As warnings go, it was a pretty ominous one. “When people see gold in that pan, it changes them,” Armin drops into conversation after serving us salmon at his homestead.
He hasn’t got gold fever – but he knows many who have and how it’s affected them.
Me? I’m on a mission to find out. I don’t need a mega-rich Tory minister to tell me how to survive a cost-of-living crisis – I’ll pan my own gold, thanks.
And I’ll travel to the scene of the most famous gold rush in the world to do it.
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Off I went a mere 4,100 miles to Dawson City in the Klondike region of Canada’s Yukon territory via tube, coach, minibus, tram, three planes, truck and, of course, a rail-replacement bus.
When this was the centre of the universe in 1897 more than 100,000 souls braved the Chilkoot Pass then the freezing Yukon river in handmade rafts.
Many never made it, turning back or dying along the way.
If you don’t want to join them at the bottom of the Yukon, you’re going to need some tips...
Following the rush...
More than 1,800 miles from Vancouver and just below the Arctic Circle, Dawson City is the real centre of a good, old-fashioned gold rush.
Before you take your deep breath and set off for your riches, you need to gather your strength at a staging post.
Whitehorse is a wilderness town not without a charm of its own, with modern, purpose-built hotels and spit-and-sawdust dive bars. It’s the sort of place you walk on to your balcony and just happen to see the Northern Lights (note: that happened first night).
The capital of the Yukon – population 43,744 – you’ll find 75% of people live in or around Whitehorse, perched on the mighty river which gives the territory its name.
Tourism is the new rush here with interesting things to do from seaplane sightseeing to glass-blowing or touring one of the various museums to learn about famous pioneers like Klondike Kate.
But you can’t stay at Whitehorse forever. Getting up to Dawson is a lot easier now there’s a highway to deliver you there in about 10 hours, but it’s not the only way.
We flew in a light aircraft and were treated to breathtaking views of unspoilt Klondike countryside.
But you could theoretically canoe downriver to Dawson like the pioneers did all those years ago.
In fact we got a little out of the way on a paddling trip, spotting bald eagles and beavers as the current dragged us along.
But that’s a 10-day trip, so I scouted out some other possible methods...
Having a ’mare
I’ll let you into a secret. I may be a rugged frontier man now – but I’ve never sat on a horse.
And despite my first car being a 1985 Mini with a questionable steering rack, I don’t like riding anything that may turn left when you want it to go right.
So when we ventured over to Armin and Mandy’s Sky High ranch just outside Whitehorse I asked for their most docile beast.
I got elder statesman Barney – well known for taking it easy on the trail and loyally following the horse in front of him.
I looked at Mandy, she looked at me. We both looked at Barney. He stared at some hay and swished his tail.
We were on.
The winding trail took us through forests and hills on the way to look-out point with breathtaking views of the mountains. Amazingly it’s all on land that Mandy and Armin own.
Back in their homestead we ate salmon baked over hot coals that tasted so fresh we asked if he’d fished it from one of his streams.
“Bought it in the store”, replies Armin.
Seems there’s no time for grandstanding in the Yukon.
But there is time for gold...
Gold in them-thar hills
When the original pioneers finally made it to Dawson they found most of the best claims had been taken.
It didn’t stop them trying to strike it rich – and people have been trying ever since.
David Millar is a third generation gold panner whose mum was mining until she was 80.
He tells me: “There are three things you need to strike gold. Water, gravity and agitation.” He’s got the water, we’re all screwed if there’s no gravity and I’m here to provide the agitation as I pick up my pan full of his Yukon dirt and pop it in the water.
But how does he know where tolook?
Well, David shifts the layers of ground on his many claims and pans it until he finds specs of that-there gold.
Then his team of placer miners go right down to the bedrock – using their “sluices” (think giant gold pans) to whittle out the heavier gold.
Even small operationsturnover around three to five ounces every few days.
And they sell for $2,000 each.
“Lots of guys in lots of bars claim they can dig gold,” says David as he hands me the pan.
It sounds like a challenge...
The man with a pan
The water is cold as I dip it in and shake it around to loosen the dirt.
I throw the larger rocks out and begin carefully sifting through the smaller bits, popping the pan in and out the water and angling the contents into a half moon.
I slowly began to see specks of gold appear near the top as the lighter material slips to the bottom.
David takes pity on me and sifts the last part of the “haul”, separating out the gold and allowing me to collect it for prosperity.
It’s not enough to change me, buy a round at Diamond Tooth Gerties down the road or even pay for 0.8minutes of putting the living room light on – but it does give me a taste.
David admits he has gold fever.
You tell that in his eyes and how concerned he was when I picked up his day’s haul to have a look it.
As he shoos me off his property he lets it slip he once finished second in the world gold panning championships.
Ironically, that’s silver place.
Sourtoe’s not all show
Us gold miners work hard and we play hard.
Over at the Downtown Hotel in the centre of Dawson we tried a tradition started in the 1970s when Captain Dick Stevenson found infamous rum-runner Louie Linken’s severed toe preserved in alcohol in a shack he’d just bought.
Always one to spot an opportunity, he formed the Sourtoe Cocktail Club as he and his pals dared themselves to down liquor with the toe in the glass.
It caught on, with over 100,000 souls now having braved the digits. In fact the toes have come flooding in with 25 now to choose from.
The toe master is there to give you the rules, but in truth there’s only one and he chants it as you pick up the glass.
“You can drink it fast, you can drink it slow, but your lips have gotta touch the toe”.
The recipe is simple, liquor shot, dehydrated severed toe and courage. Remember our pal gravity? Well I forgot about it downing the drink, taking little sips rather than swigging it in one.
This meant the toe was stuck at the bottom of the glass as I panicked and looked around for help. Eventually everyone just shouted “knock it back”.
Turns out, you can’t drink it slow.
With my gold in my pocket we head off to Diamond Tooth Gerties to catch the can-can show, kick back and relax.
Yep, the gold didn’t change me. But the Yukon did.
Book the holiday
My Canada Trips offers a 10-night Klondike Gold Rush Self Drive tour in June from £2,869 per person. Includes flights from London, Glasgow, Edinburgh or Manchester to Vancouver, internal flights, two nights in Vancouver, four nights at the Raven Inn in Whitehorse and four nights at the Midnight Sun in Dawson City, car hire and a McCrae to Schuwatka Canoe Tour. mycanadatrips.co.uk
You can also find out more at travelyukon.com and destinationvancouver.com.
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