Day 6 - Ross River to Pelly Crossing

Left Ross River to Pelly Crossing all rugged up in our wet weather gear. The road ran beside the lake with mountains on the other side.

When we arrived at the turn off to Fargo one of the local ladies had baked muffins for everybody on the trek. Each convoy stopped in turn to get a freshly baked muffin - the local hospitality was very much appreciated and this lady must have been baking for hours to cater for us all.

Lots of rain today and photos could only be taken through the open side windows. No dust but plenty of mud. The scenery was still spectacular and there were some beautiful mountain passes and rivers.

We drove past Eagle Rock on the Yukon River which was the site of the worst accident in the history of the territory's riverboat travel. In September 1906 the sternwheeler Columbian exploded and burned, killing 5 men. The steamer was carrying a crew of 25 men and a full cargo, including cattle and 3 tons of blasting powder destined for the Tantalus Butte Coal Mine, 30 miles down river

We crossed over one of the four bridges over the Yukon River and arrived at Carmacks. The area around Carmacks has abundant mineral resources, including coal, copper and gold. We were welcomed by the locals who had cooked hamburgers and sausages for our lunch. The hospitality of the local people is amazing and nothing is too much trouble. We are a huge group to cater for and arrive at different times. The area where we ate was surroundered by wooden 1/2 walls and nets and apparently in winter they pour water into this area and it freezes and becomes their ice rink. Ice hockey is a favourite sport in Canada. With or without ice we were quite cold by the time we left the luncheon and drove in the truck with blankets over our legs for the remainder of the day.

From Carmacks we travelled on to Pelly Crossing, the home of the Selkirk First Nation, where we refuelled and camped in the grounds of the Community Centre. The Selkirk First Nation community was established as a ferry crossing and a highway construction camp when the Klondike Highway from Whitehorse to Dawson City was built in 1950. With the completion of the Pelly River bridge and the road to Dawson City, sternwheeler traffic on the Yukon River came to a halt. Fort Selkirk, located near the confluence of Pelly and Yukon Rivers, was virtuallay abandoned. The Selkirk First Nation moved from Fort Selkirk to Minto Landing before settling at Pelly Crossing which has a population of approximately 300.