Mud-on-the-tires Full-time RV Adventure: AK -- Kluane Lake YT & Tok AK, 25-29 May 2018

Just one day near Destruction Bay, Yukon Territories… We lost two days due to maintenance problems in Haines.

Why we came…

It was a good stop point and we wanted to explore the Kluane Lake region.

The campground…

Congdon Creek Campground (another link) is great. The Provincial campground sits on the massive and scenic Kluane Lake. It has no hook-ups. There are a couple of water hand pumps but they were still turned off due to freezing temperatures at night. There is no dump station. The closest one is at Destruction Bay. The are multiple outhouses. The closest to us was very clean and odorless.

The eight prime waterfront sites were taken, but the rest of the sites were mostly vacant. Most of the camp sites were huge. We had a half moon shaped pull-through that could easily accommodate two giant rigs. There was a plethora of space between sites with lots of trees providing privacy and a sense of peace. Speaking of peace, it was tranquil. There was zero highway noise and we hardly noticed our nearest neighbors. It was a rare no hook-up campground experience in which we didn’t hear an obnoxious generator. It was glorious! We liked the campground’s location and were very comfortable.

Entering Congdon Creek Campground / Our site was huge and secluded

Watch for bears! / The tent area is surrounded by an electric fence to keep bears out

Nearby towns…

Destruction Bay, Yukon Territory, population ~55, was 11 miles northwest of the campground. It has lodging, an RV park, gas station, and a small store. The water was still off and the dump station closed at the RV park due to nighttime freezing temperatures.

Burwash Landing, Yukon Territory, population ~72, is 22 miles northwest of the campground. It also has lodging, an RV park, gas station, and a small store. We did not verify if the water and dump station were available at the RV park.

Haines Junction, Yukon Territory, population ~600, is the largest town in the area. It’s 55 miles to the southeast of the campground.

Adventures…

The drive: Haines AK to Kluane Lake YT…

Drive route from Haines AK to Congdon Creek Campground at Kluane Lake YT

It was not the best of travel days as we left Haines. Weather conditions were overcast and rainy. We could not see the top half of the mountains. But the truck was running well and we set off in a happy mood.

Highway 3 out of Haines was very bumpy for the first 15 miles. Then, we ran into a few miles of construction. The pavement had been stripped and with all the rain, it was a muddy mess. And much of that mess was flung back on our little home.

We spotted just one eagle while driving through the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. We hope to see a bunch in September when they start gathering for the late salmon runs.

Our crossing at the Canadian border went smoothly. Thanks to our friends, Rolf and Kitty’s suggestion, Arleen had an alcohol list ready to hand the border agent. He commented he had never seen anyone so prepared. He also asked if we had firearms, tobacco, or more than $5000 in Canadian cash. We mentioned our bear spray and he was fine with that. He only needed to see our passports, though Arleen had registration and insurance ready.

We encountered heavy rain showers when we got into Canada. Then, as we crested the top of the Chilkat Pass, at 3500 feet, we were creamed with rain/snow flakes. We could see that it was wild tundra all around us with a third of the area still covered in snow banks. All the little lakes and ponds at that elevation were frozen.

At least our dirty trailer went through Mother Nature’s carwash when we hit Canada and the water from the heavy showers washed away the filth. Thankfully, the roads were comparatively smooth till we reached the Kluane Lake area.

Shortly after descending the pass we transitioned from winter to spring. Thankfully, the clouds lifted and we were able to see some of the peaks in the Kluane National Park. The birch trees were just starting to bud. The ponds were thawed.

Near Dezadeash Lake we spotted a huge Grizzly. He must have survived the winter well because he looked fat and healthy to us. He had just crossed the road so we saw him from just 50 feet away.

There were many ponds and lakes along our route. Every once in a while we saw a pair of Trumpeter Swans. This region of the Yukon is part of the swans’ summer breeding area.

Our first option for the first evening was to spend the night at Kathleen Lake campground and hike King’s Throne. We could see as we drove by there was still quite a bit of snow on the rugged mountains. Chances were we would not be able to make it far up King’s Throne. So we moved onto option two, Kluane Lake and the Congdon creek campground with the intention of checking out a corner of the expansive Kluane National Park.

We stopped in Haines Junction to fill up with diesel and fill our fresh water tank with water.

Then we parked at the Kluane National Park administration building and walked across the street to the popular Village Bakery and Deli where Arleen had a delicious quiche and I had some good, cheesy lasagna.

At Haines Junction we turned northwest onto the infamous Alaska-Canada or Alcan Highway. “In 1942, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers did the impossible. They built a 1,422 mile road through muskeg, forests and high mountain passes of Canada and Alaska in only nine months.”

The Alaska Highway runs from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada to Delta Junction, Alaska. We would only drive 646 miles from Haines Junction to Delta Junction, less than half of the entire length.

Before Kluane Lake we ran into our first frost heaves that were marked with a sign or flagging. The area has permafrost just under the surface due to the extreme cold winter temperatures and relatively little snow. Freeze and thaw cycles cause the road to buckle in weird and inconsistent ways. It’s best to keep your speed in check and watch the road carefully. The roller-coaster like frost heaves are brutal when towing.

Entering British Columbia, Canadian customs

Near Chilkat Pass, elevation 3,500 feet

Kathleen Lake in Kluane National Park

At the Tachal Dhal Visitor Center in Kluane National Park

Exploring the area…

Kluane Lake is the biggest lake in the Yukon. The area’s first development was in the early 1900s due to mining. Early settlers stayed to be fox and mink ranchers or hunting guides and outfitters.

We found it interesting that at the south end of the lake a localized wind continuously whips the fine glacial flour into clouds and across the road. There is a sign that warns motorists of strong cross winds. The expansive shallow bay is slowly filling with the baby powder-like dust.

We stopped at the Kluane National Park visitor center near the south end of its namesake lake. Kluane is a sister Park to the United States’ Wrangell-St Elias National Park.

It was a tiny visitor center with just a few interpretive displays. Arleen was excited to get a stamp and a sticker for her first official Canadian park.

The visitor center provided a great spot to watch the primary animal residents of Thachal Dhal (Sheep Mountain). We spotted about 50 Dall sheep. There were a lot of rams and some ewes with lambs. The park ranger helped us with the spotting scopes. They allowed us to clearly watch the nimble critters that were half way up the mountain and over a half mile away.

After getting setup at the Congdon Creek Campground, we backtracked to Soldier’s Summit. We hiked a mile up the original road. We read all the interpretive signs that detailed the harsh challenges of building the road. It was on this spot that the two teams, one coming from the north, one coming from the south, met on November 20^th, 1942.

From here we were closer to the cliffs of Sheep Mountain. We watched a group of ewes and their adorable lambs make their way across.

Kluane National Park is known for it’s high, remote, glacier-covered mountains / Arleen getting her first Canadian national park stamp

We spotted at least 50 Dall Sheep on Sheep Mountain

It was fun watching the youngsters

Walk route to Soldier’s Summit / Interpretive sign. Click for a better view

We’re ready for bears! / The Alcan opened here on 20 November 1942. It took less than 10 months to complete.

Soldier’s Summit

Kluane Lake is the largest lake in the Yukon. The Saint Elias Mountains include Mount Logan, 19,551 feet high, the highest point in Canada.

The ice gets pushed around and mounded up by strong winds

Kluane Lake and the Saint Elias Mountains are beautiful

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Tok, Alaska area

Three days in Tok, Alaska…

Why we came…

It was a good stop point and we wanted to see Chicken AK.

The campground…

Sourdough Campground was decent. It’s located a couple of miles south of town and off the main road. There was no road noise and it was peaceful. The campground has a mixture of various sized sites, most of them pretty big. Trees between the sites provide privacy. There was quite a bit of rain during our stay and the place was pretty muddy. Our site turned into a small pond with a few muddy islands. Thankfully conditions improved just 12 hours after the rain stopped. The campground also has a much used RV wash.

We had full hook-ups. There was an inconsistent 3G Verizon cell phone signal and we were disappointed not to have wi-fi. They were in the middle of an upgrade. We were also disappointed that there was no nightly pancake toss. It’s the campground’s claim to fame and one of the main reasons we chose it. The kitchen was undergoing renovations. The laundry room had 3 washers and 4 dryers. They were older machines and expensive at $5 per load.

Overall, we liked Sourdough Campground and were comfortable.

We were comfortable at Sourdough Campground. They are known for their nightly pancake toss.

Tok RV Village also looked decent. It’s on the highway in the middle of town. We might stay there on our way back.

Nearby towns…

Tok, Alaska, population ~1,250 and elevation 1,620 feet, is the main supply and service center within a 100+ mile radius. The town prides itself on its extreme temperature swings between summer and winter. They’ve experienced a high of 96 and a low of minus 83…a 179 degree difference! There is good fishing and great hunting in the area. The eastern end of the mighty Alaska Mountain Range is just southwest of town. The rugged peaks tower more than 5,000 feet above the valley to heights around 7,000 feet.

Adventures…

The drive: Kluane Lake YT to Tok AK…

Drive route from Congdon Creek Campground at Kluane Lake YT to Tok AK

Our average speed on day two only averaged 45mph due to frost heaves. We tended to roller coaster a bit. Our trailer’s heavy tongue weight makes it rougher and it’s hard on the hitch. We had to be very careful opening the trailer’s cabinets when we stopped. Things got jostled quite a bit.

More lake ice was pushed to the northwest end of Kluane Lake near Burwash Landing. We estimated that the huge lake was 95% ice free. We got a report a few days earlier that the most of the lake was still choked with ice. It must have broken up very quickly.

We saw a big male moose with an already sizable rack. We saw little snowshoe hares everywhere. They were changing to their brown coats but their feet were still white.

Along the Alcan there’s the potential around every corner to see a moose or a bear but there is also the potential around every corner to break an axle or blow a tire. We constantly watched for critters and rig-damaging frost heaves.

We noted that the Discovery Yukon Lodges & RV Park near the border had electric and we might stay there on the way back. Though the area is desolate, it seemed there was a decent place to stay at least every 50 miles or so.

The crossing at the American border went very smoothly. The agent only looked at our passports. He asked if we had purchased any Canadian fruits or vegetables and if we had any weapons. He also wanted to know if there was anybody in the trailer. There were a number of sensors that screen vehicles as they slowly approach the agent window.

For a few miles after we crossed the border, we had to reduce our speed to 25 mph because the road heaved a bunch and very little of it was marked.

As we approached Tok the condition of the highway improved and we were very thankful since we were tired of our innards being rattled. We were finally able to cruise at 60 mph without fear of our backs or axles being snapped!

The Canadian sign for frost heaves and rough road. Slow down! / American customs

The first few miles of American road are very rough. Click the picture and note the highway lines. 20-25mph while towing is wise through this stretch.

Chicken, Alaska…

How did Chicken get its name?

The first settlers wanted to name the town Ptarmigan since the indigenous bird provided them life-saving protein that got them through the first winter. However, nobody could agree on the spelling of “Ptarmigan”. So since the nickname for this seasonally camouflaging bird is “tundra chicken”, the name chicken was used.

Neither of us had visited Chicken but had both heard about the unique little town. It’s roughly 70 miles from Tok making it a nice distance for a day trip.

As we started driving up the Taylor highway we saw scars of the Taylor Complex fire from 2004 that burned 1,700,000 acres, an area bigger than the state of Delaware. Arleen and I had visions of tasty morel mushrooms that pop prodigiously in recent burn areas.

We parked the truck and poked around in the woods for a little bit which was not easy! The muskeg is like walking on a foot deep, uneven sponge. The right foot will sink in a few inches and then the left will sink in several more inches. And with some steps you sink into water.

Then we saw the remnants of a caribou leg. It was a recent kill. Arleen’s mood immediately changed and she yelled loudly, “Hey bear! Go away bear!” We knew there could be one nearby in the scraggly black spruce woods. We didn’t see any morels and theorized it was too early so we hastened back to the truck.

We stopped at the Mount Fairplay Wayside which has a clean outhouse, picnic tables, and informative signs. We looked carefully for caribou but didn’t spot any.

The first two thirds of the Taylor highway to Chicken was curvy and narrow but in decent shape. The last third alternated between chipped/tar and dirt road with lots of rollers and bumps. Then the last few miles into town is smooth, brand new, black top.

We noted that the creeks and the two rivers we crossed were tannin colored with run off from the muskeg and swollen from the recent rains.

We noticed areas of buildings off the road as we approached Chicken. Chicken’s history is steeped in mining and there is still active prospecting going on in the area.

Chicken is quirky, fun, and historical. Even the outhouses were hilarious.

First, we stopped at the “Original” downtown, a mercantile, liquor store, bar and cafe. We had lunch at the Chicken Creek Café. Arleen had the scrumptious chicken pot pie and I had buffalo chili. We took a few chocolate chip cookies for the road trip back and a huge brownie for an evening treat.

Then, we walked across the street to the Chicken Gold Camp. This area consists of a giant chicken on the hill, store, café, RV Park, cabins, gold panning trenches and the #4 Pedro Gold Dredge. We had wanted to tour the Dredge. Unfortunately, we were too early in the season for a tour.

On the drive back, we ran into rain showers. As we climbed the shoulder of Mount Fairplay the temperature dropped to 37° and the precip changed to mixed rain and snow and then to hail! Fortunately, the hail never gets too large in the interior of Alaska.

Route from Tok to Chicken

Still snow along the road in a few places

The winding, bumpy Taylor Highway and Mertie Mountains in the distance

Mount Fairplay, 5,407 feet high. Caribou are often in this area, but we didn’t see any.

Was tempted to fly-fish Logging Cabin Creek for Arctic Grayling. The other rivers were blown out by snow melt and recent rains

We saw two moose as we neared town / Entering Chicken, Alaska

“Downtown” Chicken

Inside the Saloon

Chicken has embraced its roots and we liked it!

Two more chickens in Chicken / There are no flushing toilets but the outhouses are very nice

The Pedro Dredge began operating in 1938 in Fairbanks AK. It was moved in pieces to Chicken and reassembled in 1959 where it operated successfully for 8 years. It’s HUGE.

Next…

We are in Fairbanks AK. Our next stops are Cantwell, Willow, and then Anchorage.

Parting shots…

Tok AK has had a high temperature of 96 and a low of -83 … a 179 degree difference! / We saw lots of snowshoe hares. They would have been mostly white just a month prior.