The drive from Jasper to Grand Prairie was decidedly unspectacular after recent road trips. I was still feeling very dodgy so Deryn did a lot of the driving. Our stay in Grand Prairie was as uneventful as the town itself.
We were away early the next morning for our drive to our cabin at Peace River, half way between Dawson Creek and Taylor. We arrived at 1.30, thinking it was 2.30 – we had crossed back into BC. We were met by the German owner Rudi, who pointed us his wife Barb in front of our cabin. She warned us that the mossies were particularly bad because of the rain – thankfully we did not find them to be much of a problem. There were 3 cabins on the 240 hectare (which is 2 lots – land can only be sold in whole lots). Our cabin was cute with the bed in a loft up a very steep ladder – would hate to try navigate it in the middle of the night after a skinful. The ‘farm’ was lovely but lacked any animals. We went for a bit of a wander around the farm – Deryn even got to see some baby ducklings braving the water for the first time. I was still feeling unwell – my hives had all scabbed and were incredibly itchy. The nerves all around my neck and left ear were really sore and meant I could only sleep on my right side. Very uncomfortable.
I wasn’t interested in doing much the next day except to drive the 40 minutes back into Dawson Creek to get myself some takeaways. Deryn was convinced I was mad. I found a Burger King and a liquor store to get Deryn some wine. I was then heading home, eating chips with one hand when I again got pulled over by a cop. I stopped immediately when I saw the flashing lights!! He reckoned I was swerving all over the road – turns out it was a 2 lane road but with no lines. I did wonder. He then saw Deryn’s bottle of wine on the back seat and said that its a $190 fine for having alcohol in reach. Anyway he left me off with a warning after running my details through his onboard computer. That’s 2 pull overs in a month. I got a bit lost trying to find my way home but was saved by the location source in our photos. We saw a moose walking through the trees but didn’t get close enough for a decent look.
The next day we drove into Taylor to see if we could play 9 holes at the local golf course called the Lone Wolf Golf Club (an international golf course no less). Unfortunately they did not rent clubs so we settled for a cup of coffee in the club house before stopping at the local ice cream parlour for a fix. When asked the girl said the Peace Island Park was the local highlight. Jeez, we didn’t even get out of the car. When we returned we did what we had been doing for the last few days, chilling and reading in the sun. I needed it as I recovered from my chemical frying.
Our plan was to head up to Whitehorse in the Yukon. We had booked into some cabins on Muncho Lake, 90 minutes from the Yukon border but planned a stop-over in Fort Nelson, just over 4 hours away. We had booked ourselves into one of the many hotels that lined these strip mall towns. The Lakeview Inns and Suits, was unremarkable but clean and comfortable. As for the view of the lake? Not a glimpse. We were informed that our restaurant of choice had burnt down a few months earlier (Covid payout?) so we ended up at Boston Pizza – there really wasn’t that many to chose from. Our drive next day to Muncho Lake was only 3 hours so we didn’t rush away in the morning. The cooked breakfast was awful, partially saved by the crunchy hash browns. The drive was lovely, turning spectacular when we arrived at the south end of the beautiful green Muncho Lake (around the 485 mile mark on the Alaskan Highway). An hour before, we had stopped from some well known cinnamon buns at a small campground. The owner said how they usually sell about 400 buns a day in a normal season but only selling a handful at the moment. At $7 a bun, thats a profitable business!!
Our cabin in the Northern Rockies Lodge was cute, but unfortunately it was next door to a new cabin being built. Maybe the reason for 3 nights for the price of 2. The main building of the Lodge was impressive although looking decidedly unused. It seems the Lodge’s current main business currently was selling take-away meals. There were a few families in RVs staying for a few days but mostly the guests were Americans (military and coast guard) heading to Alaska and only staying a night. Interestingly, Americans are allowed 2 days in Alberta, 24 hours in the Yukon and indefinite in BC!! Not sure I am happy about that given what’s happening in the States and now that cases are flaring up in Alaska for the first time. The weather was pretty shitty so we didn’t venture much further than the lodge’s ground.
Next day we hiked the Old Alaskan Highway, a relatively easy hike 5km’s from the Lodge. The start of the trail was not well marked, the first 100m not really looking like a path. After that it was easy to follow. It was a relatively flat walk for the first 2km before a steep climb to the summit. The views were spectacular – the emerald colours of the lake were almost unbelievable. We decided to walk down to the campground across one of the rivers flowing into the lake. We had been advised against it after the recent rain back at the Lodge, but it turns out it was a doddle. We bumped into a family from the Lodge who were heading out from the river side and gave them some encouragement. The walk back along the road to our car was fine given that only 3 trucks and a car passed us.
We played some cards on the deck and cooked our dinner for the first time on our portable stove and it was perfect. That evening we walked a bit around the lake to another campground. It was certainly busy with every site taken by an RV.
Next day we decided to hike the Copper Rock canyon. Before we got there though , Deryn insisted on using the portable stove to make toast inside the cabin. Of course as the owner wonders down to check out the building work next door, the smoke alarm goes off. I dashed off to the toilet and closed the door so Deryn could deal with him. He wasn’t happy and said guests were not to use stoves inside! The hike was a bit further than yesterday’s but not that far. The real challenge was not distance but rather finding the path. You basically hiked up the river sometimes walking/hopping along the bank while other times it required climbing up over headlands. I felt like throwing it in a few times but Deryn wouldn’t have it so on we went. We finally made it to the waterfall and even sat on the bank above it. I was very uncomfortable as the bank looked highly unstable so moved us on pretty quickly. I stopped on the way back to put my head under the water – I lasted a few seconds and interestingly my gums ached for a while afterwards. The weather packed in as we headed home so it was a chilled afternoon in the cabin before heading to the Lodge for our luxury 3 course meal. For $75 each, it had better be. The meal of the night was venison so Deryn and I had the vege option. The mushroom entree was amazing, the main terrible and desert amazing. Not worth $75 mind. The meal felt like someone trying too hard. I reckon the Swiss owner has visions of grandeur. The BLT I had the day before was far better than our main tonight.
We were planning on entering the Yukon on 30 June, but thankfully someone in the office told me that you could only enter Yukon on 1 July if you were from there, NT and BC. We were hopeful that our BC plates and insurance papers showing that we live in BC would allow us in. Otherwise it was back to Whistler. We had booked ourselves into a another lodge that night an hour from the roadblock just south of Lake Watson where you entered Yukon properly. South of that the Alaskan Highway moved in and out of BC.
We decided to check out Bolder Canyon on the way. It was about 5km down the road and basically consisted of a massive stoney, mostly dry riverbed. We walked about 2km before it narrowed to a point we couldn’t be arsed. The walk back was better because you could appreciate the scale of the river and what it must be like when in full flow.
We arrived at the Coal River Lodge at around 2.30. It certainly was basic. The lodge was managed by two elderly women while their husbands managed the grounds and the garage attached to the lodge. We asked about our bikes, one of the elderly men said that he was the local sheriff and so they were safe!! We went for a ride until the mossies won so we retreated to the room and chilled before covering ourselves in spray to venture out to a nearby picnic table for dinner. Again the portable stove was brilliant. We were told that Leroy, a large male Bison, wondered around the lodge early evening. Sure enough, around 8.30 Deryn spotted him 200m or so away. He gradually came closer and closer until we decided it was time to head out for a look. When we got out back he was gone, however as we walked around the house we spotted him 20 metres ahead. He was massive. What an incredible creature. He walked onto the road – causing a rig to slow and drive around him without Leroy really noticing.
The next day we saw tens of bison. The day started with a black bear, then a porcupine followed by bison after bison after bison. They often grazed right on the side of the road so you could get within 5 or so metres of them. We nervously approached the roadblock at Lake Watson but thankfully the elderly guard was very pleasant and our BC base was satisfactory. We drove around Lake Watson (not worth it) and then stopped at a license plate momento. Amazing. It was then a long drive to Whitehorse where we arrived at the aptly named Midnight Sun Lodge. It was a large B&B with Anson, the owner and his mother living there. We were a bit concerned about just having a bedroom but he assured us all the facilities were communal, including the upstairs lounge and kitchen as well as the same on our floor. There were very few guests so we basically had the upstairs to ourselves – again most guests were Americans passing through. We grabbed our bikes and did a bit of a tour of the city/town which is now the capital of Yukon (took over from Dawson in 1953). The place had the feel of a small northern Australian town with a poor indigenous population. However it turns out it was Canada Day so everything was closed. It certainly felt a lot better in the following days.
The next day we decided to head out on our bikes and explore some local lake trails. We stocked up and headed off. It was a lovely day and very enjoyable riding along the banks of the Yukon river. The Whitehorse dam was impressive, as was the wooden fish ladder which is the longest in the world at 366m – mostly used by spawning salmon. We then headed up Heartbreak Hill before hitting the trails. Once again it was beautiful with the trails (being mostly blue) were fine. We basically just followed trails to see where they would take up but after 90 mins we realised that we were getting tired and should head back. A bit of help from some edibles and the journey home was a doddle. 24km in 2.15 hours. A good day! We ate at the kitchen dining table which was nice – curry chicken pie and salad. We also got into the alcohol a bit which made for a bit of a late night. Very weird being somewhere were it doesn’t really get dark. The sun sets at around 1230 and rises again at 2. Between then it was basically twilight.
Next day was a chill day. We also decided to extend our stay in Whitehorse and then head up to Dawson rather than continuing on the Alaska Highway as the Alaskan border was closed. We headed down to the local museum for the morning. As much as I hate stuffed animals, they were impressive. The afternoon was spent washing and writing and reading. I also grabbed some Macca’ while Deryn had leftovers. We climbed the hill out the back of the house which had decent views of the town. Thankfully, again, the mossies were not that bad.
July 4 was spent an hours drive away in the First Nation town of Carcross (was originally names Caribou Crossing until a mistake by the postal service had it chopped to Carcross). We passed the spectacular Emerald Lake on the way – the colours of the lakes in Canada are amazing. The town itself was very indigenous. We originally planned to do the Mountain Hero trail (47km) but after speaking to a couple of cops decided it was probably a bit ambitious – the 15km climb, having to walk through snow and the 19km ride home on the main road all combined to deter. We decided to do the McDonald Creek trail which still required over 800m of vertical climbing. As we started out we bumped into a local who informed us that the tracks were closed because of health concerns – arsenic leaking from an old silver mine. However we continued on and saw no evidence of anything being closed. It took us an hour to climb the first 5km and another 30 minutes before we reached the start of the McDonald Creek trail (an old bullock track). We did a quick birthday video for Bex Sinnott, downed some peanuts and chocolate and then headed off down the trail. It was obvious that the trail hadn’t been ridden for a long time as there were fallen trees and a fair bit for debris on the track. It didn’t detract from the buzz of racing downhill; making plenty of noise to ensure any nearby bears knew we were coming. The views of the surrounding peaks and Bennett Lake were amazing. After 7km the trail merge into Wayne’s World for a undulating ride along the lake shore back to Carcross. 25km and 3.5 hours and we were bushed. We were also covered in little worms that hang from trees by a thin thread to be carried away by passing animals.
We bumped into another grumpy local who told us the trails were closed and it was signposted as such. We assured him there were no signs. Seems like a bit of tension in the town which is a shame as the Carcross bike trails have been lauded as great collaboration with western capital and First Nation labour. We grabbed a coffee and a blueberry muffin and headed back to Whitehorse, stopping briefly at the Carcross desert – a very large sand dune caused by retreating glaciers many moons ago. We were in bed early that night as we were both shattered. I planned on doing nothing the next day where’s Deryn headed out to Miles Canyon. She got caught in the rain but I think our car copped the worse beating. It was covered in mud as the access road was dirt. She said it was lovely and I missed out. We were away early the next day as it was over 530km to Dawson City.
