Driving from the beauty to the beast
A wonderful spell of warm weather has prompted me to get out a fair bit. I wanted to do two road trips – one to the White Pass and one to see the new bridge being built at Teslin. A storm warning about a system moving in with heavy snow (20-30 cm), due to arrive last night, made me decide to drive to the White Pass just ahead of it.
I left home with Cathy’s Jeep at noon, with the temperature at 0°C and strong winds being reported (we rarely notice wind at our place). The Alaska Highway was clear, but the South Klondike had lots of glare ice. The first stop I made was at Emerald Lake.
I stopped again at the Carcross Desert and went for a short walk. Walking back to the car, I chuckled when I saw a woman with a German shepherd-sized dog that looked like goat, on a leash. Getting closer, it was a goat! A goat who was well used to walking on a leash. Very cool 🙂
I did a loop around Carcross and made a few stops. Lake Bennett was open, with the ice probably broken up by the south wind.
The work train will be sitting for another couple of months before heading south to get everything in order for the summer traffic.
Continuing south, I drove across the Nares River bridge, then did a U-turn and came back to get this photo of Nares Lake and the mountain of the same name. They were among the many places named by Lt. Schwatka to honour people he was trying to impress but had nothing to do with the Yukon. Vice Admiral Sir George Strong Nares (1831-1915) was a Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer who came to the Arctic in 1852–1854 and 1875.
The temperature had stayed very stable at 0 to +1 all the way from home. As I neared the Venus mine, the incoming storm was obvious.
The ice waterfalls just south of the mine seemed to be particularly large but recent warm weather has rotted them so the usual great details for photos were gone.
I had expected to be in the storm when I reached Tutshi Lake, but it was still many miles ahead. Highways crews had the ice on this hill well sanded.
The next photo was shot at Km 49.2 (from the ferry terminal in Skagway). I kept track of the mileages where I shot photos, in a notepad that I had gone back home to get, after leaving. This spot often offers good photo ops, and it looked particularly exciting ahead this day. Scenes of wild weather like this get my adrenalin flowing, which is something I don’t get enough of anymore 🙂
As I approached Log Cabin, it appeared that I was going into the teeth of the storm.
I stopped at the railway crossing and shot a minute of video to hopefully give you a better idea of what conditions were like now, at 2:20.
A group of skiers was just returning, bracing themselves against the wind. Hard core!
The view to the south from the Log Cabin parking lot.
There was pretty much no traffic, but plenty of photo ops! This was at Km 37.5. I had expected some semis to be hauling to get ahead of the storm, but didn’t see any all day.
The Canada Customs post and Highways base at Fraser. When you go past Customs, you’re still in Canada for another 13 kilometers, but you need a passport to get back across. Well technically, you don’t really, but it makes it much easier to have it (I have crossed without it). They have a term for that “no man’s land” beyond the Customs post, but I forget what it is – something about “control zone.”
The weather was getting really wild now. From the top of that hill for a few kilometers, visibility dropped to near zero at times because of the blowing snow, which we call a “ground blizzard.”
At Km 31.4, near the north end of Summit Lake, I came to an odd break in the storm, but it didn’t last long.
That break in the storm allowed for a couple of photos of the highest peaks.
When I left home, my hoped-for destination was the Alaska border, but I was open to almost anything happening. Right at the border, at 2:45, a truck plow was turning around – he was carefully grooming all of the pullouts ahead of the forecast dump of snow.
I went another couple of hundred meters to where the “Welcome to Alaska” sign stands in the summer – it’s shielded by a heavy plywood box for the winter. The wind here was brutal, and for a few kilometers the temperature dropped as low as -4° – making a mistake on a day like this could certainly kill you. It’s a good thing that Cathy didn’t want to come – she wouldn’t find this fun at all.
Heading north again. Looking back, that large sign on the right notes the actual international border point. US Customs is 8.1 miles south of the actual border, down where the weather isn’t so challenging.
The plow truck pulled off into the pullout at Summit Creek as I approached. I haven’t figured out what settings to use to get rid of that bluish cast that results from shooting through the windshield.
I got out to shoot the next photo, and the wind was so strong it was all I could do to get the door closed again. Snow and ice in the air greatly reduced the visibility.
Looking east from the same spot.
The view to the west from near a little heli-skiing village well hidden off to the side of the highway.
Back at Fraser. Clearing Customs was quick and friendly as is almost always the case, slowed down by a few seconds when I told the officer that conditions were perfect for what I wanted, and I had gotten the inspiration I needed to do a blog post about it. He agreed that conditions can change suddenly and dramatically anywhere along this highway 🙂
I stopped for a couple more photos between Fraser and Log Cabin. I’ve driven this road far more than 300 times and it still fascinates me.
As I neared Tutshi Lake again, I drove out of the worst of the storm. The weather report as I write this at 05:30 indicates that the snow should be starting about now but with greatly reduced winds, and adds: “Hazardous winter conditions are expected. Heavy snow near White Pass with with total snowfall accumulations of 20 to 30 cm possible. Gusty winds and blowing snow.”
Looking north from the huge Tutshi Lake pullout where every tour bus stops for photos.
Windy Arm of Tagish Lake, and Dail Peak.
High above the highway at Km 78.2 there’s a spring that has a constant flow year-round. I climbed up to it many years ago. It obviously comes from deep inside the mountain, and the water is barely above freezing – it quickly numbed my hands. The temperature here was still +1°.
Dail Peak often offers some wonderful closeups, and today didn’t disappoint.
The highway ahead at Km 82.0.
I stopped at the Bove Island viewpoint, where cell service reaches, and texted Cathy that I was on my way, and shot a few detail photos of Lime Mountain.
I had to text Cathy again from Carcross, though. I was exhausted and needed to take a nap before continuing.
The day worked out pretty much perfect – it was exactly what I needed. I hope you enjoyed riding along with me 🙂
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Beautiful shots and narrative by the master, nice seeing a snowplow doing what they do, keeping the roadway safe as possible, take your goat for a stroll on leash for damage control reasons, only in the Yukon 👍🍺
Thanks, Paul. I really should have got a photo of the goat but didn’t want to intrude – they were so sweet together!
Lovely roadtrip! The weather sure can change quickly. Thanks for sharing your adventure.
Thanks for coming along, Sue – I’m glad you enjoyed it. We should do it for real some day – perhaps with an International Falls or Bryant Lake hike added 🙂