Getting out a bit – finally
I haven’t been getting out much this winter, but the past few days I’ve finally pulled myself away from my desk and got out a few times. Nothing very exciting, but here’s a bit of what the Whitehorse area looks like in January.
It’s been a very strange winter so far – we got snow very early and very heavy, then it pretty much quit. Temperatures have been all over the map, from about -35°C to about +5, and recently, high humidity has laid thick frost on everything. On January 7th, I drove into town for a meeting, and took a photo of the stop sign at the end of our street.
After the meeting, I went over to the SS Klondike to see what they’re doing. I haven’t seen any detailed information, but the sternwheeler and the barge Atlin are undergoing major restoration work that is expected to take 4-6 years. I haven’t seen cost mentioned but it’s obviously many milions of dollars. Structural stability of the Klondike is the main priority, and lead-based paint is being removed, replaced by modern coatings. The Atlin is being completely rebuilt.
Even the sign is new.
The extremely heavy winch has been removed from the bow of the boat and now sits way out in the middle of the property (it will be lawn again in a few months).
As well as what I assume are temporary buildings for the restoration work, there are 2 very nice new permanent buildings. One is said to be an “escape room,” whatever that is. The way things are going in the world right now, it sounds like a good idea, though.
We’ve been getting a lot of dark, grey days, and on January 17th, I decided to see if it was a fog layer we could drive out of, and Fish Lake would be the place to do that. Cathy and the dogs came on this outing. I shot this photo as we pulled away from the house. The motorhome is still dead – the mechanic who started work on it months ago keeps saying he’s coming back, but never does.
Hey, it worked! Well, sort of – we didn’t find sunshine, but we at least climbed out of the fog. This photo was shot from one of the most popular spots for aurora viewing.
I think that’s the warming hut for Sky High Wilderness Ranch’s dog sled tours – makes a nice addition to the scene 🙂
The Fish Lake dam was built in 1949 to raise the lake level for a hydro-electric project far below. It’s only about 20 feet high.
As part of the hydro project, the channel of Fish Creek was changed so the water which used to flow into the Takhini River now goes to the Yukon River.
The fog had cleared a bit by the time we headed back to town.
Getting to the bottom of Fish Lake Road – the Alaska Highway is a kilometer ahead.
Yesterday, with sunshine and -6°C, I finally got out for a real walk. I’ve been spending some time in our basement gym lately, but not enough because I don’t really enjoy it – I need to get in shape for a busy summer, though. I took Tucker with me – poor Bella had to stay home because in a place where leashes are needed (despite what most users think), one dog and a camera is all I can handle. The trails at Wolf Creek Campground are close, were guaranteed to be well packed, and there would be few if any people. I thought about going to the airport trails to take more advantage of the sunshine, but the weather reports said there was a screaming wind in town, and the airports trails are wide open to that.
I took a little detour over to another one of the bridges that cross Wolf Creek.
It was nice to see a bit of Wolf Creek open. I didn’t wear boots that would allow me to get down there for some photography.
The sections of the trail network that have views of the valley and river are, of course, the ones I like the best.
Tucker is such a wonderful guy to walk with! Bella can be a challenge – she needs a long leash to explore, and can be very reactive when we meet other dogs if she thinks there’s a threat to Tucker. Tucker, though, is great even on a short leash which is all I had (the long leashes were in the Jeep), and likes meeting most dogs – he really liked a gorgeous Australian shepherd yesterday 🙂
There are trails everywhere! The main one is flat, which otherwise have some dips. By the time we got back to the car, my Strava tracker showed that we had walked 3.6 km – a decent start. Actually, I hadn’t fired the tracker up for a few minutes after we started so it was about 4 km.
I got notification yesterday that I’ve been accepted as an “Explorer” (writer/photographer) at the Outbound Collective, and I think my first article is going to be about the year-round hiking opportunities at Wolf Creek.
The forecast is now calling for 5 really nice days, so I’m going to try to get out every day, including a couple of fairly lengthy drives 🙂
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Good day Murrster from Sou West Nova Scotia, beautiful walking through the winter days, wood stove warming, Icelandic socks and comfy foodstuffs, short leashes or long leash based on behaviour, I am on a short leash with a choker chain collar, still be trained up apparently, take care eh 🍺🦞🦮
G’day mate! I’ve seen attempts to keep you on a short leash – none went well 😀
It’s so nice to see you back. Happy New Year to you and Cathy.
Thanks, Patsy. I hope you have a wonderful 2025 and beyond 🙂