July 17: Whitehorse, Yukon to Kluane Lake, Yukon
Bob: Refreshed by a day of sightseeing, we trundled on westward today to Kluane National Park and camped on the shore of beautiful Kluane Lake. Snow-capped mountains loomed on the horizon just West of us. Those mountains are actually the eastern edge of a really huge coastal ice field ringed by tall mountains and having a network of many glaciers that ultimately flow westward into the ocean. The ocean side of the glaciers flowing from that ice field we had previously seen during an excursion into Glacier Bay on a cruise up the coast of Alaska that we took with my sisters and brother-in-law (see Wanderung 13). Although clearly cold up on those snow-capped mountains, over on the eastern side where we were driving it was very sunny and balmy with temperatures in the 60s. We turned North at Hanes junction, where we stopped for a nice lunch, and then drove more northward along the eastern side of those mountains to Kluane Lake, where we stopped at a beautifully-situated private campground and got a nice campsite right on the shore of the lake. Very pretty! |
Monika: Since today would be a short day, we decided to start off by doing laundry while we took a shower and had breakfast, but despite that delay we were out of the campground by 9. We first went through Whitehorse to fill up and then we were on the road. Soon the Klondike Highway to Dawson City branched off (which we took on our way back from Alaska). Slowly larger and more rocky mountains came into view with snow at the top and in cirques. These mountains belong to the Kluane coastal mountain range and on the western side of them are the large glacier fields we have admired on our earlier cruises such as the Alaska cruise we took during Wanderung 13. In Hanes Junction where the road to Hanes branched off we found the large new Visitor's Center for the Kluane NP, an immense area of mountains with glaciers. There are beautiful trails in that park, but on this trip we decided to rather continue on our way to Alaska. We had lunch at the local restaurant that had a luncheon special of a very good split pea soup and a schnitzel burger. |
Bob: It is a perfect day for sitting on the verandah and using the campground's free Wifi to send our love to all of our friends and relatives. Puffs of cotton from the cottonwoods on the lakeshore are drifting around me in the sunlight as I look out over the deep blue lake and type on my computer, truly a unique but pleasant experience. We slept last night in the car with the rear seats laid flat, which made a 4-foot by 7-foot flat area that we covered with foam Yoga pads and narrow air mattresses. Then we covered ourselves with an unfolded sleeping bag that is about exactly the same size, thickness and warmth as a good quality down duvet, and were "toasty warm and cozy", as my Mom used to put it. The tent to the back of the Prius is our "living room", complete with a small tea table and two folding chairs. Although we can eat inside the tent, we usually prefer to eat outside in clement weather, and in this campground we have a nice picnic tables provided with the campsite and a great view out over the gorgeous, deep blue Kluane lake. Life truly does not get much better than this! |
Monika: It was only another 100 km to a campground on Kluane Lake that was recommended by our guide book, so we had an easy, short day's drive to our next stop. The campground turned out to be everything the guide book promised. We were in fact camped right on the shore of a deep, crystal clear, but very cold Kluane lake. Kluane Lake is fairly narrow (you can easily see across it), but 90 kilometers long, and was used as a North-South transportation route in pioneer days (sleds in winter, boats in summer). And indeed it was a spectacular view out over the lake, and the campground's tent sites were right on the lake shore. A bed room, kitchen, and dining room with a magnificent view! |
July 18: Kluane Lake, Yukon, to Tok, Alaska
Bob: We retrieved our food bags from the defunct laundry building, where we had stored them for fear of grizzly bears, and I cooked an omelet from powdered eggs, dehydrated ham, and dried mushrooms, which turned out to be surprisingly tasty. I also discovered that a cup of instant coffee mixed with one packet of dark chocolate cocoa is quite a bit more palatable than instant coffee alone! As our campsite at the Cottonwoods RV Park was right on the lake and one of the prettiest campsites we have ever enjoyed, we were reluctant to break camp, re-pack the car, and continue driving after breakfast. |
Monika: Today we finally drove into Alaska. But first we had a few more moments in our beautiful camping spot, sun rising over the lake and breakfast in our dining room with a view. We reluctantly packed everything up and we were on our way. |
Bob: We had a small folder for a walking tour of Burwash Landing on the northern end of Kluane Lake, and since we arrived before the museum opened at 9 o'clock we did the walk first. Starting off with the old Catholic Church, we zig-zagged thru the small village looking at the old log cabins and reading their histories in our little brochure. We were sorry to see,that the lakeshore combination lodge, restaurant, and RV park had closed, and the museum director later explained that it was simply because updating the large, rambling 1950s era building to modern building codes was prohibitively expensive. Sad. |
Monika: First off, we drove the length of Kluane Lake to Burwash where there was a museum and a walk. Since the museum was not yet open, we walked all through the little town and read about the people who settled the town. Unfortunately the rather nice looking resort was closed. |
Bob: The Kluane Natural History Museum was a little treasure of high quality exhibits of the people , animals, and even the minerals of the area. The cultural exhibits for the local tribe of southern Tuchone Indians were concise, informative (matrilineal descent, two clans, required exogamy, arranged marriages, gender roles, child rearing and children's toys all covered!), and illustrated with some of the most beautiful craft work you are ever likely to see. The animals exhibits wear all extremely lifelike animals set in absolutely authentic settings. If you do get there , remember to push the button to hear both the recording of wolves howling and great horned owls hooting. Realistic and such fun! |
Monika: The museum had some exhibits on the First Nation people that had settled the area and lots and lots of stuffed animals that roam the Yukon. They also had a rather nice movie about the building of the AlCan. |
Bob: For the rest of the day we wended our way North to the Canadian-US border and then more westward into Alaska. The roadway in the Yukon was being resurfaced and kilometer after kilometer of the AlCan consisted of rough gravel and frost-heaved pavement. Although I didn't have to contend with the effects of frost heaves on a towed trailer, which can be quite spectacular, I still had to pay careful attention for potholes and tracking in the ruts with less gravel to spare our Prius as much rock damage as I could. Tiresome driving indeed, and the rough road surface was probably putting wear and tear on my tires, which may have contributed to having a blowout on the return trip from Alaska! The Alaska side of the border, to my relief, had a nicely paved two lane highway. Driving thru rainstorms, we decided to overnight in a motel rather than risk getting the tent wet just before we would have to pack it away for a week--you have to understand that I have killed a tent by doing exactly that and finding that the damp cotton fabric had mildewed when I finally unpacked it. In any event, we finally opted for one of those small rental cabins that you see up North that look like miniature log cabins, but brand new. We were pleasantly surprised at how clean and fresh and new it was inside, quite acceptable as an alternative to a hotel room. |
Monika: After this nice respite and saying good bye to Kluane Lake, the road conditions got worse. The paved sections had frost heaves and a large section was not paved at all but rather gravel, and in between was road construction where one lane was closed and we had to wait for a pilot car. So the 150 km section that should have taken less than two hours took three and we certainly were ready for lunch. The border was just a little farther. Surprisingly there was 30 km between the Canadian border crossing station and the physical border. But there also was a very nice exhibit at the real border, were you could have a foot in either country. I also learned that the reason for the coastal strip of Alaska is, that in 1825 when Alaska belonged to the Russians, they wanted the coast to hunt sea otters whereas the English wanted the interior for the furs (no one asked the First Nations what they wanted). Ah the vagaries of history. The border crossing into Alaska was quick and painless and the road became markedly better. It was raining on and off and so when we talked about where to spend the night I suggested a motel to keep our nice dry tent that way. When we got into Tok we saw a campground with nice new cabins. That seemed to be just the ticket. |
