The Alaskan Yukon Adventure - Aug/Sept. 1999.
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Page 1: Denali, Dawson City and the Arctic Circle.
Page 2: Kluane NP, McCarthy, Valdez and Seward. |
Last Updated October 26, 2008.
The Mountain in the lake at the McCarthy Road.
Whitehorse, Kluane and the "Smelling Fish in the Van".
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So were we then in Whitehorse, in Yukon Canada on our
"Alaskan Yukon Adventure Trek". We have had a very long day in the van driving south from Tombstone so we were all pretty tired. At this point we also hadn't had any showers for maybe three days so that was the first thing we did when we got to our campground, went for the showers, no wrong; we ran for the showers!!! And believe me that felt good. Many of the places on this Trek I also went to on my Klondike Trek in 1998, so also Whitehorse. This time we didn't do much in Whitehorse since we basically were just there for the night. After the showers we went out for dinner and then the next morning we went in to town to have a look around and to do some shopping, they have a few really good outdoor shops in Whitehorse, before we took off for Kluane NP. |  The Klondike Ferry in Whitehorse which took a few gold diggers up to Dawson City during the goldrush on the mighty Yukon River. |
 The St Elias Mountains in Kluane NP. |
We arrived to Kluane and found our campground Cotton Wood located at a very beautifully spot on the
shore of the Kluane Lake. Shortly after we had arrived there most people in the group went for a hike but I put on my jogging shoes and went for a run instead and I had really been craven for that run. I do a lot of running back home and could now feel how much I had missed it, despite all this hiking we had been doing during the Trek. |
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The evening we all spent in front of the campfire together with another Trek-leader, who was
on his way back to Seattle after a season as a Trek-leader up here. He told us some really funny stories about a person that a few of us knew from before, and those stories were really something, especially the "Smelling Fish in the Van" story. WHO ARE WE TALKING ABOUT HERE???? Of course it was crazy Matt D., whom I had met twice as a Trek-leader of mine at the The Rocky Mountaineer of 1997 Trek and at The National Parks Walk Trek in 1999! | 
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Well, I am pretty sure You can imagine what the story was about...........!!!!!!
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Uhhhhhh! I don't feel too good!
Mike took me and put me in the backseat of Matt's van and hidden the keys so no one could get in. I have been in here for days, the sun is shining and it is so hot in here I can hardly stand it. Lately something has started to smell really awful and I am afraid it's me! What am I going to do? HEEEEEELP!!!! Let me out of here! |
Stairway to Heaven, McCarthy and the Ice Climbing.
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The next morning on Trek Day No. 11 we left Kluane and Canada for a long drive back to Alaska
and towards McCarthy. I had really been looking forward to go to McCarthy because I
have heard so much about it and this was also one of the places I have never been to before.
It was a long drive though so we stopped shortly after crossing the border in to Alaska in the
small village of Tok.
In Tok we just rested for the night, but before dinner I took a walk around the area and found this beautifully little dirt road that looked just like the "Stairway to Heaven" to me. I walked on it by myself for a while and it was so beautifully and peacefully there, no people and just one or two houses hidden behind the trees. The next morning before we took off I went back to take a photo. |
 "Stairway to Heaven!" Tok, Alaska. |
 A brake along the way to the famous dirt road that would take us to McCarthy. |
We left Tok and headed for McCarthy and before we reached the dirt road that would take us there we stopped a few times to have a look at the beautifully views along the way. |
| So were we then on the famous dirt road to McCarthy that I have heard so much about. That it, it is supposed to be one of the worst dirt roads in Alaska. The road was bad, very bumpy but not as bad as I expected, I have experienced a lot worse before. |
 Gorgeous view along the way to McCarthy. |
 Tavis driving the van over the old railway bridge on McCarthy Road. | It took us a while to get to McCarthy on that road though and at one point we had to go over an old railway bridge over a deep canyon and there we stopped to take some photos of Tavis driving the van over the bridge. |
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I loved McCarthy from the first moment I got there and don't ask me why; the place just simply
appealed to me. We put up our tents in front of the big Glacier where we the next day would do our activities. |
 The river and the giant glacier at our camp at McCarthy. |
 Our tents early morning in front of the Glacier at McCarthy. | The next morning I got up quite early by myself to see the sunrise and it was so beautifully seeing the shifting of the colors on both the Glacier and the surrounding mountains. |
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Around 10 o'clock we all left the campground to go to our different activities. Six of us
were going to do some ice climbing at the Glacier and the rest of the group went on the Glacier
hike.
I have never done any climbing before but found out that I just loved doing it. I was pretty nervous though going down the ice wall the first time but after that it was a peace of cake and I believe I did pretty well, I think we all did. We were out there for almost the whole day and were all pretty exhausted after that. |
 Our ice climbing group in front of the giant ice wall. |
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for the first time! |
ice wall climbing up! |
| After the climbing and the hike we all met up in the town of McCarthy, where there is just a few buildings, to go and have a pizza and then we went straight back to camp and our usually campfire. |
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The town of McCarthy!
Valdez, Seward and Tequila.
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I was really sorry when we had to leave McCarthy the next morning, I would have love to stay
longer. Do some more ice climbing and also some hiking around the area.
We were now heading for Valdez where we were going to stay for two nights and go Sea-Kayaking the next day. It now started to rain really bad and it continued for the rest of the Trek. We arrived to Valdez and put up our tents in heavy rain and then we had the rest of the day off. 
The next morning we headed down to the harbor where we met up with our guides that was going to take us out on the kayaking. We had to go on a boat for about an hour before we reached our destination, a bay with a big Glacier and floating ice block. The rain was poring down the whole day but it didn't really matter we had a wonderful time anyway. You can't let the weather effect Your activities when you are going to Alaska this time of year since it's very unpredictable and shifting. |
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Sea-Kayaking in the bay with the big Glacier and floating ice block outside of Valdez!
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The next morning we left Valdez on a ferry that would take us to Whittier, a maybe seven hours
ride. We all took the opportunity to get some sleep onboard the ferry.
After arriving to Whittier we loaded the van onboard a train that would take us to the other side of the mountains, through a tunnel, that are surrounding the town. Today there is the only two ways to get in/out of Whittier, either by ferry or by train (and airplane of course) but a road through the tunnel is about to be build in a near future so You can drive instead. |
 Cooking outside our cabin at Millers Landing in Seward! |
We unloaded the van from the train a few hours drive north of Seward which was our finally destination before
the Trek ended. There was only three more nights left and those nights we stayed at the same
campground as I did on my Klondike in 1998, "Millers Landing" which is located on the shore
a few miles from Seward. This year however we got the chance to sleep in a cabin but
some of the people in the group decided to stay in their tents anyway.
When we came out the next morning we had some company; a beautifully Bold Eagle was sitting in a tree just beside our cabin. |
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Later that day almost the whole group went out on the Kenai Fjords tour, except my tent
mate Kay and myself, we had both done this trip before. I went out on the pier in the harbor of Seward though to see their boat take off. While sitting there I suddenly realized I had some company, the cutest Sea Otter in the world was swimming in the water just a few meters away from where I was sitting. |  My very good friend the cute Sea Otter! |
 The reason why I love Alaska so much! This beautifully scenery is in Denali. |
While the group was gone on their tour Kay and I did the town instead and also went to
the Alaskan SeaLife Center to have a look at what they had to offer. They show what kind of
marine life there is in the Kenai Fjords. We also took a tour behind the scenes. They among other things showed us the laboratories where they are conducting a lot of research in the Kenai Fjords. That was very interesting, especially for me who worked in a laboratory at the time, so I did feel a little bit at home there, even though my Lab is not for Marine life. |
| The following morning we drove a few miles north of Seward to do our finally hike, up to the Exit Glacier. I did this hike in 1998 as well but this time it looked much different, there was no snow this time. I didn't take any photos up there this time even though my camera did work compare to my last time here. |
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In the evening we all went out for our last party at a pub in Seward and we all had a really
good time, Well, I might add; with a few exceptions. I believe there were a few members in our Alaskan Yukon Family who will never forget that evening or maybe I should say, will have a hard time remembering it????? Ever heard the word "Tequila"????? |
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The next morning we left Seward for our finally day in the van, driving back to Anchorage and
finish our Alaskan Yukon Trek. God, I really hate that, the last day on a Trek. I can go on
forever and ever and.........................EVER!!!!
We finished our Trek by going out to dinner together in downtown Anchorage and after that most of us said our good-byes. Some of us had a few days left though before we were going back home so we met up again the day after for dinner in town. Then the next day in the evening it was time for me to leave Alaska again and believe me, I didn't want to. |
The Alaskan Yukon Adventure Group, Valdez - Alaska.
30 Aug. - 17 Sept., 1999.
Conclusion.
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Well, as I said before I really enjoy going back to places I have already been to and that
was the reason for choosing "The Alaskan Yukon Adventure Trek"this year. I just love Alaska and I know for sure that I will go back there again. Next time I would love to see what it looks like in the springtime though. I just wish I could go back right away. The Trek it self were not so different from my Klondike Trek in 1998 except You don't have the drive up through British Columbia and also not the three day ferry ride down to Seattle. There are also a few places that the Klondike don't go to like McCarthy, Tombstone and the Arctic Circle. Those places came to be my favorites on this Trek, especially McCarthy. If You wish to see places in North America that are still very wild and untamed; Alaska and Yukon are the places to go. |
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Last Updated October 26, 2008 - 09:30 CET.