Just over 10 days have passed since the Yukon 1000 wrapped up, and the next paddling event is nearly upon us.

The Yukon 360 is the kid brother of the Yukon 1000, smaller in every way.

The Yukon 1000 takes a week or more, while the Yukon 360 is over in a weekend.

The paddlers in the Yukon 1000 were all from outside the Yukon; nearly all the paddlers in the Yukon 360 are from the Yukon.

The Yukon 1000 is 1,000 miles (1,600-km) long; the Yukon 360 is only 360-km (225 miles) long.

The Yukon 1000 included Lake Laberge and the Yukon Flats, both quite challenging; the Yukon 360 is down the Teslin and the Yukon from Johnsons Crossing to Carmacks, relatively straight forward sections of rivers.

But it still takes organizing, and it is still a challenge, albeit a very different one.

Unlike the Yukon 1000, participants in the Yukon 360 are allowed to race in just about any type of canoe or kayak.

This is one aspect missing from many wilderness adventure races worldwide, but only well qualified paddlers are allowed in fast or solo boats.

The Yukon 360 will start at noon on Saturday and will end at noon on Discovery Day, Monday.

Paddlers have to stop for eight hours each night, so they can take up to 32 paddling hours. But the leaders will take much less than that.

The structure of the race allows strong paddlers to paddle hard on Saturday, knowing that they have a proper night's rest in front of them to recover so they can put the pedal to the metal (or the paddle to the water) on Sunday too. The fast boats will be into Carmacks early Sunday evening, or even before.

The Yukon 360 is structured just like its big brother, with the participants required to carry SpotT devices.

The data from the SpotT devices turn these races from invisible wilderness events into compelling viewing on the web as friends and supporters of the paddlers can watch boats move down the river on their computer screens in near-real time.

This worked fantastically well in the Yukon 1000.

The Yukon 360 is a unique race in that each year, on Discovery Day weekend, it will be held on a different river in the Yukon.

Next year, it will start in Faro, and go down the Pelly River to Pelly Crossing.

Organizers' intentions are that the 360 allow participants to "Explore the Yukon's Rivers, One Race at a Time."

Article provided by Peter Coates, on behalf of the Yukon 360 Canoe Race.