Sometime in the night, we realized that the air mattress had developed a leak. We slept fitfully in the continuing rain, dry at least in the picnic shelter, before some eager fishermen woke us up at 5 am to rather loudly launch their boat in Lake Squanga. Apparently, this was the last straw for my back.
Barely able to walk, I limped slowly and gingerly (as only a ginger can do!) to the car and Jane took over full-time driving duties for the remainder of the trip. I would not drive again until Day 20, and even then only for an hour. Jane also had to pack up camp, other than the busted air mattress.....which we tossed!
We took a short connector to Carcross, and hooked up with the Klondike Highway and headed south towards Skagway, Alaska. In this part of the world, you actually pass back through a narrow slice of British Columbia before reaching the Alaskan border, at the top of the famous Chilkoot Pass. For several years during the gold rush, this was the primary route for miners heading north from Skagway to the Yukon.
I spent the morning bracing for every bump and pothole in the road, "yelping" involuntarily (Jane's term - I maintain it was "primal man-bellowing") on the bad ones. Eventually I started making light of the situation by shouting "Kelly Clarkson" or "Kevin Spacey" over the bumps......which made us laugh.....which in turn made the shooting back spasms worse. Alas.
Pain notwithstanding, the scenery from Carcross to Skagway was absolutely magnificent. The Pass was fogged in, so we didn't get to see much before we were descending the steep approaches to US Customs and a construction zone with The Mother of All Potholes. I'm not sure if Kelly Clarkson has ever performed in Skagway, but surely no one has ever shouted her name so loudly in this remote vicinity.
Realizing that camping was out of the question, Jane secured a nice hotel room for the night at the Westmark Inn, complete with a walk-in shower. Being late in the season and quiet, they gave me and my rather obvious limp the wheelchair-accessible room.
Still, the great location meant that I could still hobble slowly around town at my own speed, while Jane could explore at her leisure when I needed to rest. The real challenge was avoiding all of the other tourists disembarked from the two cruise ships docked in town, as even the lightest jostling or surprise contact caused involuntary reaction and sent daggers of pain down my back and leg.
We of course made it the four blocks to Skagway Brewing, for lunch, beer, and a growler to go for the hotel room. Otherwise, we enjoyed a quiet evening in relative luxury, with dinner of reindeer sausage on a bun accompanied by local beer and several episodes of "Forged in Fire".
Carcross, Yukon
Klondike Highway to Skagway, Alaska
Tutshi Lake
Fall colours and snow-capped mountains
One of the more stunning drives we have encountered
Weather turns foul near Fraser, BC
Top of the Chilkoot Pass in a dense fog
The road straight DOWN into Skagway
US Customs
Historic Skagway
Arctic Brotherhood building - facade of 8800 pieces of driftwood
Awesome bowl of chili and craft brew at Skagway Brewing
Morning Wood Hotel
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