Alaska 2019-06

Continuing northward, we stopped at Stone Mountain Provincial Park, near Summit Lake.  We found this location three years ago on our previous Alaska trip and thought it was a beautiful place.  Jason and I decided to hike the mountain.

The trail seemed innocent enough at the trailhead.

On our first stream crossing,  Jason got both feet a little wet.

Leaving the creek, we had a scramble up this hill.  Cathy went with us and made this rise without much effort.

When we reached the scree, about halfway up the hill, Cathy turned back.  She had gotten her fill of scree in the Rockies in Colorado.

The trail deteriorated as we approached the summit.

Jason posed very near the summit.  The trail became pretty narrow and required quite a bit of scrambling.

The view from the top was incredible.  Our motorhome is somewhere near Summit Lake on the right and the campground on the left, just behind the hill in the foreground.

Here I am,  goofing at the top, photography by Jason.

Yes, those are cuts and gouges on my arms and the palms of both hands.  I also tore my trail shoes and have cuts on both ankles from the very sharp volcanic rock that we were climbing,  Jason said I was bleeding everywhere!  I really did not notice until he said that. He completed the hike without injury.

Below is the view looking back down the hill.  Yes, all the rocks really do look alike. Cathy had lunch ready for us and was expecting us at this point.  Unfortunately, it took us about an hour longer to descend as we seem to have lost the trail.  Amazingly, Jason managed to find a little rock he had spotted about halfway up this scramble and I carried it back down with us.  He earned it!  It was shaped just like an arrow.

After a brief rest, we continued on the Alaska Highway and came across several elk, then these sheep, appropriately named “Stone Sheep”.

The sheep were very adept at climbing the loose rock and stones on the hillside.  This mother had baby in tow.

A couple of brave ones ventured out onto the highway, apparently licking up antifreeze from the roadway.

I captured these guys giving me the “stay back” look and I complied.

Our stop for the evening was Liard Hot Springs Provincial Park.  The park was completely full but we had reservations and stayed in exactly the same spot as we did three years ago, deja vu.

While Jason contemplated entering the hot springs, I took a walk up the trail to see the source.  I passed the very large ferns on the way up.

This is the source, an area known as The Hanging Gardens.  It was closed the last time we were here due to bear activity and the bear sign was out again, but I missed it on the way up.  Oops.

Jason slowly entered the water and voila!  He really enjoyed the spring.  He found a small log and had a makeshift boat.

Jason would get near the waterfalls (where Cathy and I sat) and used the current to propel himself downstream.  This spring is very hot at the far end and cools off slowly as you make your way downstream.  Sitting in the waterfalls is like being in a jacuzzi. There are even benches to relax on!

Walking back to our campsite on the boardwalk, we passed several of these bogs.

We watched this guy enjoying his leaves in the distance.

In the morning, after passing lots of bison on and near the road, we started seeing black bears.  I saw this one in the bushes across the road from us, so I exited the vehicle and walked to the back, between the motor home and our truck to take a few shots.  He came across the road then I lost him.  Cathy called me back into the motorhome as he was rounding the front of our rig.  He seemed to be very  curious about us.  It appears that he must have missed a few meals during the winter.

Later on, we spotted one who was a little older and fatter.

And then we saw one who was yet a little older, a little fatter and a different color of black bear.

We arrived in Whitehorse and took a walk through Miles Canyon.  We crossed the suspension bridge over what was once Whitehorse Rapids.  This set of rapids along with Squaw Rapids were daunting and seriously challenged the minors and stampeders on their way to the goldfields in the Yukon

We found a place to climb down to the water so Jason can do what Jason does, throw rocks.

After visiting Miles Canyon, we drove to the Whitehorse Rapids Fishway.  The fish ladder here, originally constructed in 1959, provides access for chinook (King) salmon and other species to get above the Yukon Energy hydroelectric dam .  This is the longest wooden fish ladder in the world.  The salmon have not arrived yet, they are still entering the river more than a thousand miles downstream.  These fish were made by students in the middle grades as part of an art exhibit commemorating the anniversary of the facility. We spent some time with a first nation woman who explained what it was like growing up indigenous.

Jason had heard about the ice floes and breakup on the Yukon , but there was no ice flow this late in the year.  We had planned on riding the trolley along the river but found out it is under renovation this year and will start up again next summer.  It utilizes the original White Pass railroad and needed some major repair work.

We had lunch in the ‘Dirty Northern Bastard Alehouse’.  Located in downtown Whitehorse, it was a taven but the food was pretty good.

Below is our animal species count so far, before entering Alaska:

• Coyote – 1
• Red Fox – 2
• Black Fox – 2
• (Black) Black Bear – 12 (2 while hiking)
• (Brown) Black Bear – 1
• Grizzly Bear – 6 (1 while fishing)
• Pronghorn Antelope – hundreds
• Moose – 6 or so (1 while hiking)
• Elk – 6 or so
• Caribou – hundreds
• Deer – a dozen or so
• Beaver – several
• Prairie Dogs – hundreds
• Bighorn sheep – (6 while hiking)
• Stone sheep – dozens
• Bison – hundreds