+001v2.jpg)
+057.jpg)
_0271.JPG)
Dawson Dan and Klondike Kate spent three days on the Dempster Highway, which runs north from Dawson City. We knew what we were getting into when we saw the sign at the beginning of the gravel highway: next gas: 378 kilometers. The highway runs all the way to the small city of Inuvik in Northwest Territories.
We were blessed with good weather and good visibility.
Truly this is a breathtaking part of the world, and a wonder of geology. As we drove north, the landscape transformed from rolling hills to mountains covered with small trees and broad valleys between. Eventually the trees thinned and the mountains were just tundra and rock. Tombstone Mountain Range were jagged spires in the distance. From there, we entered the Blackstone Uplands, with awesome wide valleys and mountains of tundra. This is caribou country. The vastness of it was breathtaking. Dawson tried out his fishing skills in the Blackstone River and caught two Arctic Grayling, which we enjoyed for dinner. Next we passed through a very barren area with mountains of gray rock. One of the mountains reminded me of Mt. Doom. Beyond that, we entered a much greener area with small trees (Boreal Forest) and mountains with rock towers called tors. Apparently this was the beginning of Beringia, the unglaciated area of the north. We camped at the foot of Sapper Hill, which looked like a castle with turrets around the top.
The next day, Tuesday, we went further north, to an overlook of a huge river valley, ringed almost all the way around with mountains. At that point, we turned around, just 150 km short of the arctic circle. On the way back, we saw four moose at pretty close range at Two Moose Lake. We drove back to Tombstone Territorial Park to camp. We took an evening hike with one of the interpreters. Walking on tundra is an interesting experience. The ground is covered in lichens and you sink in about six inches with each step.
On Wednesday we took a steep hike to a viewpoint of the Monolith. It was very windy bon the ridge and we got very cold. Can’t imagine what it would be like in the winter. Once we were lower and warmer, KK picked berries and DD collected seeds from some interesting native plants. In the evening we took a walk along the North Fork Klondike River to an spot where the river flows through a large ice patch. Doin’ the Dempster
We were blessed with good weather and good visibility.
Truly this is a breathtaking part of the world, and a wonder of geology. As we drove north, the landscape transformed from rolling hills to mountains covered with small trees and broad valleys between. Eventually the trees thinned and the mountains were just tundra and rock. Tombstone Mountain Range were jagged spires in the distance. From there, we entered the Blackstone Uplands, with awesome wide valleys and mountains of tundra. This is caribou country. The vastness of it was breathtaking. Dawson tried out his fishing skills in the Blackstone River and caught two Arctic Grayling, which we enjoyed for dinner. Next we passed through a very barren area with mountains of gray rock. One of the mountains reminded me of Mt. Doom. Beyond that, we entered a much greener area with small trees (Boreal Forest) and mountains with rock towers called tors. Apparently this was the beginning of Beringia, the unglaciated area of the north. We camped at the foot of Sapper Hill, which looked like a castle with turrets around the top.
The next day, Tuesday, we went further north, to an overlook of a huge river valley, ringed almost all the way around with mountains. At that point, we turned around, just 150 km short of the arctic circle. On the way back, we saw four moose at pretty close range at Two Moose Lake. We drove back to Tombstone Territorial Park to camp. We took an evening hike with one of the interpreters. Walking on tundra is an interesting experience. The ground is covered in lichens and you sink in about six inches with each step.
On Wednesday we took a steep hike to a viewpoint of the Monolith. It was very windy bon the ridge and we got very cold. Can’t imagine what it would be like in the winter. Once we were lower and warmer, KK picked berries and DD collected seeds from some interesting native plants. In the evening we took a walk along the North Fork Klondike River to an spot where the river flows through a large ice patch. Doin’ the Dempster
No comments:
Post a Comment