Atlin

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Despite setting up in the rain, I woke up to bright sunshine. The rain had stopped and the clouds had cleared through the night. The wind, however, was still high and it wasn't pleasant. I don't know about this warm north in the summer. I'm not really experiencing it that way so far.



I decided pretty much immediately that I wasn't really wanting to stay in Atlin enjoying the atmosphere in this wind. So I made my plans accordingly. I set out into Atlin to walk around and see the town. It was small. I easily covered it in about an hour. At a slow pace. Stopping often to admire the lake or another view.



It's a nice enough town, but there really isn't much to it. Then I found the museum, paid for my campsite and found out about the local warm springs. Other places have hot springs, but Atlin is too high, I guess. The water has too far to go from the heated spot in the ground. It comes out only warm. And I was informed that it's really just tepid. I might notice that it was warmer than the air, but that would only be because it was a cold day. I got directions and headed out there. And it was true. They were barely warmer than two hour old bathwater. I had really wanted to soak in them because my back was very uncomfortable, but that wasn't going to work out. Sigh! I was so disappointed, they didn't even rate a photo.



I didn't even bother with the warm springs and just sat and read my book for a while. Then it was off on my way. I did pay a visit to the pioneer cemetery. It was dedicated to the men who had discovered gold in Atlin and brought about the formation of the town. It was interesting. I was particularly interested in the guy who was described on his tombstone as a “gentleman adventurer.” I would love to know what that is about. Maybe someday, I can look him up.



I was finished with Atlin. So I headed to Carcross. This meant going all the way up the Atlin road, and then cutting across to the Skagway highway from Whitehorse. It had been a bit of a frustrating detour, but I did want to see where Uncle Bruce Bruce had been talking about.



Carcross was a bit of a conundrum. It used to be a fairly important stopover point on the trail from Skagway to Whitehorse. It gets its name from the fact that it sits at a narrow point between two lakes. This made an ideal spot for caribou to cross the lakes area during their migrations. It was thus called Caribou Crossing, and was later shortened to Carcross. There are lots of old buildings in town that date from the gold rush era. Some, like the old hotel and the old store, look as though they are new. I thought they were because they look as though they were just put up. I found out later that they were actually the original buildings, but they were well preserved, and someone has recently been restoring them to be used once again.



Other buildings really look their age. Some are almost falling down. Some have been taken over by people who live in them. It's quite a conglomeration. But the town itself is dying.



I did a walking tour of the town to find all the old buildings and ended up meeting a local who was out enjoying the day, after the winds had finally died down. His name was Walter. He used to work for the government and decided to retire in the town, because he could go fishing and nobody would bother him. He told me how the town used to be a crossroads for traffic and used to be a bustling place. But then the railway came through and people didn't have to stop. The old roads were not smooth and required 3 or 4 hours to get anywhere. It was a good place to stop. But then the highway to Skagway was built and it was now 45 minutes to Whitehorse, an hour or so to Skagway. People didn't need to stop anymore, and they didn't. That spells doom for the town.



While I was there, many tour buses stopped. I thought that might mean there was tourism here. But Walter said otherwise. The tour buses come and dump people onto the train through the passes back to Skagway. There isn't even enough time to pee, he said. And the places in town that do have souvenirs want your last 50 bucks and are willing to raise prices to get it. He didn't approve of that kind of souvenir selling. He told me he tells people all the time not to shop in town. He acknowledged that it was disloyal, but he didn't like that kind of thing and wouldn't help them do it.



He was very interesting to talk to, and he even gave me a tip about where to set up my tent. He told me to head across the river, and pointed to a spot in front of the warehouse near the old train station. He told me I could stay there and stay free. Cool!



I also headed out to the smallest desert in the world, the Carcross Desert. The glacial age ground many mountains to dust. The dust around there became sand. The sand collected in amazing amounts in Bennett Lake, by Carcross. In the spring, when the ice breaks up and is low, the sand gets blown about. It collects against a mountainside and builds up. This has, over the millenia, created sand dunes, much like would be found in a real desert. I guess it is classed as a desert, but the signs even acknowledge that it isn't truly a desert. It's too wet in the area for it to be a real desert. So that would mean that it couldn't even be called the smallest desert. I was in a dunes area in southern South Korea that was much smaller, but had the rest of the same characteristics as this spot at Carcross had.



It wasn't a very long or involved day, but it got me closer to Skagway. I still think I should have foregone this upcoming boat tour and headed down the road. I'm really dawdling now. But I have paid for the tour, and I will get to see the Chilkoot pass. That should be interesting.

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Photos

Atlin Lake
A full of Atlin Lake can be had from the surrounding hills south of town.

The MV Tarahne
Not so many years ago, Atlin was only accessible by ferry across a couple of lakes. This vessel, the MV Tarahne, transported people to the small gold mining town of Atlin.

Atlin Lake
Another view of the lake from inside town is also nice.

Atlin Cemetery
Many of the gold rush pioneers that founded the town of Atlin are buried in the community's small cemetery just outside town.

Atlin Cemetery Grave Marker
Thomas Frederic Harper Reed is described as a gentleman adventurer. It sounds like there is a story behind that one. I'd love to find out more.

Carcross Historical Building
There are many interesting historical buildings in Carcross. They are still in use today, although the town is experiencing a decline.

Carcross Desert
It's not really a desert. There is too much precipitation. But sand from the lake nearby has built up into and active dune area. It's odd to see in the middle of the mountains.

The Carcross Desert
It is only a small area of active dunes, but it is nevertheless impressive.