August 5
50 miles
3100 feet elevation gain (5500 descent)
We passed right out last night, quite tired from the long day of climbing. It was a warm night so we slept well, but I did wake up after “dark” at one point. In Alaska time, the sun was setting after 11:30pm and rising about 4:30am. Now that we’ve moved into Pacific time, sunset is after midnight and sunrise around 5:30. It’s bright in the morning so that extra hour will be nice. Although it does get dark for a few hours, it’s never a true pitch dark and I haven’t seen any stars. That could be due to clouds, or just that I don’t really try hard to see them, or it’s just not actually dark enough. In a week’s time, as we move south and the days continue to shorten, we should gain around an hour of night.
We had 50 miles to town, and the morning was all ups and downs, with climbs of up to 10% gradients. Our tired legs were ready to be done! We stopped to eat some snacks at a pullout and a couple Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers in a truck pulled in and said hello. They were headed up to the border station and one of the officers was showing the other a viewpoint on a rock outcropping we didn’t realize was nearby. We followed them to it, and he showed us which plant to use to make Labrador Tea, he showed us the cranberry bushes that they call partridge berries in Newfoundland, and told us about winter in Dawson City and in the mountains.
Off we went for a few more climbs, but the terrain finally started getting a little easier. We saw Spruce Grouse and more Sharp-Tailed Grouse, and many many flocks of White-Winged Crossbills.
As traffic came up behind us we would play a little game: Canadian or American? If they slowed way down and moved far over, Canadian. If they passed without slowing down or were driving a bus-sized vehicle, American. If we got a thumbs up or very enthusiastic wave, Canadian. Quick wave at high speed, American. In the end it’s a pretty easy game.
Finally it was time to descend. 10 miles at a 6% average gradient. No pedaling, but enough flat sections that it also wasn’t too much riding the brakes. We arrived at the Yukon River (which we haven’t seen since we crossed it on the Dalton Highway three weeks ago) just as the ferry was loading, so we rode right on. It was a short trip to Dawson City on the other side.
This is the Klondike Region, and Dawson City was a major boomtown during the Klondike Gold Rush. For thousands of years, this area was the home of the First Nation people, the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in, who lived at the confluence of the Yukon and Klondike Rivers. The massive influx of gold-seeking Europeans displaced them, but they do endure here, and we learned a little bit about them at the visitor center.
Today there are about 1500 residents in Dawson. Tourism is the biggest draw these days, aside from gold mining activities that still continue. There are many historic buildings, giving the town an old west aesthetic, though the crowd is hipster as ever.
We got to town around 4:30, stopped at the visitor center to use a little wifi, got a bite to eat and a room to sleep in and took showers. By the time we walked about town it was too late to get groceries or do laundry, so tomorrow will be for chores and a little more sightseeing.
