| 【September, 2023】 |
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| The Northern Lights are usually associated with winter, but in fact they can be seen at night regardless of the season. Though it was originally planned for Autumn 2021, the plan was postponed for 2 years under COVID and finally came true this time. I selected Whitehorse for the destination because I can enjoy outdoor activity in the mountains and rivers. Weather is expected to be cloudy all the days I plan to stay. Can I really see the Northern Lights in autumn, when the nights are shorter than in winter? |
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Preparing the camera
I brought DSLR camera (Camera: NIKON D7500, Lens: AF-S DX NIKKOR 35m f/1.8G) used for hiking during summer time, and a tripod that can be extended to the height of a person. I newly bought the tripod for this travel. I have practiced how to use them in advance by taking photos of stars and using the tripod in the mountains. Manual focus and taking 10 seconds to take a picture are required when we take a picture of night sky. I posted a memo for the detail of camera setting in 【Blog (Japanese only)】. I have also practiced taking timelapse shots. |
* I brought a different pod than the one shown in the above picture. |
| I heard that even a smartphone can capture the northern lights with appropriate setting. Low f ratio and small number of pixels would be good for brighter image in dark condition. |
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Air North
Air North is a Canadian airline based in Whitehorse, Yukon. (There is another airline company called Airnorth in Australia) Their service was good though it owns only 9 aircrafts. Meals and drinks were served even for the short flight from Vancouver. |
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Snacks were served twice in the inbound flight. ham sandwich was served first. I selected turkey because turkey was not common in Japan. |
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Warm soft cookie was served before landing. Drink was served twice too. |
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Light meal served at morning outbound flight. Sweat muffin, cheddar cheese, and muscat. |
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There were more clouds in north and it was clear at Vancouver for both of inbound and outbound flights. Can I see norther lights under these thick clouds? |
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Car rental
I booked a rental car online at Driving Force, a company of car rental. I chose Driving Force because the price was lower than Budget Car Rental which also has an office at Whitehorse. You don't need credit card information or advanced payment. I was worried about whether I had really made the reservation because I only received an automatic reply when I made the reservation, but I received an e-mail confirming my reservation about a week before I arrived at Whitehorse. Because staff is not present full-time at Whitehorse airport, I needed to inform of the inbound flight number, date of arrival and other necessary information. There was no one at the booth of Budget Car Rental. The system seems same as Driving Force. Driving Force Their main business seem to leasing large vehicles. You can make a reservation through "Vehicle Rentals". |
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There was a crack on the windshield as the staff explained. There may be higher chance of the damage than Japan due to more unpaved roads and frozen winter. It should not be reasonable to repair every single time. Nice magnanimity. |
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Every car has a plug exposed outside from the bumper. This is to prevent freezing in winter. Although I did not understand the details of the explanation at the time, the plug seems to be connected to a heater warming engine oil. Engine oil becomes fluid when the plug is connected to a power socket and warm it up. |
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| Additional fee is charged over 200km of driving each day. A vehicle must go on the right side and can turn right on a red signal if it stops before the turn. These are same in the US. Blinking green signal means that pedestrians are prioritized. |
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| （Updated；10.9.2023） |
