Overall ImpressionAt Perfect Earth Tours we found the accommodations to be excellent and the staff very friendly and helpful. During our stay we were able to hike, canoe, enjoy the company of other guests, and recharge our batteries. We experienced a healthy, organic and luxurious travel experience and thought it offered great value for the money.

On our first day we hiked up to a water fall through a trail that wound through a beautiful scenic Yukon pine forest on a carpet of soft northern moss so thick and springy that we almost bounced as we walked. It was an easy two hour hike to the waterfall. This trail also included some interesting flora like a large aspen grove, and lots of mountain wild flowers. On the way up to the waterfall we spotted wolf scat on the trail. For wildlife we sighted a wild chicken, which looked a little like a grouse, and many Arctic ground squirrels in the forest.

In the afternoon of our first day it rained, so we stayed inside and enjoyed playing board games. From the great room, we could see ducks and loons swimming up and down the Teslin River. Previous to this trip we had become somewhat familiar with the calls of loons because Native Americans have often used the calls in their music and we enjoy this type of music. So it was a thrill for us to be able to hear the call of a loon in the wild.

On the following day we hiked up to the three lakes, which had become two lakes because of all the rain. On this hike we saw lots of mountain wild flowers including the vivid purple fireweed which is the official flower of the Yukon. In addition we saw fresh large moose tracks on the hiking trail.

Later in the day, we paddled a canoe about 1.24 miles (2 kilometers) along the banks and into the backwaters of the area. This gave us a much better opportunity for wildlife viewing. We saw kingfishers, redhead ducks, a mallard hen with babies and loons. The backwaters of the river were very calm and quiet, offering a relaxing canoeing setting. After dinner we took a second canoe trip at 9:30 p.m. to find the sun was still shinning brightly. At this time of the year it is light almost all day long in this region. Finally, after a long day of hiking and canoeing we were able to soak and unwind in the candle lit Jacuzzi tub in our room.

What we liked about this lodge was the quiet remoteness of its location and the raw unspoiled beauty of the surrounding nature which allowed us to focus on relaxing and recharging our batteries.

Class Of Accommodation Luxury lodge.

General Manager Mike Muller

Handicapped Access Yes they had accommodated some handicapped guests, but they didn’t have wheelchair access.

The rooms were very close to the driveway entry and they had three ground floor rooms when we visited the property.

Internet Access There was high speed Wi-Fi Internet service in our room as well as in the common areas of the lodge.

Length Of Stay Three nights

Location The property was a 90 minute drive south and east from Whitehorse along Highway 1.

Owned And Managed Perfect Earth Tours is a privately owned family property belonging to Mike Muller and Alana Nelson.

Size The property occupied two acres and was home to five guest rooms. There were four employees.

Year Opened New owners purchased the property in early 2008 and opened it in the spring of 2008. They were in the process of adding accommodations and new guest facilities.

Lobby And Common Areas The inn had a Western log home lodge style with massive log beams in the structure. The common area was approximately 30 x 50 feet (1,500 square feet or 140 square meters). A casting of a grizzly bear paw print taken from a print found near the lodge was included in the common area as an art piece.

Bathroom We had a private indoor bathroom with a separate locking door which connected to our bedroom. Inside the bathroom there was a sink, shower, and toilet. The bathroom was about 6 x 14 ft (84 square feet or 7.8 square meters).

Room We stayed in a comfortable log lodge room on the upper floor. Our lodge bedroom was about 16×28 feet (448 square feet or 41.6 square meters). It had a balcony with a sliding glass door which faced north and overlooked the Teslin River.

There was a king size bed with mosquito netting, a small sitting chair, a comfortable cushioned chair with an ottoman, a night stand, and a Jacuzzi tub. We enjoyed afternoon naps in the room. We also enjoyed the view of the Teslin River and watching the midnight twilight setting from our balcony.

Meals We decided meal times by a consensus vote from the group of guests. The meal times chosen while we were there were close to normally accepted meal times. Three meals a day, made with organic and locally grown ingredients, were served. The meals were delicious, healthy and nutritious.

Dinner was a family style setting where we shared the experience with the other guests. We enjoyed spending time with people from other parts of the world including Germany and the United Kingdom, sharing travel stories and information about our respective countries.

Breakfast was served buffet style. There was organic bacon and organic eggs; sliced tomato; strawberry; avocado; and toast with blue berry jelly; a locally provided organic mixed herb mint tea ; pancakes with a local favorite sweet lingon berry syrup, cranberry juice, orange juice and apple juice; sourdough bread with butter; sourdough rolls with butter; a specialty German farmer’s dish of potatoes, eggs, and onions; fresh organic rolls; fresh apple juice, cranberry juice, orange juice; and organic coffees.

We sampled the following lunch items:

Organic split pea soup; chicken salad sandwich on sourdough bread and wheat bread; chips and crackers with salsa; olives, grapes, celery and cucumbers; organic mixed herb mint tea; pasta salad; deviled eggs; smoked lox; and sweet muffins

We sampled the following dinner items:

A local favorite delicious wild salmon; rice; steamed broccoli; cucumber salad; white wine; mushrooms and prawns; baked chicken; rice; noodles; garlic bread; and Yukon Gold a locally brewed English style pale ale.

Amenities There were nicely scented local organic toiletries in unmarked bottles. There were candles, tissue, flowers, and his and her bath robes.

Soaps were made by a local vendor using a proprietary recipe of organic ingredients.

Facilities There was a common area great room and kitchen. At the main entrance there was an entry room with tables where guests could play games and take off their shoes.

There was a dock on the river and the property had a canoe and paddles guests could use to paddle around the Teslin River. Outside was a screened in gazebo where guests could relax or read. There was a volleyball court and net on the property.

Activities It was possible to enjoy canoeing, hiking; fishing, dog sledding, ice fishing, cross country skiing, and view the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights).

Other Foods and materials on site were organic. The property was a clean energy based facility. Clean renewable solar panels and a diesel generator provided the energy to power the lodge. The lodge is too remote to be tied to a utility company based power which made the property an “off the grid” lodge. Electricity was available in the rooms. We ran our hair dryer in the mornings on the 120 volts North American power outlets.

Government owned wilderness surrounds all sides of the property.

For all of our hikes the lodge supplied us with gloves, netting and an organic bug spray repellent which when used together proved effective against mosquitoes. This year was the wettest in 50 years for this region, and the unusually large amounts of rain caused a larger than normal mosquito population.

During our visit, the owners were focused on providing guests a totally organic experience. We tried different locally supplied organic foods and amenities during our stay. Examples included the organic soaps and shampoos that were in our bathroom facilities.

Cleanliness Excellent.

Date Of Last Visit July 2008

ReviewersArticle by Chester Godsy

Photos by Joni Johnson-Godsy

Service The staff members were friendly and helpful.

Our room was serviced more than once per day.

Would You Stay Again? Yes

Overall Impression We enjoyed visiting the Yukon Territory in Canada. The most striking aspects of the Yukon, located in the northwest most corner of Canada, are its pristine wilderness regions and extremely low human population density.

We stayed a few nights in the city of Whitehorse, which is the capital of the Yukon. While in Whitehorse we enjoyed some of the local restaurants, which featured local northern favorites like wild salmon and some wild game. We also took a trolley ride through Whitehorse where we learned about the history of the city and the surrounding area. We visited the beautiful 22,000 square kilometer Kluane National Park.

The Alaskan highway runs along the northern edge of the park. Even though much of the park is remote wilderness and is accessible only to the hardiest backpackers and mountaineers, thanks to its large size there is a vast area accessible from the Alaskan highway. This park and the surrounding parks adjacent to it make up one of the largest protected wilderness areas in the world.

We visited the Kluane Wildlife Preserve ( www.yukonwildlife.ca ). Located less than 30 minutes from Whitehorse by car, it is one of the best wildlife preserves of this type we have ever visited. We were surprised to find this gem located in such a remote area and populated by many of the larger Yukon animals inside vast fenced natural habitat areas. On a striking summer day, we completed the 3 mile (5 kilometers) self guided walking tour through the preserve. Other tourists took the bus tour, which also runs through the preserve.

During our stay we saw grizzly bear, black bear, seagulls, gray jays, ravens, redhead ducks, loonies, mallard ducks, king fishers, arctic squirrels, chipmunks, coyotes, dall sheep and lynx. At the Yukon Wildlife Preserve we saw mountain blue birds, arctic squirrels, and in the enclosures we saw muskoxen, moose, mountain goats, woodland caribou, mule deer, elk, wood bison, dall sheep and stone sheep

Climate The climate is arctic and subarctic. Winters are long, dry and cold. Summers are short with very long days. During our visit it was light 24 hours a day. In the Yukon we saw The Midnight Sun.

Cost Of Visiting Slightly higher than in the U.S. In extremely remote areas the cost of living was much higher than in the U.S.

Currency The Canadian dollar. At the time of this writing one Canadian dollar exchanged for approximately one U.S. dollar.

Electrical Power System 120 volts

Health And Vaccinations There were no mandatory inoculations to enter Canada. There were no warnings for travel to this region.

How To Get There We flew to Vancouver and then took a flight to Whitehorse where we took a lodge provided shuttle to our first destination. Later in our trip we rented a car at the airport.

Location The Yukon is located in the northwest corner of Canada.

Measures Metric system

Money Issues Cities and airports had banking facilities for currency exchange. ATM’s were commonly available in hotels and towns.

Technology Telephone, Internet and fax service were available in major cities. Cellular phone service was available near the city of Whitehorse. The remote camp we visited had satellite Internet service.

Time Pacific Time

Transportation We traveled around the Yukon by rental car and found the roads to be in excellent condition. Rental cars and taxis were available in Whitehorse. Because gas stations were sometimes far and few between in remote regions we had to plan in advance to avoid running out of gasoline.

Facilities In the cities there was a modern infrastructure. We saw gas stations, hospitals, banks, hardware stores, big box stores, pharmacies, clothing, restaurants and grocery stores. In remote areas, the infrastructure was more typical of small towns. There we saw gas stations, hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, and small general stores.

Souvenirs We saw jewelry, Native American arts and crafts, T-shirts, sweat shirts, hats and clothing with regional names and icons embroidered on them. There were also locally made syrups, candies, fudge shops, organic soaps, coffees and teas, sports outfitters, book stores featuring books with photography and history about the region, travel stores, and information centers.

Tourism Highlights The major appeal for tourism in the Yukon is the large pristine wilderness regions. The entire territory which is 186,660 square miles (483,450 square kilometers) only has about 32,000 people living in it. Approximately 25,000 of them live in the capital city Whitehorse making the population density in the countryside extremely low.

The Yukon is the home of Canada’s tallest mountain, Mount Logan which reaches 19,551 feet and is located in the Kluane National Park. This is also the second tallest peak in North America, after Mount McKinley in Alaska.

Travelers visit the area for the whitewater rafting, hiking, hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, canoeing, kayaking, riding, skiing, snowboarding, mountain climbing, rock climbing, ice climbing, and dog sledding opportunities.

Other Most of the local public electrical power in the Yukon comes from a hydroelectric generation station located on the south side of Whitehorse.

The Yukon is famous for its minerals and mining in the region. In the late 1800’s, the Klondike Gold rush caused the Yukon to be separated off from the Northwest Territories and become an independent territory. The major minerals mined in this region are lead, zinc, silver, gold, asbestos and copper.

Reviewers Article by Chester Godsy

Photos by Joni Johnson-Godsy

Would You Visit There Again? Yes