Historic Milepost 1169 – Alcan

We departed Whitehorse at 0730 this morning anticipating horrible driving conditions for the next 400K.  Everyone we spoke with warned us about the mud, the dust, the undulations, the gravel, the cracked windshields, etc. and some of the southbound travellers actually showed us the damage to their vehicles.

We encountered pretty good diving conditions through Haines Junction, mostly chipseal but very passable.  I learned a while back to drive a little bit slower than the posted speed limit and you will most likely be ok. From Wikopedia: “Chipseal (also chip seal) is a pavement surface treatment that combines one or more layer(s) of asphalt with one or more layer(s) of fine aggregate”. I am told it is more pliable thus more resistant to frost heaves than traditional asphalt.

Leaving Haines Junction, we had a beautiful view of the Kluane Range, which is a continuous series of very high mountains, including Canada’s highest peak, Mt. Logan at 19,545 feet.  Also in this series of peaks are Mt. St. Elias – 18,008 feet, Mt. Lucania – 17,147 feet, King Peak at 16,971 feet and several others above 15,000 feet.  Pretty impressive.

Passing through Destruction Bay (no waterfront, no bay), we began to see what all of the hullabaloo was about.  The road began to have some serious frost heaves, kind of like being on a roller coaster.  Road work began and continued for about 60k.  We did encounter dust, gravel, frost heaves, a little mud, etc., but I kept the speed at about 35KPH (70KPH posted) for the entire distance.  A couple of cars, and all of the road construction trucks passed me but none of the trailers and motorhomes.  I guess we all decided to not damage our chassis in the heaves and not lose our windshields from speeding on the loose gravel.  We had to follow pilot vehicles through several constructions zones, and sometimes had up to a 15 minute wait. I now wonder just how fast the travelers who had warned us were travelling.

You have to be very patient with the roads, and those who know me know that I am weak in that department.  You also have to be realistic, as there is really only one road to Alaska, and the road crews have a very short season for repairs.  It is what it is.

We are waiting for our pilot car escort.  The road here appears at first glance to be asphalt but is actually chipseal. I have been told they repair/replace 33% of the entire chipseal roadway every year.

This our view while waiting.  The valleys are full of lakes of all sizes, and we saw virtually no one fishing.  I did inquire if there were fish in the waters, and found out they are loaded with Lake Trout, Rainbows, Dolly Vardon, Northern Pike and Grayling.  I was told that there are few fishermen because there are few people total in the entire Yukon province, (about 75,000 total) and most live in Whitehorse.  We can verify that, we again travelled dozens of kilometers  without seeing evidence of human habitation.   That is bear habitat up close, one of many, many unfished lakes midframe and the snowcapped Kluane range in the background.

On the other side of the road was a beaver dam with crystal clear water.  These beaver dams are everywhere but most fish in these ponds are eaten by the beavers.  These beavers become active at dusk and work throughout the night.  Some of these dams reach 6+ feet high, resulting in very large ponds, perfect for moose. Unfortunately, we have been in camp by mid afternoon and the moose appear at dusk, which occurs about 2130 here.

At a small roadside restaurant, I met Guillermo Federico Aimar, who was near the end of his completion of the Pan American Highway by bicycle.  He started in Patagonia and plans to finish in Prudhoe Bay in about 14 days.  Then he will then have to bicycle back about 500 miles along the pipeline to either Anchorage or Fairbanks to catch a flight back to Argentina.  He is also a distance runner and immediately recognized my shoes.  He met the person who designed them at a race in Argentina (Dean Karnazes).  Small world.

After setting up our coaches, Cathy, Barbara and I went for a walk to the White river, which is not white but grey, due to glacial silting. There were two grizzly bears and a black bear with cubs seen on or near the trail to the river yesterday by the owners of the park  (we did see bear scat numerous times on the trail). They loaned me their air horn for safety.  Said it is a more effective bear deterrent than bear spray.  They consider bear spray a last resort. That’s Annie retrieving a stick from the river.

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I spotted an abandoned mineshaft on the hike . . yes, that blue thingy in my pocket is the air horn.

Cathy found our potential new homestead.  This miner’s cabin is from the 1930s  and still has the furniture inside.  She is pretty excited about the furnishings, albeit 1930s style. Will have to check the neighborhood CC&Rs to see if we can park the Coach nearby . . . . .

Tomorrow, on Tok, ALASKA.