August 10
48mi/77km
2000ft/609m elevation gain
Maybe it was the trees, or the rain, or maybe the sun is finally down long enough, but it actually felt like night last night. We got up early this morning knowing we wanted to do a few chores in Carmacks, about 17 miles (27 kilometers) up the road. It rained while we were packing up so we cooked breakfast at the campground kitchen: a covered area with a wood stove and 2 picnic tables.
We crossed the Yukon for the third time as we arrived in Carmacks. We got some groceries, showered, and did laundry while charging our electronics. We stopped for lunch before leaving town a little before 2pm.
From there it was 29 miles (46 kilometers) to the Twin Lakes campground, so we made that our target for the night. Along the way we saw a lot of birds. Trumpeter Swans, Green-winged Teals, Horned Grebes, other unidentified ducks, more Sharp-tailed Grouse, and Black-billed Magpie.
The road is bumpy at times but the ups and downs have been pretty gentle.
We arrived at the campground around 5:15. Although all the spots with views were taken, there were still plenty of nice spots. The campground is busy tonight but not totally full. More birds at camp, but aside from Yellow-rumped Warbler I couldn’t ID them as they moved too fast. We had another campfire tonight, taking advantage of the free firewood at the campgrounds up here.
