The rest of the Summer

  Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
Tuesday, September 2, 2008

July 23/08: Finally we are into our new digs
Our landlords flew off to Europe yesterday and we promptly moved in.
 
After living out of our camper for two months it was good to be able to unpack a lot of the stuff we brought.
Funny how you can survive for two months with so few clothes.
 
After coming back from the Takhini R. we ended up north 1.5h at a cabin on Little Braeburn Lake.  Dennis and Margie Peters invited us up for a few days.  This is a true cabin in the woods. Jeff Foxworthy in his "you know you are a Redneck when" spiel say that you are one if the directions to your place entail going down a gravel road you are a redneck.... The directions to this place are down the gravel road for 1km, ford the axle deep stream at the bottom of the hill, drive on the Trans Canada trail for 1km, turn right onto the old Dawson trail and go 4km on a single track dirt road.
Originally, the cabin was used for an eco tourism/dog mushing operation. There is the main lodge which sleeps 9-10,a  large sauna building and a second cabin. Dennis bought it off the owner and they use it as their cabin in the woods. They are the only ones on the lake. They tell us there is good fishing but we never even got a bite. The lake has grayling, pike, whitefish and lake trout.
 
The weather has really been poor and most everyone is complaining. Of course, it is what it is, so we adapt.
 
Aug 1/08
Our new home is outside Whitehorse proper approx 15 minutes from DT. We are on 3 acres in a subdivision called Wolf Creek south of town. The location is great with lots of trees and trails right out the door.
The house is very nice. It has lots of south facing windows with a big kitchen, and open dining area. However the appliances leave something to be desired. I guess our landlords, although nice folks, have a different idea of what constitutes as acceptable for the price we are paying. The appliances are old and so far we are waiting for parts for the dishwasher, and dryer. The Fridge's shelves are held in place with duct tape. At the risk of sounding snobbish this is not up to Canmore standards.
We also have their frikkin cat to look after. We didn't think this was part of the deal so aren't really impressed. Cedar and this feline have yet to meet so we'll see....
We are disappointed with the situation but we really haven't given things much time.
 
After hanging out waiting to get into the house we realized summer is nearly over up here and so we best get a move on.
 
The Chilkoot Trail was next:
 
The trial is managed by The National Parks Service in the US and Parks Canada. It is a cooperative effort between the two. Only Parks Canada charges for the use and runs the reservation system. We called Parks Canada to see if we could get onto the Trail anytime soon (the quota is 50 hikers / day to start) They had an opening in two days time. Not a lot of time but we went for it.
 
The Chilkoot Trail has a great place in the history of the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890's.
It was the easiest way for Stampeders to get from the south up into the gold fields of the Yukon. Easy is a relative term. It is 53 km long. The first 26.6 km is UP to 3600', the rest is down.
It really is only a small part of the overall trek that started in Seattle for most Stampeders  and ended in Dawson City. It also was the hardest.
 
The trail starts in Dyea, close to Skagway at sea level. The first two days we hiked up through coastal rain forest. We got to know what hiking in mud is like. When we asked about the weather conditions, we were told that hiking in the forest canopy we would be protected from the rain.  We found they were right!
It was damp but comfortable hiking. Shorts, gaiters and a long sleeve T shirt worked rain or shine. We saw the sun 2x in the first three days.
 
The trail itself is well trodden. The first kms are on old logging and wagon hauling roads which have had over 100 years to degrade and grow back in. Some parts were easy to walk like any sidewalk and other were riddled with rocks to stumble over and of course, mud. It wasn't really all that soggy but we were glad to have good waterproof backpacking boots.
The trail of course, went up. We passed through Finnegan's Point where Pat Finnegan and his two sons laid down a corduroy road over the mud and charged a toll for using it. (the concept worked well in summer but in winter you could walk up the frozen river so the idea died).   Our first camp was Canyon City at Km 12.5. Not a long day by backpacking standards but according to my body it was long enough after 4.5h of hiking. (We had also gotten up early in Whitehorse, driven down to Skagway as well as the hike)
 
Most of the 50 folks who started on the trail that day stayed here. We would get to know these folks quite well over the next few days as we toiled up the mountains. This is not a wilderness trip although we travelled alone; we always were close to someone. There were folks from Nelson B.C., Calgary, Edmonton, Olympia WA, A great group of Boy Scouts from Denver and folks from all over the US.
The mix was very different from our Yukon River trip which was almost all German.
Cedar was a great conversation starter and we got to know most of the people at the campgrounds.
Most of the campsites were full every night. Sheep Camp was overbooked one night.
This camp is the last one before the summit so it is the most heavily used.
 
The US Rangers give a talk about the trail to the summit and urge everyone to be out of camp and walking by 5:30 AM!!!!!
Cheryl and I got up at 4:00 AM and were off before 5:30 and we weren't the first ones.
 
Right out of Sheep camp is "The Long hill" which is just that, a long uphill slog to The Scales 3-5h where the Stampeders had their outfits weighed and the ones that could, paid/lb, to get their outfits hauled to the summit. Others hauled their gear up and over the Steps to the summit where they all paid Canadian duties to Sam Steele and his NWMP. Each man had to have 2 yrs worth of food to be allowed into Canada.
This entailed multiple trips up the Steps to the summit.
We made one trip in our special hiking boots, high tech clothing, and backpacks.
 
Once past the Scales we went UP! The Steps are just that, steps. They are a jumble of rocks that cause you to scramble up using all fours.  Modern day Backpacks are not designed for you to climb up with them on your back while you are bent over trying to find a foothold.
I had Cedar in hand so it was even harder. We had to take her dog packs off earlier as she would get hung up on the rocks as she tried to squeeze through gaps along the trail.
I didn't want to let her go as I was afraid she'd have problems finding a route up.
She did a lot of Malamute complaining as I boosted her up over a few gnarly spots.
Along the route lay remnants of the Gold rush. There are huge steel cables which were used in the overhead tramways to haul gear over the summit.  It is so hard to believe that the Rush lasted less than 4 yrs and it was done by 1899.
 
We made it up to the Summit 1h after we started.
We were very lucky with the weather as it was overcast; threatening rain, but we had no low clouds or fog.
If it's foggy, the route is very well marked at Alpine with markers so if you are fogged in you wait until you can see the next marker and then move on. We were able to move quickly and made it to the top with no wind. We stopped at the summit and had lunch at around 10AM.
The views from the top were outstanding. We could see all the way back down the valley we had just ascended and all the way down into Canada past Crater Lake.
 
The Canadian side still had a lot of snow and is in stark contrast to the US side. The US side of the Trial is essentially lush rain forest and the Cdn side is alpine. Bleak rock and ice predominate.
We hiked down from the summit on snowfields, making great time. The sun came out and we were hiking in T-shirts by the time we arrived in Happy Camp, 7.5 h after leaving Sheep Camp.
It was a long day but truly worth the effort. All our new friends in the group made it and some even travelled on to Deep lake Campsite another few kms down the Trail.
Cedar has become the main attraction and folks would come by our tent to chat and see how she had done on the climb.
Next AM we are up and off to Lindeman City where there is a tent museum of the Chilkoot trail.
We were warned about bears so we made lots of noise along the way.
Arriving at the campsite we are warned not to camp at the upper campground because of bears.
We set up at the lower area by Lake Lindeman. What a pretty place. Clear water and a dry flat campsite.
Most of our group move on to the next campsite (Bare Loon Lake) 1.5h further on so they can be closer to the end of the trail at Bennett. They want to be sure of catching the train at noon.
 
We spend a peaceful night with two other tents in the campground. In the AM, as we are getting packed at the shelter and have all our food spread out, a lone black bear comes calling. A bit of shouting and one bear banger later we persuaded Mr Bear to move on.
 
The rest of the hike into Bennett was great on relatively flat and well maintained trails.
We arrived in time for our train back to Skagway and as we walked down the last hill to the station all the folks we had walked with over the past few days came out to see us and Cedar.
This trip is wilderness but not solitary. We were on the trail with 50 others within a few hrs of each other.
The trip is really a trip down the history of the Chilkoot Trial.
 
We were lucky on the trip back to Skagway. We (hikers) had a whole train (3 cars) to ourselves. It probably was a good thing as we were used to our smells but I'm sure the average cruise ship tourist who had a shower in the AM wouldn't have appreciated our scent.
 
If the hike would be considered main course, the train ride back down to Skagway was for me, the dessert.
I love trains, and riding on a narrow gauge rail line that was completed in 18 months back in 1898-99 on some pretty hairy mountain slopes was a treat.

Cheryl and Cedar on the train

I spent the whole trip outside on the last car taking pictures of the mountains, the tunnels, the huge river gorges and taking in the whole downhill ride back to Skagway. Uncle Ed Guest would have been right there beside me.
 
We returned to Whitehorse and got ready to head off to Juneau AK to see our Canmore neighbours and good friends Carole and Glenn Nelson.  They are celebrating their 25th this year and were taking an Alaska Cruise. They had 8hr in Juneau so we decided to join them.
We headed back down to Skagway and caught the ferry to Juneau. The trip is about 5.5h long so it was a real treat to get to the ocean and not have to drive.
Along the way we saw a pod of Humpback whales bubble net feeding on herring. One whale would dive under the school of fish, circle around under them, blowing a stream of bubbles. The bubbles create a net effect grouping the fish together. The rest of the Whale pod would swoop in and grab a mouthful of fish.

Humpback bubblenet feeding

It was a very impressive site as from a distance all you could see was a large disturbance on the water and as you get closer you can see individual whales swimming and diving. We saw this both going and coming back.
Juneau itself is a beautiful city. It's stretched out along the coast for 20 miles. The Coast Range of mountains comes right down into the ocean so there is not a lot a places to build unless it's on the water.
The Mendenhall Glacier is 20 minutes away and is a very impressive sight to have in one's backyard. The Sockeye salmon and Chums were running as well so we got to see spawning salmon minutes out of the ocean.
We met Glenn and Carole on a rainy morning and had a great time catching up and doing the tourist thing taking tour buses around town and out to the Glacier. 

Red Dog Saloon Juneau AK

We ended up in the Red Dog Saloon for beers, ate Dungeness Crab, and really enjoyed seeing someone from home.
 
We got back to Whitehorse and got ready for our next trip.
We went sheep hunting with the Peters clan. This was a family trip with Margie, Dennis, and kids: Katie, Ali and Maria.
The plan was to go out to a river near town paddle down it a bit, stash the canoes and hike up the mountains with 6 days of food and gear. We were to base camp so only had to hike up to alpine and set up camp.
We thought this would be easy as we had just hiked the legendary Chilkoot Trail!
So you know the TV show; 'Are you smarter than a fifth grader' ?  Perhaps it should be 'Are you fitter than a 10 yr old' ? We thought we'd be fitter than the 10 yr old, Maria.
How wrong we were.
The jaunt up the mountain over hill and dale, through the woods past Grandma's house, only took 7.5h!
Dennis had warned us is would be slow because of the kids. Little did he realize we needed the slow pace.
 
We found a great campsite in an alpine valley with lots of sheep terrain all around. We are hunting Dall Sheep who like to hang out WAY UP on cliffs. So where do you go to get them?...Way up on the mountains. Everyday we would take off and look for sheep. The prerequisite for hunting is a good set of binoculars and lots of patience. We hike, stop scan the rocks and hike again. We'd be sweating, freezing, and panting hard all within ten minutes as we scrambled over the mountains. Some nights we get back at 8pm eat supper, and hit the sack.
One day, we did get close enough to some legal rams for the Dennis and his 12 yr old Ali to do a 'stalk'. They crawled through the rocks to get closer to the Rams wearing white painter's coverall which lull the sheep into thinking they are seeing other sheep.
This all took two hrs while the rest of us hunkered down in the wind, hugging rocks and tried to be quiet.
They got close to one ram for a shot but unfortunately missed.
We covered a lot of country on our hikes and had a lot of laughs with these kids. We learned a lot of riddles quizzes, songs and games.  Example: What's the difference between Pea Soup and Roast Beef ?........   Answer: Anyone can roast Beef!!!! ......
 
The hike out was a mere 4.5 hrs, mostly downhill, with no food in our packs. No sheep, but great memories of a camping trip.
 
While all this was going on, the Olympics have been taking place. We rented a DVR player from the cable company so I was able to 'tape' most of the week's events while we were away. Got to get me one of these things when we get back.
We've spent a lot of time watching Beijing 2008 and really enjoying the CBC coverage.
 
In the past week Fall has struck.  Aug 9 was our first frost -5 in the AM.  The fireweed is changing and if you look up onto the mountains around town there is a riot of reds and oranges. We are losing 5m 30s/day of sunlight.  Got to get firewood in and start thinking about what to do this winter. We've got skis, curling stuff and all our winter clothes. We're just not ready to give up just yet.
 
Aug 26
Still raining after 10 days. Not hard, but just enough to screw up a day outside. It's also been cool with highs of +15 being a heat wave. The colours are changing big time and of course school is just about back in.
We've collected almost a cord of firewood off the property here just by cutting standing deadwood.
We've also had the wood stove on a few nights as well. I've ordered a couple of cords from someone as well. I hope it is enough.
Our house is heated by an oil monitor and electric baseboards in the basement bedroom area. There is no central forced air system.
As there is no heat source on the upper level other than the wood stove, the oil monitor which is situated at the bottom of the steps on the lower level is supposed to heat the upper level. We'll see how it goes.
 
We've built Cedar a wire kennel to the west of the house, using stucco wire strung between trees and a few old pieces of chain link fence. She now has a kennel that is approx 30'x20'.  I just have to build her a dog house. She likes being in it so we will feel better when we are away if she is in the kennel rather than just tied up at the door.
We still have the cat. Nickel just about has Cheryl trained. We let him out at night and around 4:00AM he meows at the outside bedroom door and Cheryl gets up to let him in. I'm all for letting him stay out but the meowing gets annoying. Cedar and Nickel have met. Cedar comes in and if Nickel is on the couch he just stay there until there is a chance to dash to the basement. He doesn't seem to bother Cedar too much as she tends to look the other way when the cat is around. Cedar did give the cat the bums rush off the 10' high deck one day.
Nickel does like to sit on our laps and snooze so I'm sure there will be times, this winter, when they will have to occupy the same space.
 
Sept 1/08
The weather has broken and we now have sun.
We went hiking on the Labour day W/E. A short ½ h drive to Fish Lake and a 40 minute hike got us to Alpine. Access time is not unlike Canmore, but alpine here is at 4300' and once at Alpine, you can walk along ridges forever. 

Fall colours

We started hiking at 9:30 and saw only one other hiker. We walked along ridges and enjoyed the fall colours. We were congratulating ourselves on being up north and not seeing other folks, until as we started back down the trail! We met probably 25 other hikers most with dogs or kids. Even when we got to the parking lot at around 2:30 it was full of folks getting ready to hike.
So much for the isolation.

 I've woven pictures into the blog but if you want more..... here is a link that has the best of our summer's pictures. I will be adding to this link as the year goes bye.
Link to photos   http://picasaweb.google.com/hughb123/YukonPics?authkey=BcKcal9Khbc
You may have to cut and paste this link as I don't think it's active on this page.