In 2025 we – Kate and Steve Dawson – entered the Yukon 1000 for the third time. There’s a fairly extensive blog from 2024 that describes our approach to the race after withdrawing in 2023 and details our relatively conservative plan to finish in the middle of the pack.

That conservative finish left us wondering where in the placings we might have finished if we’d taken a more competitive approach. We entered again in 2025 and the chapters below are my account of that experience.

We returned to the world’s longest paddle race confident that we would finish. We knew the environment well enough to not angst over things that didn’t matter (Bears). We had enough knowledge of the river to know where to concentrate our navigation efforts. Would it make a difference?

As I’ve said previously, these are the events as I recall them through the fog of exhaustion and time elapsed since the race. My recollection may be at odds with other teams. I’m still prepared to swear we paddled under a two-lane highway bridge 500 metres downstream from Dawson. I’ll own the mistakes, and maybe a few parts which have been embellished, exaggerated, or reframed to make it sound like I enjoyed it.

Enjoy!

1. Preamble
2. Day 1 – Thursday – Whitehorse to Big Salmon
3. Day 2 – Friday – Carmacks – Five Fingers – Minto
4. Day 3 – Saturday – Fort Selkirk – White River – Stewart River
5. Day 4 – Sunday – Dawson – Smoke – Bears
6. Day 5 – Monday – Alaska – Eagle – Bordering
7. Day 6 – Tuesday – The Flats
8. Day 7 – Wednesday – Beaver Village – Jokinaugh Island
9. Day 8 – Thursday – Stevens Village – Dalton Bridge