After a quick pack-up in the early light, we loaded up on coffee and gas before leaving the Toad River Lodge. More rugged grandeur awaited us in northern BC, with a few hundred kilometers to go before the Yukon border. Road signage and Motorcycle Girl had also alerted us to be wary of stray bison on the road ahead.
We were not disappointed, as we found a herd of wood bison lounging along the highway just past the extremely scenic Muncho Lake area. They were pretty much indifferent to our presence, but one could see all the "tree rubs" all along the treeline.
After a few hours of pleasing vistas, we crossed the 60th parallel and into the Yukon Territory, and were soon stopping in Watson Lake for lunch and fuel. We also visited the Sign Post Forest, consisting of various signs left by travellers over the years. The folks at the Visitor Centre were extremely helpful, and not stingy with the tourist literature.
We followed Highway 1 (still the Alaska Highway) west and stopped again at Teslin for fuel and a washroom break, before carrying to a campground. The road even ducks back into BC for a bit along the way, before re-entering to the Yukon - easier to move the road than the mountains, I suppose.
We had originally planned to go straight to Whitehorse and Kluane National Park, but decided on the fly to visit Alaska tomorrow first, and planned our evening camp stop accordingly. We selected Squanga Lake, one of the Yukon's wonderful public campgrounds. For $12 a night, across the Yukon you get a great spot in the wilderness, always on a lake or river, and all the free firewood you can burn. Challenge accepted.
The rains came quickly after we set up and in the middle of cooking dinner. With no apparent end in sight beyond the odd temporary lull in the drizzle, we dragged the wet tent into a picnic shelter and started a new fire to stay warm and dry out the tent. My ailing back had worsened again, and the dampness would do me no favours either.
We had the entire place to ourselves, or we never would have presumed to occupy the picnic shelter. Rain notwithstanding, we enjoyed a quiet night beside a roaring fire on the shores of a lake....all the while asking each other "Can you believe we're in the YUKON???".
Bighorn Sheep
Winding along Muncho Lake
Bison ahead!
Wild wood bison....just hangin' out
Jane fell in love!
Juke on Yukon....the new Gold rush?
Watson Lake Sign Post Forest
Just a little scenery from central Yukon
Well that certainly doesn't bode well for tenting.....
Approaching the Teslin River Bridge
RCMP deterrence at Teslin, YT
A simple supper at Squanga Lake
Rainbow in between storms
Worth freezing for!
Squanga Lake
Let's try a second fire!
Our new "campsite" for the night
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