Whitehorse

Went to Whitehorse to get provisions. Lots of people are in Whitehorse getting provisions, starting a trip, ending a trip and getting outfitted. The airport and visitor center are busy. Many tourists are from Germany and other European countries. Whitehorse is on the Yukon River with mountains all around it. I watched a parade on Main Street as I sat in the barber chair getting a haircut.

Faro, forward

Left Faro, following Campbell Highway. The forest fire was still burning. Checked out several places. Drury Creek Campground (site #10) looks good. Frenchman Road with Frenchman Lake looks good. Tatchun Creek Campground is too close to the Klondike Highway to be appealing (although an outfitter was setting up tents for some German tourists). Across from Tatum Creek is a rough road that leads to a First Nation Fish Camp and the confluence of the creek with the Klondike River. South of there is Five Finger Rapids which is worth stopping for and taking the hike down to riverside.

stone sheep, photo

our route, so far

Our completed route, as of August 7.

Europe When I'm Old

I met an inspiring couple at Whirlpool Rapids on the Liard River. They were gathering firewood to put in their aged camper. He was 78; she was 76. They were from Juneau, AK and were traveling on a road trip. As we talked, we found they were international travelers. In the past few years, they had gone up the Amazon, visited Antarctica, traveled to China, Tibet and Nepal (same trip I took), hiked the Annapurna Trail and spent six months throughout Peru.

When asked about Europe, he replied, "I'll go to Europe when I get old." After reflecting a few moments, he grinned and said, "Maybe, I better go soon."

Yukon Facts

Average Daily Hours of Daylight in July: 20 hours

Motorist Requirement: Drive with headlights on at all times

Population: 33,000

Number Moose: 50,000

Number Caribou: 160,000

Longest River: The Yukon River

Capital: Whitehorse

Blind Creek and Rose Creek

After getting the tire fixed, I fished Blind Creek and caught lots of grayling, mostly on caddis fly imitations. Decided to stay in the town campground. Ironically, the campground was quieter and felt more like the wilderness than the wilderness with the RVs.

In the morning, took an interpretive walk to the waterfalls. Faro was once a larger town of 1,500 people, but is now only 300. A large open pit mind for lead and zinc operated from 1968 to 1998. The town bills itself as Yukon's best kept secret. Aside from the vacant apartment buildings and mine site up the road, it is really nice with good views of the Pelly River Valley and the surrounding mountains.

Fished Rose Creek outside of Faro, above the mine site . Excellent grayling stream. Once you get past (and get over) the mine works, you are in a wonderful wilderness in the Tintina Trench. The Trench today is a migratory route for birds and other wildlife. Supposedly during the Ice Age, it remained ice-free and was the highway to Asia via the Beringia land mass (now the Bering Sea). Anyway, there was a baetis mayfly hatch and