The scenery was terrific. I had read that Fort Nelson to Whitehorse is the best scenic journey for the Alaskan Highway, and it could be true. I had already passed through Summit Pass in the morning, being the highest elevation at 4250 feet on the Alaskan Highway. Shortly after leaving Toad River, we arrived at Muncho Lake, a significant camping area. The road runs alongside the lake for about 7 miles, and it is like Lake Louise, a cold blue/green in color. Flanked by the Rocky Mountains, the Terminal Range is on the west side of Muncho Lake, while the Sentinel Ranges, rising sharply above the campgrounds to the east, are near the northern limit of the Rockies. As I said the scenery was spectacular, and we saw buffalo, moose and a black bear alongside the road. The road itself was windy, with many gravel repairs. Signs stated to use headlights due to dusty conditions, and you could see this was necessary when it is dry.
Enroute to Watson Lake
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Buffalo
We then passed the Laird River Hot Springs and continued towards the provincial boundary, and into the Yukon and then to Watson Lake. As we exited the Rockies, the road became wider and less winding, but still good scenery.
We arrived in Watson Lake about 8PM, gassed up and had a bite to eat, leaving about 9PM. Watson Lake is about 200 miles from Toad River, and just under 300 from Whitehorse. I saw many of the riders I had met since Dawson Creek, staying in the hotels in town.
Watson Lake has a famous collection of signs, which was started in 1942 by Carl Lindley, a GI working on the Alaska Highway. He erected a sign pointing to his hometown of Danville IL. The cluster of signs has been reorganized and new signs are added to the collection each year by visitors promoting their own communities. Many signs show other details besides towns. The Town of Watson Lake maintains the Sign Post Forest.
Signs in Watson Lake
The highway from Watson Lake to Teslin was in good condition, and followed river valleys and crossed low mountain passes. The sun was starting to set as we drove, but the light remained until after midnight. The scenery was still great, the views being of the Cassair Mountains. We reached Teslin just before they were closing at midnight. After gassing up, we headed on the last leg to Whitehorse. The road was not fairly wide and in great condition, so we made good time. We followed alongside Teslin Lake for many miles, the lake is actually 92 miles long. We also crossed over the Nisutlin Bay Bridge, it being the longest water span on the Alaskan Highway at 1916 feet long.
On the way to Whitehorse, crossing the Cassair Mountains.
We arrived in Whitehorse about 0200AM, pulled into a Rest Stop just inside the city, and grabbed a few hours kip. About 0500AM, we awoke, and headed for Tim Horton’s (this is still Canada) for a wake up call, coffee, tea and whatever they have for eats. Expecting the Harley dealer to open at 0800, we headed downtown to locate it, only to find it doesn’t open until 0900. A small dealership and that raised a concern. So how to kill time here?. Wal-Mart or Canadian Tire of course. We found both, and neither opened until 0800, so we just went sightseeing for a while. The parking lot at Wal-Mart was a sight to see. Packed with RVs and trailers of all shapes and sizes. It must be a pack thing. Come to experience the wilderness of the Yukon, and huddle together in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Go figure.
So eventually the dealer opened, and they got onto the bike right away, suspecting the battery for one thing, maybe not charging. The battery is less than a year old. I checked into a hotel near the dealership, shower and laundry done, and sat down to wait results from the dealership.
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