John Poirier
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- Mar 13, 2009
- Messages
- 5
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- 35mm
Hello, Rachelle.
It's a wonderful trip that you're thinking about. I've done the entire route, parts of it several times. I lived in Watson Lake, Yukon from 1975 to 1979 and in other parts of the North until retiring in 2006. The last time I did any of your route was a trip from Yellowknife to Whitehorse via Fort Simpson and Fort Nelson in 1996.
There are wonderful landscapes along much of the route, and a good deal of it is a genuine wilderness experience.
I strongly recommend that you pick up a copy of a publication called "The Milepost", which is an annually published guide to Northen highways. You may well find it in a local bookstore. If not, there is a website- www.milepost.com, and it's also available at Amazon and other online sources. It covers northen highways- points of interest, maps, etc in great detail.
Most of your route should be easy going with a regular vehicle as long as it's in decent mechnical condition. Just make sure you have at least one good spare as it can be a long way between service stations. An extra can of gas is not a bad idea, but if you keep a close eye on the gas gauge and fill up regularly you're probably OK. Also make sure you have at least one spare headlight bulb. You might consider joining the Auto Association as towing can be expensive.
One road I would be cautious about is the Top of the World Highway, which runs between Dawson City and Alaska. It's an absolutely spectacular drive. However, the last I heard was that it can still be nasty especially when wet.
September is a good time to go. It can get cold, so if you're camping make sure you have a good sleeping bag. A great advantage is that bug season is over. You should see some decent fall colour at least on parts of the route. I wouldn't neessarily expect to see a lot of wildlife. You can run into bears and moose just about anywhere. I've seen caribou and mountain sheep in Muncho Lake Provincial Park. In September tourist traffic is down so things are more sane.
On thing I'd encourage you to do is take it easy and check out some of the funny little stops (restaurant/gas stations) along the way. I can't make specific recommendations because things will have changed over the years. I can tell you that there is probably still a fairly distinctive Norhern road culture. One of my little rituals on regular trips between Watson Lake and Whitehorse was to stop for monster fresh-baked cinnamon buns and coffee at Rancheria and excellent burgers in Teslin. There were and probably still are some unique characters at those spots.
I'd say three weeks is an adequate amount of time for the trip, in terms of covering the distance. However, you may get frustrated at not having enough time to stop and wander around. A good abbreviated route would be to do the Alaska Highway to Watson Lake, then come back down Highway 37.
Cheers
John Poirier
It's a wonderful trip that you're thinking about. I've done the entire route, parts of it several times. I lived in Watson Lake, Yukon from 1975 to 1979 and in other parts of the North until retiring in 2006. The last time I did any of your route was a trip from Yellowknife to Whitehorse via Fort Simpson and Fort Nelson in 1996.
There are wonderful landscapes along much of the route, and a good deal of it is a genuine wilderness experience.
I strongly recommend that you pick up a copy of a publication called "The Milepost", which is an annually published guide to Northen highways. You may well find it in a local bookstore. If not, there is a website- www.milepost.com, and it's also available at Amazon and other online sources. It covers northen highways- points of interest, maps, etc in great detail.
Most of your route should be easy going with a regular vehicle as long as it's in decent mechnical condition. Just make sure you have at least one good spare as it can be a long way between service stations. An extra can of gas is not a bad idea, but if you keep a close eye on the gas gauge and fill up regularly you're probably OK. Also make sure you have at least one spare headlight bulb. You might consider joining the Auto Association as towing can be expensive.
One road I would be cautious about is the Top of the World Highway, which runs between Dawson City and Alaska. It's an absolutely spectacular drive. However, the last I heard was that it can still be nasty especially when wet.
September is a good time to go. It can get cold, so if you're camping make sure you have a good sleeping bag. A great advantage is that bug season is over. You should see some decent fall colour at least on parts of the route. I wouldn't neessarily expect to see a lot of wildlife. You can run into bears and moose just about anywhere. I've seen caribou and mountain sheep in Muncho Lake Provincial Park. In September tourist traffic is down so things are more sane.
On thing I'd encourage you to do is take it easy and check out some of the funny little stops (restaurant/gas stations) along the way. I can't make specific recommendations because things will have changed over the years. I can tell you that there is probably still a fairly distinctive Norhern road culture. One of my little rituals on regular trips between Watson Lake and Whitehorse was to stop for monster fresh-baked cinnamon buns and coffee at Rancheria and excellent burgers in Teslin. There were and probably still are some unique characters at those spots.
I'd say three weeks is an adequate amount of time for the trip, in terms of covering the distance. However, you may get frustrated at not having enough time to stop and wander around. A good abbreviated route would be to do the Alaska Highway to Watson Lake, then come back down Highway 37.
Cheers
John Poirier
