Northern BC & Yukon

I’ve gone back to northern British Columbia at the lodge on Muncho Lake…Northern Rockies Adventures. Spent the night in Vancouver last Saturday, then headed to Pitt Meadows regional airport to take a twin prop plane to Fort Nelson…unloaded the plane and transported by van for the 2.5 hour road trip to Muncho Lake.

IMG_8346.jpeg

Saw this same plane in the hangar last year when I came
IMG_8345.jpegIMG_8348.jpegIMG_8350.jpeg

This adventurous dude came from Barrow AK and stopped in Fort Nelson to refuel…its a single seater, he is on his way to NY…AV fuel is costing him $100 an hour of flying…

IMG_8351.jpeg
 
Click to expand...
Between the Lodge and Watson Lake last year, north and southbound, I’m willing to guess I saw 30+ new black bear families of momma and cubs on the roadside. They were “seasoning” their stomachs by eating wild flowers after a long dormant winter before ramping up to a more hardy diet in the summer.
And there’s nothing like coming down a long hill around a corner and having 25 or 30 woods bison standing in the road staring at you. They are larger than the Plains variety we see down here…and they have the right of way and know it.
 
The Alaska Highway (Hwy 1) is a great drive, if you ever get the chance. Go up to Whitehorse, but then continue north on Hwy 2 to Dawson City, take the "Top of the World Highway" across to Chicken Alaska, population 12 (stop at the cafe for lunch), then keep driving to meet back up with Hwy 1.
 
Canuck from Kansas said:
The Alaska Highway (Hwy 1) is a great drive, if you ever get the chance. Go up to Whitehorse, but then continue north on Hwy 2 to Dawson City, take the "Top of the World Highway" across to Chicken Alaska, population 12 (stop at the cafe for lunch), then keep driving to meet back up with Hwy 1.
Click to expand...
I did that. If you’re going all that way, might as well take the Dempster Highway up to the Arctic Circle, or beyond!
 
Canuck from Kansas said:
That's my goal for next time. Lotta busted windshields and flat tires on that one ...
Click to expand...
We made it back down on our full sized spare and donut. :oops: We also started out with some pretty sus tires near the end of their lives, but I was poor and wanted to eke out every mile I could. I think I'd re-evaluate that decision now but broke is broke and I needed gas money.

The busted windows came from the Alaska Highway proper, because it was still mostly gravel when we drove it and the semi trucks rolling down it at 75+ mph do toss up rocks. Not a bad idea to just pull off on the shoulder when you see one coming; that's what we ended up doing after learning the hard way. I think most of the Alaska Highway is paved now, though. There was no traffic on the Dempster Highway that I recall. Like, nobody. Definitely not a major truck route like the Alaska Highway is.
 
Last year the AK highway was sketchy at best from Destruction Bay, aptly named, outside Haines Jct to the border. Spent as much time on the left side as right side. Caught up with and passed some people driving straight across quarter mile sections of bomb cratered washboard highway when they could have gone the Brit route. It was like watching people score points based on the number of craters they could hit. My cloud of dust probably pissed them off but c’est la vie.
Stopped three times to assist. Frozen rusty lug nuts on an elderly Nissan Pathfinder, ✅, a year old F250 with a DEF issue, ✅, and a couple of dimwits who couldn’t read a map and ran out of gas. 🙄. Sorry, diesel only.
I did let them know at the border. Construction big time between Northway & Tetlin on the AK side.

As @Canuck from Kansas basically said, …one more time before I die…. and I’ll turn right after Whitehorse.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top