Clunking Down the Cassier

Greetings All,

We left Whitehorse in the Yukon on July 14 in our rented camper van.  It didn't take us long to affectionately dub him Clunky.  We rattled and clanked down the Alaska Highway toward Teslin where we spent the night.  It would take us a few days to get accustomed to Clunky's charms.  The next day we left the Alaska Highway and headed south on the less traveled Cassier Highway.  Our next destination was Boya Lake with crystal clear blue water and forests of aspen and spruce along the shore.

Boya Lake

 

Many of our destinations were private or public campgrounds along the shore of a lake.  When we pulled up to the office of Mountain Shadow Campground Marc spotted a moose in the lake below and Bald Eagles were perched in the tall spruce trees.

Bald Eagle

 

As we were leaving the following morning a Cross Fox was posing nicely outside his den.

Cross Fox

 

Cross Foxes are a partially melanistic color variant of the more common Red Fox.  The name implies a hybrid between 2 fox species but actually refers to a long dark stripe running down the back intersecting with another stripe to form a cross on the shoulders (not evident in the above photo). There is another color variant of the Red Fox called the Silver Fox which is more uniformly dark and is even more rare than the Cross Fox.  We did see a very skinny Silver Fox hanging out by a dumpster a few days earlier.

Silver Fox

 

We arrived at our next campground early and spoke to the owner John about hiking possibilities in the area.  He drew us a map to the start of the Todagin Trail where we hoped to find Stone Sheep, a subspecies of Thinhorn Sheep.  We climbed steeply through spruce forest with Chuck in the lead clacking two stones together to ward off bears.  We arrived at an open alpine meadow where we stopped to admire the view and have lunch.

Todagin Plateau

 

I scanned the meadow and ridges above but there were no Stone Sheep in the vicinity.  We pushed our way through willow thickets to climb to a high point on the front ridge.  Just as we crested the top I spotted a sentry Stone Sheep keeping an eye out for predators.

Stone Sheep Sentry

 

He had spotted us long before we saw him and trotted off as we approached.  We never did see if he was part of a larger flock hidden below.  The next morning we checked with John to see if his grandiose hiking plan for us had come through.  He told us yesterday that a helicopter from the nearby mine was coming to pick up an employee and that the pilot could fly us to the top of the plateau on the other side of Tatogga Lake and drop us off.  All we had to do was find the trail down and text John on our satellite texting device to come pick us up in his boat and take us back across the lake.  It sounded great in theory with one major flaw, the pilot could not take us for insurance reasons.  We opted to do a hike to nearby Cascade Falls at the confluence of two rivers instead.

Cascade Falls

 

The next day we left the Cassier Highway and took a side trip to Stewart.  The draw here is the Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Site where you can see bears fishing for salmon in Fish Creek just across the border in Hyder, Alaska.

Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Site

When we got to the bear-viewing boardwalk along the creek, there were only a few chum salmon swimming upstream to spawn.

Spawning Salmon

 

We were content to do some birding and to read the information boards along the walkway.  One explained the life cycle of the chum salmon in detail which is amazing in itself.  Salmon that are hatched here will leave for the ocean and return in 3-5 years to spawn in the creek where they were born.



Life Cycle of Chum Salmon



With so few fish in the creek the chances of seeing bears was slim so we drove up the gravel road to see the Salmon Glacier.  The road was built to reach mines but today gives tourists the opportunity to drive along an immense glacier to a viewpoint of the snowfield that feeds it.  This morning the chances of seeing the glacier were more slim than seeing the bears due to the thick clouds.  We did get a glimpse of the toe of the glacier in the valley below on the way down.

Toe of Salmon Glacier

 

We returned to the Bear-viewing Boardwalk (BVB), still no bears.  The head ranger Eric gave us the number to the "Grizzly Hotline" so we could check later to see if the salmon or bears had arrived. We checked again that evening and again the following morning, still no bears.  We did a few errands in town, took a walk on the estuary boardwalk and returned to the BVB.  The salmon were just starting to trickle in.  Surely at some point all the splashing would attract the bears but not today.   We extended our stay in Stewart to give us one more day to see if the bears would make an appearance. The next morning we were the first to arrive at the boardwalk at 6AM.  Eric had broken up a beaver dam downstream and today there were many more salmon.  We waited until 9:30 and left disappointed.  We returned to Stewart and did a hike along a historic sluice box.  The remnants of the cylindrical sluice box made of wood and reinforced with coils of wire resembling a slinky were still evident.

Hiking the Sluice Box Trail

 

We returned to the BVB around 3:30 and as we headed to the boardwalk Marc remembered that he had forgotten his pass so returned to Clunky to get it.  Suddenly I heard someone shout "bear!".  I raced back to the parking lot and Marc exclaimed that a black bear had just run across the road right past a family with small kids.  He had disappeared into the forest so we headed for the boardwalk.  As we neared the ticket booth I saw a bear in the upper creek heading toward the BVB.  A ranger was there chatting with some folks and I interrupted their conversation to tell them "a bear is heading this way!".  Sure enough, a beautiful female grizzly bear emerged from the bushes and walked along the BVB just 20 feet from us!

1st Grizzly at Fish Creek!

 

She crossed under the boardwalk, entered the creek and almost immediately catches a salmon!

1st Catch!

 

She dragged it into the bushes and ate the unfortunate fish in private.  "Don't worry", Flint the ranger explained, "she'll be back in 15-20 minutes to catch another fish".  Sure enough in 20 minutes she re-emerged and started fishing for another salmon.
  

1st Grizzly Bear Re-Emerges

It took her a little longer to secure her second catch and we all got a better show.

2nd Catch!

 

She disappeared again to eat her meal and appeared a third time to catch another fish.

3rd Catch! (Check out those Claws!)

After this catch she disappeared into the forest and did not return.  A woman came up to thank me for alerting her and her husband to the bear's presence.  They were on their way out and would have missed this grand spectacle.  They had come to Hyder to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary and now had a more memorable experience.

Let's Find a Place to Eat!

 

At this point I wasn't going to leave the BVB until we had to at 10PM.  The time passed quickly with so many birds and salmon to watch.  The bears weren't the only ones fishing, a belted kingfisher was searching the creek for smaller pray.

Belted kingfisher

 

A female merganser with her chicks had hauled out of the creek to preen on a log.

Merganser and Chicks

 

By now a large crowd had gathered and most were hanging out at the downriver end of the boardwalk.  I was positioned on the upriver end where I could scan more of the creek.  Around 8:30 I spotted another grizzly coming upriver but the crowd at that end had not seen him yet.  Marc and I raced down and positioned ourselves on the railing and some in the crowd start asking "what's going on?".  "A bear is approaching! " I replied.  "Where, I don't see a bear?" the crowd responded dubiously.  Just then the bear emerged in the creek and the crowd erupted in excitement.

2nd Grizzly Bear, 1st Catch!

 

This bear not only fished in front of us but ate his first two catches on a tiny island across from the platform.

Dinner

 

He devoured his first two fish but left his third.  Flint explained that this fish didn't have any eggs so the bear just left it to catch another salmon hopefully laden with roe.

2nd Catch!

3rd Catch!

 

He caught a fourth salmon before disappearing into the forest having put on quite a show for all us thrilled onlookers.  We stayed until 10PM watching a beaver repairing his dam (not the one Eric had broken up) before calling it a very successful day!  We returned to the BVB early the next morning for a few hours.  There was a grizzly in the creek when we arrived but she ran off and didn't return.  It was time to leave Hyder and continue our journey southeast.  Here is a map showing our route from Whitehorse to Stewart.

Route Map (outlined in orange)

 

We made one last border crossing back into Canada (the border guards were getting to know us after 7 crossings) and rejoined the Cassier Highway.  "Clunky, take us to new places and more amazing experiences!" I implored.

We hope all is well back home.

Peggy and Marc

Six-Bear Day!

Greetings Everyone,

"On the road again
Goin' places that I've never been
Seein' things that I may never see again
And I can't wait to get on the road again"

Willie Nelson's and Johnny Cash's immortal song kept playing through my head as we set out on the next leg of our adventure.  We left Denali National Park on July 6 and headed south soaking up our last views of Denali, "The Great One".  

Last view of "The Great One"

We stopped for the night in Talkeetna from which mountain climbers stage their quest for Denali, North America's highest peak.  The next day we decided to leave the main highway and took an alternate route over Hatcher Pass on a gravel road.  We were fine in our SUV, now named Fuzzy but would Chuck and Judy's camper van GAX make it?  The road turned out fine and on the other side was an unexpected find, Independance Mine State Historical Park.  Gold was discovered here in the late 1900's and in its heyday the mine encompassed 27 structures and employed over 200 men.

Independence Mine State Historical Park

We joined the Glenn Highway and continued east past the impressive Matanuska Glacier.  For a mere $20 per person we could drive Fuzzy to the toe of the glacier and hike out on the slippery ice.

Matanuska Glacier

Our final stop for the day was the Musk Ox farm near Palmer.  Here musk ox are raised for their wool called qiviut, the finest wool in the world.

Feeding Musk Ox Yearlings

The next day our route took us past Wrangell-St. Elias National Park where in 1989 Marc and I had encountered a wolf on the gravel road to McCarthy.  We drove this road again in the hopes of spotting more wildlife but only encountered a pair of Pacific Loons on Hard Rock Lake.  

Pacific Loon Pair

 

We were surprised to find many cars and people at the end of the 60-mile dirt road.  Today there is a footbridge over the Kennicott River so people can get to McCarthy where a shuttle bus takes tourists 5 miles further to the historic mining town of Kennicott.  We were out of time so we headed back without visiting either town.  The next day we left Alaska and entered the Yukon Territory of Canada. We spent the night at some cabins were the friendly owner told us that if we wanted to see wildlife to take a drive through their horse pasture across the road which was filled with soapberry bushes.  The berries were ripe attracting grizzlies down from the mountains.  We didn't see any bears that night but tried again early the next morning.  Still no bears...  Chuck and Judy wanted to see the bears so we went out a third time which proved to be a charm.  A grizzly bear was feeding on soapberries next to the dirt track!

Grizzly Bear Eating Soapberries

We continued south on the Alaska Highway to Kluane National Park.  The weather was not very cooperative but we managed to get in a few hikes between rain showers.  The first was along the Sheep Creek Trail.  At the trailhead was a memorial plaque to Christine Courtney who was killed here in 1996 by a young male grizzly.  It was a very sobering and a poignant reminder to take precautions in bear country.  We continued on with bear spray at the ready and made plenty of noise to alert the bears to our presence.  We climbed along the side of Sheep Mountain to a viewpoint where we could see the toe of the Kaskawulsh Glacier across the valley.

Glimpse of Kuskawulsh Glacier Toe

We hiked the Auriol Trail the next day through mixed boreal forest to a sub-alpine bench just in front of the Auriol Range.

Auriol Range

We startled a few Spruce Grouse families on the way down, separating the chicks from their frantic moms.

Where are my chicks?

Once we passed, the families quickly became reunited.  The next day we wanted to hike the King's Throne but cloudy skies and windy conditions weren't inspiring.  Instead we opted to take a 270-mile side trip to Haines, Alaska.  I spotted our first Black Bear of the trip on a side road off the main highway.  The inquisitive bear approached our vehicle and stood on his hind legs to get a better view!

Inquisitive Black Bear

We continued south on the Haines Highway past Dezadeash Lake.  Here the soapberries along the road were ripe attracting both Black and Grizzly Bears.  We spotted a grizzly bear and 4 more black bears feasting on the berries, making this a 6-bear day!

Grizzly Bear Eating Soapberries

It not always easy telling a Black bear from a grizzly.  Black bears can also be brown in color so you have to take a closer look at the bear.  The best indicators are the size of the shoulders, the profile of the face and the length of the claws. The grizzly bear has a pronounced shoulder hump, which the black bear lacks. It also has a concave or “dished” facial profile, smaller ears and much larger claws than the black bear. Black bears have a flatter, “Roman-nose” profile, larger ears, no visible shoulder hump and smaller claws.

Grizzly vs. Black Bear

We arrived in the port of Haines around 2PM.

Port of Haines, Alaska

We could now claim that we had driven Alaska from the Arctic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.  There were no cruise ships or ferries in town so Haines was a very quiet place.  We walked around the docks and Fort William H. Seward.  Built in 1902, the Fort was the last of a series of 11 military posts established in Alaska during the gold rush era and was Alaska's only military facility between 1925 and 1940.

Fort William H. Seward

We headed back to Kathleen Lake for the night.  After dinner Marc and I went on a game drive.  We saw 1 more grizzly bear and 3 more black bears.  They may have been some of the same bears we had seen earlier in the day so I was hesitant to call this a 10-bear day.  We had to make a big transition the following day in Whitehorse.  It was hard to believe that one month had passed since our first arrival into Whitehorse.  We dropped Fuzzy off at the airport.  It was sad to leave him behind.  He was a great vehicle for us and had taken us to many incredible places.  Here is a map of the route we had ended up taking from Denali National Park back to Whitehorse in the Yukon including our side trips.

Route Map (route in yellow)

For the next phase of our journey we had rented a tiny camper van.  When we picked up the vehicle it didn't seem so small but it had all the comforts of home including a couch that converts to a king-sized bed, a bathroom and a kitchen with a fridge, stove and sink. 

Our Camper Van

This will be a new experience for us and we look forward to the next chapter of our Western-Canada saga!

We hope all is well back home,

Peggy and Marc

The Great One!

Greetings All,

It's not often that we return to the same place years later in fear that fond memories may be replaced by disappointment.  We decided to take a chance and return to Camp Denali in the heart of Alaska's Denali National Park after 27 years!  This time we were to rendezvous with VT friends Chuck and Judy on July 3 who had driven their Sprinter Van GAX all the way from VT.  We were relieved to see GAX parked at the Denali train station when we arrived.  After warm greetings with Chuck and Judy we headed off in search of the bus that would take us to Camp Denali nearly 90 miles inside the park.



Denali National Park Map

 

We found our Bluebird bus named Kingfisher and hauled our stuff over for the 7-hour drive to Camp Denali.

 

Meeting Chuck & Judy at the Denali Park Entrance

We loaded into the bus with about 20 other passengers and headed into the park around 1:00.  The first 15 miles of the Park Road is paved and private vehicles are allowed.  At Savage River, only park buses and private buses carrying guests staying in lodges at the end of the road are allowed to proceed.  The road turned to gravel and wound its way through boreal forest.  I spotted a lone male caribou about 300 yards from the road.

Lone Male Caribou

We continued anxious to see more wildlife.  We spotted another caribou in a river but noticed two buses parked further up the road.  "What are they looking at?  we wondered.  We left the poor caribou and as we approached the other buses we could see a Grizzly bear lying in the scrubs.  As we came closer a second Grizzly bear appeared from the willows and roused the first!

Grizzly Bear!

Simon, our driver who runs Camp Denali with his wife Jenna, tells two German cyclists nearby to get into the bus!  The sleeping Grizzly, the larger of the two, gave chase to the smaller.

The Chase is On!

We couldn't tell if it's a dominance battle between two males or a female chasing off a male.  They disappeared over a ridge and as we climbed over the top in the bus we saw the two bears again.  The smaller of the two panted as he approached our bus.  Did he want us to protect him?  The larger bear lost interest and ambled off.

Protect me, Please!

 

With the show over we proceeded to Camp Denali.  We saw a third Grizzly but he was distant.  However a nearby caribou did not see the Grizzly until it was within 200 feet and fled.

Griz, What Griz?

We arrived around 8:00 and saw that the camp had undergone some changes.  A larger dining room and kitchen had been built but the cabins were pretty much as we remembered.  We settled into our rustic but comfortable cabin named Stampede and joined Chuck and Judy at their cabin next door for a glass of wine.  The clouds parted and we were treated to spectacular views of Mt. Denali, the highest peak in North America!  Some things, the best things, don't change even after 27 years!

View of Denali from our Cabins

 

We were up early the following morning to ride mountain bikes to Wonder Lake with Chuck and Judy.  I spotted a big bull moose browsing in the forest about 100 feet from the road!

Mr. Moose

Chuck did not see him and rode on.  We took loads of photos of the moose and Chuck returned to see what was holding us up.  The moose ambled off and we continued to Wonder Lake.

So Long Mr. Moose

The lake was perfectly calm and the reflection of Denali was mirrored on the surface.  We drank in the scene in the cool morning solitude before the park buses began to arrive.  Ducks paddled along the shore mindful of our presence as they swam further away.

Denali Reflected in Wonder Lake

 

We returned to Camp Denali for breakfast and joined guide Annie after for a hike along the ridge above camp.  We climbed steeply through the boreal forest admiring the wildflowers along the way until we reached the ridge.

Climbing Through the Boreal Forest

The views of Denali and the Alaska Range across the valley about 30 miles away were somewhat subdued by smoke from nearby wildfires but stunning nonetheless.

View of Wonder Lake & Denali Beyond

 

We stopped for lunch and an opportunistic arctic ground squirrel approached us looking for a handout. "Sorry buddy, no food for you, you have to forage for yourself." we politely informed him.

Where's my Lunch?

We continued along the ridge startling a female Willow Ptarmigan and her chicks and gave them a wide berth as we continued on.

Willow Ptarmigan and Chicks

 

We returned to the Camp for a Fourth of July Celebration complete with a good old-fashioned barbecue. The next morning we headed out in one of the Camp Denali buses for the Eielson Visitor Center.  As we passed Wonder Lake Mr. Moose was feeding on the aquatic vegetation thrilling all that ventured this far into the park.

Mr. Moose

 

We were dropped off for today's hike near the Visitor's Center.  We were led by our guide Mark and joined by 6 others including Chuck and Judy.  We crossed the spongy tundra not sure if we should hop from tussock to tussock or push through the willows that grew in between.

Crossing the Tundra

We climbed steeply up a ridge where Chuck abruptly stopped.  A caribou calf was lying in a shallow depression.  "Where was Mom?" we wondered as the calf got up and loped up the ridge.

Caribou Calf

 

We continued climbing with stunning views of Denali and the Alaska Range to the south.  I had to keep on reminding myself that we were hiking with a view of the tallest mountain in North America, a peak that sometimes does not reveal itself for days.

Hiking up the Ridge with Denali in the Background

 

We broke for lunch before continuing up the ridge pausing at a snowfield.

Passing a Snowfield

Mark explained that caribou often use these snowfields in the summer to cool off and escape biting insects that torment them.  Artifacts from early caribou hunters were often found preserved in the ice.  Climate change is causing many of these snowfields to melt, exposing the artifacts to the elements and losing them for good.  As we approached a tiny pass, three caribou ran off but one remained on guard at the top.

King of the Pass 

 

I desperately wanted to climb to the summit but did not want to displace the caribou so I reluctantly followed the rest of the group down another ridge.

Heading Down

As I scanned some snowfields in a bowl, I spotted a herd of 32 caribou seeking refuge here just as Mark explained earlier.

Seeking Refuge

 

We continued down the ridge with Mark running ahead to find the best route.  We reached a creek flowing through a narrow canyon and followed it to the road where our bus was waiting to bring us back to Camp Denali.  We were treated to another delicious meal before retiring to our cabin.  It was tough falling asleep knowing that Denali was looming just outside our window.  Denali means "the Great One" in the Athabaskan language of the native people. I couldn't take it anymore and got up around midnight.  Denali was awash in pink alpenglow.  "Marc, you have to get up to see this!" I called in a hushed tone.

The Great One!

 

The next morning we had to leave early to get back to the park entrance for some to catch the train to Anchorage.  We saw a few more grizzlies, caribou, moose and the ever-present Arctic Ground Squirrels darting across the road on our return journey.  I was happy to find that Camp Denali was just as special today as it was 27 years ago and sharing it with good friends makes for new memories that will last a lifetime!

We hope all is well back home.

Peggy and Marc