22 July 2006
Day 6: Haines Junction to Glenallen
Road conditions deteriorated greatly today. Bad bumps, enormous potholes, and interminable construction made driving much less fun.
However… Kluane National Park (Yukon) and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park (Alaska) made driving much more scenic. Immediately south of Tok, the roads were completely torn up for construction… mile after mile after endless mile of roadbed consisting of packed dirt and small rocks (not gravel) gave me a headache.
So far, no flat tires (knock on wood…)
Spotted today:
• caribou
• mountain sheep (in Kluane)
• a porcupine (road kill)
• a fox (Arctic? not sure; at the Yukon/Canadian border)
• more ravens
• tracks of a large, hooved animal; I’m guessing moose?
Camping tonight at Dry Creek State Recreation Area campground, just outside Glenallen.
Heavy clouds have plagued views of the Wrangell and St. Elias ranges; very annoying. I’m hoping they will clear somewhat tomorrow.
Tomorrow: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. If lousy weather persists, I may stall by driving down to Valdez to see if Exxon shows any signs of paying its fines for its oil spill many many years ago.
Departed Haines Junction, Yukon about 9:30 AM PDTArrived Tok, Alaska at 3:00 PM ADT (Alaska Time)
Arrived Glenallen, Alaska (62°9'N, 145°28'W) at 7:00 PM ADT
Sun: 4:38 AM - 10:58 PM
Distance to the north pole: 1,926 miles
Distance to Seattle: 1,351 miles
view routeDriving time: 10 hours 30 minutes
Distance driven: 435 miles
Total driven: 2,707 miles
22 July 2006 10:12 PM ADT