Whitehorse and Carmacks

North America » Canada » Yukon
July 8th 2013

Published: July 6th 2017

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beemerdave

Back along Tagish Lake amid rain clouds

Tagish Lake

Geo: 62.0876, -136.292

Note: Yesterday's entry into Alaska was a major milestone for the trip: 8 travel days and just over 2800 miles - longer than going from S.F. to New York City.

It was a balmy 55 degrees as we packed up the bike, the sky covered with low hanging clouds. A gentle drizzle motivated us to don our rain gear again, and we finally hit the road about 7:30. We took a quick ride out to the wharf area of Skagway to see the cruise ships and the dozens of buses loading up with tourists ready to hit the area. The White Pass & Yukon Railroad passenger cars were lined up close by for their trip over the summit to Carcross.

We pretty much had the road to ourselves for ride back up the White Pass summit, with zero-zero fog cloud cover. We caught up to a van and let him lead the way through the heavy mist. By the time we cleared B.C. Customs and started the decent east to Carcross, the heavy clouds started to break up, giving us better visibility.

In the last few days we have seen numerous facilities closed along the highways throughout the Yukon

Carcross coffee spot

that used to be major centers for services (fuel, food, etc.). We've come to accept that the highway signs giving mileage to the next fuel stops are not always current. Our decision to carry an additional 3 liters of fuel was probably a good one.

Arriving in Carcross (which used to be called Caribou Crossing) we stopped in the village to warm up with some coffee and to shed our rain gear. The sky was still filled with large billowing rain clouds, but we decided to deal with any intermittent light showers we might encounter. We picked up Hwy 1 (Alaska Hwy) again, and continued north to Whitehorse.

Along the way we had another black bear scamper across the road before Janet could even get the camera pointed in the right direction. The rest of the ride into town was uneventful, and without any rain showers. Entering the town, which is a major government center, we crisscrossed the downtown, and then continued on Hwy 1 to Carmacks.

We road along Fox Lake for several miles, through an area devastated by a major wildfire in 1998. Total area consumed was 112,000 acres.

More large rain clouds threatened, but we only had

Train station

a few sprinkles along the way. The worst part of the ride into Carmacks was a 10 mile stretch of pavement resurfacing, which consisted of brown mud mixed with loose gravel.

We arrived at the motel in Carmacks with plenty of time to relax, unwind, and enjoy the mild temperatures (in the low 70's). The bike has performed well so far, although it is now covered in brown schmutz. Hopefully it will rain hard tonight and clear up tomorrow.

Additional photos below

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