North on the Cassiar Highway.
At this point on the highway, gas stations are spaced 100-150 miles apart. I didn’t want Rachel to have to walk up to 75 miles each way carrying a 5 gallon gas can, so we stopped for gas in the tiny town of Bell 2. There isn’t much there except for a gas station, lodge, and a heli-skiing company called Last Frontier.
North on the Cassiar Highway.
The drive through central and northern British Columbia is incredibly scenic. Milky rivers cut through the landscape all headed for the Yukon River.
Parked on the bank of the Stikine River.
We camped on Dease Lake at Sawmill Point Recreation Site. A nice, quiet, free campground right on the eastern bank of Dease Lake. We finally decided on a remote site after testing a few out with potentially noisy neighbors.
A chilly night with hoards of mosquitos and burn bans in B.C. forced us into the VAN early. I silently slipped out of the VAN later in the night to what I expected to be silence. To my surprise, a large boat was idling near shore and a group of people were shouting obscenities at each other from one of the campsites. Based on the few excerpts I could make out, I think sailors could have learned a few colorful new phrases from these guys.
I’m glad we moved away from our original campsite right next to those campers.
Back in the VAN we heard a chainsaw fire up from the obnoxious campsite. I press my ear to the wall and wait for another one to start up. As terrifying as it would be, I didn’t want to miss a chainsaw duel on the beach.
We awake to a crime scene-less campground. Relieved, I assume what we heard was merely an all night tree trimming event. We pack up and leave.
North on Cassiar Highway. Again.
A float plane lands on clear Boya Lake.
After driving the deteriorating northern Cassiar Highway we finally made it to Yukon Territory.
We stopped in Nugget City for an unimpressive lunch at the napkin-less Wolf-It-Down restaurant.
West on the Alaska Highway. The Alaska highway, also known as the ALCAN Highway is wide and luxurious compared to the unpainted, shoulderless, rollercoaster of the northern Cassiar. A welcome change. Passing an oncoming semi hauling two tanks of fuel was sketchy with no center dividing line.
We stopped at Little Rancharia Falls for a quick hike. A boardwalk provided much of the trail over rugged terrain.
West on the Alaska Highway.
We stopped in Teslin, YT at the Yukon Motel for gas. Gas was expensive but it came with a free double rainbow.
There was a guy on a motorbike loaded with all sorts of gear at the gas pump. I didn’t recognize the skinny tired bike immediately so I took a closer look. It was a Honda XR 250 called a Tornado. It turns out he was riding from Argentina to Prudhoe Bay and back. It must have been a Honda only available in South America. He puts all the guys riding expensive BMW GS’s to shame.
Crazy triple LED headlight setup.
He liked my Suzuki but declined a trade. His loss.
Like the sign at the border refers to, Yukon is HUGE and largely untouched. We spend a few long days driving but always found great places to camp and take short hikes.
We took full advantage of legal campfires after being in fire banned British Columbia. Adam hard at work.
Hii-YAH!!
We decided to take the Klondike Highway loop into the one time Yukon capital of Dawson City. Most of the city still showcases the gold rush period architecture of the early 1900’s.
Click below for a time lapse of Dawson City from Dome Hill. We got there before the city was swallowed by clouds.
We took a ferry over the Yukon River out of Dawson City. This is the beginning of the Top of the World Highway. The “highway” is an 80 mile gravel and mud road along a mountain ridge.
West on the Top of the World Highway.
We ventured off the "highway" to do some soft-roading.
This blog has had a severe lack of VAN pictures...
Next stop, Alaska.
Finally.
After every milage marker, weather report, purchase in Canadian dollars, speed limit sign, and liter of fuel, my brain is exhausted from being in the land of mental conversions.