Day 20 - Haines Junction

Another very cold start to the day so windows were on the van again.  We crossed the wide and silty Donjek River.  The current bridge is 3 miles downriver from the original, which crossed at a narrower location.  The new bridge was built in 2009 and named from the Indian word for a peavine that grows in the area.

Destruction Bay was another point passed today.  During the early years, driving the highway was difficult and often dangerous, causing wear and tear on both men and machines.  Destruction Bay was one of the relay stations which were spaced at 100 mile intervals to give drivers a break and to service vehicles.

 The drive along the Kluane Lake was one of the most spectacular sights of the trip so far.  Beautiful aqua coloured water at the base of a mountain and it was quite a long drive.  Unfortunately we had chosen this day to put our windows on so lost many photo opportunities.  It is certainly a place that we would recommend to anyone travelling in the continent of North America.  Our lunch stop was at Soldier’s Summit where on November 20, 1942 a ribbon cutting ceremony in -35 degrees was held to officially open the Alaska Canada Military Highway.  At this point you can see where the glacial silt meets the aqua coloured water of the lake.

It was a day of beautiful scenery driving through the Kluane National Park.  A spectacular mountain range in the distance with some snow capped mountains and driving over flowing rivers and creeks.  At the lunch stop we removed the windows but forgot to wash the front windows which had been splattered with mud earlier in the morning when we were going through roadworks.  All photos had to be taken through the passenger side of the window.  This frightens the living daylights out of oncoming drivers as they think it is the “driver” hanging out of the window taking photos - the look on their faces is priceless.  As they get a bit closer they realise that the driver is on the other side of the vehicle.

We arrived at Haines Junction mid afternoon and set up camp amongst the birch trees.  That night we had a friendly little squirrel hanging around our campsite - he was obviously used to human contact.

 Haines Junction is known for its amazing scenery.  The town was established in 1942 during the construction of the Alaska Highway and the village lies in the Shakwak Valley in south western Yukon.  It is the junction of the Alaska Highway with the Haines Road, a 160 mile highway built to access the coast for supplying crews by ship.

 

In 1903 gold was discovered east of Kluane Lake.  More than 2,000 gold seekers poured into the area with high hopes but little gold was found and most of the miners moved on within a year.  This short lived gold rush precipated the building of a wagon road between Whitehorse and Silver City.  It was along this wagon road that the Alaska Highway would eventually be built in 1942.

 

Kluane National Park is one of the world’s largest internationally protected areas and home to grizzly bears, moose, wolves, Dall sheep and mountain goats.  It is also where Canada’s highest mountain peak – Mount Logan can be found.