our situation to the rangers there, and they made the decision to let us camp there. When in doubt, ask! I’ve found most people are quite understanding and are willing to help.)

The next morning we woke up and filled our packs, ready to hike. I had singled out this trail from the beginning of our Tour, and was very excited to see it. The King’s Throne trail climbs up the steep sides of King’s Throne, and up to the summit. Its named King’s Throne because it has a large glacial bowl situated in the middle of the mountain. It was a 2,000 foot elevation gain from the trailhead to the base of the throne, and over 4,000 feet to the summit. I wasn’t sure if we would make it up to the top because it was very windy that day.

Dogs were allowed on the trail, so we brought Spirit along! He loves to hike with us.

The trail wound through the forest, occasionally showing the mountain peeking out from in between clouds. After a mile or so of this, the trail split off in two directions and we began to climb. It immediately got super steep, and we had to take several breaks to give the littles some rest.

As we rose above the tree line, the wind picked up. Howling straight down the bare side of the mountain, it was right in our faces. However, the views were stunning!

We slowly made our way up the side of the mountain. Halfway up, I spotted a rainbow arching over the lake. Several more would form by the time we reached the seat of the throne.

Closer to the top, it was freezing cold and the wind was brutal. It was a struggle for me to get to the seat and most of my family stayed beneath the edge where they might have some protection.

When I got to the top, it was crazy: The wind was whipping, nearly knocking me over with its powerful force. It was many degrees colder than far below at the lakeside. The inside of the throne was bare rock, almost no plants anywhere. As I stood at the top, tearing up from the wind, I knew that I wouldn’t reach the summit. It was ok, inside I was content.

We retreated quickly down the slope, stopping once for a brief lunch eaten on the rocks. Once we re-entered the trees, we were tired and cold from our journey up the mountain.

Spirit squinting into the wind. He was so tired after the hike he slept for hours!

At the end of the day, after we returned to our home, we packed up and drove to Whitehorse, which wasn’t too far away. The land was lit up golden by the setting sun.

We arrived in Whitehorse tired and full from the days adventures. We would have many more adventures in Whitehorse, but this tale is long with the extra story, and I am tired. I will continue the story of our journey in Whitehorse next time around. Stay tuned!

Connor

Kluane & Kathleen Lake: Land of Legends

fueled by love, peace, and veggie grease™