Kluane Lake

Kluane Lake is the largest lake in Yukon. The lake's only inflowing river is the A'ay Chu (Slims River). Recently, the A'ay Chu, which was composed of meltwater from the Kaskawulsh Glacier, has dried up and disappeared. Instead of flowing north 19 kilometres from the glacier's toe into Kluane Lake (and ultimately, the Bering Sea), that melt water is now draining eastward via the Kaskawulsh River towards the Pacific Ocean. This has massive consequences for Kluane Lake, as the lake no longer has a source of water inflow. In the last 2 years, the water levels have declined ~10 feet and are steadily declining. The effects of climate change are immediately seen within these dramatic and escalating changes in Kluane Lake. Unfortunately, we can only monitor what happens next.

Any of this information can be discovered by a quick search into Google. However, Victor and I learned this at a campfire talk while staying in Kluane National Park and Reserve. We were shocked when we heard the story, and decided we had to see Kluane Lake before it was gone. We drove about 1 hour and 30 minutes until we arrived at the magnificent and enormous body of water. We were surrounded by gigantic mountains and the sun just started to set.

We drove around the lake along the mountainside, searching for a spot to cook dinner. Suddenly, the trees cleared and uncovered a wide area of dusty drylands that expanded across where the water once was. Rocky shorelines and boulders were exposed, and small shrubs started to grow.

We had never seen Kluane Lake before, but we could see how much had changed in such a short period. We continued to drive until we saw a pullover area along the shore. We stopped the car and climbed down to a big rock beside the water.

We set up our cooking gear on the rock and then I walked down to the shoreline to touch the water. The water was crystal clear and very still. The sun shimmered beautiful pink, purple, orange, red and yellow pastels onto the lake. The mountains stood tall and silent. The wind was cool and calm. It was quiet.

We sat together on the rock and ate dinner as the sun went down– uncertain of the (near) future of Kluane Lake, though very certain that we would never forget the majesty of Kluane Lake.

The story of Kluane Lake reminds me that we have an impact on the world with every choice we make and every action we take. Be aware of your choices and actions, and understand that what you do (both big and small) matters (a lot)!