Tuesday August 17, Teslin Lake, Alaskan Highway, YT

185 Miles


After a really good few days Tutshi Lake it was back on the road this morning, and the drive took us through more great scenery, the sky was blue and surprisingly we are seeing quite a bit of yellow from the Aspens, autumn is just around the corner.

This area is where the miners traveled through to get to the Klondike Goldfields. They traveled through a series of lakes that lead to the Yukon River and onto Dawson City. Having been there it puts the whole journey into perspective.

Carcross is a small town where the railroad from Skagway after after winding up the White Pass. It draws its income from tourists and didn’t hold that much appeal.

Arrived in Whitehorse early afternoon and stopped in a downtown coffee shop for lunch. It is almost 8 weeks since we were here on our way north, hard to believe as we seem to have done and seen so much.

Found a place that was able to do a grease and oil change with only a short wait, then a visit to the supermarket to restock and we were back on the Alaskan Highway by about 4.30. The next 300 miles south we have already covered, although it looks quite different two months later. The snow that was quite visible is now only small patches and the deciduous trees are looking quite dry and dusty. Tonight we have stopped at a small government camp on Teslin Lake, and for the first time in about a fortnight we are having some light rain.

We are planning to drive the Cassiar Highway south, but the top section has been closed for the past 3 weeks with bush fires. Depending on the conditions they have opened it for short periods and have taken groups through the first 50 miles following a pilot car. Checked it again today and that is still happening, so fingers crossed we will be able to drive it on Thursday. Tomorrow will take us to Watson Lake which is where the highway branches south.