August 25, 2009 by Rae

An Evening at Gertie’s

Last night, I met at Diamond Tooth Gertie’s the cyclists I picked up on Friday.

We ended up staying for all three shows, at 8:30, 10:30, and midnight. We were there four and a half hours! I wish I had known that it’s okay to take pictures of the shows.

The 8:30 wound up being my favourite. It’s the most ‘cancan-y’ of the three, with lots of swirling petticoats and leg kicks. The 10:30 wasn’t bad, but it was more song than dance. The midnight show was disappointing. I’d been told it was the most flamboyant and naughty show, but I found it less flamboyant and naughty than the 10:30.

What amused me the most about the evening was how many people came into Gertie’s and gravitated to my table. I didn’t realise how many folks I’m friendly with! Even Mark and Victor, the guides from the Chilkoot, walked in at one point, fresh off the Yukon River from guiding a canoe trip! Talk about an authentic gold rush experience; discussing our slog over the Chilkoot at Diamond Tooth Gerties!

I hadn’t had a night out in too long, so a couple of pints, some pizza, entertainment, and conversation were just what I needed. The best part is that thanks to my season pass, the evening only cost me twenty dollars. Of course, it helps that I didn’t gamble!

August 23, 2009 by Rae

Klondike Kate’s Restaurant

Klondike Kate’s is one of the most popular restaurants in Dawson.

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The restaurant is housed in a 1904 building that has continuously housed businesses, making it one of the oldest still operating buildings in Dawson.

Having had a very quick peek at the menu in June and finding the prices steeper than the restaurant at the Triple J, I hadn’t bothered to go to Kate’s, especially since the place is always packed. Today, I decided mid-afternoon to go check it out, figuring that it would be quiet at 3.

Service at Kate’s wound up being disappointing. I was quickly handed a menu and a glass of water, but I had to wait at least ten minutes to order when the restaurant was completely empty. The food came quickly, though, and scratched an itch that will probably never be satisfied until I return to Ottawa for a visit. I had a decent enough… falafel sandwich.

YES! There is falafel to be found in Dawson City!!! Unfortunately, it’s Greek-style falafel, not Lebanese. *sighs* What’s the difference? Thick, pocketless pita and tzatziki (Greek) vs. thin, pocketed pita and tahini (Lebanese). The falafel balls themselves were satisfying, though. The meal came with fries, coleslaw, and a pickle (an abomination, LOL!) and came to 16$ with a tip. Oh, I miss authentic Lebanese falafel sandwiches for 2 or 3$ in Ottawa! It’s time I learned to make my own, obviously. 🙂

Even though it serves falafel, I doubt I’ll go back to Kate’s unless someone treats me as my experience was so ho-hum.

August 21, 2009 by Rae

The Top of the World Highway (and Chicken, Alaska)

Several things came together this week to give me an excuse to drive the Top of the World Highway from West Dawson to Chicken, Alaska today!

My neighbour is moving to Anchorage and wanted a spotter behind her rig (a very nice Airstream) in case she ran into problems on this reputably rough road. She had driven the Top of the World before and knew that there is pavement shortly after Chicken and that Chicken is doable as a day trip from Dawson. So, not having had a day off since I got back from the Chilkoot and wanting to go to Alaska in memory of my dad who would have been 60 on the 24th, I found myself with ample excuses to go for a drive. Dad loved to go for drives and he would have enjoyed today’s trip so much!

The Canadian portion of the road is easy, mostly paved with a few gravel sections. The US side is essentially a dirt road, but we got lucky in that it had just been graded. Lately, people have been arriving at the campground from that road with their nerves fully frayed, but there was none of that today. The weather wasn’t the greatest, but I preferred a bit of mist and drizzles to having to keep my eyes glued to the road!

We left at about 10:30 and got lucky at the ferry, being able to drive on immediately. This was my first time since childhood going onto a ferry with a vehicle and it was good practise for this fall when I go to Vancouver Island! It was a most peculiar sensation to be moving forward without pressing any pedals!

It took us two and a half hours to get to the border at Poker Creek. She sailed through surprisingly quickly. I was asked where home is and it was lovely to not have to skirt around the question and reply “Dawson City.” He asked me where I was going and then why when I replied “Chicken”, shrugging when I said “Just to say I’ve been.”

It’s 40 miles from the border to Chicken and it took us almost two hours to get there as we followed two identical fifth wheels that exercised an overabundance of caution (not that I can blame them). We stopped at the new gift shop to get a free chicken (think keychain-sized plucked rubber chicken!) promised to us if we presented a brochure signed by the manager here. We then continued on to ‘downtown Chicken’, which includes a couple of very nice outhouses, a kitschy gift shop, a saloon, a chicken coop, and a café offering pretty good grub. Chicken has a year round population of 15, no flush toilets or phones, children are home schooled, the injured are medivacced to Fairbanks, and the old grump has left town. It’s an interesting place that had me hearing dueling banjos, if you get my drift…

The drive back was much quicker, even though I stopped at the pitifully few pull-outs to get pictures and to marvel that I was there, in mainland Alaska. It’s been an incredible summer!

The re-entry into Canada was easy as the border guard was a French-starved québécoise more interested in chatting about how long Dawson has been home than in whether I was trying to smuggle anything into the country. She did get around to asking me if I had any booze (no). It was surreal to cross from Alaska to Yukon in French!

About 75km shy of Dawson, I passed a couple of cyclists who seemed to be having tire issues. At first, they tried to convince me that they were fine, but the more they thought about my offer of a lift, the more it obviously appealed to them. They had doubts that all their gear would fit in my car, but I had every confidence it would. Check out the pictures for proof! 😀

We had a good chat as we continued on to Dawson, amused by the added serendipity that they were picked up by a fellow French speaker (he’s French, she’s German). They had planned to camp in West Dawson, but were happy to come here, to Bonanza Gold, when I told them that we have hot showers and laundry facilities!

The ferry crossing took no time at all, but it was 8:30 when we got back to Dawson. I suggested that getting food would be a good idea and they offered to treat me since I’ll be driving them around a bit tomorrow to find parts for their bikes. I think the dump will be a good place to start looking!

Today exemplified why I love this life so much; each morning is full of possibility for adventure and new encounters. Days like this just didn’t happen when I was doing the daily grind in Gatineau.

In the toad, crossing the Yukon. My first time since childhood on a ferry in a vehicle!

Slowly climbing above the treeline.

Slowly entering tundra.

So pleased I finally caught a Welcome to Alaska sign!

Boundary, just after the border. In summer, lodging, gas, and food can be found here, but it was closed today.

I had this image of a village of chickens…

entering downtown Chicken

Downtown Chicken, part one

Downtown Chicken, part two. Of two.

Chicken’s chickens. And duck.

Look at those purple mountains!

This is why it’s called ‘Fireweed.’ The flower is bright purple in the summertime and turns to these fiery shades in the fall.

the edge of the world

I told them everything would fit if we put one bike on the roof.

They were amazed at my ability to gauge how much I can fit in my car. Apparently, the limit is one bike on the roof, one in the trunk, two people in front, one person in back, two huge backpacks in the trunk, and small items scattered throughout!

July 22, 2009 by Rae

Bareloon Lake to Bennett and Out

The meanest miles didn’t give up once. The final stretch of the trail is uphill through sand. Never was I so happy to see a church steeple as I did when we reached Lake Bennett, our final campground!

We stopped just before the campground to look out over the lake. There were two floatplanes there. Flying out is another option when finishing up the Chilkoot and the one chosen by a family of 8 (including two young children) who had paralleled our trip, but pushed on to Bareloon when we stopped at Lindeman. We took a moment to wave them off as they flew into the wild blue yonder. Clichéd, I know, but the pictures will prove the cliché true.

We were met just before Bennett by another Sea to Sky guide who kindly brought in our last dinner, breakfast, and lunch so we’d have less to carry. Dinner that night at Bennett was an event, with caesar salad, mini-pizzas (assembled on site), pasta, wine, and cheesecake!

There is a lot to see in the Bennett area, so I explored a bit during the evening. What struck me the most was the amount of debris, mostly glass and rusted cans, which cover the site. They are all that remain of the hotels and saloons which covered this site during the gold rush.

Bennett is a strikingly beautiful location, a turquoise lake resting against grey mountains and rimmed with purple fireweed. Lake Louise doesn’t hold a candle to it! Mark was right when he said that hikers who take the shortcut from Bareloon miss out on something extraordinary.

We had another leisurely morning the next day and the guys made us pancakes for breakfast, a real treat after almost a full week of oatmeal and breakfast bars! We then went for a walk, sans pack, to check out the Bennett cemetery and also to look over the rapids that separate Lindeman and Bennett Lakes.

Lunch was veggie quesadillas and then it was time to start getting serious about packing up as more hikers were coming off the trail and in need of our sandy tent sites.

We left Bennett at 3PM on a train headed for Skagway that would drop us off in Fraser, where we’d left our van. It was strange to move forward without effort and I actually felt a bit queasy on the hour or so ride!

En route back to Whitehorse, we stopped briefly in Carcross to pick up our trail completion certificates and to poke around the tiny community. Our day, and our journey together, ended in Whitehorse, at the High Country Inn, where we had dinner without even changing or showering first. We ate out on the patio. 😀

My journey over the Chilkoot Pass is one I will carry in my heart forever. It was a week that blended history, ecology, and exercise; one that took me from lush Alaskan rainforest to British Columbian desert in the footsteps of men and women who shaped the modern Yukon territory. It was the trip of a lifetime.

I was happy to top up my water bottle from this beautiful stream.

A trapper’s cabin just before Bennett, with Victor for scale. In case it’s not clear, it’s the cabin, not Victor, that’s short. 🙂

the meanest miles now throw sand at us

Lake Bennett, with a floatplane in the foreground.

Lake Bennett

waving goodbye to stranger-friends from the trail

I made it!

last camp

gold rush cans

St Andrews church

close up of the steeple

this washing machine was only one of several interesting artifacts found near the beach

a gold rush bottle depot (don’t walk barefoot around Bennett!)

ah, the taste of civilization. 🙂

Lake Bennett

gold rush marker indicating that rapids are coming up (on the stretch of river between lakes Lindeman and Bennett)

the rapids just before Lake Bennett

the end of the trail, or the beginning if you’re crazy enough to hike it backwards

waiting for the train out

coming full circle as the train passes Log Cabin (former site of a NWMP outpost), our first stop on the way to Fraser

the is the oldest continuously operating store in the Yukon (Carcross)

July 20, 2009 by Rae

Skagway, Alaska

Skagway is an odd narrow town sandwiched on three sides by tall mountains and penned in on the forth by the ocean. It is a port city where cruise ships arrive in the hundreds during the summer season. The town appears, at first, to look a lot like Dawson City, very quaint and beautiful, but it soon becomes obvious that it is Disneyfied. The buildings on its streets are little more than façades hiding one kitschy tourist shop after another. But there is a Skagway to discover, if you care to, and I had four and a half hours in which to do so. I took a walking tour with a park ranger, visited the Klondike Park museum, and strolled through this small community. At the end of the afternoon, the group met up again for one last taste of civilization, superb Thai food at the Starfire restaurant on 4th Avenue. Skagway is obviously more than meets the eye.