Week 67 - Bear-tastic Road Trip Conclusion

That's it - we wrapped up our road trip through Canada and Alaska this week. Thanks to a spontaneous idea, we had the best road trip ever! We covered over 9,000 kilometers in 8 weeks. And every single kilometer was worth it. The wildlife completely blew us away; we really didn't expect it, and Alaska convinced us with its massive glaciers and mountains. The vastness of Canada and Alaska is something we cannot express in words or pictures.

We have quite a bit to process, and we have plenty of time for that ;-)

But perhaps in order: Our week started in Tombstone National Park and the drive towards Whitehorse. On the way, we stopped at Moose Creek Territorial Park and stretched our legs. We spent the night in Pelly Crossing, where the community offers a free campsite, as well as showers for 2 CAD. That's all it takes to convince us.

The next morning, we dropped by the Culture Center and learned a bit about the history of the First Nations People of the region.

Next, we headed to the Five Finger Rapids and then to Carmacks. Here, we stretched our legs on the Ridge Trail.

Back in Whitehorse, we ran some errands and took a few things to our new room at the resort. Since we still had a bit of time before work started, we only briefly visited the city. Julian had training the next morning for one of the tours he would be leading.

Then we set off again to enjoy the last few days. We notice that the past weeks have really taken a toll on us, and we look forward to being in one place for a bit longer, but it’s not quite time for that yet ;-)

In fact, we went back to Alaska once more. There is a small tip in southern Alaska that can only be reached through Yukon and is cut off from the rest of Alaska.

In Haines, there is the highest density of Bald Eagles worldwide, and in the fall, they have the Bald Eagle Festival when the eagles gather and thousands are in the area.

Additionally, Haines has salmon that need to travel only a short 2-kilometer river to spawn in Chilkoot Lake. There is a weir on the river where the salmon are counted. Because the salmon can only pass through one spot in the river, it repeatedly attracts bears to the weir and the river.

This time, we set up our camp at a Recreation Site for 20 USD per night because we could walk 10 minutes to the weir from there. Since it's so warm during the day, bears seem to frequent the area in the morning and evening. Therefore, we headed out on the first evening and took our observation post at the weir.

And indeed: a Grizzly mama and her 4 two-year-old cubs came to the river. The mama tried to catch salmon, but the cubs were being mischief-makers and jumped into the river at the wrong spot. The current swept them away, and the mama had to chase her little ones and bring them back. It was such a wonderful sight to see the bears in the river, with only their heads showing above the water.

The bears moved on, and we returned to our campsite. Right next to the campground, there is a swimming area. And there, the bears were waiting for us ;-) The cubs were on the dock while the mama swam in the water. Behind them was the sunset behind the mountains. You really can't imagine a more beautiful panorama! The grizzlies seemed completely unbothered by the presence of humans, and while the mama swam in the lake, the cubs settled in the bushes and enjoyed munching on plants. Nothing seemed to disturb them.

The first day in Haines couldn’t have gone better!

We were hooked and set off the next morning at 6:30 AM, waiting at the weir for about 2 hours - unfortunately, it was uneventful.

Around noon, we set off again, and indeed, the same grizzly family showed up once more. The cubs were at the weir while the mama was in the water. She then brought the caught salmon up to the weir, and the cubs fetched them, and then they feasted.

Then, they all left the weir together, and the last salmon was eaten on the road. The Bald Eagles, of course, noticed this right away, and one flew down right next to the Grizzly mama onto the road to grab its share.

We were only about 30 meters away and felt like we were watching a wildlife documentary.

Completely exhausted, we spent the hot afternoon by the lake. Unfortunately, the lake is far too cold for swimming.

Four days ago, we booked the ferry from Haines to Skagway to save several hundred kilometers on the way to Whitehorse. On Saturday, we decided at the last minute to ask if we could go directly. And it actually worked. That’s why we’re already back in Yukon and will be driving the last kilometers today, going shopping, and fully moving into our room.

In the upcoming days, the resort will be fully prepared for guests. The first guests will arrive on Thursday.

Everything about the resort, our room, and the work will be shared in the coming weeks :-)

Currently, there are massive wildfires in BC. More than 20,000 people were evacuated this week. The situation has eased a bit on Friday, and apparently, this year is not a severe fire year. Let's hope it stays that way.

Since we are over 2,000 kilometers away, we don't notice anything. Not even any smoke.