Sunday, July 17: Moving On Towards Tok, Alaska

We left Haines mid-morning, arriving at the border check station around 9:30. Re-entry to Canada is fairly easy if you remember to fill out the ArrivCan app, which we had done. Along the way we passed thru a sixteen mile section of road that had been washed out and was undergoing significant repairs. Then it was a steady climb back into the mountains and boreal forest.


More fireweed along the highway. 


150 miles north of Haines we stopped at Haines Junction for gas and then made a left onto the Alaska Highway towards Tok. 



The view from Haines Junction of the mountains. 


For about 10 or twelve miles the highway was pleasant, and then it wasn’t. Intermittent gravel was a welcome sight because we knew that at least one part of the road had been graded and wasn’t full of potholes or frost heaves. We stopped for the night at Little Lake Creek Campground, a Yukon Recreational Site. These are no frills campsites similar to our National Forest campgrounds, unless you consider the mosquitoes and other assorted insects amenities. This site would have then qualified as a luxury resort. Even a steady smoking campfire couldn’t keep them at bay. With the screen house set up we were able to avoid the worst of them and enjoy a signature Larry Dish of rice with mixed vegetables and curried chicken and a game of Rummikub. Betsy finally won a couple of games! 


While on our way to the campground we passed a man pushing a bicycle wheeled cart along the highway. We met him in camp as Larry and I walked Trey. Oliver had walked from Tierra del Fuego at the tip of South America on his way to Prudhoe Bay. He started in 2018, went home to Europe during the Covid crisis, returned to Columbia to resume his journey just last fall, and has made his way steadily to the Yukon Territory. He needs to be in Prudhoe Bay on August 24 for his ride back to Whitehorse. We helped him out in a small way by donating a much needed jug of Larry’s water and by paying for his campsite. 

Oliver, journey man. 

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