Sticker hunt and more snow stripes (6/23/23 Fri)

Before leaving Tok I search all the stores for my Top of the World Highway sticker. I was really close to returning that way to Dawson City and getting my sticker. But decided that would put me off track and slower. I was still deciding if I wanted to head straight to Atlin, or stop before that someplace along the way. Dawson City was an option and so was my prior plan of riding to Haines and taking a ferry accross the bay to Skagway. The last option won, and I figured I would stop a little more than half way to Atlin, just heading there via Haines.

The Alaskan Highway has lots of construction, both in the US and Canada. I took more pictures of the endless stream of mountains I passed. Some with the phone and lots more with the cheap camera. I had started really looking for a campground when I realized it was an hour later, since I crossed back into the Yukon. I did stop and have one big meal during the day, but otherwise just continued onlong my purple gps line.

At one point a truck in front of me pulled over on a stretch of gravel road, and I could see something on the other side of the road in the grass. There had been signs to watch for mountain goats, so that' was my suspision. As I pulled up behind and came to a stop I realized it was a wolf. It saw my human form and bolted off into the woods. Not sure what it though about a truck. I think the woman in the passenger side of the truck freaked out a bit and wanted me to race out of there. The wolf was far more scared of me, but I took that chance to pass them and get going. Campers travel really slowly on these gravel and lumpy roads. Often I can overtake them effortlessly like they are parked. That occurs with some regularity. Sometimes after a pilot vehicle section bunches a lot of us up together.

There was a section of road along a lake, lined with snow capped mountains. At the end of the lake was some oddity that seemed a bit like a sandy/salt flat. Very amazing comination of scenery.

Eventaully I found a campground with views of the snow striped mountains, and an ultra blue lake. After cleaning my chain and setting up my tent I went for a hike to the lake. Phone pictures will reveal some of it's real beauty.

The campgrounds in the Yukon seem to provide campfire wood. So I have a fire going to keep the bugs down. There is a decent breeze coming from the moutain and lake. So I've been able to sit at the picnic table and type up two blogs.

I'm looking forward to seeing new places tomorrow. Before I reach the first stop of Haynes I need to pass back into the US. I don't know when the boarder opens, so I'll guess 0800. I may still be an hour from that. Once in Haines I need to figure out when the ferry to Skagway leaves. Then I can look around Haines and maybe find breakfast.

I'm not sure I want to spend much time in Skagway. I think just a ride trough will be enough. From what I heard it's a gold rush town like Dawson City, but funded by cruise ships. So it's built up a as a tourist attraction.

Between Skagway and Atlin is another boarder crossing back into Canada. The gps claims all this is 7 hours. But I think two boarder crossings and a ferry will add time. If I don't get an early start I'm unlikely to arrive early to my expected happy place of Atlin.

I certainly do have some problems worthy of envy. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to believe all this is currently my life. Really the only thing missing is my wife. Now I'm looking forward to an unbound trip like this with Anne. Nothing is ever perfect, but this meandering around by suggestion of accidental aquantances is truely magical. Being in Alaska and the Yukon might amp it up a notch too.