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The concession is approximately 5500 square miles of wilderness, with the majority of the area being accessible by horseback or foot only. To give you a better idea of how big the area is, it is about 100 miles by 55 miles or 3.5 million acres of land that we alone can take non-resident hunters. The Yukon is about 207,000 square miles, with a population of only 30,000 people. There are several small communities throughout the Yukon, mainly scattered along the Alaska Highway, while the majority of Yukoners live in and around the capital of Whitehorse. With very few people in this vast wilderness, you have where ever you are hunting to yourself. My Grandfather Tom Dickson came to the Yukon from Lethbridge, Alberta as a member of the Northwest Mounted Police in the late 1800's. Shortly thereafter, he began guiding hunting parties on 60 day trips into some of the same region we still hunt today. Embarking from Whitehorse, the trip consisted of a train of horse drawn wagons that would head Northwest to Kluane Lake, site of the Dickson family homestead. All the wagons would be left at Kluane Lake and Tom would then lead the hunting parties further by horse into the regions surrounding the Donjek, White and Generc rivers.
Buck Dickson, the oldest son born to Tom and Louise, bought his fathers hunting territory in the early 1940s. Like the entire family, Buck learned to hunt, trap and fish from the time he was old enough to walk. When the Alaska Highway was built in 1942, Buck was able to drive his hunters to the Base Camp on the Alaska Highway, the camp we still use today. From here, Buck would guide trips that averaged 30 days in length. When it became necessary to form registered outfitting areas in the Yukon, Buck's area became concession #10. In 1959, my father, Richard Dickson bought the area from his brother Buck. Dad kept many members of the Dickson family working with him over the years. I learned the many bush skills I know today from my Dad, uncles and cousins who all helped guide in the same area. Dad successfully owned and operated the business for thirty years, selling it to me in 1989. We continue to operate the area using the same principles as my Dad, Uncle and Grandfather.
I hope we have a chance to share with you the long tradition of the Dickson family and help you experience your "Hunt of a Lifetime". Yours Truly, |