Location: Yukon (YT) & British Columbia (BC)
When: Mid to late September
Miles traveled: 1976.3 (42 hours)
Price of gas: 5.37
Interest: Hawthorn trees
High point: Camping next to lakes
Low point: Showing up late for church twice on the same day. I changed time zones without realizing it and my phone did not automatically adjust.
One thing learned: I will miss driving through Canada.
Day 1: Leaving Anchorage, I drove to Tok. The five hour drive was probably uneventful because I don't have any notes about the day in my journal.
Day 2: I started the day by rotating the car's tires, washing laundry, and then drove 2.5 hours (+construction delays) to Snag Junction. I built a campfire and roasted marshmallows while the sun set.
Day 3: Are wildlife more active on weekends? Day three was a Saturday, and I saw a wolf in the middle of the road and 72+ Dall sheep! The wolf looked very skinny and not at all ready for winter. (video at bottom) The sheep were in four clusters on Thechal Dhal' mountain in Kluane National Park. My day ended with tacos in Whitehorse at Gathering Cafe & Taproom. Gathering C&T is 85% glass studio and 15% restaurant. A cozy place, their appreciation for handmade beauty shows from every location and item. However, I thought the Harry Potter audio book playing in the bathrooms, a strange choice.
Day 4: A rest day. Darn time zone change. (Photo is not from this day)
Day 5: Rain sounds so much nicer when I'm sitting under an old pine tree rather than inside the car. Small occasional sounds like a leaf touching the ground, change to an easy steady rhythm, solidifying the knowledge that it's raining. I'm not changing my actions. For once, I'm just letting the rain be rain
and not an enemy to be avoided.
Day 6: Kinaskan Lake Campground at sunset. Fish jump in the lake and owls are singing in the trees. No frogs, nor crickets can be heard.
Day 7: I saw four bears today. Two on the side of the highway, two near Tyhee Lake Providential Park's entrance.
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Peter Rodseth wood carving about BC, detail
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Day 8: A flock of cranes circling over the campground in the morning sounded (I imagine) like pterodactyls. Driving to Prince George, I saw a coyote in a cattle field, and a bear outside of Vanderhoof.
Day 9: Rest day. It is really nice to stay at known campgrounds. Seeing a familiar
campground is like seeing a friend. Though it is sad when "to AK" the
campground was full, and now "from AK" it is 97% empty.
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| Hawthorn tree |
Day 10: Today I learned it is really hard to run a bike jump course. I made it over three hills before I had to stop.
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Birch bark bowls
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Day 11: I drove the non scenic route to Vancouver. (see
Day 1 on Driving to Alaska post) I would not recommend it. It was a large curvy mountain highway with a lot cars, many driving faster than 120 km/h speed limit. The curves of the road left me feeling uncomfortable driving faster than 110 km/h.
Day 12: Last day in Canada. Before leaving Golden Ears P.P. campground, I saw a grayish coyote walking through the sites. We stared at each other for a minute, before traveling on. I heard other coyotes singing and barking a few minutes later. First time I've heard them in the morning. No one else was at the campground, so it was not dogs barking. It took 50 minutes to get through the line at CA/US border.
In general: I
liked the country roads of YT & BC with their scenery and campgrounds. It was simple driving; a few turns,
no traffic jams, and predictable (in fair weather, without any animal trouble). However, if I drove to/from Alaska often, the trip might become boring.
Day 3, wolf:
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Day 3, Dall sheep
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| Day 3, Thechal Dhal' mountain with sheep |
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Day 2: I started the day by rotating the car's tires, washing laundry, and then drove 2.5 hours (+construction delays) to Snag Junction. I built a campfire and roasted marshmallows while the sun set.
