Reflections On The Alcan From Tok, Alaska
©Bert Gildart: Tok, Alaska, where Susan Butcher trained her dogs to compete–and win–in the famous Iditarod race is not a bad place to spend one’s birthday, as I’m doing today. Many know that it is my birthday and have written–or called–to inform me that if I were a dog, I would be hundreds of years old.
How cruel!
Many have also commented on the fact that we’ve posted so few blogs, noting that the country we’re traveling through deserves more, and that’s true. But there’s a problem, and in part, it’s because the area is so remote. Here, we can not use our Verizon card as it would have been prohibitively expensive to buy into the Canadian plan. That leaves no other alternative but to find Internet Cafés or campgrounds with WiFi, but again, because of the remoteness of the country, such places are few and far between. End result, few posts. And that’s too bad as the country truly is spectacular and is something I would have liked to have reported on at the time.
Traveling the Alaskan Highway, just north of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory
Since leaving Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, the road through this segment is one which has all been built on permafrost. That means the ground beneath the road freezes and thaws each year-shifting and buckling as it does. As a result, sections of the road must be rebuilt each year, and if you are pulling a trailer, you simply can not drive fast.
DUST-COVERED AIRSTREAM
As well, you must anticipate that you will encounter long sections that are covered with gravel and that are extremely dusty. Pilot cars lead you through these areas, which may be as long as 15 miles. However, because the government is so diligent, we have sustained no dents (knock on wood) at all, just an Airstream that is thoroughly covered with dust.
Historic steamboat used during gold rush now permanently moored at Whitehorse
The towns we’ve passed through, though called “towns,” are really little more than settlements, and here are some examples that caught our attention.
Destruction Bay is located on the shores of the 60-mile long Kluane Lake, and was one of the communities used to supply the army during the construction of the Alaskan Highway. It got its name when a violent storm destroyed buildings containing much of the construction material.
Burwash Landing, also on the shores of Kluane Lake, was almost blackened by a fire. In 1999 fire consumed the area, and the conflagration came within 30 feet of the settlement when suddenly the winds changed directions and the town was spared.
Those are just two examples of villages at which we’ve stopped, but on the way back we’ll be exploring other places as well. That’s another reason we’ve been hurrying along the Alcan as we have commitments in the Fairbanks area and know we’ll be repeating our travels later this summer or early in this fall.
Stunted black spruce, shallow lakes and lofty mountains characterize country south of Tok, Alaska.
One final note: Though there are many RV campsites along the way, we’ve generally opted for campgrounds designated “Government Campgrounds.” All the campgrounds are nice, but the Government ones are generally more like ones found in the national parks of the U.S. and Canada, meaning that you have more elbow room.
And now, I’m going to close this posting and begin work on the next one, which will describe a place along the Alcan that has become very special to us. In other words, I’m trying to catch up…
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THIS TIME TWO YEARS AGO
*A New Great-blue Heron Rookery
