The River Which Ran Both Ways

 So we are in Dawson City now, much much more to come on that front.  

But on the way, we stopped at the Five Finger Rapids.  This is on the Yukon River and is another place with an interesting history.  

But first the adventure.  Karen will probably say I forced her into dangerous terrain.  I will let you decide for yourself.  210 steps down.  But the view was entirely worth it!  

This area is another notable place for Klondike history.  The swift water and narrow channels here posed real danger for overloaded boats and rafts during the Klondike stampede.  Once people brought in sternwheelers to cover this distance, the issues were also similar.  There was only one channel where the larger boats could pass and there was a 1 to 2 foot drop in the channel.  All was fine until they got to the point where the stern wheel was in the air and could no longer propel the boat.  So they installed winches and pulled themselves over.  Which still resulted in damage to the boats.  Then they spent from 1900 -1927.  Yes that is correct.  27 years spent blasting the ledge away to remove the obstacle.  

But what about the river running both ways?  Oh yes.  Until 3 million years ago, the rivers in this area flowed to the south, draining into the Gulf of Alaska.  During the ice ages, the ice plugged the downstream passages, causing the rivers to back up.  But then eventually water will out, right?  It changed direction and started flowing to the Bering Sea.