We left Glacier National Park having had a tremendous time there and headed north. Alaska is now on the itinerary, but first we’re going to make our way to the Arctic Ocean in Canada at Tuktoyaktuk (Tuc)…
We moved west then north through the spectacular Canadian Rockies…
Since it was sort of on the way, we decided to detour via Banff and Jasper National Parks. On the way through the impressive scenery, we decided to visit Lussier Hot Springs.
It was 20km off the beaten track along a gravel road. We got there and found that the small hot pools, which were adjacent to a raging cold river, were crowded. We decided to investigate a little further up the road and found a secluded “Pack Rat” campsite adjacent to a pretty pond complete with Loons!
In the morning a quick (very hot!) dip in the springs and then off to Banff NP and up to Jasper where we stayed a couple of nights. We walked right by two baby elks laying in the shrubbery around our campsite and her mother was not too far away. We took the sky tram up to the nearby summit – except it stops short. The last 2,000’ you have to do on foot, which included traversing several snow drifts and occasionally sinking to our hips! Once there, we had glorious views of the Canadian Rockies all around us. We also were the only ones on the top and that felt pretty grand.
The following day was focused on the pups. Moonpie needed a new Rabies shot and Happi needed to have his dew claw looked at since he’d damaged it while climbing a grated staircase in Jackson. Turns out the vet in Grand Prairie was able to see us the same day – and set about removing the damaged claw. (It is now regrowing beautifully.) We decided to boondock at the town’s casino – but this time were not tempted to go in!
We arrived in Dawson Creek in British Columbia the following morning and set up camp at Mile 0 campground of the Alaskan Highway.
A visit the following morning to the visitor center brought some reality home to us. We found out that there were wildfires along the highway and it was closed in places. New information was to be posted on the web at various times – so now we were checking that on a very frequent basis. We could have taken advantage of a possible window of opportunity to get through the fires and up to Watson Lake in the Yukon, but Mindi had learned of an international chainsaw carving competition being run in Chetwynd, about 40 miles west of Dawson Creek – so we resolved to go and take a look.
What a spectacle Chetwynd turned out to be. Over the course of 2 ½ days, competitors from around the world created some fantastic art from a massive hunk of Spruce. Results of previous years competitions are displayed around the town as a permanent decoration.
They also held a 90-minute competition after the main event. The results were auctioned off once completed. Mindi kept trying to figure out how we could tie a wood carving to the roof (to add to the antlers already up there). Thank goodness we left with no new attachments.
We checked the wildfire alerts after the competition and decided to head north to the Alaska Highway.
We found a disused oil rig down a secluded track which provided a perfect boondocking opportunity, right at the beginning of the Highway. As usual the view was wonderful.
The morning report showed that the first of two fires was under control and the road open as far as Fort Nelson – so we headed north. The smoke in the air was getting heavier as we approached the area of the fire. The sky turned a nasty dark purplish orange! We kept going, along with several other hopeful travelers, but somewhat inevitably came across the roadblock. We pulled up behind about 20 other vehicles when a local pulled up alongside us. He said we should not waste our time – the road is likely to be closed for another 24 – 48 hours as the wind had changed direction. He said the fire was headed towards us – and had already consumed his workcamp house!
We turned around, now facing a 600+km detour.
Mindi has a saying “This or Something Better” – we got the better! As we made our way south, we saw 6 bears along the way – include a very impressive mama bear standing on her hind legs with two cubs close by! For lunch we stopped to let the dogs out – and right where we did, there was a beaver dam! We also managed to find a magical free campsite (Kennedy Lake Campground) down a single track – with enough room for only one, complete with picnic table, fire ring (including some wood), pit toilet and it’s own pond! Even though it was the lowest rise of the full moon for the year we were able to bask in its light.
Our three-day detour had started well. We followed up with another good campsite at Anderson Flats Provincial Park – right beside a raging river – with an interesting walk/bushwacking opportunity! The good news was that nobody got hurt.
The following evening, we got lucky at Sawmill Point Recreational Park – which has 11 campsites. We were the 11th campers! The Swiss girl in the campsite adjacent to us was on a bicycle – way too much like hard work but an interesting conversation about her journey.
We arrived at Watson Lake the following morning. We were now the other side of the wildfires – which were still burning and roads were still closed. Smoke hung in the air everywhere.
Watson Lake is home to the world’s oldest and largest Sign Post Forest – with over 100,000 signs left by worldwide travelers – now including Toodle-oo! & Glenda. A lonely soldier had started it in 1942 to remember where home was.
It also marks the beginning of the Robert Campbell Highway, our chosen route north. The Campbell highway is mostly unpaved and reported as “not for the faint of heart”. We aired down (dropped tire pressures by about 50%) as a way to reduce the effects of washboard road surfaces and hopefully make the journey easier.
We camped at a Yukon Government campground for $20 Canadian ($13.78 American). All Yukon campgrounds included unlimited firewood. We normally spend more than $20 on firewood so this was a no-brainer! They ask you not to collect wood from around your campsite in order to keep the site “natural” for the critters. Our site was right beside a lake.
We made good progress the following day. The road was actually in very good shape and we stayed at another Government campground beside the raging Lapie river.
We stopped into the sad little towns of Ross River and then Faro. We were able to get our laundry done and take long showers at the Faro visitor center. We walked around the most northerly Arboretum in Canada. Faro is an old (disused) Gold Mining community.
We completed the Robert Campbell highway and joined the Klondike Highway and made our way to Dawson City. This was the center of the gold rush and is still an active gold mining town.
Dawson City is a relatively large community (more than one restaurant, more than one gas station…). We were pleased to get here after dodging the wildfires if not the residual smoke. We had to take a ferry across the Yukon River to get to our campsite- exciting! We had a great campsite next to the mighty river and close by was an interesting graveyard of stern wheel paddle steamers.
In the end our route to Dawson was very satisfying with much wildlife on display. It included Black and Grizzly bears, Foxes and even a Wolverine! We were told that many locals never get to see a Wolverine. We were also very thankful that the day we arrived, the smoky atmosphere had pretty much dissipated.
We’d been driving for days so some exercise was called for. We picked a “strenuous” trail to Midnight Dome – the hill behind Dawson. Steep, challenging rockslide traverse and poorly marked route, saw us both struggle to the top and then get ourselves lost at the bottom! We found out after that the trail had been closed last year due to the unstable rock. Beer at the bottom was delightful!
Dawson is close by the entrance to the Dempster Highway – our route to the Arctic Ocean and Tuktoyaktuc. This is the only place you can travel via your own transport during the summer to get to the Arctic Ocean. Onward ho . . . . . .
