Beaver Creek is one of the most remote communities in the world, located nearly 550km from the nearest town.
Sinead Meader has settled in Beaver Creek, a small town in Yukon, Canada, near the border with Alaska (USA). According to the Daily Mail, she is living in one of the most isolated residential areas in the world.
This community, with a population of only 90 people, is nearly 550km away from the nearest town, Whitehorse. The absence of a local supermarket means that she must travel this long distance both ways every time she goes grocery shopping.
Sinead says that a one-way trip takes up to 5 hours by car, and she has to stockpile a lot of food and essentials. Due to the vast distance, each shopping trip is spaced out by 6 to 8 weeks.
Distance from Beaver Creek to Whitehorse on the map.
What makes everything much more difficult is that the journey is extremely treacherous, especially in winter. Yukon is a very cold region and is covered in snow and ice for many months of the year. There are times when temperatures drop below -20 degrees Celsius, accompanied by snowstorms and whiteout conditions. Furthermore, due to its proximity to the Arctic, winter days are very short, with only 5 hours of sunlight – just enough for a one-way trip from Beaver Creek to Whitehorse.
Due to harsh weather conditions, the travel route is extremely dangerous.
Moreover, the road is very dangerous even during the day due to limited visibility. Sometimes, wildlife might cross the road. Speeds on some sections only reach about 50km/h, and most importantly, there is no cell phone reception throughout the journey!
To ensure safety, Sinead and her partner must stay overnight in Whitehorse. This significantly increases the cost of each shopping trip, ranging from 400 to 1000 Canadian dollars (approximately 7 million to nearly 18 million Vietnamese dong). This cost includes monthly essentials, fuel for the round trip of over 1000km, and hotel expenses.
Reflecting on her two-day shopping trip, she said: “It feels like a short vacation.“
The act of selecting food itself is a challenge. Due to geographical difficulties, the only convenience store in Beaver Creek offers only a few types of food and household items, and they are quite expensive.
The local convenience store is reserved for emergencies due to its extremely high prices.
Sinead has to stock up on a lot of ready-made and frozen food to keep it for a long time. Caption: Life in isolation: Grocery shopping costs 550 CAD (over 10 million VND).
As a strict vegetarian, she says she needs a lot of vegetables – which are particularly rare and hard to find in this cold region. Fresh produce is even more of a luxury.
Winter weather is extremely cold, often dropping below -20 degrees Celsius.
Snow and ice cover the town.
With a population of less than 100 people and its uniquely remote location, life in Beaver Creek can be described as quite scarce. The town has only one restaurant, one inn, an elementary school, and a community center. Mail and packages are delivered every three days to the only post office.
According to Sinead, all houses in the town share a common postal address, and they have to share a locker to receive their packages. Due to the continuous lack of sunlight in winter, residents are also at high risk of vitamin D deficiency and seasonal depression.
Of course, essential services and agencies still exist in this area; she notes that Beaver Creek also has a police force and a small airport.
Since the nearest hospital is over 500km away, special medical emergencies are transported by helicopter. For mild illnesses or non-emergency cases, residents can visit the local clinic with a few doctors and nurses on duty.
However, despite the many hardships, Sinead still considers Beaver Creek her home and loves its natural beauty.
