3rd descent of the Homan River, near Lake Bennett, Yukon Territory

We had talked about flying in to run the remote Homan River for some years, but timing never worked out for us. This August the weather was looking good, we had enough qualified paddlers to make the flight economical, and the float plane was available.

August 5^th was the date to make it happen. We knew it was going to be a long day, thankfully the north’s ample summer sunlight was still with us so we could meet at 6:00am at the float dock and were airborne by 6:30. We originally had booked a DeHavilland Twin Otter, a plane large enough to take all eight paddlers and gear (including the kayaks inside the cabin) but it ended up having engine problems the day before so we opted for a beautiful 1957 DeHavilland Beaver, which being a smaller plane necessitated two trips as it could only carry four passengers with the kayaks strapped to the float struts.

Dallas, Kevin, Ralph, and Jeff went on the first flight while the rest of us drove to Carcross to minimize the distance the plane would have to fly to pick the second group up. Arriving at 7:30, we quickly changed into paddling gear, hauled the boats down to the beach and waited about five minutes before we heard the unmistakable roar of the plane approaching.

While I work on the text, I'm putting some pictures up with descriptive text, so check 'em out.

Pictures:

Aerial View Hole playing Flatspinning Upper Canyon

Dallas Another drop Scotty Centre section of lower canyon

Last move River takeout Class V canoe shuttle!