Day 22 of Lupe’s 2018 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon, Northwest Territories & Alaska!
9:11 AM, 38°F – Fog and light mist! So, what else was new? The Most High Exalted Dingo of the Arctic Sisterhood was leaving the Yukon, and heading for Alaska! The border was only a couple of km W, and ought to be open by now. A vehicle heading E on the Top of the World Highway confirmed it. Someone had made it through. Onward!
9:52 AM, 39°F – Lupe had made it into Alaska! She’d breezed right on through customs, but hadn’t gone much farther. The plan was to keep doing domes today. In this weather, Loop seemed destined to continue yesterday’s foggy, soggy doggie escapades along the Top of the World Highway. The G6 was parked only a short distance NE of Davis Dome (4,124 ft.), a mere mile or two W of customs.
However, the doing domes plan was off to a poor start. Davis Dome ought to have been an easy climb. The summit was only 0.25 mile away, and something like 300 feet higher, a situation similar to the one at Swede Dome (4,150 ft.) yesterday, but no sooner had Lupe reached the pullout near Davis Dome than the light mist turned to constant rain. The fog was so thick, not even the closest part of Davis Dome was in sight.
Mist was one thing, rain and dense fog was another. No sense in getting totally soaking wet to start off the day, just to see nothing at all. Lupe and SPHP waited for a while, but the rain wouldn’t quit, and Davis Dome didn’t appear. May as well forget it, and move on! However, conditions were the same when Lupe reached Jack Wade Junction S of Steele Creek Dome (4,015 ft.). This time she didn’t wait around.
12:59 PM, 45°F – After crossing a bridge over the South Fork of the Fortymile River, SPHP turned into a rest area on the R (N) where there were a few picnic tables. Not foggy down here, and the rain had finally ended a couple of miles back. Lupe and SPHP took a short walk along the river. The South Fork was brown with sediment and running high. Hardly surprising, considering how seldom Loop had seen the sun on this Dingo Vacation.
SPHP prepared a quick lunch at one of the picnic tables. Looper’s joy at being released from the G6 turned to ecstasy upon discovering a squirrel in a nearby tree. Lunch became a shrill, noisy event.
Although doing domes had been at least a partial success yesterday, the domes had been a complete flop this morning. Lupe was beyond them now. The weather had finally improved, though. Loop could go back to see if conditions had changed back at the domes, but that didn’t make much sense. If it was going to turn into a decent day, she had a much better option ahead. Chicken, Alaska was only 6 or 7 miles farther, and 34 miles S of Chicken a fabulous peak was right along the highway.
Lupe and SPHP had discovered Mount Fairplay (5,541 ft.) entirely by accident while coming the opposite direction in 2017. First seen from afar, Mount Fairplay looked like merely a barren hill, but a very high one sitting off by itself in grand isolation. Unaware of its existence prior to catching sight of it, SPHP had been instantly impressed. Lupe could climb that! And the American Dingo had, too, when it turned out that the Taylor Highway (Hwy 5) went right by it.
With over 3,000 feet of prominence, Mount Fairplay is the dominant high point of a large region. The climb from a highway pullout W of the summit involves a tad more than 2,000 feet of elevation gain. No trail, but the trek isn’t particularly difficult, not even much of a scramble. Lupe had such a good time last year, and the whole experience had been so magnificent, that a return to Mount Fairplay was high on the wish list for this Dingo Vacation.
1:41 PM, 50°F, Chicken, Alaska – Loop had been reluctant to leave the wonderful squirrel back at the South Fork of the Fortymile River, but SPHP had left her little choice. The promised chickens at Chicken, Alaska were big and colorful enough, but in the Carolina Dog’s opinion completely lacking in the feisty pizazz that the squirrel had exhibited.
The sky was still overcast. The ground was wet here, indicating it had rained recently (of course), sadly dampening SPHP’s expectations for Mount Fairplay. Nevertheless, after checking out the chickens, Lupe hit the road again.
2:40 PM, 46°F – Fantastic! Not a drop of rain on the way from Chicken to the pullout just S of MP 33 along the Taylor Highway. In fact, although the summit of Mount Fairplay (5,541 ft.) was in the clouds as Lupe set out, a fair amount of blue sky elsewhere was quite encouraging.
The first task was to get through a large zone of tall bushes on the slope immediately E of the highway. Lupe had a great time exploring, while SPHP thrashed around looking for the easiest route up onto a broad, open ridge above.
The bushes were wet. So were Loop and SPHP by the time open terrain was reached. At least there was some sunshine to help dry off a bit.
Once up on the open terrain, Lupe turned SE following the broad ridge higher. This ridge is the longest part of the journey up Mount Fairplay. At first, spongy tundra, low bushes, and scattered rocks predominated. Lupe already had some great views, but was having way to much fun roaming and sniffing to pay them any attention.
For a while, the summit of Mount Fairplay basked in sunshine. Lupe made steady progress up the long slope, which slowly steepened. The tundra was gorgeous and optimism prevailed.
As Lupe gained elevation, she started coming to channels full of dark rocks encrusted with pale green lichens. The rocks were a jumble, but at times SPHP could make better progress on the rocks than trying to deal with the soft tundra.
The tundra was somewhat boggy the entire way up the long slope. Near the start of the steeper climb up to the saddle S of the summit, the tundra actually became wetter. Streams trickled among the vegetation. Lupe came to holes full of water. Choosing routes carefully, SPHP tried to avoid the wettest areas.
Once Lupe reached the rocks at the base of the huge saddle ridge, she was beyond all the wetlands. The climb became considerably steeper now. The Carolina Dog scrambled up rock-strewn slopes. She followed lanes of vegetation. The higher she went, the sparser and drabber the vegetation became, but the tundra never disappeared entirely.
The saddle S of the summit was another broad ridge, mostly rocky and fairly flat. At the S end sat a prominent rock formation. Lupe turned N toward the summit. The final climb was no more difficult than getting up onto the saddle had been. Soon Lupe was nearing the same towers she had seen on Mount Fairplay in 2017.
To SPHP, it seemed sort of incredible that Lupe had actually returned to the summit of Mount Fairplay (5,541 ft.), yet here she was again! The mountain had become an old friend. The summit was just as it had been a year ago, an oblong shaped area covered with dark rock, towers, and associated equipment.
At first, it was often sunny, but chilly, with a W wind driving clouds and showers this way. SPHP layered up, and even put on gloves. Ignoring the approaching clouds for the time being, Lupe and SPHP took a tour of the summit area. The entire summit was several hundred feet long, and no more than half as wide.
SPHP was amazed again by these fabulous views, yet increasingly leery of a line of showers still approaching from the W. Blue sky could always be seen, but sunshine disappeared. Mount Fairplay was in shadow, as a parade of large clouds began sailing overhead.
Meanwhile, having completed her tour of the summit area, Lupe was sniffing her way back toward the shed and towers near the S end, when an electrifying, unmistakable sound reached her big soft Dingo ears.
A squirrel!
What? Unbelievable! Not a tree within a mile in any direction. What on earth would a squirrel be doing way up here?
Perhaps it was a peakbagging squirrel? It was certainly a great climber, but then again, most squirrels are. Furthermore, this particular squirrel had tremendous incentive. Lupe was off like a shot after it, but the squirrel, which never should have broken radio silence, raced to the safety of the top of a skinny pole, and refused to budge from then on.
Lupe was beside herself, first with joy, then with frustration. She sniffed all around a metal shed and nearby towers. Where on earth had that squirrel disappeared to? The squirrel couldn’t keep a secret, and soon gave its position away.
Aha! Way up there, aye?
The rest of her nearly hour long stay on Mount Fairplay, Lupe remained entranced by and preoccupied with that dang squirrel. The Carolina Dog was still willing to pose for a photo or two, but once they were taken, she invariably went immediately back to trying to solve the problem of how to get at the squirrel.
Time and again, Lupe circled the pole, all the nearby towers, and sniffed around the shed. She attacked a step ladder leaning against the shed, to no effect. That squirrel at least had sense enough to stay put. It wasn’t going anywhere. Fine! Lupe eventually laid down to wait it out.
When rain showers appeared imminent, SPHP grabbed Lupe and hid with her on the downwind E side of the metal shed. No need to. The showers hit, but rain didn’t. Snow! Heh. Snow wasn’t a problem, not enough of it to matter. The clouds passed, and the snow ended.
Lupe went back to squirrel duty. SPHP wandered the summit of Mount Fairplay gazing out on the incredible Alaskan scenery. Mountains were in all directions, but for a very long way, none were as high as Mount Fairplay. All the rolling hills nearby were much lower.
An endless stream of clouds sailed overhead. A few were dark enough to look a bit ominous, but nothing ever happened except brief peltings by tiny snow granules. Lupe kept up her squirrel vigilance. The hills in all directions had a mottled appearance, partly in sunshine and partly in shadow, but Mount Fairplay remained dark and cold.
Looper hadn’t even started out for Mount Fairplay until mid-afternoon. After a glorious hour, it was time to press on. The American Dingo was reluctant to leave, chagrined that the squirrel had not come down from its spectacular perch to play.
However, if the squirrel wasn’t interested in a game of Predator & Prey, there were other fun things to do. In 2017, Lupe had not visited the big rock formation at the S end of the saddle S of Mount Fairplay, even though it had been tempting to go check it out. This time around, SPHP was determined that Loop was going to get a chance to explore it.
Scrambling up was trickier than it looked. Lupe got close to the top of the rock formation, and might have been able to reach it, but settled for a bit less. She already had a nice view over the length of the big saddle back to the summit of Mount Fairplay (5,541 ft.), and there was plenty more intriguing territory to explore farther S.
The S ridge was rocky and rough. Loop abandoned the ridgeline bound for easier terrain below. Perhaps upset at having been led away from not one, but two, perfectly good squirrels today, the were-puppy made an appearance. The were-puppy first attacked SPHP, then delivered a stern lecture.
Lupe soon forgave SPHP, though, as she entered a golden land. With no goals or objectives to pursue other than to enjoy a magical evening in the trackless Alaskan wilderness, Lupe and SPHP simply wandered.
The evening was magical! The Carolina Dog roamed free, far and wide. Lupe went a long way SW before SPHP realized it was time to start N in hopes of finding a way back down to the Taylor Highway not too far from the G6.
At one point Lupe came to a column of rock on the edge of a ridge. The skies had been clearing, and the evening had turned mostly sunny, but an impressive cloud still hung over Mount Fairplay as Lupe stood poised on the column.
Though still August, this far N it was early autumn. As the sun slid ever closer to the far horizon, its slanting rays set aglow the blazing colors of the tundra. For a while Lupe and SPHP stopped to rest on a hillside, and ponder the sublime beauty of this precious world.
During the rest of the gorgeous trek back, the clouds all disappeared. Perhaps this magical evening was about to be followed by a magical night?
In the entire 3 weeks since the American Dingo had left Montana, Lupe hadn’t seen a single star. A year ago in early September, an orange moon had risen over Mount Fairplay in the wee hours of the morning, and for the very first time, Lupe had seen the Northern Lights.
Wouldn’t it be a treat, if she was in for a repeat performance tonight? (9:38 PM)
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