July 15 – This Place is a Zoo

I slept much better last night, thanks to my new sleeping arrangements in the cargo area.  Truth be told it is a bit of a near thing; if I were one inch taller I don’t think I’d fit.  The space is cozy and reasonably comfy but I think I may need to do something to make it a little easier on my back.  I woke up this morning at 5:15 AM with a stiff and painful back, and it bothered me for the first part of the trip.  It was still light out at 11 PM and by 5:15 AM it was already full daylight again, but fortunately I had the foresight to pack an eye mask and that worked perfectly.  Voila, instant nighttime.
After failing to get back to sleep, I decided to make an early departure around 6:15 AM.  All the windows were fogged over and it took a good ten minutes to clean them up to a state where they were ready to go.  About 15 minutes out of camp, while driving down through an especially narrow part of the pass, I rounded a curve and found a herd of stone sheep directly in the middle of the road.  I would guess there were 15 individuals, including some young ‘uns.  I got some video of them as I passed.  A little while later, I came across another moose grazing on the side of the road.  I stopped and got some more video out the car window.  She was so close you can hear the grass crunching as she eats.  No more than 15 feet away, she seemed utterly indifferent to my presence.  I decided I like being out on the road so early.  Just me and the wildlife.  I saw very few other cars.
Soon, I found myself driving up a canyon along side of the Toad, a swift, turbulent river, a pale greenish-white from all the rock flour suspended in its waters.  Just before 8 AM, I came to Muncho Lake.  It was long, narrow, and photogenic, ringed by mountains.  I stopped frequently on this stretch of road to take photos up the long, steep valleys emptying into the lake.  Around 8:30, I saw and photographed my first black bear of the day, although by the time I got to the tenth I stopped counting.  This bear was apparently eating grass in a meadow off to the side of the road.  And just after that, I encountered my first bison, which was initially off in a field, and greeted me by lifting its tail and taking a projectile dump.  But eventually he came right up to me and proceeded to walk along the white line at the edge of the road while I drove along side and took some video.  Like the moose and the bears, I felt that the bison took very little interest in humans, one way or another.
At around 8:45, I came to Liard Hot Springs.  This little park is just off the Alaska Highway and is a bargain at only $5 CAD.  The ranger told me I should have the place more or less to myself, and I found this to be true.  I had to walk out on a little boardwalk and arrived at the springs around 9 AM.  There’s a nice building to change in, and two smallish pools, one above the other.  I never ventured into the lower pool, but stuck to the upper, which was maybe 100 feet long and 20 feet wide, and two or three feet deep at most, with a gravelly bottom.  I was surprised by the temperature gradient in the pool.  The end being fed by the hot spring was posted as being 38C (4000F), and I couldn’t get all the way to the end because it was becoming unpleasantly hot.  I hung out at the other end, where it was a very pleasant 32C, and almost fell asleep as I floated there.  At first there were just two other people, but as the hour wore on more and more appeared.  I eavesdropped on the conversation of some traveling firemen, who noted (correctly) that there was an active hornet’s nest on a branch hanging out over the water.  I edged my way down to the other side of the pool.  After about an hour, I felt like I had extracted $5 worth of satisfaction, and I was also clean again for the first time in three days.  Unfortunately, due to the high sulfur content of the water, I smelled vaguely Satanic for the rest of the day, but such are the vagaries of life on the road.
I have had some reason to believe that I have become dehydrated on this trip, even though I have been careful to drink at least two liters of water per day.  I believe the hour soaking in hot water exacerbated the condition, as when I got out of the pool to dry off, I became very light-headed and even wondered if I might pass out.  It was an unpleasant sensation.  Maybe it was also triggered by stepping out of the hot water directly into 45F air.  I sat down for a few minutes and it passed.
I pressed on northward, keeping an eye on the GPS for the moment when I would pass 60 degrees north.  To me, 60 degrees is the beginning of “really far north,” and it also happens to be the southern boundary of the Yukon.  I stopped and took a selfie at the rather ratty “Welcome to Yukon” sign at the first border crossing, but actually the Alaska Highway crosses back and forth between Yukon and British Columbia five or six times before finally turning north for good.  It’s only at the last crossing just south of Watson Lake that the nice new “Yukon – Larger than Life” sign is posted.  I stopped there too, and a Quebecois couple took my photo.
Watson Lake is world famous for its “sign forest,” in which passersby post signs on posts and it’s just grown to the point where there are thousands, possibly tens of thousands of them.  I stopped to get some photos and wound up spending about 45 minutes there.  Although I only scratched the surface, I think I pretty well got the gist of it.  Mostly people posted the “Welcome to X” signs from their hometowns (stolen, presumably), but others created bespoke signs just for the purpose, documenting their trip, etc.  I spotted signs for Maryville, Sevierville, Farragut and Alcoa (all towns near my old stomping grounds), but none for Knoxville or Oak Ridge.  Why no love?  Around this time, my phone also buzzed, indicating my first cell service in hundreds of miles; in fact, since the previous afternoon.  I took the opportunity to catch up on some email, then went next door to gas up before hitting the road.  Out here, gas stations are few and far between.  100 km is common; 200 km between gas stations is also occasionally seen.  As a result, not wanting to push the Subaru across the Yukon, I am trying to “drive on the top half of the tank.”
Soon after I left Watson Lake, it began to rain, a steady drenching rain that persisted for the rest of the afternoon.  As I glided ever Northwest in my little bubble, I could tell I was missing some spectacular scenery.  As it happens, the stretch of road between Whitehorse and Watson Lake is the only stretch of road I plan to retrace on this trip, so I hope to see it in better weather on the way back.
I have arrived about 30 miles outside of Whitehorse at a campground on Marsh Lake.  As you might imagine from the name, the mosquitoes are so thick you have to cut through them with a machete.  I was stunned just now to realize it’s already 10 PM, because it is so bright out.  I thought it was closer to 7 PM.   My guess is it won’t get dark at all tonight.  Blinders on!
And just as I was about to hit the post button, I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye that I thought was a cat. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a fox.  It sat there outside my window for a little while, until I opened the door to try to get a better photo.  Instantly, it went bounding off into the brush.
I’m having some trouble with my GPS Tracker, but I have the (noisy) data and will be posting a correct version when I get a chance.