Days 8 and 9 of Lupe’s Summer of 2016 Dingo Vacation to the Canadian Rockies, Yukon & Alaska
That guy at the Bell 1 rest area yesterday evening had been right. There were bears in these woods! As Lupe and SPHP rolled N along Cassiar Highway No. 37 early on August 6th, Lupe saw 7 bears near the road in a span of 1.5 hours. Each bear was cause for a ferocious barkfest – from the safety of the G6, of course – as Lupe sped on by.
Day 8 of Lupe’s summer of 2016 Dingo Vacation was going to be a travel day. SPHP drove. Lupe looked out the window watching for wildlife. After the bears, though, no wildlife appeared. Lupe got bored and snoozed.
Cassiar Highway No. 37 went past beautiful mountains and lakes. It crossed scenic rivers. The forest never ended. Even now, in 2016, with 7.5 billion people on the planet, Lupe really was in an unbelievably vast, uninhabited land. The narrow strip of highway was the only link to civilization. Everything else was unspoiled wilderness. It all hardly seemed possible. It felt like going back in time. Columbus may have landed in the Americas almost 524 years ago, but along the Cassiar Highway there were still few visible consequences.
The hours and miles went by. There was traffic on Cassiar Highway No. 37, more than SPHP expected. Most of it was big trucks. Civilization may not have made much of a dent yet, but it is coming soon, even here.
For hundreds of miles, Cassiar Highway No. 37 had been good pavement, but N of the Bell 2 rest stop the road deteriorated. Rough, broken, patchy pavement appeared. Stretches of very dusty gravel became common. N of the tiny community of Dease Lake, the road turned to gravel for a long way. SPHP feared the Cassiar Highway might be nothing but dust from here on, but Lupe hit pavement again after 25 miles or so. The worst was over. Gradually, the Cassiar Highway improved again.
Now and then Lupe and SPHP stopped for short breaks. At least, they were supposed to be short. At the Beaver Dam rest stop, SPHP was so weary of driving that 15 minutes of shuteye unintentionally turned into nearly 2 hours of unconsciousness.
On the road again, SPHP felt better. Unconsciousness has its benefits! Lupe wasn’t far now from 2 major milestones on her journey. Suddenly, up ahead, there it was! A much anticipated sign was up on an embankment near the road. Lupe just had to stop for this!
Lupe had made it to the Yukon! It was hard to believe she was really here. A relatively short drive N of the Yukon border brought Lupe to the next big milestone of the day. Lupe’s long journey on Cassiar Highway No. 37 was over. She had reached the Alaska Highway! Lupe and SPHP turned W, heading for Whitehorse.
The afternoon wore on. It was a long way to Whitehorse, hundreds of miles. Evening came. Nearing Teslin Lake, there was a bit of Dingo excitement when Lupe saw her 8th black bear of the day. Lupe didn’t make it to Whitehorse. Day 6 ended for Lupe W of Teslin Lake. Time to stop for the night.
The next morning, Lupe did make it to Whitehorse, the capital city of the Yukon. She didn’t stay long, though. Lupe was on her way to her first mountain climbing adventure in the Yukon, instead!
Although there had been mountains much of the way along the Alaska Highway, Lupe first caught sight of the higher, more rugged peaks of the Saint Elias Range approaching Haines Junction.
At Haines Junction, Lupe and SPHP left the Alaska Highway, turning S on Hwy 3 to Haines. Lupe wasn’t going all the way to Haines. Her objective was only 17 miles away now. About halfway there, SPHP saw a mountain to the SSW resembling a long high wall. Was that it? It looked incredibly steep! SPHP’s heart sank. Would Lupe be able to climb anything like that?
The realization quickly grew that the N end of the mountain wall really was Lupe’s objective! Well, there was supposed to be a trail, or at least a route, to the top. It had taken hours to get here, and was already late in the morning. No time to second guess things, Lupe would just have to try it and see how things went.
A short drive from a turn off Hwy 3 brought Lupe to the Cottonwood Trailhead. SPHP parked the G6. Ten minutes later (10:32 AM, 63°F), Lupe was on the Cottonwood Trail. The first part of the trail was quite level and followed a road through a shady forest. Up ahead was Lupe’s mighty objective – King’s Throne Peak (6,529 ft.).
About a mile from the trailhead, Lupe came to an intersection. The Cottonwood Trail headed NW on its way past Kathleen Lake. It is ultimately part of an 87 km 4-6 day backpacking loop. Lupe took the King’s Throne trail instead. The single track trail began to climb steeply.
At first, the trail was switchbacking up through forest, and Lupe couldn’t see much. Eventually, though, Lupe got above tree line. The views of Kathleen Lake to the N were already fabulous!
King’s Throne Peak is clearly named for the giant cirque which faces NNE. The cirque is the seat of the throne, with the high ridges wrapping around it serving as the throne’s arms and back. It really is pretty easy to imagine the mountain serving as the throne of a titan-sized king.
Evidently the giant cirque is the ultimate destination for many hikers, and they go no farther. As described in Kluane National Park literature, the King’s Throne trail goes only as far as the cirque. Elevation gain from Kathleen Lake required to reach the cirque is about 1,800 feet.
Down in the forest below, it had been a nice calm day, but as Lupe approached the giant cirque, it was starting to get pretty windy out. The American Dingo is no great fan of wind, but she had no choice but to put up with it.
Lupe and SPHP weren’t the only ones on the King’s Throne trail. Quite a few other hikers were around. Some of them turned around at the giant cirque, satisfied with the grand view of Kathleen Lake and being able to say they had hiked King’s Throne trail, which officially ends here.
Of course, Lupe was going onward! Kluane National Park literature describes the rest of the way up to King’s Throne summit as a “route” rather than a “trail”, because it isn’t officially maintained. The first part of the route was every bit as good as the official trail had been. It climbed toward the steep NE ridge of the mountain.
When the route reached the steep NE ridge, it turned and worked its way almost straight up it. For a while there was some grass around. Later on it was all rock. The ridgeline became increasingly narrow. Most of the time, the trail was a bit to the E of the ridgeline. Off to the W, on the side of the ridge toward the giant cirque, were increasingly fearsome cliffs.
The NE ridge was hard going. The route was either loose rocks or very hard packed soil difficult to maintain traction on. Hiking poles would have been an enormous help, but SPHP had none. Even some of the bigger rocks Lupe passed by at certain points were often crumbly, loose and rotten. Everything had to be tested.
The Carolina Dog had no problems, except for the wind. She hated it! As Lupe gained elevation, it swirled more and more violently around the ridgeline. SPHP joined Lupe on all fours, and virtually crawled up the mountain. Just trying to stand up and maintain balance was scary. The wind attacked first from one direction, then suddenly reversed and blew just as strongly from a completely different one.
Fortunately, it wasn’t cold out, which would have been unbearable in this wind. Still, the wind was taking a toll. People were coming down the mountain.
Most had simply turned around, having decided it wasn’t worth it in this gale. Among them Lupe saw climbers who had passed SPHP on the way up. A few groups who had left earlier in the day had succeeded in reaching the summit. They reported even windier conditions there. Looking down, climbers who had been gaining on Lupe and SPHP could no longer be seen. They had turned around, too.
Lupe kept climbing. Finally, a group of four guys appeared coming down the route. They had foreign accents and seemed very experienced. They too, reported very windy conditions at the summit, which they had successfully attained. They were the last people Lupe saw the rest of the day. Lupe and SPHP were alone on the mountain.
Lupe still had a ways to go up the steep NE ridge. Lupe pressed on. At last, she reached the end. She came upon a broad rocky plain which was almost level by comparison. The difficult part of the climb was over. The rest of the way to the summit would be much easier!
Wow, was it ever windy here, though! SPHP wouldn’t let Lupe get too close to the cliffs above the giant cirque for fear the Carolina Dog would sail right over the edge. For a few minutes, SPHP could only stand in one place. Taking a step was nearly impossible.
After a few minutes, a slight lull in the wind allowed SPHP to move again. For a little while, that was how it went. When the wind blew hardest, SPHP had to stand stock still, ready to crouch, if necessary. When there was a lull, progress resumed. Maybe it would be less windy away from the edge of the giant cirque?
It was! Away from the cliffs, the wind was noticeably weaker. Lupe and SPHP were on the move again. Lupe headed W toward the S side of a rounded high point where a saddle led over to the next peak to the S.
Maybe it was White Dingo Magic, but contrary to reports from climbers who had been here earlier, the wind was getting weaker, not worse! Lupe worked her way up and over a high point, and turned NW toward the King’s Throne summit. The reduced wind speed was a welcome relief.
Lupe and SPHP were making good time now. Even before Lupe reached King’s Throne summit, glorious sights came into view to the W.
By the time Lupe reached the summit of King’s Throne Peak, the wind had died down to just a breeze. Lupe and SPHP were free to really enjoy the stupendous views in every direction!
On the NE side of the summit, the air was almost calm. SPHP sat down out of the wind to rest while taking in the magnificent views. Lupe curled up in SPHP’s lap. Lupe got petted and praised for bringing SPHP to such a wonderful place. The Carolina Dog seemed to enjoy every moment.
One distant peak Lupe could see was of particular interest. The steep top of Mount Decoeli (7,650 ft.) was faintly in view to the NW far beyond Kathleen Lake. Mount Decoeli was on the short list of peaks in Kluane National Park that SPHP hoped Lupe might be able to climb.
However, Mount Decoeli looked every bit as steep as the NE ridge coming up King’s Throne Peak. Clearly, Decoeli would be a huge challenge. SPHP gazed at Decoeli filled with both hope and doubt. Would Lupe ever be on top of that daunting mountain?
Lupe and SPHP lingered at the summit of King’s Throne Peak for more than 45 minutes. Conditions were great, and the views were awe-inspiring. Lupe would have stayed much longer, but she had gotten a late morning start, and it had taken a very long time for SPHP to climb, crawl and stagger all the way to the top.
The time came when Lupe had to think about starting down. She returned to the King’s Throne summit cairn for a final look. SPHP took another round of photos. After all the effort expended to get here, it was hard to think about leaving already to face the steep, windy NE ridge again.
The relative calm Lupe experienced on top of King’s Throne summit did not prevail elsewhere, although the wind wasn’t as bad as it had been earlier in the day. Lupe and SPHP made good time on the route back until reaching the steep NE ridge.
Going down the NE ridge, the wind was still strong and unpredictable. The terrain was so steep, the footing so unreliable, and the swirling wind so unnerving that SPHP became extraordinarily slow and cautious. SPHP crawled, slid, and took baby steps down the mountain. Lupe became so impatient with SPHP, the were-puppy attacked repeatedly to encourage some movement.
This was taking forever! The sun was long gone. The creeping Yukon twilight slowly faded. Yet the sweeping views of the desolate mountains of the far N were chillingly inspiring. Thousands of feet below, whitecaps could be seen on Kathleen Lake.
Even the official King’s Throne trail below the giant cirque seemed steeper and more difficult than SPHP remembered. By now SPHP’s toes were all sore from being mashed against the front of the boots for hours. The painful trek continued.
By the time Lupe was back on the Cottonwood Trail, SPHP was beat. Amazingly, Lupe was bursting with American Dingo energy. The dark forest, roaring waves crashing on the unseen shore of Kathleen Lake, and wildly swaying treetops made Lupe wild, too. Something darted across the trail in the gloom ahead. A coyote! Who knew, maybe it was a wolf? This was the Yukon! Lupe seemed ready to dash off into the forest to live wild and free, too!
11:07 PM. The animated American Dingo was finally back at the G6. SPHP was still mostly alive. What a day it had been! Lupe had succeeded in climbing King’s Throne Peak, a feat dreamed of for a long time now. Despite exhaustion, SPHP was filled with joy.
Congratulations, Loopster! You did it – all the way to the top! Well done, sweet puppy! King’s Throne was amazingly amazing! And you know what? Tomorrow you aren’t even going to think about trying another stunt like that again. Bunny hill, here you come!
Bunnies? That grabbed Lupe’s attention! The Carolina Dog was all in favor of Bunny Hill.
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