Whitehorse and a Detour

 

9/8/25:  We rolled south on the Klondike Highway towards Whitehorse.  We packed up in the rain and I got completely soaked.  After flushing our tanks, I had to change clothes and hang everything in the shower.  The rain let up after passing the Dempster and we had a pretty decent day.  We did drive through a few pop up showers which ended up cleaning the dust/construction mud off.  

We went through multiple construction sites, probably totaling 20 miles.  Big sites, big trucks and lots of blasting companies ready to move mountains.  I can tell you I was about to lose it with all the gravel and mud.  In the end, I kept my sanity and we pressed on.  

The fall colors on the drive down were at or near peak.  Mostly yellows of Birch, Poplar and Cottonwood, but very stunning.  We passed through small towns on the edge of the Yukon River.  Sterling Crossing, Pelly Crossing where we got fuel and Carmacks.  I pulled the truck over to check out 5 Finger Rapids.  This spot made for interesting passage on the Yukon due to its currents and granite obstacles.  The water color was beautiful here, the photos don’t do it justice.  

On arrival in Whitehorse we hit up their version of Home Depot and picked up items to repair the trailer.  Three sets of cabinet hinges were replaced along with the roller clips that secure the doors shut.  I also replaced the bathroom door hinges with something a little sturdier than the “decorative” ones that came with it.  These hinges required a little adjustment to make them work, but I don’t think we’ll have any further issues. 

We had some leftovers, I finished working around 8pm and then we watched a few YouTube videos.  We stayed with a Boondockers Welcome couple that we stayed with on our way up.  They have been in Whitehorse for 48 years, built this house together around 40 years ago and travel around Canada in their Class C.  Such a nice couple and fun to talk to.  We “paid” them with some halibut for their generosity.  

9/9/25:  We left our Boondockers spot by 9:40 and headed down the Alcan.  After a short time, we saw a sign for Atlin.  The night before we watched a video from Art We There Yet that highlighted Atlin and it looked pretty great.  Beautiful lake and mountains surrounding it.  It is only 60 miles or 100km off the highway…

We did a quick U-Turn on the highway and headed back for Atlin.  The drive down was nice and we spotted a big moose.  There are a series of pretty mountain lakes on the way down, eventually arriving at Atlin and Atlin Lake.  The lake is about 6 miles wide and 85 miles long, it also gets to almost 1,000’ deep.  We had hoped to paddle with our boards, but the wind had other plans down here.  A local later told me, 6-7’ waves are common here.  

We found a campsite right on the water, quickly walked the dogs and then wandered through town.  Not much is open on Monday and Tuesday down here during the shoulder season.  This little community was established in the late 1800’s during the gold rush and the current community is doing its best to preserve the past.  Many buildings have a placard on them that tells what they were in the past.  Several buildings are being remodeled/preserved as I write this.  If this place wasn’t so far from home, I could stay here.  

We picked up a few groceries and headed back to the rig.  We had a light lunch and played games on the picnic table.  It was a nice day.  We hung outside for quite a while and enjoyed the fall weather.  We met a nice couple from Central BC and discussed our travels.  We watch some of the same YouTube travel channels and exchanged some that the other doesn’t watch.  

We made a steak and veggie dinner on the Blackstone that turned out OK.  We need a new regulator for it, it’s not getting hot enough.  We will have a new one shipped to Montana.  It looked like we were going to get a sunset and then some clouds rolled in and ruined it.  It was still a great day.  

Back to our regularly scheduled travels tomorrow.  Who knows…we may find another detour.