First there were the First Nation men who were working on the historic site of Forty Mile. The Yukon's first town ever, founded around 1886 was called Forty Mile and is on the Yukon River. Back then the only way into this area was up the river from the coast via San Francisco on a steamship paddlewheeler. The First Nation men were rebuilding many cabins and structures in the old town of Forty Mile, they had built some new log buildings with the help of the Provincial government and were trying to stabilize the remaining 15 or so structures left of the town in the middle of nowhere. We didn't say much to each other, they were planing some rough sawn spruce boards down to use as flooring and we walked the half mile to tour the site.
There were the people we talked to in Eagle. The smoking man, the youngster watering still bare dirt flower boxes nearby, the welder who told the story of the cell tower, and the voice on the other end of the yellow phone who works for Homeland Security.
There was the solo guy in the canoe with the twin Airdale dogs who we later found out was Dave Metz, an anventure writer. It was late afternoon he was setting up his tent, we were bored and looking for a chat so we pulled up on the beach below his camp. It was an awkward conversation there at first, us on one side of a little creek, him on another, but then he warmed to our ways and soon we gave a short tour of the boat before saying farewell and casting off. The whole interaction lasted ten minutes.
Last but not least of the people who we have not just met but seen in the last five days are our new friends from Giessen Germany, Stefan and Melanie. I first saw them on the short trail to see an old gold dredge abandoned along a creek and then two hours later we passed them in their canoe, paddling close to the bank on an outside bend. We pulled up close and grabbed hold of their canoe, both of us drifting slowly through the magic landscapes, we offered them a beer and talked for a half hour or more before casting them off to find their own campsite for the night. It was a fun and unexpected encounter with fellow adventurous folks.
That was all the people that we met or saw in the last five days. Maybe the next part of the river will be different but I am not counting on it.