One of the nice things for photographers in June in the Yukon is the long golden hours. I took this photo south of Carcross at 10 p.m. It wasn’t dark until after midnight. (Richard McGuire photo)
Written Saturday, June 4, 2016
One of the great things about being in the Yukon is the 18+ hours of daylight.
Today was the best weather of my trip so far, with only a few sprinkles of rain and with quite a bit of sunshine. The mountains light up, especially in the golden hours of late evening.
Yesterday, Friday, I drove up much of the Cassiar Highway leaving Stewart and reaching Boya Lake Provincial Park in the north of B.C.
It rained most of the day, but later in the afternoon the sunshine came out, again forming rainbows.
The Cassiar Highway is very wild. There are passing trucks and a few RVs, but mostly it’s an empty highway with spreading wilderness and snowy mountains all around. You pass lakes and rivers and frequently see black bears munching on vegetation at the side of the road.
As the rain was no more than an occasional drizzle by late afternoon, I decided to camp at Boya Lake Provincial Park. Despite a bit of rain during the night, I stayed dry.
The golden evening light on the lake and mountains made Boya Lake an idyllic spot, and I envied the people camping there for a longer time. I was almost tempted to take up fishing.
This morning, I continued up though a vast area once burned out by a forest fire leaving spindly dead trees sticking up for miles around.
At last, I crossed the 60th parallel into Yukon.
The Alaska Highway is now paved and widened from when I last took it as a hitchhiking teen in 1971. In those days it was dirty and dusty and gravel all the way.
Frequent road work today stripped the highway down to gravel, kicking up clouds of dust and reminding me of the earlier time.
At Jake’s Corners, I turned off onto Highway 8 to make for Carcross, where I decided to stay the night. Carcross is an abbreviation of the former name Caribou Crossing.
The scenery is spectacular with lakes, mountains and even the famous Carcross Desert, said to be the world’s smallest desert, but actually just an area of large sand dunes left behind by a receding glacial lake.
There are also many old Klondike era cabins, still standing, though barely.
At the tourist office, a helpful woman suggested I take advantage of the sunshine that day and the long hours of sunlight to drive the Skagway Highway that evening. It was great advice, especially since the weather was going to take another turn for the worse tomorrow.
The highway to Skagway is certainly one of the most beautiful drives in the world, and I kept pulling off to take pictures of lakes, mountains, glaciers and the occasional bear.
Crossing into Alaska, I made the long descent into Skagway, the northern port for ships on the Inside Passage. It’s definitely a tourist town, but it still has many of the old wooden buildings from the Klondike era, converted into restaurants, bars, boutiques and even a brothel museum (closed when I was there).
The drive from Carcross to Skagway as a little over an hour, though much longer with frequent photo stops. I spent about an hour in Skagway, then made the trip back to Carcross, all the time in daylight, even though it was late evening.
By the time I got back to my motel and got ready for bed it was past midnight and still lightish outside.
Tomorrow I’m off to Haines Junction near Kluane National Park.
These purple lupins were growing in many places along the Cassiar Highway. (Richard McGuire photo)This black bear was munching on vegetation beside the Cassiar Highway. I stayed safely in my car as I photographed her. She glanced at me, but didn’t seem perturbed, though she made her way slowing into the bushes. She was a magnet for insects. (Richard McGuire photo)I stopped at the Rabid Grizzly rest stop to cook myself some dinner. Some of the place names along the Cassiar Highway might bring nightmares to ursaphobes. (Richard McGuire photo)I camped at Boya Lake Provincial Park off the north part of the Cassiar Highway. This boat tied up on the shore was almost enough to make me take up fishing. (Richard McGuire photo)A forest fire a number of years ago left spindles of dead trees over a large area, seem behind this peaceful lake off the Cassiar Highway. (Richard McGuire photo)On the Alaska Highway the road stretches though miles of wilderness with snow covered mountains all around. (Richard McGuire photo)A short walk to this waterfall at Rancheria Falls off the Alaska Highway provided a break from driving. (Richard McGuire photo)It’s easy to lose track of your speed if you don’t keep looking at your spedometer on the open roads of the Yukon. This cutout of an RCMP cruiser looks like the real thing from the distance and encourages people to slow down when passing through Teslin. (Richard McGuire photo)This handyman’s special at Carcross, Yukon needs a little TLC. There are a number of these old cabins surviving from the Klondike era along the river. Carcross is an abbreviation of the original name Caribou Crossing. (Richard McGuire photo)This narrow gauge railway runs from Skagway, Alaska to Carcross, Yukon. This is the bridge at Carcross. (Richard McGuire photo)Carcross boasts the world’s smallest desert. It’s actually sand dunes left behind by a shrinking glacial lake. (Richard McGuire photo)Carcross boasts the world’s smallest desert. It’s actually sand dunes left behind by a shrinking glacial lake. (Richard McGuire photo)The drive from Carcross, Yukon to Skagway, Alaska is only a little over an hour (minus numerous photo stops), but it’s one of the most beautiful drives in the world. It gets chilly as you climb through White Pass. (Richard McGuire photo)The drive from Carcross, Yukon to Skagway, Alaska is only a little over an hour (minus numerous photo stops), but it’s one of the most beautiful drives in the world. It gets chilly as you climb through White Pass. (Richard McGuire photo)The drive from Carcross, Yukon to Skagway, Alaska is only a little over an hour (minus numerous photo stops), but it’s one of the most beautiful drives in the world. It gets chilly as you climb through White Pass. (Richard McGuire photo)The drive from Carcross, Yukon to Skagway, Alaska is only a little over an hour (minus numerous photo stops), but it’s one of the most beautiful drives in the world. It gets chilly as you climb through White Pass. (Richard McGuire photo)The drive from Carcross, Yukon to Skagway, Alaska is only a little over an hour (minus numerous photo stops), but it’s one of the most beautiful drives in the world. It gets chilly as you climb through White Pass. (Richard McGuire photo)The customs posts aren’t right at the border, but this welcome sign greets travellers entering Alaska on the drive from Carcross, Yukon. (Richard McGuire photo)It’s definitely a tourist town as the northern port for ships travelling the Inside Passage, but Skagway, Alaska has a unique charm with many older wooden buildings surviving from the Klondike era. This house of negotiable affection appeared to be closed when I came by. (Richard McGuire photo)It’s definitely a tourist town as the northern port for ships travelling the Inside Passage, but Skagway, Alaska has a unique charm with many older wooden buildings surviving from the Klondike era. (Richard McGuire photo)It’s definitely a tourist town as the northern port for ships travelling the Inside Passage, but Skagway, Alaska has a unique charm with many older wooden buildings surviving from the Klondike era. (Richard McGuire photo)
