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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

We spent the night in Haines Junction at an RV park just outside of town, relaxing after a tough climb.

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!

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.

Dawson City

A full day of learning about Dawson and the gold rush! Our first activity was hiking up the hill behind the town to see some of the old cemeteries. (Mom loves exploring these things) We actually got a guide book for the cemeteries, so mom was able to read all about the people buried there! After walking back down into the town, we visited the S.S. Keno, a sternwheeler used to bring people and supplies up to the silver mines in Keno and later brought here to Dawson for display. We then drove south of the city to Dredge #4, a gold mining dredge used until the 1950s. Seeing how it worked was actually really interesting! Next up was a historic walking tour around Dawson. We got to learn some of the weird things that happened here during the gold rush and get into a few old, refurbished buildings. The final activity for the day was in the evening at Diamond Tooth Gerties – I took my parents to a cancan show at a casino! My mom and I enjoyed it, my dad got nervous every time one of the girls got close to him – not wanting them to sit on his lap, rub his head, or make him come up and dance with them!

Grizzly Creek

We had an easier hike this morning – following a real trail up the mountain north of Grizzly Creek. The trail started as a wide gravel path which changed to dirt fairly quickly, and then the climb began. Near the top, we were hiking up a path of loose rocks. Distance and elevation were roughly the same as Mt. Adney, but the hike was much easier because of the trail. The views from the top of Mt. Monolith were amazing! We made lunch back in the parking lot, then headed back down the Dempster. At the end I tried to write “Did the Dempster” in the dirt on the back of the RV, but it ended up having to etch it in using my nail. I was wearing thin plastic gloves for the job, but my nail broke through and I got quite a bit of dirt under my fingernail! I eventually got it etched in, but had forgotten about the picture under the dirt … all that could be read was “Did the Dem” :( I took a few pictures of us crossing the final bridge, and then we drove the last bit to Dawson. This town looks really cool, but is really touristy too! A lot of the buildings in the downtown area look like they would have during the gold rush … with a few modern bits added on. We did a few groceries, went to the visitor information centre to plan our next day, and spent the rest of the evening relaxing.

Mt. Adney

Our first hike of the trip and it was a hard one! No trail, so we were bushwhacking the entire way … and it really was through the bushes sometimes!

The first part of the hike was across a tussock plain. Plain makes it sound easy, but it’s anything but! It was like walking of cut up mattresses – some firm, some soft, some dry, some wet, some sturdy, some ready to tip over as soon as you put your foot down! We also had to cross a stream. Dad and I managed to hop from rock to rock with no problems, but mom hesitated and landed in the stream. Thank goodness for hiking boots and gaiters – she only got a bit of water on her ankle, not a totally soaked foot! The climb up the mountain didn’t get any easier. We were climbing through low bushes, high bushes, over rocks, etc. But the view from the top was definitely worth the effort! Going down went much faster and the soft sections were awesome – nice and cushiony for the knees. Dad went a bit ahead and found a better spot for mom to cross the stream, this time, jumping across the deep water into shallow water on the other side. We made some good splashes, but didn’t get wet. Getting back in the RV, we made our way to the Tombstone Campground and after finding a spot (unlike last time when we stayed in the parking lot), we went to the information centre to look around. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing in the RV.

Tombstone Territorial Park

Another day of driving with awesome views of the tundra! We didn’t see any animals, but the landscape was beautiful. Instead of camping at Tombstone Campground and having to back-track for our hike the next morning, we ended up camping in an old gravel pit? campground? off the side of the road. We thought we were down there by ourselves until we took a short walk and found 2 other RVs down by the river. It was actually really nice to be out by ourselves – dark and quiet, and we were able to see the northern lights!

Leaving the Arctic

We had another slow start to the morning, but this time because we had to empty the septic tanks and refill the water before starting back down the Dempster. The first part of the drive was uneventful – long, straight road, trees on either side … The ramps for the ferry crossings must have been re-graded because it was simple to drive on and off the ferry without hitting the back of the RV on the dirt or ramp. I even drove on and off the second ferry! After the second ferry, the trees disappeared and we were able to see huge distances again. We also got to see some wildlife! First up was an arctic fox which ran across the road with some other animal in its mouth, which it then ate at the side of the road. Next were 3 grizzly bears! The first was a bit off the side of the road eating berries, the second was a long way off, and the third was laying on the road when we drove up, quickly got up, moved about 5 meters off the road, and plopped down again. We crossed back into the Yukon, then across the Arctic Circle again. This time, in better weather so we got better pictures. We camped at Eagle Plains. The “campground” was more like a parking lot for RVs and the bathrooms weren’t very clean, but we didn’t want to go any farther, so that’s where we stopped.