22 August 2009
Juerg, a family friend, collected me from my hotel and we went out for a scrummy dinner and a drive around Whitehorse to get my bearings and see the sights. He is very familiar with the area as he has been coming here for years and built a house here too. The following morning we set off for a lovely day on the Yukon River and a picnic.
The Yukon is an amazing river with over half its 2,300 miles running through Alaska and the rest through the Yukon in Canada. It really is spectacular and even more amazing once you get out onto it in a boat. Juerg was a fantastic guide and knows this part of the river very well. We called into a rehabilitation island where nineteen young first nation men are carving a traditional canoe out of a 30 foot Red Cedar tree. They are under the tuition of Wayne Price and are spending two months on the island in a bid to become alcohol and drug free by the end of the project. We were allowed onto the island and privileged to watch the men caving the beautiful canoe. It was close to being finished and Wayne told us they hoped to launch within a few weeks of our visit. We set off again and it was very restful to be gliding along with someone else doing all the work while golden eagles fly overhead, beaver dams sit in a higgledy-piggledy fashion on the river banks and swallows nests lie abandoned in the cliff face. Thank you again Juerg for a lovely time.
Whitehorse is an interesting town but filled with problems. I watched a first nation man having to support himself by walking his hands along a building because he was so drunk... this was 9.30 in the morning! There is always a crowd waiting for the liquor store to open every morning. I saw this sad sight repeated time and again through Canada.
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The road north to Whitehorse, Canada and... |
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south to Skagway, Alaska |
I set off the following day and rode down to the ferry port of Skagway in the pan-handle of Alaska. The ride was amazing with sweeping bends, mountain passes and glittering lakes. I crossed back into Alaska at the top of the Klondike Highway Pass in thick fog which had descended very rapidly over about 3 miles. I passed a group of people taking photos of the ‘scenery’ which must turn out to be very strange pictures as I could only see about 10 feet in front of the bike! I did notice a sign stating I was crossing the border and I spent the next 20 miles wondering if I should have stopped!! Turns out the actual border formalities were further down the hill. I entered the Canadian border post and asked if they needed to see my passport, to which the lady replied, “Oh no, we don’t care who leaves Canada!” Presumably they are not worried about me smuggling anything out either!! I then went into the American border post and had to complete another two forms and have my fingerprints checked and photo taken... did I mention that I think American border people are a bit paranoid?!
I spent the next day buying my ferry tickets and wandering about the town of Skagway. This is a pretty town but totally overrun by cruise ships which disgorge their passengers into the town during the day and the streets are filled with waddling, rude people all intent on seeing just how much rubbish they can buy and lug back to their floating behemoth hotels... once the ships have left, however, it is delightful to wander about the place and look at historic sights, such as the train designed to clear the track of heavy snow with an enormous snow-blower built into the front and looking vaguely like something out of a horror movie when close up.
I had to be up really early the next morning to catch the ferry so unwisely decided to go to the bar! The pub I chose brewed its own beer and had a menu... another mistake on my part. I started at the top of the menu and worked my way down – it was with some relief that the last two beers on the menu were not available so I wobbled back to the rather grotty motel I was staying in and slept rather well until the alarm clock rudely woke me at 5am!! Luckily the ferry terminal was about 3 minutes ride away and I had ‘checked in’ the previous afternoon. I joined another lone bike but we were soon seven strong. I secured The Baron with my newly acquired tie-down straps and wandered up to the ferry’s cafe to make friends with the other bikers on board.
Join me next time on the Inside Passage ferry trip and what we spotted off the starboard bow!!