Completing the Circle

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Back in Whitehorse again now after my round trip to Alaska.

The roads from Tok back to Canada were just as bad as the Alaska Highway, but the scenery was far more spectacular. I headed out of Tok up the Taylor Highway to the "city" of Chicken (population 35). Chicken is right in Gold Rush territory, and has a restored Gold Dredger at the centre of the town.

After leaving Chicken, I started to head north up to the town of Eagle, but the roads were getting seriously bad at this point, so instead of completing the 100 mile round trip, I turned right onto the Top of the World Highway, and headed back into Canada.

Now, the Top of the World Highway, does exactly what it says on the tin - it runs along what feels like the top of the world: a 70 mile long chain of mountain ranges, with panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. My photos simply do not do it justice. If you can imagine driving through Dartmoor, but multiplied 10 times in height, then you're getting close.

The weather was a bit mixed, but I did manage to get out of the van for a long walk to a craggy mountain top, despite the blustery wind. There was also a fair amount of snow still, on the north-facing slopes. In places it was up to about 3 feet deep.

Crossing back into Canada was somewhat easier than getting into Alaska had been. I must have been at the border point all of 90 seconds, rather than the 90 minutes it took at the previous crossing. In some ways a bit of a shame, as this border point is 4,000 ft above sea level, perched on the side of a mountain pass, with great views back into Alaska - but with nowhere to park up and take pictures.

Anyway, the Top of the World Highway ends at Dawson City, another old Gold Rush city by the Yukon River. Dawson City is preserved as a tourist attraction: people wearing turn-of-the-century clothing wandering through the streets, kind-of-thing. After having my fill of the touristy-type things (which didn't take me long), I decided to climb up Midnight Dome, a 888 metre high viewing point above the town. Great views, but a significant old hike. I could barely breathe by the time I made it to the top!

Oddly, for a town that is just 200 miles south of the Arctic Circle, Dawson City was very dry and hot. It's the first time that I've needed to use the air conditioning unit in the van. My "tan" is coming on nicely - ok, who am I trying to kid - I still look like an extra from a vampire movie: maybe one who hasn't had a wash for a week, but there again, that's still about as tanned as I've ever been).

Leaving Dawson City, I headed south down the Klondike Highway, stopping for a couple of nights at government campgrounds on the way. I'm still trying to catch sight of a moose or two: but despite my late-night viewing attempts, I remain sadly disappointed. I even stayed at a campground called Moose Creek to try to boost my chances, but to no avail. I did, however, catch a glimpse of a porcupine.

It was actually on my back back down from Midnight Dome in Dawson City. As I was walking down the path, I noticed a rustling noise, and there it was, trying to hide in a storm drain. Now I don't know whether porcupines have the same mentality at ostriches, but although his head was well and truly hidden, his tail & back legs were completely on show. I waited for about 10 mins to see if he would come back out again, but he definitely didn't want to move, so I left him in peace.

Back in Whitehorse now for a couple of nights, and then I'm going to head back into Alaska again for a quick visit to the town of Skagway (getting into the US should be easier this time as I still have my 90-day Green Card visa). And then I'm going to start my slow journey south-east towards the Rockies. It should take me somewhere between a week and ten-days to get there, and there'll be plenty to see along the way...

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Photos

Top of the World Highway
Looking north towards Canada

Moose Creek
Sadly no moose

Five Finger Rapids
Paddle steamers on their trip between Dawson City and Whitehorse used to have to come through the closest gap - the others aren't deep enough

Comments

[Karen]

Fantastic pics
hi Mark, you must be meeting folks along the way, any interesting conversations???