Yukon, Larger than Life

Yukon is yet another stunning environment. I know I might be saying stunning, beautiful and gorgeous too many times, but these are the only words to describe how incredible Yukon is. I took a detour off the Alaska Highway onto the Klondike Highway up to Dawson City. On the drive there I saw grizzly bears with cubs, about ten black bears, multiple rainbows and the first sight of arctic caribou. I stayed in Dawson City for the night and the next day headed to the famous Dempster Highway, a 457 mile (736 km), gravel-surfaced all weather highway that crosses the Arctic Circle and ends in the Arctic Ocean.

Driving the whole stretch was not included in my itinerary, so I only drove up the Dempster to Tombstone Territorial Park, hiked one of the many beautiful mountain ranges along the pristine tundra and camped for the night.

Northern Rockies

My next stops after Dawson Creek were Fort Saint John and Fort Nelson in British Columbia. After that is a 13 hour stretch to the next big town, Whitehorse. That stretch was one of the most memorable experiences though. The drive is gorgeous and scenic of course, but there are plenty of beautiful mountains, lakes and rivers to explore. I hiked at Stone Mountain Provincial Park during the first day and then camped on the shores of Muncho Lake. Muncho Lake is just as beautiful as Lake Louise back in Banff, with the same incredible aquamarine color, just ten times bigger.... this is a place of endless beauty. The next day I hiked through the canyon and up the mountain right across from the campground, which provided excellent views of the lake below. For the grand finale I ended the day soaking and relaxing at Liard Natural Hot Springs.

 

During these days, part of the Alaska Highway had literally been washed away by flooding in the area. Many people were stranded for days. Lucky for me, when I was done camping and ready to move on, the road re-opened and I was able to drive the last stretch of wilderness to Whitehorse , Yukon Territories.

Dawson Creek, Mile "0"

Milestone worth mentioning:

Bear Sprayed!

I bear sprayed myself by accident. Hahaha. I was hiking the  trail to the tea house at Lake Louise with my newly purchased Bear Spray strapped to by belt. As I was climbing a rock I pressed the canister with my knee, spraying pepper fumes all over. The canister comes with a safety plastic that was not on at the time. All I heard was a whooossshh and next thing I know, this orange substance had been tainted all on my clothing. I had to finish the hike all the way to the Lower Beehive point, which by the way has an excellent view of the lake below.

Afterwards I had to throw away my cargo pants, hoodie, camera case, and even my backpack, because they were all contaminated with the spray and that stuff is really tough to wash off. It got in contact with my knee and it made my skin red with a burning sensation.

On to Canada!

I drove over to Calgary and spent a few days in Banff and Jasper National Parks. The drive from Lake Louise to Jasper is jaw-dropping gorgeous. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that for hours you will be enjoying the most incredible landscapes on earth all around you. The scenic drives in Colorado where beautiful, but this drive is so breathtaking it can bring tears to your eyes. Aptly dubbed "the most scenic drive in the world," the mountains, lakes and forests in Banff and Jasper offer amazing views that change from beautiful to amazing every time the road turns. This is the closest I've been to heaven, on earth.

Obviously I have tons of pictures, but I'm trying to figure out a good way to share them all online. I've tried Picasa and I went over the storage limit, and facebook is not ideal. If anyone has any recommendations for this task please let me know.

Glacier National Park, Montana

I've never seen water as clear as the water flowing down Avalanche creek at Glacier National Park. The water there and at Avalanche lake has this incredible blue color caused by glacial silt. Walking through the Cedar trail was truly amazing.



Grand Teton & Yellowstone

On my way to Yellowstone National Park I visited Jackson, WY, a neat little town south of the Teton mountain range. They have excellent bar restaurants. I highly recommend the Cowboy Bar and the Silver Dollar Bar. I then hiked around Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park. I was lucky the weather was sunny and warm enough for a hike in the mountains, opposite of what it was like when I got to Yellowstone. Nevertheless, I camped three nights in Yellowstone and enjoyed every minute of it. I would've stayed longer but like I said, the weather forecast was not favorable. The weather was so unpredictable it snowed and cleared up about three times in a given day.

Wolves are very hard to spot here, you either have to be really lucky or very persistent. The best time to spot them this time of the year is early morning or evenings. I woke up very early two mornings and went over to Lamar Valley, where I scouted for them for hours, along with other eager enthusiasts equipped with scopes and tracking devices (not legal in the park). The only glimpse I got was of a black wolf for about 4 seconds before he went over the hill.

Yellowstone is an enormous park, impossible to grasp in just one visit. There are hundreds of geysers and springs scattered all around the park. I was lucky enough to see most of the ones located in the Old Faithful area. I hiked the south and north rims of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, including the lower and upper falls. Mammoth Hot Springs have dried up tremendously through the years. The Lake Village offers the best views of Yellowstone Lake and the surrounding areas are great for spotting grizzly and black bears.

Yellowstone is absolutely incredible. This is one park you most definitely need to visit. And when you do, allow yourself plenty of time to explore. And even then, you will have only scratched the surface of what this amazing park has to offer.