I felt as if I was treading on hallowed ground. A leather boot, white with mould, lay half-buried at my feet. Nearby I glanced down on a harness smothered in lichen lying beside the skull of a mule, while strewn all around me were the remains of rusty cans and oil drums. High above on the hilltop stood simple headstones and derelict wooden crosses marking unnamed graves. The infamous Chilkoot Trail in British Columbia, used by thousands of men during the Klondike Gold Rush . Keith Wolfe Smarch, a First Nation master-carver, had abandoned work on a totem pole to guide me along the infamous Chilkoot Trail, where hundreds of men and thousands of pack animals lost their lives as they headed to Canada's frozen wastes during the Klondike Gold Rush. He is descended from Skookum Jim, the first man to find gold in a remote riverbed in the Yukon in 1896. The discovery started a stampede along the treacherous mountain track through snowdrifts, blizzards and avalanches, each man weighed down with supplies. The 32-mile hike took weeks to complete but even then their journey was far from over. At the end of the trail they staggered into Bennett, a makeshift city of tents, hotels and saloons at the head of a deep green fjord, where they settled for a brief respite. All that is left of Bennett today is its split-log chapel and station, still used by the White Pass Railway. 'On May 29, 1898 more than 7,000 roughly hewn rafts set sail,' Keith told me. 'There was a further 400 miles of hazardous waterways, canyons and rapids to negotiate before they reached their goal.' Everything in the Yukon is of epic proportions. Bordering Alaska, it is almost twice the size of Britain, with ranges of sparkling snow-crusted peaks, emerald lakes and vast forests. There are few signs of habitation in this pristine wilderness, with only a few roads linking the small communities. Spectacular snowfield: Wendy flew over the world's largest non-polar icefield in the Kluane National Park . Distances between them are mind-boggling. Locals travel up to 100 miles for their weekly shop, and some days I drove for seven or eight hours along deserted highways, rarely passing another vehicle. In the Kluane National Park, I took a scenic flight over the world's largest non-polar icefield. We skimmed barren hillsides, almost touching the curly-horned Dall's sheep balanced on the rocky outcrops. As we soared higher, I looked down on immense snowfields before we swooped over glaciers. Kluane is home to a huge grizzly bear population, so one morning I set off in search of them with retired ranger Brent Liddle and his dog Blue. Carrying pepper spray for protection, he led me around a beautiful turquoise lake and up towards the saddle of King's Throne Mountain. Clapping hands to warn of our presence, we scrambled along a rocky path, stepping over tangled roots and clambering over fallen logs. Kluane is home to a huge grizzly bear population (left). Right, some of the original Gold Rush prospectors . Suddenly Brent pointed to a spruce tree. The bark was worn away and fresh hairs were glued to the sap. 'A bear has been rubbing his head and back here,' he explained. Eyes darting in all directions, we proceeded cautiously but there was no sign of the grizzly. I was quite relieved. In fact I saw more wildlife along the roadside than I did on foot, sometimes stopping the car only yards from black bears guzzling on dandelions among carpets of fireweed and blue lupins. At Tombstone Territorial Park we pulled in to watch caribou grazing on the tundra and beavers paddling to their lodge, mouths crammed with twigs. Unless you stay at one of the designated campsites, accommodation in the parks is limited. My favourite was the Tagish Wilderness Lodge - a speedboat whisks you across a lake on a 45-minute journey from the nearest road. Four log cabins are hidden in the trees, yards from the water's edge. The main building consists of a spacious living area decorated with moose and caribou antlers, luxury bathrooms and a pine-scented sauna. Dawson City, epicentre of the Gold Rush, was the largest city in Western Canada back in 1898 . Wendy pans for gold.. and finds a precious nugget . My hosts, Gebhard and Sarah, took me on boat trips along the shoreline and hikes up into the hinterland, passing their heatsensor camera on the way. In the evenings we'd upload the photos showing a lynx, bear and wolf prowling past. I loved the sense of isolation. I spent hours on the jetty watching speckled loons diving for fish. Occasionally a young moose would venture tentatively into the water nearby while bald eagles flew overhead. The views were breathtaking and the silence so intense I could hear a pine needle drop. My last stop was Dawson City, epicentre of the Gold Rush. In 1898 it was the largest city in Western Canada. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it looks much the same, with painted weatherboard houses and wooden boardwalks lining unpaved streets. Archive film in the visitor centre shows the city crowded with prospectors in dark suits and bowler hats. Now the restored buildings stand hugger-mugger with rusty, corrugated-iron shacks sinking slowly into the ground due to the permafrost. Head to Diamond Tooth Gertie's if you want to watch can-can shows or play blackjack with tourists from the cruise ships. I preferred The Pit, the bar in the Westminster Hotel, where I had a beer with locals and listened to live country music. Just a couple of miles away in Bonanza Creek, I met up with Sylvia and her sister, Ginny, who are both descended from an original prospector. Their site at Claim 33 was close to the spot where Skookum Jim made his historic find. Handing me a pan of gravel, Sylvia demonstrated how to sieve and sluice it. As I shook the pan back and forth, dipping it in water to drain off the excess sand, I stopped short. A tiny nugget was glistening in the bottom of the pan. I had found my own crock of gold. Windows on the Wild (www.windowsonthewild.com, 020 8742 1556) offers a 14-night Yukon Explored fly-drive holiday from £2,825pp, including accommodation, return flights from the UK to Whitehorse, fully inclusive car hire, five guided hikes and some meals. For more details, go to www.travelyukon.com.
Follow in the footsteps of the Gold Rush prospectors . Search for grizzly bears... but don't be taken unawares . Fly over the world's largest non-polar ice field .