August, 2014
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Clearwater Mountains (Alaska)
As in Yukon, there are very few roads in Alaska. Planing to visit Denali National Park after the arrival of Mino who will travel with me some weeka since August 6th, I drove the Denali Highway that connects Cantwell to Paxson. From there, I could access the Clearwater Range, accessible through two long and bumpy old mining roads.
1. The tree limit is still at about 2,200 feet elevation here, over it’s the tundra with many lakes and ponds…
2. But there is life despite the hard climate…
3. Denali Highway.
4. Taïga…
5. VLV plunges in the mountains on an old mining track.
6. Caribou in full moult, to far unfortunately.
7. Yes, it is there I’m going! 😀
8. Mosses and lichens sometimes have bright colors.
9. The sky is quite heavy by time…
10. … but sometimes some rays pierce.
11. Rivers are beautiful…
12. … but sometimes overflow!
13. VLV will travel more than 500 yards without seeing where he puts the wheels ..! 😀 And will wet the bumper as some places were quite deep…
14. Meanders in the plain…
15. Above, the river forms splendid marsh.
16. And I’m Lucky to get some light…
17. Late afternoon atmosphere near de small pass where I slept.
18. Lupines in early morning light…
19. This valley end is really gorgeous.
Vivalavida then left the Clearwater Range and went further on Denali Highway to the east. Coming Soon…
From Yukon to Alaska!
First, let me take this update to wish a good 1st August (Swiss National Day) to my Swiss readers. 😉
After three days in Inuvick trying to find a small boat that would take me bird watching in the Mackenzie River delta, I was frustrated: not even a “local” wanted to take me there. “To much bugs actually” they have all said. I must say that it’s true: this place was particularly infested, widening and slowing Mackenzie River forming hundreds marshes perfect for the mosquitos larvae. Without repellent, between 10PM and 9AM, it’s just impossible to stay outside. In three seconds, there are 100 who attack, almost inconceivable for who havn’t lived it..!
So I hit the “Dempster” South again since it’s the only road linking Inuvick the rest of the world … With some company also since I offered a “ride” to two hitchhikers.
Sebastien, a French guy who travels between Mexico in winter and California or Yukon in summer to earn some money for example by picking the mushrooms that grow the first year after forest fires. I must say that it pays not bad: $300 to $500 per day on average, sometimes with great harvests more than $1,000 for the lucky day!
And Pierre, a Canadian guy from Calgary, perfectly bilingual as having studied in Aix-en-Provence, who paddled down the Mackenzie River in kayak solo from Yellow Knife area; more than 1,500 miles in 18 days for a first solo trip, not bad!
1. About 22:30 on the Dempster…
2. VivaLaVida’s color changed a little, isn’t it? 😉
3. Last night in Yukon, for now at least, up a small pass not far away from “Top of the World Highway”.
4. Sunset was gorgious et midnight…
5. The next day, just after crossing the border into Alaska, I stopped maybe a mile after and was welcomed by him: a beautiful red fox, not fearful sinc he past 5 yards away only..!
6. Short day trip to discover Eagle City, housed in a cove of the Yukon River. It’ss from here that Roald Amundsen sent a telegram to inform that he had managed to cross the famous Northwest Passage, December 6th, 1905 after more than 500 miles with sled dog. It was the closest place from the place where is boat Gjøa was wintering caught in the ice since November!
7. The city appears out of the past too, really a world away…
8. Thunderstorm on the trail to Eagle City.
9. Rivers must have real floods seeing the width of some river beds…
10. Boondocking on a river bank…
11. A Barrow goldeneye, quite rare…
12. Here in central Alaska, there is an incredible amount of large blue dragonflies, even in places that seem rather dry and without lakes…
VivaLaVida’s vent control haven’t withstood thousands of miles on more or less rhough trails, I explored the area of Fairbanks waiting to get the ordered part…
13. Tundra : a mixture of lichens and some other colorful plants. They remain only a few inches tall even if most hare more than one hundred years old!
14. At the boundary between taiga and tundra, other flowers adorn the path.
15. It is 10:30 PM but the sun still shines on the taiga and its gentle hills…
16. In the distance, a colorful shower colored by the sun low on the horizon…
17. Thunderstorm lighted by last sunrays.
When the part finally arrived five days later, I took the road again but not toward North as planed. The weather forecast were bad for at least the two coming weeks. So I headed South.
I will present it here soon… 😉
D5 Creation