Faro Crane & Sheep Festival - Part 8

As I mentioned in an earlier entry, I finally made it out to see Van Gorder Falls in Faro. It was a nice walk and heading up the slope meant that I got some good views of the town and the surrounding mountains.




The trail had substantially less snow and ice than it did just a day before.

I had been warned that the falls were small. And they were, but they were still pretty.


The rocks in the area were interesting, too.



Seeing a foot and sheep trail continuing up the ridge of the river valley, I decided to head up to investigate the views, but when I looked back at the viewing platform, I went right back down. While I was disgusted that someone would do such a thing, I wanted to investigate how the inconsiderate "Rick W." painted his hame below the viewing platform on a pillar of rock.



The way down looked next to impossible, but was really quite simple. There were decent foot and hand holds between the rocks, and I went down.






So, now I find myself wanting to curse "Rick W." for inconsiderately spraying his name on what should be a lovely natural site, but also wanting to thank him because, without the graffiti, I wouldn't have gone between the rocks and I wouldn't have found this tiny, beautiful plant.


If anybody can identify it, please let me know!

The Faro Crane & Sheep Festival - Part 7

While in Faro for the Crane and Sheep Festival, we decided to take a drive into the mountains to the old mine site. The mine is the reason why the community of Faro was built.



In addition to the community and bounty of lead and zinc, the mine produced 55 million tonnes of tailings and 250 million tonnes of waste rock. The waste rock looks like a mountain all on its own. On the other side of that pile is a pit that's 1.6km long, nearly 1 km wide and 345 metres deep. It is, apparently, half-filled with water.¹


Although the mine had a positive legacy in the creation of Faro - where many memories were created and numerous children we raised - there is a tragic legacy. The mine produces toxic acid rock drainage. It is estimated to take over 100 years and $1-billion to remediate the site.

The Faro Mine Remediation Project is responsible for remediating the site.  They've got their work cut out for them!


¹ Numbers obtained from this UpHere Magazine article.

The Faro Crane & Sheep Festival - Part 6

While in Faro for the Crane and Sheep Festival, my attempt to visit Van Gorder Falls was interrupted by the extraction of an injured person. I wondered if a visit to the falls would have to wait until my next visit to Faro. Fortunately, I was able to find a little bit of time in our otherwise busy schedule to take Nanuq for some much-appreciated leg-stretching.

I'll post some pictures of my trip to the falls in my next entry. For now, though, I'm posting these two pictures from the hike of a "not-quite-sunset", which I thought deserved a blog entry of their own.

The Birds and the Beasts

In spite of the dump of snow we got in Whitehorse the other day, the birds are back in force.  At 22:30, I took a walk around Paddy's Pond in Whitehorse and my ears were filled with the quacks and chirps and whistles of waterfowl and songbirds as they flitted and flew through the thick and tumbling spring snow.  It's so very different from those long winter nights when all one can hear at Paddy's Pond are the soft winter winds, the crunching of footsteps on the snowy trails, and distant traffic running up and down the Alaska Highway.

When we were in Faro for the Crane and Sheep Festival, I had to make a couple of day trips to Ross River for work-related reasons.  Although the ice still blankets most of the ponds, small openings have become welcome haunts for the myriad of migrating aviators.




These two were engaged in a wonderful display of "synchronized ducking".




There was a colourful but lonely duck that wanted to join the show, but the pair didn't show any interest in becoming a trio.

And if there's any doubt, the bears are out. Time to start carrying bear spray again!

Faro Crane & Sheep Festival - Part 4

Faro Crane & Sheep Festival - Part 3

We followed our full morning with a full afternoon. We went out to the sheep viewing cabin to see the Fannin's Sheep.

Fannin's sheep have interesting coats with dark patches that have caused some degree of mystery about how they might be related to other wild sheep species, especially since many Fannin's sheep colonies are geographically isolated from other sheep species. The current theory is that Stone’s sheep in British Columbia interbred with bighorn sheep before the last ice age. There is genetic evidence to support this theory. Interestingly, when an all-white Dall’s sheep and a bighorn sheep bred at the Yukon game farm, the lamb looked a lot like a Fannin’s sheep.


The mountain in front of the sheep viewing cabin was speckled with sheep. We learned that the mountain can support a maximum population of about 100 sheep. During one half of the year, the sheep stay on one side of the mountain, and during the other half of the year, they move to the opposite side of the mountain. It is the quality of the winter range that limits the size of the population.



Perhaps the highlight of the sheep viewing was watching a bear aggressively chasing a group of sheep. The bear didn't stand a chance, really, but it was amazing to watch how much ground it was able to cover so quickly. Bears are fast! I took a series of pictures showing the bear chasing the sheep up the mountain, but this picture (below) was probably the best. The dark spot in the middle-right is the bear. The sheep are in the center of the picture, getting ready for their next sprint up the mountain.


There was also a tour to a mineral lick, where sheep go to replenish their stores of certain essential minerals. We didn't leave with the group of people going on the tour, opting to stay and listen to an interesting presentation on the cranes. Here are a few things I learned (and hope I'm recounting them correctly):

• The cranes have a wingspan of about 8'.  With their giant windspan, they catch thermals and glide through the air - much like hawks and eagles.  Because it takes so little energy to do this, they can fly 800 km in a day
• Cranes are not aquatic birds like herons and bitterns.  They're omnivorous "land" birds and their beaks are perfectly suited to eating buried seeds and insects (among other things).
• Cranes mate for life and, as a result, are highly regarded by many cultures around the world
• The males are called "stallions", the females are "mares", and the babies are "colts".  A group of cranes is a "sedge" or a "siege"
• Approximately 150,000 cranes will pass through Faro on their way from their winter grounds around Texas to the summer breeding grounds in the North Yukon and Alaska.  Some will even fly across the Bering Sea to Russia!

After the crane talk, we went for a walk to see if we could find the mineral lick.  We missed the un-marked turnoff and continued down the road until we came across a sheep highway.  There were no sheep, but the fresh tracks and other sign showed that the trail is heavily used and has been used quite recently.  Jade wanted to "climb the mountain" up their trail, so we did.



Halia was thrilled with all of the crocuses. Not only are they the first flowers of the season, but purple is her absolute favourite colour.



We were able to find the trail to the mineral lick and the views were phenomenal. There was so much to take in, from the amazing stratigraphy in the bluffs, to the...



... heaps and heaps of sheep droppings, to the...


...dizzying drop down to the floor of the river valley.


Oh, and did I mention the phenomenal views?

It had been a full day. We were close to going to the wild game BBQ and potluck, but ended up spending the rest of the night in. It was probably a good call, otherwise our full day could have become an overflowing day.

So far, Faro's Crane and Sheep Festival has vastly exceeded my expectations.

The Faro Crane & Sheep Festival - Part 2

The day started off cold and cloudy and wet. There was an interpretive plant walk out to Van Gorder Falls and, in spite of the weather, we decided to go. I've never been to the falls. The last time I tried to go there, I was directed into the wrong valley and ended up on a lengthly (but still pleasant) walk into Faro's extensive trail network.

Bundled in our rain gear, Fawn, Jade, Halia, Nanuq, and I followed the large mob of people down the trail to the falls. The trail was narrow and patched with snow and ice. As a result, the group was strung out along the trail. When we were within hearing distance of the falls, the group stopped and word was passed down the line that somebody (not on the plant walk) had injured himself after slipping on an icy bit of trail.

The plant walk was over. Some of the participants turned back to town and some continued on to the falls. The tour guide went back to get assistance while a few of the tour participants stayed to help. I stayed to render assistance when I could, while Fawn and the kids continued on to the falls.

The man had dislocated his knee cap, or something along those lines. He wasn't a small guy and getting him back up the trail and into town wasn't going to be easy. Fortunately, the local paramedics had a nifty chair device that we were able to strap him into. With six people lifting and two extras rotating in to give two others a break, we were able to perform the extraction, though the puddles and ice and snow and narrowness of the trail didn't help any.

For a man who seriously injured himself and was in a great deal of pain, he handled it all with an incredible amount of grace and humour.

I still haven't seen Van Gorder Falls.

The Faro Crane & Sheep Festival - Part 1

Ever since I heard about it, I've been curious about the Faro Crane and Sheep Festival.  A festival for cranes and sheep?  Really?

When our friend Kara, generously loaned us the use of her house, we had no excuse BUT to go!

We stopped outside Faro at the rest stop.  It wasn't long before we started hearing the cranes, seeing masses of them flying through the skies.  They sound amazing!



It's incredible to see such big birds whirling through the skies.  Just seeing them flying overhead and I understood why the sight warrants a festival.  Pictures cannot do the sight justice.  I'll try to get some video.





There are a couple of stuffed cranes at the Campbell Region Interpretive Centre.  They're gorgeous birds.

Next up, I'll write about my attempt to see Van Gorder Falls and our afternoon trip to the Sheep Cabin.

The Dum* **uck.

We're in Faro for their annual Sheep and Crane Festival (more about that in subsequent entries).

 As you drive into Faro, you cannot help but notice the great big, giant, red dump truck. Of course we had to stop.

Halia seems to have some difficulty pronouncing the "p tr" combination in "dump truck". The "p tr" comes out as more of an "f" sound. It's unfortunate, if not shockingly hilarious when you hear her declare "Look at the dum* **uck!"




Nanuq thinks, "That's a big truck!"

The dump trucks were used for what was once the largest open pit lead-zinc mine in the world. The trucks were so big, that they had to be transported to the Yukon in pieces. Some pieces came by barge to Skagway and were then trucked, while others were driven up the Alaska, North Klondike, and Robert Campbell Highways.

The #3 truck is the last of the Faro mine dump trucks in the Yukon. It has been mounted off the ground and given a set of stairs so visitors can climb up into the cab, turn the steering wheel, and make massive front wheels turn.

Nanuq loved climbing up and down the steep stairs...




... but maybe not as much as the girls loved "driving" the truck!