We have also discovered a new ingredient thanks to Laura: tortilla wraps instead of (toast) bread. It's very tasty with salty and sweet filling and it takes half the space of bread in our bear vault as we can conveniently roll it. Additionally, one can get very creative with it (check out the slideshow)... :-). Right after our lunch break a big RV pulled aside us and the Swiss family from Berne that we had met on the ferry, was waving at us! How good it was to see each other again on the road! We stopped over for a chat, could visit the very cosy RV, and exchanged advice for the travel route in Alaska and addresses back in Switzerland. Ines, Res, Sina and Anja even had a surprise for us: a bag of Basler Leckerli and some Lindt Schöggeli!!! They had seen us eating Leckerli on the ferry and wanted to give us something from home too. We felt extremely spoilt and were very touched - merci viumou! After this great encounter we cycled on to Tutshi Lake, where we found a picturesque spot for our wilderness camp this night. The following day, we pedalled into Yukon and stopped in Carcross for lunch. The route to Whitehorse was very scenic and led along astonishingly shimmering lakes, like Emerald Lake just out of Carcross. Once more, we were lucky to get hot summer weather (although we didn't expect it at all in this region!) and thus decided to stay three days in Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon. We also rented a canoe for half a day and paddled down the Yukon River for 20 km. It was a welcomed change to the cycling for once and we saw a lot of eagles and as well as a beaver slapping its tail onto the water surface. The next day we were back from the Alaska Highway on the Klondike Highway and the landscape began to look like one imagines it from the North: endless forests of spruces (sometimes burnt from forest fires), occasionally mixed with birch trees and berry patches. And the light is very different from what we are used in central Europe. There is daylight from 5 in the morning until 11 in the evening... We now even have to be careful to catch enough sleep :-). And there was another characteristic weather symptom that we were soon to discover: if it rains, there is still sunshine and wind! Together, these three form a vicious trio and we constantly debated whether to put on our rain gear or to get wet in shorts and T-shirt. Soon enough though, we didn't need to take this decision anymore: it was raining two entire days. Well, that can happen if you travel North in summer :-)! The best method to cope with it, is to keep on pedalling. Therefore, it only took us four days to cycle from Whitehorse to Dawson City. In Dawson City we allowed ourselves a rest of a few days and it proofed to be a good decision. The weather cleared up and we could explore this gold rush town mostly in the dry (which is an advantage as the streets are not paved!). Dawson is yet touristy, but historically well displayed and prettily maintained. For once, we joined the tourist program and went to see a dance show in the Diamond Tooth Gerties Casino: it was entertaining and a fun evening. There was also the annual music festival going on in town when we were there, so we probably had hit the busiest weekend, but the town was full of relaxed festival goers and we enjoyed some good music just while walking in the streets. While we had time to think about our route further north, there was another temptation and slightly crazy idea coming up. Originally, we had planned to continue our trip right away with the Top of the World Highway into Alaska. However, there is relatively sunny and dry weather predicted for the Northern region of Yukon and the Northwest Territories, so we will take the challenge and go on an adventure: we will try riding the Dempster Highway - a 740 km long and desolate gravel road - from Dawson to Inuvik in the coming days.
1 Comment
Carina Pullen
30/7/2016 14:32:16
Wow great blog posts again guys, and lots and lots of good luck for the Dempster highway! Definitely a challenge but what an amazing route, unforgettable! Wishing you good weather, tailwinds and mechanical luck for the road ahead :)
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Blog Archive
September 2016
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