We headed back north into Canada, this time stopping for a hike in B.C. – following a valley into the Tatshenshini-Alsek Park to view Samuel Glacier. We hiked just over 21 km, getting a great view of one of the glacier’s snouts from across the valley. The hike didn’t have much overall elevation gain, but there were a number of hills to go over, the trail was pretty muddy in spots, and there were a few streams to cross (mom and dad have waterproof hiking boots, but I got wet feet in mine). The last part didn’t even have a trail – we just trudged across the hills trying to avoid the low areas to get to the view point.
We camped again at Million Dollar Falls Campground, but no fire this time, only reading, sorting pictures, and playing a few games.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
It was still wet out with low clouds when we woke up, so I never really got to enjoy the mountain vistas around Haines. Oh well … maybe some other time.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Haines
Two hours south of Million Dollar Falls, through B.C.’s northwest corner, we reached Haines, Alaska. It was a cloudy day, with the occasional downpour, but it was interesting to walk around the town and we were able to pick up some freshly caught Coho and Sockeye salmon and some smoked fish.
Late in the afternoon, we went to the state park east of town, as we were told by several locals that that was the place to watch mother grizzly bears teaching their cubs to catch salmon. There was quite a crowd out watching but we were able to get a good view and some good pictures of the bears. It was really a neat experience!
We stopped at a gravel pull-out on the way back to Haines for supper – our fresh salmon. It was delicious! Our after-dinner game of crib was cut short though. I guess we didn’t notice where we parked when we pulled in – we were too busy looking at the view over the water to notice the cliff with the rocks laying at the bottom of it on the other side of the road. Part way through our game, there was a rock slide, so we didn’t want to stick around and wait for another!
Late in the afternoon, we went to the state park east of town, as we were told by several locals that that was the place to watch mother grizzly bears teaching their cubs to catch salmon. There was quite a crowd out watching but we were able to get a good view and some good pictures of the bears. It was really a neat experience!
We stopped at a gravel pull-out on the way back to Haines for supper – our fresh salmon. It was delicious! Our after-dinner game of crib was cut short though. I guess we didn’t notice where we parked when we pulled in – we were too busy looking at the view over the water to notice the cliff with the rocks laying at the bottom of it on the other side of the road. Part way through our game, there was a rock slide, so we didn’t want to stick around and wait for another!
Monday, September 5, 2011
King's Throne
Today’s hike was King’s Throne. While the views were nice, the climb was hard – up steep scree! We took a short rest at the “seat” of the throne before tackling the summit. We only got about 1/3 of the way up before turning back – going up the scree and getting to the summit wouldn’t be a problem, but coming down would be hard! So, we took a few pictures from where we stopped, and then started back down again. It was hard work not to go rolling down the side of the mountain!
Once we got down, we drove farther south to Million Dollar Falls, just before the B.C. border. We had taken some abandoned chopped firewood from a site at Kathleen Lake, so together with all our scraps of paper and the small logs that were left at the site we picked, we had a nice fire.
Once we got down, we drove farther south to Million Dollar Falls, just before the B.C. border. We had taken some abandoned chopped firewood from a site at Kathleen Lake, so together with all our scraps of paper and the small logs that were left at the site we picked, we had a nice fire.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Haines Junction
We spent the day relaxing in Haines Junctions. We found a bakery where mom picked up some coffee and an apple-cinnamon bun, watched a pod-cast sermon (since it was Sunday), and hiked along the Dezadeash River before driving down to Kathleen Lake. After finding our campsite, we walked down to the lake and looked across at King’s Throne – our hike for tomorrow.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Sheep Mountain
Our first big hike in Kluane – Sheep Mountain/Tachal Dhal Ridge. Most people drive down the gravel road to the parking lot at the bottom of the mountain, but dad didn’t want to try get the RV down there, so instead, we parked at the start of the road and walked 2.5 km to the parking lot. The hike was awesome – we broke out of the trees pretty quickly and had great views down some of the valleys. The trail was pretty good, then we started to climb up to the summit on a “route”. The trail lasted for a while, but soon started to disappear or split into multiple trails. It wasn’t too hard to find the trail back though – keep going up!
Once we got on the ridge leading to the summit, the views were spectacular. It also got pretty windy and cold! After a lot of hard work, we finally got to the top and were able to enjoy the views of Kluane Lake.
The way down was also hard, but this time on our leg muscles instead of our lungs. And the last bit where we walked down the road back to the RV seemed to go on forever! In total, we hiked almost 22 km and climbed around 4000 ft!
Once we got on the ridge leading to the summit, the views were spectacular. It also got pretty windy and cold! After a lot of hard work, we finally got to the top and were able to enjoy the views of Kluane Lake.
The way down was also hard, but this time on our leg muscles instead of our lungs. And the last bit where we walked down the road back to the RV seemed to go on forever! In total, we hiked almost 22 km and climbed around 4000 ft!
We spent the night in Haines Junction at an RV park just outside of town, relaxing after a tough climb.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Kluane National Park
We didn’t have much of a drive today, so took our time leaving Beaver Creek and heading down the Alaska Highway to Kluane National Park. In Kluane, we went to the Tachal Dhal Visitor Centre, then did a short hike to Soldier’s Summit – where the Canadian and American military met when building the Alaska Highway.
We spent the night at Congden Campground – we had a beautiful site by the lake with a view of the mountains, but it was WINDY! The whole RV was shaking all night! We went for a short walk along the lake to a lookout, keeping a close lookout for bears. The campground is surrounded by berry bushes and bears frequently come to eat, so tents actually aren’t allowed here during berry season!
We spent the night at Congden Campground – we had a beautiful site by the lake with a view of the mountains, but it was WINDY! The whole RV was shaking all night! We went for a short walk along the lake to a lookout, keeping a close lookout for bears. The campground is surrounded by berry bushes and bears frequently come to eat, so tents actually aren’t allowed here during berry season!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Top of the World Highway
After dumping our tanks and buying propane, we headed across on the ferry to the Top of the World Highway. The road runs along the top of a ridge to the American border, making it very scenic! Unfortunately there were low clouds, so even though we had great views, it makes it hard to get decent pictures of what we saw. According to maps, the road is paved, but I think they are slowly converting it to gravel. There are massive potholes in the paved sections, so the gravel parts were actually easier and smoother!
We had no issues going into the States – no line ups to cross way up here! The gravel road was much worse on the American side, but other than that and the numerous hunting groups we saw, there wasn’t any difference – the road was still running along a ridge providing awesome views. We were also able to see a couple groups of caribou in the forest and on the road.
We bypassed Chicken (it looked too touristy and tacky!), hit the paved road, and drove down to the Alaska Highway and back into Canada. Canadian customs isn’t at the border along the highway – its 26 km southeast in Beaver Creek! Along the way, we saw a mother and baby moose. Again, no problems getting back into Canada and we stopped at the first campground in Beaver Creek.
We had no issues going into the States – no line ups to cross way up here! The gravel road was much worse on the American side, but other than that and the numerous hunting groups we saw, there wasn’t any difference – the road was still running along a ridge providing awesome views. We were also able to see a couple groups of caribou in the forest and on the road.
We bypassed Chicken (it looked too touristy and tacky!), hit the paved road, and drove down to the Alaska Highway and back into Canada. Canadian customs isn’t at the border along the highway – its 26 km southeast in Beaver Creek! Along the way, we saw a mother and baby moose. Again, no problems getting back into Canada and we stopped at the first campground in Beaver Creek.
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