Early afternoon on 31 May, I picked up a rental car at
the airport in Minneapolis. Betty and I then drove to a quiet parking
lot nearby and transferred the canoe and all my gear to the rental car.
Betty then drove south to spend the next three months with her family
in Iowa and I headed north to Alaska. Well actually, to Whitehorse,
Yukon Territory and eventually to Alaska.
The 2700 miles drive went by quickly. After driving about
14 hours each day, I pitched my tent and slept very well. The last thousand
miles or so was on the Alaska Highway, which starts in Dawson City,
BC. This great road was built in 1942 as part of U.S. preparations for
WWII.
Amazingly, it only took eight months to connect Dawson Creek with Fairbanks,
Alaska 1500 miles across mountains, tundra and great rivers. All this
in a very remote and rugged area while dealing with temperatures 30
degrees below zero, arctic winds, and permafrost. The U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers spearheaded this massive effort with nine regiments and
thousands of civilians. Canada suspended all border control restrictions,
taxes and tariffs. They provided the roadway easement, building materials
and some civilian workers. In return, Canada was given the road at the
end of the war. At the onset of construction, Dawson Creek exploded
from a remote village of 400 to a bustling tent city of 10,000 within
a few weeks.
In the forties, the "ALCAN Highway" had a gravel surface and
an official permit was required to travel on it. Today, they let anyone
willing to pay the high gas prices drive on it. It is now paved except
for sections that might be under repair. I was on less than 25 miles
that was not paved. The wildlife along some portions is phenomenal.
I saw dozens of deer, three moose, a wolf, over 20 Stone Sheep, two
wild goats, five black bears and one grizzly. There are also caribou
in some areas but I was not close enough to positively identify them.
Yesterday, I stopped so many times to take pictures and just watch game
browse that I was 200 miles behind the previous day's progress.
Whitehorse is an upbeat, progressive and clean little city with a rich
and colorful past. This morning, 3 June, I linked up with Bill Quayle,
my trip partner for the next 2 1/2 months. Bill arrived in Whitehorse
the day before I did. Our scheduled meeting date was not until 5 June.
Excitement was high as we went over our plans for the next few days.
We made arrangements with Scott at Kanoe People, a local outfitter,
to leave our gear in his fenced lot while we shuttle vehicles, etc.
The revised plan is for us to position most of our gear and both canoes
with Scott for three days. During that time we will return my rental
car to an agency in Skagway, AK, about two hours drive from Whitehorse,
then we will hike from Skagway over the Chilkoot Trail to Bennett Lake.
This is the famous route the gold seekers of 1897-1898 took after they
got off ships in Skagway. They crossed the Coast Mountains through Chilkoot
Pass, also through White Pass, and then down to the head waters of the
Yukon River. They then made rafts and floated north down the Yukon to
the goldfields of the Klondike and elsewhere. Fortunately, Bill and
I will have our own canoes waiting for the trip down the Yukon and won't
have to do any raft building.
This was written by a driver on the Alaska Highway shortly after it
was completed and before they rerouted some of it to make fewer sharp
turns:
Winding in and winding out,
Filled my mind with serious doubt,
As to whether the lout,
Who built this route,
Was going to hell or coming out.