Time really flies. I had been meaning to write down a few more notes from the road since Monday, so now I am catching up all at once. This time, I found myself back in Keno City. The drive there felt rougher than it did a few years ago, but the little town itself is still well worth a visit – as is the local museum, which we skipped last time. Up on Keno Hill, I walked among the remains of old silver mines that run through this mountain. Mining is still very much present in the area, although along the road you can already see the first signs of reclamation. I also realized that this would be a great place for hikes into the surrounding mountains – but once you head that way, there are no roads anymore, so you have to pack your things and continue on foot.
From there I continued along the Yukon River to Ross River, where I joined the Canol Road. It was also built during the Second World War. The goal was to connect the oil fields at Norman Wells in the Northwest Territories with the refinery in Whitehorse, securing fuel supplies for Alaska. The result was a road that followed a six-centimeter pipeline. Yukon still keeps its part of the road somewhat passable, but it is definitely rougher than the Dempster Highway. I would probably not take a low-clearance car here, although I did see one sedan, so with enough care it can be done. On some stretches, though, you really do not want to meet another vehicle coming the other way. There are tricky sections full of holes and only wide enough for one vehicle, so reversing there in a low car could get interesting. One thing I forgot to mention in the previous post: it is a good idea to lower tire pressure by about 10 percent. You usually cannot drive fast on these roads anyway, and it gives the suspension a bit of a break.
As it turned out, the road had a price. Despite all those precautions, about halfway through I discovered that one of my leaf springs had cracked, so I continued even more carefully. From there I headed toward Carcross and then a little farther in the direction of Skagway. There I hiked up to the old Venus silver mine, because I had missed this upper part last time and now knew there was a trail leading to it.
-In the end, what was supposed to be the next leg of the trip turned into more of an unplanned pause in Whitehorse. Instead of covering more kilometers, I was mostly trying to figure out how to get the van back together. On Monday I started calling and visiting repair shops, but everywhere I ran into the same problem: nobody had time that week. Jacobs does work on leaf springs, but they did not have anyone who could remove them from the van. On top of that, we noticed a screw in the rear tire, so I had to make a stop at Canadian Tire as well. They sent me to one more place, where I finally managed to arrange something. Now I am waiting to see whether the new leaf springs for both sides arrive around Tuesday, and if all goes well, we could replace them on Wednesday.
Since I had to stay nearby anyway, I tried to make use of the time with a few shorter trips around the area. On Tuesday I drove out to Eclipse Hot Springs, the renamed and rebuilt Takhini Hot Springs, where I had been several years ago. It is now turning into more of a resort, with saunas, several pools, and apartments that are supposed to open soon. The difference compared with my last visit is huge. Back then there was just a concrete pool; now the whole place feels much more pleasant. That is where I ended Tuesday before moving on toward Kluane Lake.
Another shorter outing took me toward Mount Cairnes. A proper forest road leads in that direction, and one section looks as if it might once have been part of an older road alignment toward Alaska, because it is built a little better and runs parallel to the current one. I wanted to ride about 11 kilometers by bike and then do a short hike in the mountains. But when I took the bike out on Friday morning, I realized that the nut from the front wheel’s quick release was missing. In the end I went on foot and walked about 12 kilometers in the mountains, though I did not reach any summit. These mountains were already a little snow-covered, so without the hiking boots I had not brought with me, it probably would not have worked anyway. The mornings were already below freezing. According to the thermometer inside the van, it was about -4 °C when I woke up on both days. Today, Saturday, I made a quick return to Whitehorse to find the missing nut, hoping I could still ride somewhere nearby on Sunday, and maybe also on Monday. It looks like rain again on Tuesday, so we will see what the next few days bring.
After all these unplanned stops, I will most likely stay in the area until Wednesday and then continue south. I will probably skip Vancouver this year, because I only have the last four weeks left and still need to cross all of Canada on the way back. The plan has changed a bit again, but that is simply part of this trip.