It is slightly warmer down the Alaska Highway near Swan Haven. Unlike the mountains surrounding Whitehorse, the peaks are not yet covered in snow. The sun sat perched high in the sky and made the M’Clintock River glisten on Saturday afternoon - aside from a slight current, the river sat still and untouched.

Untouched until a contingent of kayakers and canoers launched their boats and floated in front of the bridge. They were there for the 2019 Autumn Classic, a paddle that ends the organized racing season.

The race has been held for about 15 years and the athletes paddle six-kilometres up the river before turning back. To prove they have made the full distance, dollar store trinkets are attached to some flagging tape for the paddlers to grab and return with. This year it was horses.

It was a small but mighty group of paddlers who left from the start - eight boats in total. When it was time to go it was a flurry of activity as the paddles hit the water and the boats began to move forward.

The wake from the boats splashed against the banks of the river and before you could blink, they were gone around the first bend.

The M’Clintock is a winding river with tight turns so the paddlers were never on straightaways for too long. On the way up, toward the horses, they had to paddle against the current.

After the paddlers had left, the river calmed again. It stayed that way until the first paddler, Cole Wilkie-Hobus, competing in a solo kayak, came around the bend.

Keeping up his stroke rate, he paddled strongly until he passed under the bridge that marked the finish line.

When he was back on dry land, Wilkie-Hobus said he was really feeling the effects of his 12-kilometre journey on the M’Clintock.

“It felt a lot longer than 12km,” said Wilkie-Hobus. “I’ve just done a lot of 10km before and that just felt way longer.”

The winding nature of the river made it hard to navigate said Wilkie-Hobus.

“It’s very windy,” said Wilke-Hobus. “You never know how far you’ve been or how far you have to go because there are so many corners. You don’t know you’re close to the end until the last 500 metres then you’re like ‘what, I’m already here.’”

Wilkie-Hobus said with all the turns it can be mentally tough. He said it was a relief when he first saw the horses and then when he finished.

“It’s like ‘oh, finally I’m done,’” said Wilkie-Hobus.

Although this was the final competition of the year for Wilkie-Hobus he said he does still plan on paddling before the snow comes.

Wilkie-Hobus had a busy paddling season. He was one of the athletes who represented the Yukon at the Western Canada Summer Games, and said from the beginning of the season until the Autumn Classic, he feels he progressed as a paddler.

He completed the race in one hour, 42 minutes and 23 seconds. Close behind Wilkie-Hobus was the second place C2 boat of Elizabeth Bosely, a veteran of the Autumn Classic and Jaclyn Trybowski, a rookie.

Bosely said they navigated the turns of the M’Clintock very well.

“There is S-turns all the way up and we coordinated those turns fantastically,” said Bosely.”

The duo said they were kept motivated by trying to keep with the kayakers they were clustered with.

“The souped-up kayakers, the youngsters, kept us very motivated,” said Bosely. “They were meandering along and we were at full sprint.”

“We were huffing and puffing,” laughed Trybowski.

The pair have been paddling together for much of the season.

“We were with Flatwater Yukon dragon boating and we heard this is the last race of the season so for sure we would be here,” said Trybowski.

“And in June we came together and did the Yukon River Quest in a women’s voyageur,” added Bosely.”

“We are trying to stay on the water as long as possible,” added Trybowski.

The duo competed on the voyageur team Echo Kraken at this year’s Yukon River Quest. Bosely and Trybowski are gearing up to do the race again together this time in a C4.

“We are training for next year, YRQ 2020,” they both said.

The race Saturday, they said together, was good training for next season, as any time spent on the water is useful.

They finished the Autumn Classic in one hour, 42 minutes and 55 seconds, a time they were happy with.

“Oh yeah, we kept up with kayaks that were quite a bit younger, so it was great,” said Trybowski.

It wasn’t long until the third-place finisher could be seen coming around the final bend and then quickly passing under the bridge.

James Mccann, a solo kayaker, paddled strong through the end line completing the 12-kilometres in one hour, 45 minutes and 43 seconds.

As paddlers continued to finish the race the cheering sections on the bank grew. The shout of “team” would break the chatter as a boat appeared around the final bend. The cheers broke out and words of encouragement were offered to give the paddlers that one last burst of energy to finish.