Day 11 - Klondike Highway

Day 11 - Klondike Highway
to Dawson City

Well... I decided to head for Dawson City after all.    A partly sunny day overall, but not enough spectacular scenery to keep me from feeling sleepy much of the trip.   And upon arriving in Dawson City, I considered attempting the Dempster Highway up to the Arctic Circle. It is 250 miles of gravel road and first gas at 227 miles.    I stayed at the Klondike River Lodge RV Park which is right on the corner beginning the Dempster Highway.   As it turned out, I was the only "transient" camper there that night, with the others being workers for some sort of mining operation near there.   They did not have 30 amp service, but the manager ran out and converted the connection on the post to a 30 amp connection since the wire supported it, but only had a 15 amp circuit breaker which was enough for what I run.

Later that evening I saw a big pickup pulling an Airstream trailer washing off in the RV wash and went to talk with them. They were from Wyoming and had just returned from a three day trip on the Dempster as far as the Arctic circle.     He showed me how dented his rock guards were in front of his trailer, and also how many of the connections routed under the trailer were torn off or damaged from rock spray.   His gas line was getting beat up so at the gas stop they put some rubber heater hose split over the gas line.   Also, his truck and the Airstream was completely full of dust.   He had used duct tape around all the windows and side doors in an attempt to keep it out.  He blew one of his trailer tires on the way, and picked up a stranded motorist coming back who had blown the spare on his SUV about 100 miles out.   This report and the rain that occurred overnight made me decide to pass on the dempster for this trip.

Except for nice sounding song birds and some road squirrels, I saw no animals on the trip up to Dawson City.   There were large areas blackened from what I have heard referred to as the "big burn".   Miles of forest on both sides of the road burned out in several spots.   One area had some vegetation growing back so the fires must not have all been in the same year.   In any event, much of the Yukon forest along the Dalton had been burned and could be the reason for not sighting more animals. There were road signs for Elk and Caribou along the way, but none to be seen.

There were many great views of the river... first the Yukon as we crossed and followed it along, and then a number of other streams and small lakes that all feed into the Yukon heading north.    Although I got some great shots, the designated turnouts for that purpose were not always located in the best spot... so I would stop on the highway if no-one was behind me and jump out and take the picture quick.

In Dawson City, I visited the Information Centers and museums.    There was one specifically for the Northwest Arctic territory and the Dempster Highway.   The highway runs 450 miles to Inuvik, Northwest Territory, which is on the Mackenzie Delta and is the largest City in the Arctic Circle.    There is good gravel road all the way, with several gas stops, nature interpretive displays and camp grounds.   Gosh... I would have loved to make that trip, but I think I was about 1 month ahead of the best season.   One of the Ferry's required for crossing the Mackenzie River had just opened as the ice had broken enough for it to run. Also there was still snow in the passes... enough excuses... I was just chicken, so I went to Chicken instead, but I am going to return specifically for this trip.. maybe next year..!   You can fly into Inuvik but the drive is a real adventure with lots of wildlife.

Dawson city was still doing spring cleaning.   The streets are all mud road, and the buildings are restored versions of the old buildings, with lots of painting and construction going on to prepare for the summer tourists.    It was clear that I was ahead of the crowd.

The Klondike highway begins at Skagway, Alaska, and runs to Dawson City, Yukon Territory... so now I can say I have covered it from end to end.

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