Whitehorse Yukon Territory to Prince Rupert British Columbia

Heading South . . .

After my hair-raising experience of the Dempster Highway, I opted to return to Whitehorse via the Klondike Highway. I could have chosen to head west from Dawson City via the Top of the World Highway to such exotic destinations as Chicken and Tok. However, the morning when I was getting my tire repaired in Dawson City (yahoo, they had the special lug nuts!), I encountered another traveller who had just spent the night in his RV along the roadside waiting for a tow truck to assist with a flat tire on the Top of the World Highway. It wasn’t so much that I was chicken, I truly did not want to expose Buckskin to more difficult road conditions and risk doing more serious damage. So I turned tail and began the long journey south. When I arrived back in Whitehorse, I took a day or so to get more maintenance work done on the van (oil change, etc.) and then I decided to head to Kluane National Park and Haines, Alaska.

Kluane is truly a treasure! From my campsite, the St. Elias mountains were clearly visible. Buster and I also stopped to hike along a rock glacier on the way south to Haines. This is a glacier where the ice has melted leaving behind a massive pile of rock. We climbed to the top and enjoyed the panoramic view.  On the way back down, Buster decided to take a short cut and almost fell off the edge! Luckily, he’s very sure-footed and I stayed very calm while I talked him back up to the path. We also stopped to visit a tiny aboriginal fishing village where they use an old-fashioned fish trap to catch salmon.

One of the reasons why I wanted to visit Haines was to see the Eagle Preserve but unfortunately, the eagles were still far afield. Instead, I decided to take the ferry to Skagway. As it turns out, I saw an eagle along the water’s edge not far from the ferry terminal. The ferry ride was a wonderful experience and I imagine the scenery was similar to what one might experience on an Alaskan cruise. Skagway was a very busy little town and much too touristy for my liking. However, the drive back to Whitehorse from Skagway was spectacular. The road takes the same route as the train. Along the road, I saw 3 black bears.

Returning again to Whitehorse, it was now time to prepare to leave the Yukon. I drove to Watson Lake and then took a day trip to Liard Hot Springs, an undeveloped site which means there is no swimming pool to contain the water. Instead, the hot water flows along its natural river path. Stairs have been built to access the water and there are changing rooms but other than that, the site is natural. The water ranges from very hot to warm and there was a strong odour of sulphur, but I felt very relaxed following my dip. Because of the heat, there are many different kinds of flowers and plants that grow along the side of the river giving it a tropical feeling. On the way back to Watson Lake, I saw what I thought was a large pile of dark brown rocks along the side of the road. As the information was processed in my mind, I then thought it was a pile of logs but then it winked! As it turns out, it was a huge bison basking in the sun in the grass along the side of the highway. I had to chuckle as I thought about how our minds work. I also stopped to watch a pair of osprey flying overhead.

Back in Watson Lake, Buster and I enjoyed a hike through Caribou Lichen at Watson Lake, where I sat and listened to the loons as the sun set.

From Watson Lake, we headed south via the Stewart Cassiar Highway. We took a short side trip to visit Stewart and the tiny Alaskan ghost town of Hyder. Along the way, we stopped to see the Bear Glacier which is just along the side of the road.  In Hyder, there is a creek where bears and eagles fish when the salmon are spawning. As luck would have it, I didn’t see any bears or eagles although there were lots of fish. On my way back to Stewart, I did spot the tell-tale white head of a bald eagle along the river bank and, lo and behold, it was a mother and her two eaglets. She was busy fishing but the young birds didn’t seem too interested.

From Stewart, I took a logging road to Nisga’a Memorial Provincial Park. One of my goals during this trip is to visit sacred sites and this particular park is just such a place. About 250 years ago, a volcano erupted burying two aboriginal villages in lava. The park is mostly made up of a huge lava bed and it resembles the surface of the moon. Here is the story that is told in the villages today:

Long ago, this land began to shake and rumble. Nature’s harmony had been upset. It all started by the river, as one child took a humpback (salmon) from the water and slit open its back. Then he stuck sticks in his back, lighted them and made the humpback swim. The children were amused to see the fish swim upriver with smoke coming from its back. The child slit open another humpback and stuck a piece of shale into its back. Then he made it swim but the humpback floated on its side weighted down by the shale. The children laughed, despite the elders’ warnings. The ground rumbled.

Finally, a scout was sent to investigate the rumblings. From the top of Genuu Axwt, he saw smoke and flames up the valley. Immediately, he ran to tell the villagers of their fiery destiny. In a panic, the villagers moved to the mountain top. Some canoed to the other side of the river and remained there but they were killed by the lava.

As they watched the lava flow over their villages, a supernatural being named Gwaxts’agat, suddenly emerged south of Gitwinkisihlkw to block the path of the lava. Gwaxts’agat was very powerful and also possessed the power of fire. For days, Gwaxts’agat lay with his big nose fighting back the lava. Finally, the lava cooled and Gwaxts’agat went back into the mountain where it remains to this day.

To the Nisga’a, fish are very important. To ridicule the fish is the first and foremost taboo and to do so would certainly cause misfortune. The children’s disrespect for the fish led to the unfortunate death of many Nisga’a.

I visited the site of the memorial and to my horror, found a pile of garbage (pop cans, cigarette packages, etc.) behind it. Not knowing what to do, I gathered the garbage and packed it out.

From Nisga’a, we travelled south to Terrace and then west to Prince Rupert. I was hoping to spend some time on the Queen Charlotte Islands but unfortunately, the ferry was too expensive for my meager budget. I was quite disappointed and do hope to return to the islands at a future date. As a consolation, I decided to visit as many hot springs as possible on my journey toward Calgary and the wedding of a cousin. Stay tuned for the saga of the hot springs . . .