Frolicking around Faro
Visiting the Mount Mye Sheep Centre in Faro. Photo taken by me
Camping season has officially begun in the Yukon. Many territorial campgrounds opened April 30 after the government plowed out the sites and roadways. Typically, the snow is melted by now, but due to our record-breaking snowfall this year, this wasn’t the case. The city streets may not get plowed often throughout the winter, but there was no delay in getting campgrounds cleared out and ready for the earliest opening ever! We weren’t able to go camping on opening weekend, so this past weekend was our season opener. With the Crane and Sheep Festival going on in Faro from May 7-9, we decided Faro would be our destination.
Hitting the road
The three of us pack into our all-wheel-drive vehicle and set out for Faro, as the grey skies of Whitehorse loom. As we drive The North Klondike Highway, we are welcomed by a lamb sitting on a cliff on the mountain opposite the sod farm. I had heard that sheep live on it, but this was the first time I had ever saw one. This must be a good omen for our sheep and crane festival! With our traditional stop at Braeburn Lodge to grab a giant cinnamon bun, we were sugared up to continue our travels- onto Carmacks to get fuel and some lunch. After being here for just over a year, it’s so neat when you can be in a community and run into people you know- at both Braeburn and Carmacks! Everyday, the Yukon feels more and more like our home. The mountains are still all snow-capped and the ice is finally breaking up on the river. Most of the lakes still have a thin covering of ice on them. The sun tries to come out, but there is a light drizzle. Along the Robert Campbell Highway, I am treated to my first bear sighting of the year- a young-looking Grizzly that is digging up roots with it’s impressive claws. We snap a few pictures and leave him to his meal. Four and a half hours later, we arrive at Johnson Lake campground in Faro and do a loop to make sure there are still sites available. There’s still ice on some of the roadways and on a few sites. We choose an empty site with only a bit of snow on it and register our stay using our Yukon resident camping permit. Campgrounds are equipped with outhouses and include your firewood. There are no electric sites nor any showers/real-fush-toilets- therefore the cost to stay remains inexpensive. After we set up our tent, we head to the town.
Festival of Cranes and Sheep
Throughout the weekend, there were many activities to take part in. There were guided walks, group bird watching, shuttle service to see the sheep, entertainment provided by The Fiddleheads (a fiddle group), golfing and many food events (BBQ, chili cookoff and two breakfasts). There’s something for everyone at the festival. After a stop at the Visitor’s Centre, we were equipped with a map of the town and an event guide. Since we arrived later on Saturday, the shuttle service had discontinuedfor the day, but we were allowed and able to drive to the Mount Mye Sheep Centre to hopefully catch a glimpse of some sheep. The roadway was narrow, flooded in parts and muddy- I can see why they were offering a shuttle service. We made it to the lookout and were able to see a few sheep- thanks to a kind Yukoner who had already found them earlier in the day. We could also see a large black bear on one of the ridges. Adam, Amy and I decided to walk a bit down the pathway to try and get a better picture of the black bear. The bear was on the mountain edge- quite a distance from us. As we were snapping pictures of the bear, another, much larger, black bear appeared on the ridge next to ours (luckily with a gully between us!). Thankfully, we had pulled off the path when we did or we would have come face to face with the bear on the pathway. We practice bear safety and had our bear sprays on and Amy was on a leash, however, this was the first time we had come across a bear while we weren’t in a car. The bear just watched us as it walked the ridge. We slowly backed away and returned to the lookout- just in time to witness this larger black bear chasing away the original bear on the ridge. Poor sheep must really not like having all these predators so close by during lambing season.
Van Gorder Falls
The rain continued overnight, making everything more wet and aromatizing our tent with that wonderful wet dog smell! It was a chilly night and both of us had bear-infested-dreams between being woken by the sounds of grouse taking off. If you haven’t heard this sound yet, it’s quite something, but not repetitively throughout the night while you’re trying to sleep. In the morning the rain had let up, so we packed up our still wet tent and headed to the Visitor’s Centre to park our car and begin our hike to the Van Gorder Falls. It is only a 3 km hike from the Visitor’s Centre (roundtrip). The trail takes you through the forested parts of town until you are immersed in the forest. The trail still had some snow/ice on it in sections and mud in other places- making it a bit of a slippery hike. The short hike has a few steeper sections that the awesome trail builders have put in a few steps or have created switchbacks to make it easier on the hiker. Amy managed to do the hike just fine and loved the flooded and mud sections. She enjoyed cool downs on snowy patches and munched some snow too. This hike is definitely worth it. The falls are impressive- especially this time of year with the melt still happening. The gorge is huge! It’s such a hidden gem that’s so close to the town centre. My recommendation: do make an effort to do this quick hike if you’re ever in Faro.
Heading Home
We were all packed up and had cleaned Amy off after our muddy hike. We pull into the only gas station in town and are told that the only gas pump is out of order! The hose had an issue and they couldn’t pump any fuel. We looked at our gas gauge and we were below half a tank, luckily only that low! We debated our options for a few minutes- not while idling! We could head away from home to Ross River in hopes that their gas is working or we could attempt to get to Carmacks, where there are multiple gas stations, but it’s also 181 km away. We decided to go to Carmacks and kept our fingers crossed that we would make it. As I write this, I just heard on the radio that the highway between Faro and Ross River was closed due to a washout. Pretty happy we opted to go to Carmacks and not Ross River. We arrived in Carmacks with fuel to spare! The rest of the rainy drive back to Whitehorse was uneventful.
A Few Lessons Learned
Lesson #1: Always bring a filled jerrycan- even when it’s not “remote” travel
Lesson #2: Look around once in a while to make sure the only bear around is the one you are taking photos of (applies to any photo opportunity)
Lesson #3: Don’t forget the binoculars
Lesson #4: Cranes only fly by and rarely land (so we missed out on seeing them during the festival)
Lesson #5: Always have a backup plan in case your road does get washed out (or another reasoning that the road isn’t passable)
Although our time in Faro was short, we enjoyed it! What a great way to begin our camping season and our first bear sightings of the year. To some, it may seem like a long distance to go for one night of camping, but keep in mind how scenic the drives are and all the things you can see along the drive. The time flies by as the landscape changes and you are spotting wildflowers popping, ice melting off the rivers and lakes and the mammals enjoying the fresh spring air.
