Leaving Nugget City involved my having the stuffing hugged out of me. 🙂 I pulled out sometime between noon and one.
The first part of my trek to Whitehorse is along the Alaska Highway, the last section that meanders in and out of British Columbia. I had hoped to make it to my non AH detour today, but I seriously over-estimated my energy reserves!
The problem with the drive today was the wind. It buffeted the rig from all sides, making it difficult to stay in my lane. I’d done barely 2okm and already my hands were sore from clenching the wheel!
I drove about 50 klicks and had lunch at a non-descript rest area. Next stop was 50km later at Rancheria Falls Recreation Area. There, I took an easy 2/3 of a mile hike (round trip) to see the falls:
one of the two Rancheria Falls
Next stop was Swan Lake, British Columbia (cue the music):
Swan Lake, BC
At Swan Lake, I took a picture of the impressive Simpson Peak that must have served as inspiration to the ancient Egyptians!
Simpson Peak
By this point, I was done. The landscape, while stunning, is the same endless expanse of black and white spruce, poplar, and snow-capped mountains. I found my focus drifting too often. It was time to stop for the night! I decided as I approached Teslin to stop at the first place that offered an easy in and out.
entering Teslin
I had hoped to start to spend less on my nights, settling for 15A, for example, but this didn’t happen for tonight. I pulled into the Yukon Motel and RV Park and found a nice campground with big pull thrus and a great view for 27$ per night for 30A, water, and internet. I decided to stay for two nights, with a stern promise to myself to never again wait until I’m completely exhausted to look for a place to stop!
Teslin Lake
Tomorrow’s agenda is to sleep in and then explore Teslin by bicycle. I might even do some laundry. 🙂
When planning this trip last year, I had hoped to stop at ‘Mukluk Annie’s’ here in Teslin, renown for serving some of the best salmon in the west, but Annie chose to retire this year. 🙁 So, I decided a few days ago to just drive through Teslin and spend a few days at a territorial park on the detour, but it would have been foolish to keep going tonight. Perhaps I was just meant to stop here.
Unfortunately, the genset is truly dead, so there is no extended boondocking in my future until I can get it fixed. 🙁 Otherwise, all systems are good and my house battery is once again charging properly when I’m driving, so I’m making progress!
As a final note, I can’t properly convey the sheer beauty of this isolated land, so I will quote a poem that has been a favourite for at least twenty years.
The Lonely Land
by: A.J.M. Smith
Cedar and jagged fir
uplift sharp barbs
against the gray
and cloud-piled sky;
and in the bay
blown spume and windrift
and thin, bitter spray
snap
at the whirling sky;
and the pine trees
lean one way.
A wild duck calls
to her mate,
and ragged
and passionate tones
stagger and fall,
and recover,
and stagger and fall,
on these stones –
are lost
in the lapping of water
on smooth, flat stones.
This is a beauty
of dissonance,
this resonance
of stony strand,
this smoky cry
curled over a black pine
like a broken
and wind-battered branch
when the wind
bends the tops of the pine
like a broken
and wind-battered branch
when the wind
bends the tops of the pines
and curdles the sky
from the north.
This is the beauty
of strength
broken by strength
and still strong