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White Horse to Haines Junction

Date Traveled: Friday, Sept. 7, 2007
Distance Traveled: 176 km

Did you ever visit a place and feel that you should have stayed a little longer? Well, that is how I felt about Whitehorse.

I engaged in a bit of rationalization by concluding that the Yukon was not my main objective on this trip and being close to British Columbia I would surely come back to Whitehorse to have a another look.

After having written this paragraph, it dawned on me that unless I end up taking the Alaska ferry to Prince Rupert I will be returning to Whitehorse sooner that I thought because the Alaska Highway is the only route home.

It was for that reason, that I also did not divert from the Alaska Highway to head north from Whitehorse on the Klondike Highway (Highway 2) to Dawson City . From there, I would have taken the The Top of the World (Highway No. 9) west to again join the Alaska Highway at Tetlin Junction.

There was also the added rationalization that I would go to Dawson City someday to drive the Dempster Highway to Inuvik. (in view of later developments that may be unlikely)

However, if I had to do it over again, I would opt to drive the "Top of the World" route.

Having said all that, I now continued heading west on the Alaska Highway with the next major destination being Haines Junction.

At this point the Alaska Highway is still in excellent condition with very little traffic at this time of year.

An added bonus was the improving weather. By the time I arrived in Haines Junction I was looking at the first cloudless sky of the trip. The warmth of the afternoon sun, the azure blue sky and the huge mountains of Kluane National Park laying before me to the west all contributed to produce a "Rocky Mountain High", although specifically it would have to be described as a "St . Elias Mountain High".

I continued soaking in the glory of this waning autumn day as I sat on an outdoor terrace munching on a pizza.

The warmth of the afternoon belied the sign stating that the restaurant would be shortly closed for the season.

Like so many businesses along the Alaska Highway viability was only possible during the summer season.

I wondered what life must be like in these communities during the long winter when the parade of tourists is no longer there to provide a bit of diversion to the quiet scene.

At Haines Junction, this part of Highway 3, known as the Haines Highway, leads further south to the town of Haines, AK. Like nearby Skagway, it is located at the head of the Lynn Channel.

The Alaska Highway however continues north towards Fairbanks .

The Haines Junction area was totally unknown to me and I was surprised to be confronted with the massive mountains of Kluane National Park

Wrangel - St. Elias National Park is the adjoining American park to the west and British Columbia has attached Tatshenshini - Alsek Provincial Park to the south.

This area contains the greatest glaciers in North America. For that reason it has been designated as a World Heritage Site.

I spent some time in the Kluane Visitor's Center to become more familiar with this fabulous park which has no road access and is best visited by helicopter.

Upon exiting the Visitor's Center, finding the Village Bakery and Deli across the road, with a salmon bake in progress, seemed too good to be true.

Sometimes I don't pick up on the most obvious clues . If you look at the photo there is a barrier across the entrance way. But for a coffee and a piece of pastry I was able to overlook that.

As it turned out, the "bakery" was closed for a private salmon bake. Feeling like a bull in a china shop, I made some lame joke about "shooting the trespasser" (bad idea in Alaska!) Anyway, they were kind enough to offer a piece of salmon, but I declined and beat my hasty retreat.

The rest of the hamlet seemed to have an abundance of beautiful log homes which all left me with a pretty good impression of Haines Junction, Yukon.

The time was now around 20:00 as I headed north along the eastern edge of Kluane National Park towards the western edge of Kluane Lake.

The best part of the day was still to come.

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