Month: June 2009

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At Long Last, Dawson City

no words can convey my disbelief at making my way here

no words can convey my disbelief at making my way here

8,500 of the roughly 10,000km (including toad trips) that separated me from Ottawa

8,500 of the roughly 10,000km (including toad trips) that separated me from Ottawa

I did two trips into Dawson City on Wednesday. The first was simply a scouting mission: get the lay of the land, find a place to live, get a job, top off the groceries, not necessarily in that order. If that all worked out, I would go drop off the groceries, have lunch, and then return to do touristy stuff in the afternoon.

I pulled into Dawson City at about 10AM and by noon I was back at home at the campground my mission fully accomplished. I love the Yukon!

My first stop in Dawson City was the post office where I confirmed that they accept general delivery. I haven’t received my mail in, oh, about six weeks. I did check in with my UPS store guy when I was in Nugget City and there didn’t seem to be anything important. Hopefully. 🙂

I’ll pause here to say that Dawson City is the first city I’ve ever visited that’s exactly the way I envisioned it would be. It is a page taken out of an old western; a compact town with false store fronts, dusty roads, and wooden sidewalks. Interpreters in costume roam the street, adding to the ‘old time’ feel. The town is vibrant for all it seems to be stuck in history and the locals, born here or not, all seem to share a common joy at living in this jewel of a town. It wasn’t love at first sight as I already loved Dawson before I set eyes on her, but rather love confirmed. 🙂

Next, I went to the Visitors Centre. The helpful gal there told me to check out the Klondike Outreach employment centre for work and an RV park just outside of town (2km) for long-term rates.

The employment centre didn’t have anything inspiring, so I just got groceries (prices slightly higher than Watson Lake, but still not shocking except for some produce) and headed back out to visit the RV park.

I won’t give the name of the park, but it’s the third one in a row on the west side of the highway and closest to Dawson. 🙂 The manager told me the monthly rate, said he didn’t have weekly rates, and pretty much told me to get lost when I asked him about work. To be fair, he told me to come back later, but from his tone I knew I would be out of mind the minute I was out of sight.

So, I went to the next park down the road and was hired on the spot for at least enough hours to cover rent, with a decision as to full-time hours to be made the next day (today). Have I mentioned yet how much I love the Yukon? 🙂

I returned to town in the afternoon but didn’t stay long because I wasn’t dressed for the weather. Since Whitehorse, I have felt like I was in Nevada in parts; it is so dryly hot and dusty with an unrelenting sun. I hope I get used to it!

I took a lot of pictures on my walkabout town, but I’m not going to share most of them simply because I plan to take in the town slowly. Here are some teasers:

Dawson City, as seen from the top of Dome Road

Dawson City, as seen from the top of Dome Road

victims of permafrost

victims of permafrost

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the grocery store

the grocery store

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Klondike River Campground Respite

I decided to stay two nights at the YTC at Klondike River (actually 1.5km from the river!). I’d done a hard day’s drive, so I would enjoy a quiet evening at home, then scope out my housing and work options ‘in town’ the next day. Town, you say? Oh, come on, you know exactly where I am and if you don’t, you were just too lazy to pull out a map! 😀 I won’t say it until the next post, though, because I’m silly that way.

The campground has two pull-thrus, but they are arced, so no good for pulling in and unhooking. I needed to unhook and didn’t like how open the pull-thrus are, so I instead back into a nice long treed site. I’m rusty at the whole backing up thing and I was very tired, so getting in took some work, but I was finally squared away.

I love these rustic government campgrounds because they have so many fewer rules than do private campgrounds and usually offer a lot more privacy. I can set up a clothesline if I want and sit outside without feeling obligated to say hi to neighbours.

The fee to stay at YTC is 12$ per night per accommodation unit (ie. if friends camp and each have a tent, then it’s 12$ per tent per site). That’s fine for short term stays, but for a month you might as well find a park with a monthly rate. I was happy to learn that you at least get free firewood for your 12$.

So, for the first time in my life, I made a campfire to sit by in the evening while wearing sunglasses. It was a rather weird experience, LOL!

I made bannock over the fire for breakfast the next day, mixing cinnamon and a chopped apple into the dough:

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I went to bed early and slept like the dead, to be expected after the sleepless night I had in Whitehorse, which already felt like it was a whole world away.

I did exactly 502.4 kilometres this day, my second longest day ever on the road.

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Into the Klondike

I was glad for the long stop (and hard hike) at Five Finger Rapids because after, there were few places to stop. Pelly Crossing marked the halfway mark, mileage-wise, and I had been on the road for four hours already. I stopped shortly after there for lunch, then swung north at Stewart Crossing.

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The side of the highway featured hundreds of beaver-dam-like structures. I suspect the wood was cut for fire suppression purposes:

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Gravel Lake was a lovely spot to rest for a bit:

Gravel Lake

Gravel Lake

The views of the Tintina Trench were legendary:

view from the Tintina Trench pull out

view from the Tintina Trench pull out

Shortly thereafter, after a lifetime of yearning, I reached the Klondike:

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the Klondike River

the Klondike River

I paused shortly thereafter to take my first steps onto the Dempster Highway, the road that leads to Inuvik, NWT, the furthest point you can drive north year round in Canada:

first steps on the Dempster

first steps on the Dempster

I really hope to scrape together the funds to make it up to Inuvik, but just being there at the road’s beginning was more than than I ever expected I’d get to do.

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Twenty kilometres from the Dempster/Klondike Junction was my stop for the night, the YTC (Yukon Territory Campground) at Klondike River.

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Five Finger Rapids

The Five Finger Rapids are quite possibly the best known landmark on the Yukon River and were quite an obstacle for ships to pass on their way north. They are called such because of four islands in the river creating five channels, of which only one, the most easterly, is navigable. The hike down to the rapids is easy, but not the one back as it is an incredibly steep climb up a long staircase.

Five Finger Rapids as seen from the observation deck off the Klondike Highway

Five Finger Rapids as seen from the observation deck off the Klondike Highway

Just a small portion of the stairs that needed to be climbed back up!

Just a small portion of the stairs that needed to be climbed back up!

About halfway down to the Rapids

About halfway down to the Rapids

At level with the rapids

At level with the rapids

spot Miranda ;)

spot Miranda 😉

the Rapids as seen from the observation deck at the bottom of the trail

the Rapids as seen from the observation deck at the bottom of the trail

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Whitehorse to Carmacks

I got up at six on Tuesday morning and decided that Starbucks was going to make me breakfast (dark brewed coffee with space for a little bit of milk and a chocolate croissant, please and thank you). I gassed up at the best price I’d seen in a while (101.9) and hit the road at quarter to seven (unheard of for me!).

The day’s mileage would be about 500km and I decided to drive it as though I only had half of that to go. So, I stopped everywhere that looked interesting, did hikes, took advantage of photo ops, and had a good lunch break. It was another great day on the road.

First stop was Little Fox Lake:

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Next stop was the Montague Roadhouse:

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In the days when stage coaches and sleds were the only way of going from Whitehorse to the Klondike, roadhouses like these dotted the landscape and provided refuges for weary travelers, offering food and lodging.

The inside of the log structure was covered with muslin to lighten the interior and also keep the chinking from falling into the rooms. This ruin is about a hundred years old and, yet, some of that muslin is still visible:

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The roadhouse in its heyday:

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I then paused just long enough in Carmacks, ‘the hub of the Yukon’, to get a picture of its beautiful welcome sign mosaic:

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