Travel Goals
With aspirations to travel through wider BC and beyond, I’ve naturally been on the lookout for possible adventure destinations. Where I could go and what I would like to capture.
When I first hatched this idea, My directions pointed north, with a goal to venture into the Yukon.
The Yukon is a territory of Canada that is a truly a wild place. Barely populated and filled with mountains and wildlife. For some reference, it is nearly twice the area of New Zealand, yet home to less than 50,000 people. Such a location would provide opportunities for both complete solitude, yet still be connected enough through some key communities that do reside there.
To reach it, it’s around a 2,000 km drive from Vancouver to cross over into the territory.
The Yukon Capital
Of course, I started looking into what that journey might look like. Which path I might take, and what locations I wish to visit along the way. I want to do some of that organically as I travel, but having some cornerstone spots in the plan would help frame the overall shape of the journey.
Whitehorse is definitely one of those locations. It’s the capital of the Yukon, and has a population of around 30,000. From there, I’d have the opportunity to branch out and explore, prior to finding a path home (likely down through the Rockies).
Algorithms at work
As we are all probably too aware, anything we look up online these days is often tracked, so that social platforms, ads, and online shops can tailor what we see in hopes we part with our money.
As expected, looking into the Yukon meant I started seeing more info about the area. Normally I try and not pay too much attention, but one can’t dismiss that sometimes you might just stumble on exactly what one might be looking for. In this instance, that is exactly what happened!
Rugged Apprentices Program
One recent evening, a Facebook advert popped up under my thumb that I gave pause to, and decided to give it a click.
I learnt of a short-stay apprentice community program (5 days in total) that is run every other year, out of Whitehorse into the surrounding communities.
It offered free accommodation, meals and entertainment, all while providing opportunity to connect to new people and the local community. All this, not for a price, but simply in exchange of a helping hand. I only need to find my way there in time for the start date of the program. The work might include building a new outdoor area, restoring a trail or perhaps repairing or upgrading a community amenity.
Sounded pretty good to me. I’ll happily go build something in exchange for some hospitality!
I did look at this with some healthy scepticism at first. I spent a few hours digging around for personal accounts from prior participants through online sources. The program is still pretty new so there wasn’t a whole lot to go on, but from what I saw, I was pleasantly excited. Generally, it exceeded peoples expectations and provided lifelong memories and new friendships. It even had a mention in the New York Times as a great remote working opportunity.
I promptly applied, and by mid next morning, I had an acceptance email in my inbox. Looks like I’m going to be a Rugged Apprentice in Whitehorse from the 8th to the 12th of September 2025!
Some travel confirmations were required to secure my placement. I proceeded to book a flight to Whitehorse for that purpose. That will serve as a backup option to get there, which I can cancel for very modest fee. My goal will be incorporate this program as part of a bigger road trip!
https://www.travelyukon.com/en/ruggedapprentices
What’s next?
It feels great to now have a more defined timeline around a bigger trip I’m planning to do, so I can start to map out what I need before it’s time to go.
The shortlist right now is looking a little something like this:
- Complete all car maintenance and upgrades
- Complete my overland setup
- Plan out a more detailed journey up to the Yukon, as well as my return.
- Gear up for safety and comfort
- Assemble all my photography and video gear
As this happens, of course, I’ll write all about it here too. Subscribe to get updated as I do!