The Alaska Highway from the start of the climb towards Summit Lake right through to Muncho Lake is spectacular. The road conditions are like a good mountain highway. The scenery is stunning, continuous and, at this time of year, colourful. I told myself that it wasn't my mission to document the fact that the Rockie Mountains are beautiful, otherwise I would've been stopping every other minute.
Stopping for gas at Double G, I noticed a familiar Ventures West super-B fuel tanker, which turned out to be driven by a guy from Hay River who was delivering the fuel up the Dempster to Fort McPherson and Inuvik.
I have now been to the Yukon four times... all today! For the last 75 km into Watson Lake, the highway straddles the Yukon-BC border, and crosses back and forth several times. I kept an eye on my GPS and counted a total of four entries across 60 degrees. The official Welcome To sign isn't until the fourth and final time one crosses for good, which is over 50 km from the first.
Eventually I arrived, and am now bunked in at the historic "Air Force Lodge" -- a dorm-style facility run by a friendly dual-sporter imported from Germany named Mike. It is apparently a leftover bunkhouse from the WWII era, and it's kept spotless to support the military standards. (Sign in entrance area: "Life is full of choices. Take off your shoes, or mop the floor.") Space was tight at the local diner, and I ended up sharing a table with a helicopter pilot and the top two mounties in the Yukon, which made for interesting storytelling.
Tomorrow, I aim for Stewart and the Alaskan ghost town of Hyder. I'm not sure what to expect, as one person told me I'm in for 10-12 hours, while I talked to another guy on a big touring bike who rode the entire Stewart-Cassiar today and was pushing on further in the evening. Alas, an earlier-than-usual start is in order.
Day total: 570 km, 8h35m Trip total: 1754 km | Start: Fort Nelson, BC. End: Watson Lake, YT. Soundtrack: Too tired to remember. |