Our Trip North – 2018
Spent the day wandering around Dawson City and getting ready for the trek to Tuktoyaktuk and points in between. Went out along Bonanza Creek to historic Dredge #4 where we took a tour of the largest dredge to ever work the Dawson area.
After that took a turn at panning for gold at Claim 33 where the girls believed they had struck it rich. Great to see shiny gold bits in the pan.
Dinner at Klondike Kate’s and a relatively early night.
Started the day at Takhini Hot Springs and drove as far as Dawson City, arriving about supper time. Highlights along the way: A stop at Fox Lake where Graeme taught a young boy to skip rocks. At Braeburn Lodge Mary Dales bought an enormous, wonderful cinnamon bun the size of a dinner plate for $10.
The Lodge sells 150 of these buns per day. The four of us made short work of the bun and were full. A later stop at Five Finger Rapids, a navigational hazard on the Yukon River would have been a navigational hazard to us as there are 219 steps down to the river, then a .6km walk to the fingers and then back up. A young woman who had just completed the climb reported “its exhausting”.
Met Bob and Mary at the Gold Rush Campground and then went to the Drunken Goat for an excellent dinner of lamb done Greek style. After dinner we went to the first show at Diamond Tooth Gerties.
Quite a few changes since 1976.
Drove from Teslin through Whitehorse to Takhini Hot Springs on the road to Dawson City. Stopped at the Tlingit Heritage Center just west of Teslin and met a couple of master artists and craftsmen. Spent a couple of hours looking at pictures, displays and current work.
Wonderful conversation and interesting application of native art and skills. Stopped for a walk and photo shoot at Miles Canyon on the outskirts of Whitehorse. The canyon was a dangerous bottleneck to river travel from the Pacific coast to the goldfields. The construction of a hydro dam in 1959 downstream removed the danger from Miles Canyon and the Whitehorse rapids.
Lunch and a beer or two at the “Dirty Northern” before heading out to the campground at Takhini hot springs.
Beautiful campsite for tenters. Watched a very large fox saunter through the site. There were signs asking people not to feed them…
Today we travelled from Liard Hot Springs through Watson Lake and the famous Signpost Forest to Teslin.
We encountered a large herd of wood bison along the road and had to come to a complete stop as a bull with a bum leg crossed in front of us.
Saw three bears munching their way through the fireweed along the road. Stopped at Whirlpool Canyon on the Liard River.
Lovely viewpoint on the way into Teslin after crossing the continental divide. The two watersheds drain to the Beaufort Sea (Arctic Ocean) through the Mackenzie River and the Bering Sea through the Yukon River systems.
We spent the night at the Yukon Motel and RV Park on the shore of Teslin Lake. Enjoyed a wonderful outdoor dinner with warm wind and a lovely sunset.
Travelled today from Tetsa River to Liard Hot Springs. We saw two groups of Stone Sheep which are indigenous to the mountains of Northern BC. They are darker than the Bighorn Sheep we see in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta. Passed Folded Mountain which displays evidence of the tectonic history of the area and an almost perfect example of an alluvial fan.
Passed Muncho Lake which is one of the largest natural lakes in the Canadian Rockies. It is 12 km long and 1.5 km wide. The mountains surrounding the lake are almost 7,000′ high. We made a quick stop at a mineral lick trail: a 1.6 km loop trail overlooking the Trout River. These are mineral laden muds which attract goats, sheep, caribou and elk. The Trout River flows into the Liard which parallels the highway as far as Watson Lake. We arrived at the Liard Hot Springs Campground and walked along the boardwalk as far as the pools. Very hot! Lots of bears in the area. There were several other tents as well as lots of motor homes.
Use of the hot springs is included in the camping fee.
Drove today from Sikanni Chief to Tetsa River. Very heavily forested area in bright sunshine and a bit cool. We passed through Fort Nelson which was the original Mile Zero as the highway branched here to the north. We drove one portion on the way to Fort Nelson that was very straight and had 132 curves engineered out of the highway near Adsette Creek. And just before Fort Nelson a sulphur gas pipeline crossed the highway overhead. Three rivers flow into Fort Nelson: the Muskwa, the Prophet and the Sikanni Chief and they in turn flow into the Liard which flows into the Mackenzie and then into the Arctic Ocean. Fort Nelson was linked to the outside in 1942 by the Alaska Highway. Before that the only means of transportation was those rivers.
The highway turns west and climbs to the highest point on the Alaska Highway at Summit Lake which is just west of Tetsa River where we spent the night. Gail was a terrific host and Ben makes magnificent bread: notably sourdough rye with caraway seeds. Once again, the only tent in the campground.
Started with motel breakfast and photos at Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway.
Drove from Dawson Creek to Sikanni Chief River. Right out of Dawson Creek we drove over the only original timber bridge built along the Alaska Highway still in use today in Kiskatinaw Provincial Park. It was still raining when we saw the first sign for the Trans Canada Trail!
Fields of canola beside the road and against the dark gray sky made for lovely scenery. Next landmark was the Peace River bridge at Taylor. Rolling farmland that is just stunning.
Passed through Fort St. John on our way to the campground at Sikanni where we met up with Bob and Mary and their faithful sidekick Chico.
We had our first camp breakfast at Fish Lake campground in glorious sunshine. The sky quickly darkened and we flew through the packing up process and got on the road just as the rain hit. We drove from Nordegg to Grande Cache along Highway 40 and then on the Dawson Creek. The rain didn’t stop all day. Miles of greasy, muddy road with lots of heavy truck traffic. Tent 1, motel 1. Not a bad start!
The trip began Friday July 20, 2018 with us leaving Calgary and travelling to Nordegg via Highway 1A and Highway 40. Along the way we stopped at Ram Falls and then spent a lovely first night in the Fish Lake Campground. IMG_3290
