INUVIK
What started off as a warm and sunny paddle quickly turned into a tumultuous journey punctuated by thunderstorms, heavy wind and smoke from nearby forest fires as canoers and kayakers from across the globe made the 715-km trek to Dawson City from Whitehorse.

Inuvik's Mike Harlow gets ready to set off from the Carmack's rest point. - photo courtesy of Yukon River Quest

Inuvik's Mike Harlow was among those making the journey and crossed the finish line June 27 - his final time, 54 hours and 56 minutes - four minutes inside his personal goal, placing him 19th overall.

"It was just physically and mentally demanding," he told the Drum on his way back to Inuvik after the race. "It's a lot of time by yourself and there's a lot of different scenarios - feeling good, feeling bad, good weather, bad weather - and the whole time just kind of pursuing that goal of Dawson City."

The start of the race was relatively smooth, he said, with warm temperatures and calm winds but by the second night things started to turn with rain and fire smoke making for a "spooky" stretch through the night. He said that leg of the journey was the most challenging.

"Between Fort Selkirk and Kirkland Creek - that was very difficult," he said. "I just didn't have any gas left in the tank and I could barely lift my arms at times and mentally, those long 10 and 12 hour stretches ... I didn't see anyone else on the river. I was by myself."

During the race there were two mandatory stops, one for seven hours, another for three. The rest of the time it was straight paddling. Harlow said previous participants warned him about experiencing hallucinations - but he didn't quite believe them at first.

"I didn't know what they meant until I started to experience those hallucinations and they're pretty wild," he said. "You're all there in your mind, but you're just seeing stuff that isn't - one guy told me he swore to God an eagle had landed on his paddle."

Harlow says he has taken many canoe trips over the years but never done anything as intense as this. Through the difficult parts he says he kept thinking of his family and all the people in Inuvik who had thrown their support behind him.

"I had turned (the race) into a fundraiser for the day care in town so I wanted to make sure all those people who had been generous with their money weren't disappointed and I delivered," he said, adding coming into the final length and seeing his partner and son was the most rewarding.

"They were the only two people there aside from some race volunteers and that was definitely the highlight of the race - finishing and having them see me do it."

Eleven countries were represented in the event with teams and individual paddlers from as far away as Hungary, New Zealand and Japan. So far, Harlow has raised $5,400 for the Children First Society and will continue to accept donations a week or two following his return. Despite the challenge, Harlow is optimistic going forward.

"I wouldn't be surprised if I do it again," he said.

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