As a young girl running her own dog team on a remote trap near her small village home of Fort Selkirk, Ione Christensen gleefully pioneered her adventures and experiences into a diverse skill set that would long serve her for the many career opportunities she joyfully accepted in her adult life.  She subconsciously began working as a “leader” at a very formattable age, developing skills that would serve her well in her adult life tackling the highest of careers in both the Yukon and Canadian Government in Ottawa.

Ione is credited as the first woman to hold a litany of previously male dominated positions within the Yukon Government, and undoubtedly blazed a trail for many women who followed in her path of equality.  As a major Canadian political figure working towards governmental policy change in Ottawa in her position as a Canadian Senator, Ione has not only seen the positive changes within Canada, but has to a large extent, been the change. 

Today's podcast is the second part of a two-part series that chronicles Ione’s life as one of the most notable and admired Yukoners who to this very day receives awards and recognition everywhere she goes. She’s a delight to talk with and Ii you ask her nicely, she may even bake you an authentic sourdough biscuit to go with the tea while she tells you about some of her incredible adventures. 

To listen to the full M.A.Y.L. podcast show series, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.

I encourage you to become a member of the My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Groupwhere our stories can come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another, recording and preserving personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures. 

I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.  

Cheers 

“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”

Daniel Halen

Support the show

Growing up in the remote settlement of Yukon's Fort Selkirk during the 1930's and 40's, Ione Christenson's life has been significantly influenced and enriched from the multitude of experiences she embraced since her arrival there as a three year old child. 

As a young girl running her own dog team on a trap line west of her small village home, she quickly and joyfully embodied the spirit of a pioneering adventurer eager for experiences that would connect her to the land throughout her lifetime. She likens her treasure chest of people skills to her early years of leading her dog team through the wilds of Yukon, subconsciously working as a leader. 

Not one to ever shy away from the challenge of a real days worth of hard work, Ione happily worked along side her mother and father assisting in the daily chores and tasks of maintaining a residence in this remote location, all the while learning the necessary skills to thrive as both a child and later, as a major Canadian political figure working towards governmental policy change. 

Today's podcast is the first of several shows that will chronicle the journey of the young Ione Christenson, from her simple holistic beginning of living on the land during the 1930's, right up to today, as she recounts her early memories and provides a sneak peak into her involvement as a political leader tasked with making executive decisions that positively affected Canadians.  

To listen to the full M.A.Y.L. podcast show series, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.

I encourage you to become a member of the My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Groupwhere our stories can come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another, recording and preserving personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures. 

I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.  

Cheers 

“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”

Daniel Halen

Support the show

"Bino" and Lynda Ficiur struck out from Lethbridge Alberta in the 1960's as young newlyweds to live the Klondike gold mining life of hard work and adventure in the Yukon Consolidated Gold Corporation's "Bear Creek" mining camp, located just outside of Dawson City. Lynda raised their family in camp, while Bino worked tirelessly in the goldfields. He was quickly promoted from steam point crew member, tasked with the thawing of the frozen ground in front of the dredge, to one of the four lead hands responsible for the care, maintenance, and overall operations of Dredge #11, right up to the day of its tragic demise when it sprung a leak and sank to the bottom of the pond it was creating.

We discover and discuss the beginnings and the end of the YCGC dredging operations with the people who actually ran the equipment, toiled for gold, and raised their family during these halcyon times in the Bear Creek camp.

While visiting the Dawson City area today, evidence of this mining technology can still be seen throughout the Klondike Valley region. Each dredge left behind enormous "tailings piles" of washed white quartz rock and gravel as the waste material exited the conveyor belt, while it's bucket line scoured down to bedrock extracting tens of millions of dollars worth of gold over its productive lifetime.

This extremely prosperous, yet destructive mining process that worked the creeks of the Klondike Valley was fast coming to an end due to environmental pressures, newly refined extraction methods, and overall lack of staked claims to expand operations, thus, putting an end to these incredible machines just prior to the winter freeze up of 1966.

To listen to the full M.A.Y.L. podcast show series, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.

I encourage you to become a member of the My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group where our stories can come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another, recording and preserving personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures. 

I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.  

Cheers 

“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”

Daniel Halen

Support the show

Support the show

In order to live life to the fullest here in the Yukon, you have to get outside of your comfort zone and experience this place and all of its beauty, danger, and grandiose magnitude up close and personal while embracing both the journey and the destination. As they say, " if you're not living on the edge, then you're taking up too much space".

The range of adventures and experiences awaiting you in the Yukon are unlike anything else in the world, and if you choose to live here, then you owe it to yourself to test your mettle on the rivers, mountains, glaciers, and snow pack, living life to the max as it was meant to be lived.

Today's guest, adventurer Angie Sabo, lives her life in this manner and has recently tackled Canada's 5th tallest peak, Mount Steele, with an elevation 5067 metres.   Mount Steele, located in the St. Elias Mountain Range of the Yukon Territory, has long been one of the "bucket list" mountains for adventures from around the world and has been on Sabo's radar for many years.

Join us today as we learn about Angie's training, preparation, support network, and overall excitement for adventure as she reflects upon and her Mount Steele ascent along side her son Ray Sabo, as they climb into the wilds of the St. Elias Mountain range to tackle this ominous peak. 

To listen to the full M.A.Y.L. podcast show series, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.

I encourage you to become a member of the My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group where our stories can come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another, recording and preserving personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures. 

I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.  

Cheers 

“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”

Daniel Halen

Support the show

Support the show

The need for an efficient mode of mass transit in the Yukon was answered by the all mighty tour bus, bringing not only people, but valuable supplies up the 1387 miles of Alaska Highway starting from Mile Zero in Dawson Creek BC to Delta Junction Alaska. This once infrequently driven highway, is considered by many as a bucket list adventure, and the rubber tire traffic of tourism still abounds during the summer and quite often winter months with people wishing to experience the extremes of endless daylight in the summer, and the Aurora Borealis during the darkness of winter.

Today's guest, Petra Hankinson, has been driving this special highway and many more since she was old enough to get her feet onto the pedals and just tall enough to peak over the dashboard. Having a driver's license back in the day was of little concern to her when she first arrived to the Yukon back in the 60's, and ironically enough, she's now a driving instructor teaching those wishing to pursue driving a bus/commercial transport vehicle as a career. From no license, to fully certified, experienced and equipped to teach you how to roll a 50 ft vehicle through the twists and turns of a city or any number of far off destinations. Oh how life seems to have come around full circle.

Join us on "Tales from the Yukon Tour Bus" as we learn about Petra's early times as a homesteader living well off the grid for many years and learning how to survive and thrive in a land that can teach you lessons on a daily basis. Her humorous wit is sure to have you laughing and shaking your head in disbelief as she drives us down memory lane through the often times bumpy road of growing up in the Yukon during the good old days.

To listen to the full M.A.Y.L. podcast show series, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.

I encourage you to become a member of the My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Groupwhere our stories can come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another, recording and preserving personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures. 

I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.  

Cheers 

“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”

Daniel Halen

Support the show

Living in the wilds of Canada's Yukon Territory, Norm Winther has carved his life out of some of the most rugged and demanding parts of the territory, while living each and every day as an authentic trapper. With this diverse lifestyle comes the development of skills that are ever changing and as vast as the landscape that surrounds him.

The urgency of the moment to live in this frozen environment, has tested Norm's mettle time and time again, as he clawed his way from the icy waters on the brink of death, to the high likelihood of starvation, being delayed in the bush by extreme weather for many weeks on end.

The measurement of a person's determination, grit and tenacity, can only be tested under the extreme conditions of a - 50 Yukon winter, and this Winther has proven he is as determined as they come.

Join me in "The Last Trapper's" cabin on Jackfish Lake as we discuss but a few of Norm's adventures and how a random job as a mechanic along side a Nicholas Vanier documentary years prior led Norm Winter to star as himself, on Vanier's future movie, "The Last Trapper"

Click here to watch The Last Trapper on IMDp https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0395514/

To listen to the full M.A.Y.L. podcast show series, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.

I encourage you to become a member of the My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group where our stories can come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another, recording and preserving personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures. 

I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.  

Cheers 

“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”

Daniel Halen

Support the Show.

Support the show

Artist Jim Robb has been a staple of the Yukon's art scene since the mid 1950's and is best know for his "Colourful Five Percent" books which are available in local Yukon bookstores and galleries.  His works capture the quality and uniqueness of the many varied and colourful character and places that many would argue, have made the Yukon a little more colourful than anywhere else in the north.

https://yukonart.ca/collections/jim-robb

https://yukonart.ca/products/colourful-five-percent-book-volume-1

Jim's earliest artwork was primarily done on raw moose hide. The hide would be stretched into all kinds of different shapes, most often by Annie and Harry Silverfox along with their son Billy, and drawn in pastel and charcoal. Harry's knowledge and friendship led Jim to become the first person to use the insides of snowshoes as frames.

Dawson City, the summer of ‘61, saw Jim beginning to use pen, ink, watercolour and photography as his mediums of choice as he continued his artistic development. In 1971 he started writing & illustrating a column, "The Colourful Five Percent", for the Whitehorse Star, which primarily dealt with the life of historical buildings and 'Yukon characters'.

Over the years Jim has had 3 books published, and yes, 'they are read in all the better cabins'. They are comprised of short stories, photographs and drawings mostly about interesting and colourful Yukon personalities, the 'Colourful Percent'. The first volume has been reprinted and is available here. https://yukonart.ca/products/colourful-five-percent-book-volume-1

In 1975, well known anthropologist Julie Cruickshank, with Jim's participation, put out a book on the Yukon's First Nation peoples. In recognition of Jim Robb's magnificent contribution of gathering and preserving Yukon history he was awarded Canada's highest honor "The Order of Canada" in 2003.

Jim Robb and the Colourful Five Percent- Video by Mike Rudyk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXz06y8DKMM

To listen to the full M.A.Y.L. podcast show series, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.comwhere you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.

I encourage you to become a member of the My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group where our stories can come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another, recording and preserving personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures. 

I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.  

Cheers 

“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”

Daniel Halen

Support the show

Support the show

At the top of the world in the Yukon and Alaska wilderness of northwestern North America, the Yukon Quest 1,000 Mile International Sled Dog Race, an epic winter sports event takes place every year on the first Saturday of February.

One might ask, how many tries does it take to win the Yukon Quest Dog Sled Race?  Much of the answer lies in your own personal conviction and dedication to the sport, along with your ability to build an incredible connection with your dogs and support team. Years of dedication are needed if a musher hopes to even complete, much less win, and that's certainly the case for Veteran Yukon Musher Frank Turner.

As written in the February 23rd 1995 edition of the Whitehorse Star,  "It took him 12 tries to do it, but at 4:40 this morning Alaska time, Frank Turner finally won his first Yukon Quest. He did it in record fashion. No other winner has ever turned in the 10-day, 16-hour, 18 minute performance that the 47-year-old Whitehorse resident did".

Turner's  record setting time stood for the next dozen years, just recently broken by the late dog musher Lance Mackie, who crossed the finish line nearly six hours faster than anyone else in history.  To Turner's legacy, he was also entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as "the musher with the most times to take part in the annual Yukon Quest sled dog race is 23 by Frank Turner (Canada) between 1984 and 2008", a record that has yet to be broken. 

To listen to the full M.A.Y.L. podcast show series, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.comwhere you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.

I encourage you to become a member of the My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group where our stories can come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another, recording and preserving personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures. 

I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.  

Cheers 

“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”

Daniel Halen

Support the show

The Yukon Quest Dog Sled Race of 2023 is currently underway and heading north from Whitehorse to Dawson City, Yukon.  Under the watchful eyes of a bevy of volunteers, race officials, and dog handlers, this 450 mile race traverses some of the most picturesque and harsh environments in Northern Canada.

Hearty groups of eager dogs, mushers, handlers, and volunteer support groups along the way, make this one of the premier wilderness contests in the Yukon, and has long standing tradition of bringing communities and people together. This year, the weather has been delightful for all participants, and the teams are quickly advancing towards the finish line in Dawson City.

In this podcast, I spoke with Gaby Sgaga, who is based out of West Dawson, and has been one of the many Quest volunteers operating the Dawson City checkpoint/Finish Line.  Between her involvement with the Yukon Quest, the Dawson City Humane Society, her own dog team, and a plethora of other Yukonesque activities, I was lucky enough to have her sit down for a few brief moments and bring us up to speed on the current race details.

To listen to the full M.A.Y.L. podcast show series, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.comwhere you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.

I encourage you to become a member of the My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group where our stories can come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another, recording and preserving personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures. 

I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.  

Cheers 

“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”

Daniel Halen

Support the show

June 21st remains a significant day for a great many people in Canada as the long daylight of the Summer Solstice transits into its next seasonal phase.  A sense of time, mortality, humility and gratitude, often accompanies this pivotal day, especially for the  people living in Canada's North.

June 21st also marks National Indigenous Peoples Day since 1996.  It's a special occasion and opportunity to learn more about the rich and diverse cultures, voices, experiences and histories of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples as they celebrate their heritage.

On this celebrated day of June 21st, 2022, the Tr'ondek Hwech's First Nation received a gift from their ancestral lands with the unearthing of a baby woolly mammoth at a remote Klondike Placer mine site under the astute eye of an excavator operator.  The operator, Travis" couldn't believe what he had unearthed, and to this day is overwhelmed with emotion when speaking about it.

During the next several hours, Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin First Nations Elders, a plethora of scientists, and the entire mine site crew and owners stood by in awe and wonderment. The sky's literally opened up with rain, wind, lighting and thunder as Nun cho ga came back into the world with all the energy of the natural world by her side.

Nun cho ga, "big animal baby",  in the traditional Han language, made her entry back into the world after being mummified in an icy layer of Steppe sediment estimated to be 35000 years old. She's been nearly perfectly mummified in the frozen Klondike Gold Fields and has retained her soft tissue, hair, toenails and internal organs, offering evidence of the ancient flora that sustained her during her brief life. 

For now, Nun cho ga will remain where she is, on the traditional territory of the Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin, as scientists and the First Nations people continue to work cooperatively, balancing the cultural significance of her place in the Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin community, and the scientific community.

To listen to the full M.A.Y.L. podcast show series, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.comwhere you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.

I encourage you to become a member of the My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group where our stories can come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another, recording and preserving personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures. 

I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.  

Cheers 

“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”

Daniel Halen

Support the show