Living in Alaska - Life in the Last Frontier

Read (Part 1) North Pole to Haines
Read (Part 2) Haines
Read (Part 3) Skagway
Read (Part 4) Dawson City

TOP OF THE WORLD HIGHWAY - Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Steve and I were up pretty early. We only had to drive about 120 miles, but we had heard from some folks that this drive could take 5-6 hours depending on the weather. The condition of the “Top of the World Highway” is the biggest hindrance to making good time, as there are long stretches of washboard and potholes, as well as narrow switchback portions.

I was able to catch up on my reading of my friend Linda’s blog, and she and her husband had driven the road several days earlier, while under clouds and rain. Her trip wasn’t the most enjoyable because of the slippery mud, the lack of visibility, and the nonexistent spectacular views - so often described by travelers. Fortunately for them, they had much better weather the next day, and went back to drive a portion of the highway to see what they had missed.

Downstream from Whitehorse, only a single bridge crosses the Yukon River. It’s the one that carries the pipeline along the haul road (Dalton Hwy) here in the interior. Crossing the river at Dawson City means putting your vehicle on the free George Black Ferry run by the Government of Yukon. This boat can handle about a dozen small cars at once or a couple of large trucks with an extra car or two tucked in wherever there is space. It takes about 15 minutes to cross the river.

We watched the ferry in action the day before, so we didn’t have any qualms about taking it. You drive onto the back of it on the Dawson side, and continue off the front of it when you land on the other side.  The only consideration is time, as Customs is only open from 9am-9pm each day (8am-8pm AK time). Also, the road is only open in the ‘non-snow’ months.

As we ascended into the hills, things didn’t look very good. The clouds were low hanging, and we were soon driving in them.  I worried that our experience would be the same as Linda’s was.  But after a few miles, we suddenly came out of the clouds and were driving above them! Seeing the thick white cotton filling the valleys around us, was absolutely lovely. The sun was shining too.

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Read (Part 1) North Pole to Haines
Read (Part 2) Haines
Read (Part 3) Skagway

SKAGWAY TO DAWSON CITY - Sunday, August 16, 2009

We were up very early - 5am. The drive from Skagway to Dawson City would be the longest of our trip at 430 miles. First we’d drive the entire length of the South Klondike Highway to just south of Whitehorse, where we would get on the Alaska Highway (AlCan) for a short distance before getting on the North Klondike Hwy to Dawson City. The route we’d be driving somewhat parallels the route used by prospectors during the Klondike Gold Rush in 1898.

We only stopped for brief moments during our drive, to stretch our legs and walk Sedona. I took some photos out the window of the moving truck, when I could.

The road out of Skagway is a steady uphill climb for almost 12 miles. At an 11% grade, the truck was straining to pull the camper. We watched the temperature gauges closely, as the heat in the engine climbed. Fortunately, we had no mishaps. The views as we climbed this stretch of road were nonexistent. For the most part, we were in the low hanging clouds. Intermittent rain fell at times.  I was disappointed that I couldn’t see the passing scenery, as I know it was stunning. We had the same views from the train (but on the other side of the valley), so I knew what we were missing.  I’m glad we had good weather for the train ride.

We passed Tutshi (pronounced too-shy) Lake near White Pass Summit. The clouds were starting to lift a little bit, but it was still very overcast. This deep lake was part of the Klondike Gold Rush route. Upon reaching the lakes on foot after crossing White Pass out of Skagway, the prospectors would cut trees along the beaches and build boats or rafts to carry their goods farther north, on their way to the Klondike Goldfields north of Dawson City.

This is the remnant of a tram that went from “Old Conrad City” and up Montana Mountain. Conrad was a once thriving silver mining “camp” built in 1905-6 to supply the Venus, Montana and other nearby silver mines being developed at the time by mining man “Colonel” John Howard Conrad. Conrad City’s “heyday” was rather brief however, and within a few short years the place was all but abandoned.

The only town between Skagway and Whitehorse is Carcross. Carcross was originally known as Caribou Crossing. Caribou Crossing was a fishing and hunting camp for Inland Tlingit and Tagish people. 4,500-year-old artifacts from aboriginal people living in the area have been found in the region.

Caribou Crossing was named after the migration of huge numbers of caribou across the natural land bridge between Lake Bennett and Nares Lake. That caribou herd was decimated during the Klondike Gold Rush, but a recovery program raised the number of animals to about 450.

The modern village began in 1896, during the Klondike Gold Rush. At the time, Caribou Crossing was a popular stopping place for prospectors going to and from the gold fields of Dawson City.

Just outside of Carcross is Carcross Desert. It is often considered the smallest desert in the world, measuring approximately 1 square mile. Carcross Desert is actually a series of northern sand dunes; the areas’ climate is too humid to be considered a true desert. The sand was formed during the last ice age, when large glacial lakes formed and deposited silt. When the lakes dried, the dunes were left behind. Today, sand comes mainly from nearby Bennett Lake, carried by wind.

The skies began to clear, and bits of blue sky began to show through puffy clouds.  The Milepost (the bible for traveling the roads of AK and western Canada) showed that there was an upcoming pull out overlooking Emerald Lake (aka Rainbow Lake to Yukoners). We decided it would be the perfect place to stop and stretch our legs.

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