2023 Wooden Boat Festival

The Yukon 1000 is the world's longest paddle race. Stretching 1000 miles from Whitehorse to the Dalton Highway Bridge, the Yukon is a truly untamed and largely unsettled expanse of river where a mistake can be catastrophic. The 2022 race received over 3500 applications for 40 spots, of which only 24 teams began the race and 21 finished. I will give an overview of the race and the experience itself, describing the various adventures and misadventures along the way with the intent to instill an understanding of what it is like to experience the race. I will also repeatedly share how big the mosquitos were. Seriously. Backing up from the event itself, I will walk you through the logistics and planning. The intent of my presentation is to cover an adventure and to inspire others who may wish to tackle the Yukon by making the race digestible. I rarely get in a boat, I have two toddlers and a full time job that keep me busy, and I could probably lose a few pounds. I hope these factors help inspire you to believe that you too can tackle the Yukon.