MARSH LAKE – Reinhard and Christine Bruengger were stranded at their cabin outside of Haines Junction for three weeks before they were rescued by the RCMP on July 21.

Rienhard recounted the harrowing tale with the Star on Thursday afternoon at the couple’s home in Marsh Lake.

On June 29, the pair were headed out to their mining site. Reinhard said he had purchased 12 gold claims in 2013 and was planning to work on a shop to store fuel barrels.

They visit the site every year in the summer, he said, and the path across the Jarvis River is normally dry.

“Last year, it was so dry when we came, it was a Sunday morning walk to go across that river,” he said. “This summer, it was really ugly.”

They intended to cross in their 4x4 pickup truck.

Because of wet conditions, he said, it got stuck in the mud. They weren’t able to get it out, even with a winch and jack.

Reinhard decided to walk the three miles to the cabin to get their quad and trailer.  

He drove it back to the truck. The couple then loaded the trailer with supplies and headed across the river with their dog, Yuk.

But the trailer came unhooked. All of their belongings were swept downstream, including their medication, satellite phone and food.

Then the quad hit a rock in the river bed, and Christine was catapulted into the river.

“My wife said she saw herself dying. For her, that was The Last Waltz she was dancing, rolling down that water,” Reinhard said.

But luckily, she was able to make it to a gravel bank.

Reinhard swam to her rescue, and the pair made it to shore.

When Reinhard looked back, he saw their trailer floating down the river, and tried to save it.

But he was heading toward a log jam, and the trailer was about to fall on top of him. He grabbed onto a willow tree and got out of the way.

“I said, ‘oh, to hell with the materials, the main thing is we are alive,’ ” he told the Star.

The couple then got back onto the quad and, with Yuk, made it to their cabin, where they were able to get warm and dry.

The following day, Reinhard searched for their supplies and spotted a cooler across the river. He was able to retrieve it with a rope, and found all of their meat still frozen inside.

Then he rode by himself on the quad into Haines Junction.

In the village, he picked up supplies and met a friend in town, telling him what had happened and that they planned to leave by Aug. 1.

He was also able to get his truck out of the mud. He loaded the quad with the remaining food on the truck and crossed the river the following morning when the water had lowered.

With adequate food and enough medication to share, the couple were able to stay at the cabin for three weeks.

Reinhard said he kept his eye on the water level, but because of steady rain, it continued to rise.

His wife wasn’t in the best shape after their ordeal, he noted.

“Her legs were all coloured, and she had a problem with her shoulder, a problem with breathing,” he said.

When they began running low on medication and food, he realized they would soon have to leave.

With no satellite phone and the water levels dangerously high, he decided to paint an SOS signal on a gravel bank in the Telluride Creek to attract the attention of a passing helicopter or small plane.

 “That’s like fishing – you throw the line out and then you have to wait, you don’t know what’s going on,” he said.

A few hours later, he heard a helicopter pass overhead and ran outside waving his arms. The American pilot sighted the signal and alerted Whitehorse Flight Services.

Three hours later, a helicopter with two RCMP officers landed to find the couple in good health.

The pilot returned alone the next day, and Christine and Reinhard were able to leave.

But Yuk had been scared away, and they weren’t able to find him.

Reinhard said they left out dog food and, a few days later, chartered a helicopter to get their pet.

“He’s a good one, and I could not just leave the dog out there,” he said.  

When they finally found Yuk, he had porcupine quills protruding from his face, but was otherwise healthy.

They had adopted the two-year-old dog from the Mae Bachur Animal Shelter. On Thursday, Yuk was shy, but appeared happy and healthy as he basked in the sun and went for a swim.

Reinhard hopes that sharing the story of his misadventure with Star readers will encourage others to be safe.

“I hope it tells not to do some crazy things like I did with inappropriate equipment,” he said.

“You can cross that river if you have the right equipment, but a four-wheeler is not a submarine.”

He still needs to go back to finish some assessment work and winterize the mine.

But he’s waiting for the river level to drop, which he expects will be in 10 days or so.  

Due to higher than average rainfall this summer, the Jarvis River is about twice the level expected for July.