Whitehorse, Yukon Territories

Yes, it says "Whitehorse" not "Chillkoot Trail". I reluctantly abandoned my goal to hike the trail. My ankle is still swollen although feeling better. Then Sunday night my back went out as it does once in awhile. I woke up Monday morning and could hardly fall out of the bed. I said "OK my body is trying to tell me something here!"

My reservation wasn't for another 3 days. And looking at my schedule, if I did the hike I would have to rush through some of the northern parts of Alaska that I want to spend some time visiting. I was tired of sitting around and wanted to get moving again.

So for all of these reasons I decided to hit the road again. This gives me an extra 8 days to tour Dawson City, Fairbanks and Denali areas before I meet Marne in Anchorage. When I first made my reservations back in April or May I asked for a week earlier but everything was booked up. August 1st was the first day I could get. But in the end the timing just did not work out besides being a little dinged up. Age is setting in.

As close as I got to the trial.  :(



Whitehorse is a very nice city. It is the territorial capital of the Yukon. They have saved a lot of their old historical buildings and incorporated them into a very nice downtown area. The city lies along the banks of the Yukon River and there are parks all along the river. There is a very nice boardwalk and bike/walking trail that goes along the river. It probably helps that the weather has been beautiful, about 80 and sunny.

Marne was curious and looked up the reason the city is called "Whitehorse". There was a nearby rapids that reminded the early settlors of a white horses mane. The rapids is now underwater because of a power company dam built in the 50s. All of these buildings are in the downtown area:

An old church. Still in use.

I put this picture in for my sister, Sally Haugen. The Hougen Centre was established in 1944. My sister was established in 1945. Both seemed to be well cared for and aging nicely.

Construction of this house began in 1937. The couple cut down their own trees for the logs. They lived there until 1969.



The "Klondike". An old paddle wheeler.

Another old relic.

This is the very nice, new cultural center of the First Nation people that occupied this area before the gold rush. The name of the tribe is the Kwanlin Dun. They, of course, were forced off their lands. In recent years they have made an agreement with the government and received some of the land back.

I thought this was Randy and Luda at first.

 

 

An observant eye would discern that the Yukon River flows north.

 

Tomorrow I aim towards Dawson City but before I get to Dawson I will head north on the infamous Dempster Highway. This is a two lane gravel highway that goes for several hundred miles and well beyond the Arctic Circle. I only will travel 45 miles on the highway to Tombstone Territorial Park. I will camp primitive again. There are some good day hiking trails in this park. This will be my northernmost point in Canada.

 

So I am disappointed that I did not hike the Chilkoot but happy to be on the road again. In memory of JJ Cale I am calling this trip "The Breeze" trip..."well, they call me the breeze, I keep rollin' down the road..." 

 

Have a good day!  :)

Skagway 2

"....stuck in Skagway with the Memphis blues again..." (My apologies to Bob Dylan.)

I realize now that I should have gone up to Whitehorse for a couple of days before I came to Skagway. I want to spend a couple of days there and my plan was to do it after I hike the Chilkoot. I arrived in Skagway a week too early and instead of sitting here I could have spent the time I wanted to in Whitehorse. After driving all those miles my focus was solely on getting to Skagway so I'm kind of stuck here now.

I have been putting most of my time to good use. I drove the road over to Dyea which gives you an overlook of either the Skagway River or the Tiyia River. And there I spotted...whales!

                                     

 

Two of them just leisurely cruising down the river/bay/estuary, what ever that body of water was. Pretty cool!

 

From this height advantage point I took additional photos of Skagway.

 

The young lady that took my photo was leading a tour group. She was from Bemidji. At least it is a different pose.

 

About 4 days ago somehow I must have sprained my left ankle. I don't remember doing anything to it but I have been running. Yesterday, I hiked a pretty tough trail that goes right up out of downtown Skagway and up the mountainside. My ankle bothered me quite a bit and this is without a pack on. It swelled up pretty good last night. I'm a little concerned that this might interfere with my plans to hike the Chilkoot. I've got a few days yet to see how it comes along before I have to decide.

 

And on a final somber note...J J Cale died. I really enjoy his music. I had the time here so I watched several Youtube videos of him playing with Eric Clapton and others. I have some of his music with me and will play it today in his memory.

 

I'm anxious to get moving again but right now I'm in a holding pattern.

Skagway 1

It is a damp, gloomy, overcast day in Skagway today. I'm going to let it warm up a little and then go for a run.

Yesterday, however, I had a beautiful, sunny day as I drove from Atlin to Carcross and then to Skagway. As has been most of this journey, the drive was along a long river or mountain lake with mountains going up on either sides of the road. Spectacular scenery all the way.

I had driven past the turn off to Carcross and then turned around and went back as I am way ahead of my schedule. I'm glad I did. There were three miners that started the Klondike gold rush, Skookum Jim Mason, Tagish Dawson Charlie and George Carmack. Skookum Jim and Dawson Charlie are buried in Carcross and so is the wife of George Carmack, Kate. Skookum Jim and Dawson Charlie were first nation men, guides and prospectors. Kate was Jim's sister and Dawson Charlie was Jim's nephew. I did not see the graveyard.

The story goes that the three of them were out prospecting for gold along Rabbit Creek (later renamed as Bonanza Creek). While waiting out a rainstorm, Jim went down to the creek with a bucket to get water for tea. In a crack in the rock he spotted a line of yellow colored material and scooped up a handful and went up to George to ask what it was. It was gold of course and the gold rush was on.

Carcross was part of the historic Chilkoot Trail but the current hiking trail stops one town short at Bennett. Carcross has many old log buildings but there is also some very new construction going on.

 

OK, OK, I know I look the same in every picture but when you ask a stranger to take your picture you can't be too spontaneous.

Dr. Schoenberger's retirement office.

To support the local economy, I purchased a large cinnamon roll and a piece of chocolate cake here.

I loved the blue of the church with the bright blue sky behind it.

Four of these small shops were either just completed or under construct

 

The Duchess was built in 1883 and used by the White Pass & Yukon Railway until 1920. From 1920 to 1931 it was used as a trash burner. It has been on display since 1931.

 

 

After leaving Carcross, I drove to Skagway and it was another spectacular highway.

                                    

 

 

I had a chance to walk around some of Skagway last night. There was a light rain and it was later in the evening so most of the cruise ship folks were back on board their ship. OK, think Grand Marais with cruise ships docking everyday. A mix of old and new and tourist attractions. It seems like an interesting and fun town. I should get to know it pretty well since I have six days before I begin my hike.

 

 







Soapy Smith was a famous villain in the gold rush days. That was until a group of unknown citizens took justice into their own hands and killed him. There wasn't much more you could do in these days.

This photo is for Allie and Liz. They'll get a kick out of this.

Possibly Doug and Lynda's cruise ship?

                                        Statute honoring Skookum Jim and Dawson Charlie.

 Doug and Lynda's motel.

 

 

 

The sun is trying to break out and the temp is in the mid 60s so it is time for me to get a run in. Hope you are all well in the "real" world!