Disconnecting in the wilderness is good for your head
My day with Bella and Tucker in the White Pass two weeks ago convinced me that I really needed to get down with the motorhome. Last Wednesday and Thursday, I got the rig ready, and Friday morning, the dogs and I headed down. Cathy would join us when she got off work Friday night. It had to be a short trip, as I had an appointment with one of my therapists Sunday afternoon, but it would be a good start, and a good test of my progress recovering from my injury last August.
We got away just after 10:00 a.m. The first photo shows that removal of the old Carcross bridge is almost complete. While it had character, it was a wreck, and I really like the look of the new one – the decorative lights make a huge difference to what could have been just a concrete slab.
We encountered some road construction along Windy Arm. It’s particularly nice to have pretty much no traffic on the road at times like this, so there are no rocks flying at me. The windshields are both broken anyway, one side very badly, but I’m not in the mood to spend another $5,000 to replace them (windshield insurance isn’t available here).
On the pass between Windy Arm and Tutshi Lake, we got stopped by more construction for about 15 minutes.
Tucker rarely rides shotgun like this, but I’m always pleased to have my little buddy there.
We all had a long nap after getting set up at Summit Creek, and didn’t get out for a play until 3:00. While the kids played and explored, I spent some time foraging with my camera. The contrast of the witches’ broom on this very healthy little tree struck me.
Mother Nature really does some lovely landscaping.
A closer look at the White Mountain Heather (Cassiope mertensiana) seen in the photo above.
Cathy arrived at 7:45 Friday night, and it was already cold – 8°C/46°F. While Cathy and I played Scrabble after she got settled, the kids went to bed.
When I got up at 05:30 on Saturday, the weather was cold (6°C) and dreary.
By 07:30, it was looking like the day might have potential, as a wall of cloud moved off to the east.
Time for a cookie before breakfast? Mr. Granite is as polite as he is handsome. He first came into our lives as a rescued puppy named Raspberry, and we dog-sit him occasionally now – he’s a perfect fit into our pack. He was one of the puppies we almost didn’t let go.
I couldn’t figure out from the clouds what the weather might do. There were some really unusual cumulus buildups off to the northwest. I shot these “clouds with rocks in them” just after 08:00 – a flashback to my flying years. Every mountain pilot quickly learns to know that term and respect it – or doesn’t live long.
By 08:30 as the clouds keept moving away, some wonderful layers of cloud and light developed over Summit Lake.
At 08:45, I drove to the summit – on the way, I shot this photo of the storm drifting beyond the White Pass & Yukon Route railway summit.
A look at what is, in a normal year, the busiest tourist highway in the highway, as I drove back to the motorhome. There’s a marmot sitting on the shoulder of the road.
The marmot wasn’t very happy about being disturbed, and this grab shot missed the focus a bit. Marmots are one of my favourite animals – they are such characters.
After lunch, I made a couple of attempts to get a family portrait, but all I could get was dog bums.
At 12:35, this storm was moving in from the northwest.
Although I didn’t see any lightning, there was lots of thunder coming from the Bryant Lake area just 3-4 miles away.
Enjoying a last bit of sunshine at 12:44. Rain started just a couple of minutes later – we stashed our chairs and moved inside.
I shot a series of videos starting at 12:50 – a compilation is posted at Youtube.
Waiting out the storm in comfort while some hikers were out there in it.
Looking south across Summit Lake at 1:35, with the rain now gone from our spot.
It was a quiet day. Even after the storm blew through, there was a very cold wind so we had to be well bundled up to spend time outside.
After dinner, we drove down south to the William Moore Bridges (old and new) – Cathy hadn’t yet seen the new one. It was a lovely evening.
The Captain William Henry Moore Bridge looks more like a concrete dam with a culvert at the bottom. I don’t understand who this could be earthquake-proof as the old bridge was – I guess we’ll see.
As we got back to the RV just before 7 p.m., there was a wonderful rainbow that lasted for a few minutes.
Looking to the southeast across Summit Lake at 7:08.
Sunday morning was cold and misty, but by 07:30 when I shot the next photo of Summit Lake and the Sawtooth Range it was gorgeous – though the cold wind still required a layer of fleece to be outside.
From any angle, Mount Cleveland and the Cleveland Glacier is impressive. At the bottom right you can see our nearest neighbour, about half a kilometer away on the opposite side of the Summit Creek bridge.
Breakfast prep time in the White Pass, at 08:30. We sometimes laughingly call this “camping” 🙂
Just before 10:00, we took the dogs down to the wonderful beach where Summit Creek flows into Summit Lake. I had a couple of balls for the dogs in my pocket, and he kept bugging me until I let him carry one. He’s become a great little trail dog – always right behind me. This was a very different walk for me than 2 weeks ago – I didn’t need my cane.
As always, Bella was the first one into the water! The water is very cold, right off the snowfields!
The water level is very high, but had dropped enough since we arrived that we could walk through shallow water to what was currently an island. I climbed up it to get the next photo.
Looking south across the lake. The wind was nasty, and cut down the enjoyment of this outing.
At about 11:00 we started the short walk back to the rig to pack up so I could get back to Whitehorse for my appointment with my therapist. Bella found a patch of berries along the way, and Cathy gave her a hand to get some that were a bit hidden. Bella is very adept at picking berries.
I thought about leaving the RV and just driving the Tracker back for more supplies to return the next day, but decided against that – the final straw in that decision was discovering that I was low on propane. The final photo was shot at 12:40 as we started out.
Monday was a busy day. I decided to start taking care of some of the things the motorhome needs, beginning with tires on the steering axle. Two new 19.5-inch BF Goodrich Route Control tires, $1,040. Ouch, but there’s no more wobble from the crap tires that came with it, one of which was such crap my shop couldn’t even balance it. With gassing up the RV and Tracker, filling the propane tank, meeting Cathy for lunch, and buying groceries, the day disappeared quickly
As I finish writing this, it’s a few minutes after 05:00 on Tuesday. The motorhome is packed and ready to go back down to the White Pass today, for a longer stay. Cathy will drive down tonight to spend Canada Day with the dogs and I. The weather forecast changed dramatically overnight, and it’s now looking like a spectacular few days. ttyl… 🙂
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