This is a part of my Cirque of the Unclimbables climbing trip in 2019.
Please search for “TheCirque2019” in my blog search or look for #cirqueoftheunclimbables in tag cloud for more posts from this trip.
August 28th – Day 18
I woke up in a warm cabin behind Inconnu Lodge, where The owner of the lodge generously let us stay. There were some cabins in the back. They were not for the lodge guests, but for workers and researchers coming to the area for work. In Kluane Airways website, it said that: “On your way out of the Cirque, we normally complimentary overnight everyone at Inconnu Lodge. This gives you time to have a shower, wash your clothes, maybe a beer or two, a great meal and a good night’s sleep. The next morning we will fly everyone out to our Finlayson base for your trip home.“.
I heard that some people did not get to stay, so please do not count on this post!!
Anyway, I have some photos of what the lodge looks like.
Of course, we did not stay in this lodge. We could use it because there were no guests at that time. The last guest for the season just left 1 or 2 days ago, so we were allowed to stay inside. In addition, one of the fishing guides took me and Botch for a boat ride while waiting for other members to come.
I asked the guide if we could see a moose, then he brought the boat to a spot. He quietly approached a shallow area of the lake and said “there is a moose”. I could not find it soon, but yes, there was!!
Soon after she noticed us, she went inside the forest and never come back. That was a great experience.
We all gathered at the lodge and had some beers!! The cold beer tasted so good. We kept drinking and had a good time.
August 29th – Day 19
It was time to say goodbye… Inconnu Lodge and Kluane Airways members were amazingly nice to us; thank you very much!!
We had 2 flights to get people and gears back to Finlayson Lake base, and it took us a half day. When we were all ready for the drive to Whitehorse, it was already 17:00. We had to rush because we still had 670km to go and some of it was a dirt road.
a moose at the middle of a big pond 
Teslin at 22:00
It was about midnight when we got to Whitehorse. We parked our cars in a hidden spot and slept inside. The next day, 2 members had a flight from Whitehorse and the rest of us headed to my home town; Squamish!!
That was my Cirque of the Unclimbable trip in 2019! I realized many things that I was missing as a climber. This trip made me want to be a better climber.
Thank you, everyone involved in this trip!!!
Here are some helpful numbers in the Yukon area.
- Whitehorse to Finlayson Lake: 520km / 5-6 hours (mostly dirt road)
- Finlayson Lake to Whitehorse: 670km / 7-8 hours (some dirt road)
I recommend filling up your car at Whitehorse, Carmack, and Watson Lake. If you are planning to go Finlayson lake from Whitehorse via Carmack, make sure you fill up 100% at Carmack; I would even suggest taking some extra gas in a jerrycan. We were so low on the gas when we were back from the Cirque and drove to Watson Lake. I think that we drove almost 50km with the empty lamp on!! Also, most of this road is out of cell service. You should get ready for an emergency situation; food, water, warm clothes, etc…
Helpful links for the Cirque of the Unclimbables trip:
Sea to sky 