Day 8 (July 5, 2008) Made it to Tok, AK

Hi guys,

As you an see I am making up time and getting my blog entries posted on the computer. As I mentioned WiFi is not always available. In fact, coming through Yukon, cell phone service was not available. I had to purchase a phone card to call my family to let them know where I am at. When your family does not hear from you and knowing you are in a part of North America where a person can disappear and never be seen again, well, if give a peace of mind.

Did I mention that I ran into rain again today? I know, it's a broken record....

I crossed into Alaska today from Yukon. Yukon is huge, more than twice the size of Great Britain and larger than all the New England states put together. Its 186,000 square miles are bordered by BC on the south, Alaska on the west, the NW Territories on the east and the Arctic Ocean to the north. Only 30,000 people live on this frontier with over half of them living in Whitehorse...which is where I stayed last night, at Robert's Campground right next to the famous Yukon River.

Before leaving Whitehorse, I had a chance to see a piece of history that plied up and down the Yukon...the steampowered S. S. Klondike.

Steam powered sternwheelers were used on many river and lake systems in Canada. While not unique to the Yukon there are few other places where they were used as extensively - sternwheelers were the centerpiece of the Yukon’s transportation system for almost four generations. During this ninety-year period over 250 sternwheelers plied the Yukon River and its tributaries. The S.S. Klondike is designated as a National Historic Site of Canada to commemorate the role these sternwheelers played in the history of the Yukon.

Most Yukon River sternwheel steamers burned wood. While there was coal in the Yukon it was not widely distributed and hence not readily available. Wood on the other hand was plentiful, and at least in the early days available along the length of the river. There were wood camps located every fifty to one hundred miles between Whitehorse and Dawson City. Talk about labor intensive...which everything you did in that era was labor strong.

Tonight, I am staying at a hotel in Tok, AK and getting caught up on my blog and drying me gear once again.

From my research Tok had its beginnings as a construction camp on the Alcan Highway in 1942. The name Tok was long believed to be derived from Tokyo Camp, a road construction camp sprung up in 1943 as part of the straightening and improvement projects on the Alcan Highway. During WWII, Tokyo Camp was patriotically shortened to “Tok." Tok is the only town in Alaska that the highway traveler must pass through twice—once when arriving in the state and again on leaving the state.

But it sure feels great to be in the States...keep in mind that people refer to us being from the "lower 48."

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