After three decades, Bill Thomson has reached the end of the trail.

The Whitehorse man has operated the Carcross-to-Atlin Commemorative Mail Run for the last 30 years. After the conclusion of this year's run, which will head out of Carcross on Friday, Thomson will shut down the annual event for good.

'I think that's long enough,' Thomson said in a recent interview.

Thomson noted that he is getting older and feels he is done running the annual event.

'I wasn't a young man when I started it and I'm a damn sight older.'

Thomson chose to shut down the run instead of handing it off to someone else.

He's been running the event since 1975 under the auspices of the Whitehorse Sled Dog Club. He and his wife, Millie, have been the main people behind the event.

At the time, Thomson had been in the Yukon for about four years. In those early years, he was involved with the Sourdough Rendezvous sled dog races.

He noted at that time mushers would work hard through the winter to get their dogs ready for the winter races and after February, the dogs would be left on a chain until the next year.

Thomson decided he want to start another event to give the dogs something to do. He decided to do a mail run on the lakes between Carcross and Atlin.

In that first year, it was just Thomson and one other musher who made the run. Since then, the one constant on the trail has been Thomson.

'Every year, I've done the run.'

The number of mushers joining Thomson on the mail run has fluctuated each year, from the one in 1975 to as many as 42 one year.

In that first year, Thomson was sworn-in by Canada Post as an official mail carrier. Since then, that's what he's done each year on the mail run.

The mushers carry specially-made, commemorative envelopes.

People buy the envelopes for $2.50 each, fill and address them, put on a stamp and then slide them into the mail.

The local Canada Post sorting station picks out the special envelopes and instead of stamping them, turns them over to Thomson, who takes them to the Carcross post office.

The stamps are cancelled with the date of the run on them and the Carcross placeline. The mail is then divvied among the mushers, who carry them in waterproof containers.

When they arrive in Atlin, the envelopes are cancelled again with the Atlin placeline, then put into the mail system.

Canada Post has been a big help through the years, according to Thomson.

He said the envelopes have been shipped all over the world, including the U.S., Europe and South Africa, as well as within Canada.

He noted that one year, envelopes were sent to 27 countries.

Each year, the envelopes have some design on them. This year, as in 1983, the envelopes have a new drawing by renowned artist Ted Harrison, a former Yukoner now living in Victoria.

This year's envelope has Harrison depicting a musher and dog team with mountains and the sun in the background. Thomson contacted Harrison last fall and asked if he would design the envelope for the final mail run.

When the mushers head out on Friday, they'll run about 100 kilometres to Moose Arm, which will take the carriers 3 1/2 to four hours.

The mushers will then camp overnight there, having a barbecue dinner. They will then pack up between 8:00 and 9:00 the next morning for the run to Atlin. The teams will pull into the B.C. community between noon and 4 p.m.

From there, Thomson said, some will be picked up while others will turn around and go back.

According to Thomson, the mushers are able to make the trek thanks to the Carcross detachment of the Canadian Rangers.

'They've done a very good job over the years (putting in the trail),' he said.

The organization has been able to put on the annual event without winding up in the red.

'We don't owe anybody a penny,' Thomson said.

He conservatively estimated the group has been able to donate $130,000 over its life to various charities from the money raised through the sale of the envelopes.

Over the last five years, Thomson said, half the annual proceeds have gone to the Shriners' hospitals.

'It seemed to me to be a very worthy cause,' he said. He likes the idea of giving to that charity because some children from the Yukon have gone to Shriners' hospitals.

The veteran organizer admits he is a bit sad to see the event come to an end.

'In a sense, yes, but I can't do it forever,' Thomson said.

While he is discontinuing the run, he'd like to see it go on.

'It would be nice if it could continue in some vein.'