Day 20 of Lupe’s 2018 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon, Northwest Territories & Alaska!
5:45 AM, km 107.6 at the East Blackstone River rest area – Cold! Small wonder. Ice on the windshield, and new snow on the G6. A quick step outside was discouraging. Even chillier out here, and as always, the skies were overcast. May as well hit the snooze button again. Lupe and SPHP retreated back inside, and ducked under the blankets.
9:18 AM, 31°F, km 94 at the two-tier bubbly pond pullout – Still overcast, but the clouds are tinged blue. If the sun could just warm things up a bit, maybe some of this stuff would burn off? SPHP made short work of the last Ensure, and heated up some soup. Meanwhile, Lupe wandered the edges of the big pullout sniffing among the tall bushes.
11:46 AM, 42°F, km 81 at the Angelcomb trailhead – Good news and bad news! The good news was that the day had warmed up. Even better, the sun had broken through! Blue skies here and there. As SPHP had driven S on the Dempster Highway, the Ogilvie Mountains were gorgeous, and looking so enticing!
The bad news was that the weather wasn’t consistent. Still plenty of clouds hanging around. The mood kept changing depending on which way they went. Lupe had two peakbagging options nearby to select from. A longer, more difficult route to Mount Chester Henderson via Charcoal Creek Ridge, or a shorter trail up Angelcomb Peak (6,300 ft.).
With the weather as variable as it was, maybe sticking with the shorter trail up Angelcomb made the most sense? On the road S, the Carolina Dog decided the question once and for all, by suddenly puking up on her blankets. The other bad news! Yeah, better stick with the shorter trail.
On the E side of the Dempster Highway at about km 81, a closed yellow gate across a wide side road blocked access to a highway maintenance area used for gravel storage. This side road effectively serves as a trailhead for an unofficial trail up Angelcomb Peak (6,300 ft.). Even though several other vehicles were already here when Lupe arrived, SPHP had plenty of room to park the G6.
The American Dingo was in sunshine, but Angelcomb Peak was still in the clouds as Lupe set out.
Beyond the yellow gate, Lupe quickly came to a big flat area with a huge mound of gravel stacked on one side. Information SPHP had seen online indicated that Lupe ought to go toward the R (SE) side of the gravel yard to look for a trail. However, a stack of big boulders sat over that way.
Straight ahead toward Angelcomb Peak, a gentle slope covered with bushes overlooked the gravel yard. A couple of people up there were working their way R (SE) toward the area the trail was supposed to be in. Maybe they were already on the trail? The route they were taking certainly looked easier than dealing with the boulders.
Loop went straight on past the mound of gravel, and got up onto the same slope. The bushes were chest high on SPHP, and a complete jungle for Lupe. The trail was nowhere to be seen, but there were lanes among the bushes that were relatively easy to follow. The people had vanished. Lupe and SPHP headed off to the R, in the same general direction they had taken. Sure enough, within minutes, Loopster did come to a trail.
The trail was in decent shape, and gained elevation at a moderate pace. It headed E up the S side of a little draw toward a high point not too far away. As Lupe got higher, the bushes began to thin out. By the time she was close to the high point, they were already becoming scarce. Back to the W, Looper could see the gravel yard, the Dempster Highway, and the wide upper East Blackstone River valley.
The trail didn’t go all the way to the first high point it had been heading toward. However, only a short side trip was required to go visit it, so Lupe did. The view of Angelcomb Peak to the N was encouraging. The clouds had lifted enough so that even the summit was sort of in sight.
Lupe returned to the trail, which now headed up Angelcomb Peak’s S ridge. The next phase of the journey was to get up to a big, relatively flat, rocky shelf that was quite a bit higher. The trail headed right for it.
Even before Loopster reached the first high point, someone had been standing way up on the rocky shelf. As Lupe got close, a woman was coming down. SPHP talked to her briefly. Her husband was still up there watching Dahl sheep through his field glasses. Pressing onward, Lupe and SPHP soon met Michael Kawerninski.
Michael was friendly, and encouraged SPHP to take a look through his binoculars at 3 Dahl sheep grazing on the slopes of Trapper Mountain (6,628 ft.) to the E. The sheep were mere tiny white specks, so far away they were difficult to spot without the glasses. Lupe gave no indication that she was even aware of their existence.
Just like Lupe, Michael and his wife had been all the way to Tuktoyaktuk on the Arctic Ocean, so it was fun talking with him. They were from Smithers, British Columbia, which Lupe has been to several times. In fact, Lupe had passed through Smithers on her way N. Michael was about to follow his wife down, but said he would leave information at the G6 about hiking trails in the Smithers area.
When Michael left, Lupe went on. The rocky shelf wasn’t completely flat, and the trail wasn’t always right on top of it, but this region was much easier than what was ahead. Beyond the rocky area, the trail steepened considerably. Before Lupe even got that far, the sky suddenly started clearing to the E. The fog blew away. At one point, Lupe had such a great view of Trapper Mountain, that SPHP thought maybe she could go climb it after summiting Angelcomb!
Excited and spurred on by that notion, Lupe’s now steepening trek up Angelcomb Peak continued. However, the clouds soon returned. The next time SPHP glanced over toward Trapper Mountain, it had vanished again! Lupe could still see to the S and W, though.
On the final steep ascent, the path faded and became braided. Several times SPHP lost it completely. Didn’t matter, since it was perfectly clear the route went straight on up to the sharp peak ahead. That was about the only thing that was clear, though. Angelcomb Peak (6,300 ft.) was still in the clouds. During the last 200 feet of elevation gain, Loopster climbed in a cold fog.
Poor Loop didn’t complain, but she wasn’t having much fun. She felt sick again, and threw up once more. With encouragement from SPHP, she persevered and managed to reach the summit of Angelcomb Peak.
The top of Angelcomb Peak was an airy, rocky, little hillock. Most of the hill was covered with dirt or scant vegetation from which a number of rocks protruded a foot or two higher. Two rocks, quite close together and nearly equal in elevation, formed the true summit. They were right along the edge of a fog-filled chasm of indeterminable depth to the NE. A ragged ridgeline to the NW vanished into fog, too.
Despite the gloomy conditions and not feeling so great, the American Dingo immediately perched up on the highest rocks to claim her rather nauseating peakbagging success.
Only a minute later, the fog began to thin a little. More of the NW ridge could be seen. Loop could also see to the S and W. However, virtually nothing could be seen to the N or E yet.
After a quick initial look around, SPHP sat leaning against the highest rocks. Lupe curled up on a patch of dirt nearby. A 10 mph S breeze felt quite chilly. Between the breeze, the fog, and the cold hard ground, the Carolina Dog was soon persuaded to get up on SPHP’s lap, which was warmer and more comfortable, and where SPHP could stroke her.
Since Lupe was only 200 feet up into the fog, SPHP figured breaks in the clouds might appear fairly often. Visibility was poor overall, but with a little patience Looper might get some pretty decent, if brief, views.
This theory worked out fairly well. Often the fog was so thick, Lupe couldn’t see a thing, but it never stayed that way. One after another, clouds streamed on by, suddenly revealing big views. The views never lasted, either. The next cloud was always on the way.
The views that did appear were almost always to the S or W. Lupe never saw Trapper Mountain to the E again. At one point, Angelcomb’s whole NW ridge was completely out in the open, and toward the end of Lupe’s stay, the fog did clear out of the deep valley to the NE enough to be able to see the bottom of that formerly hidden chasm.
Off to the S, Lupe sometimes saw Goldensides Mountain (6,000 ft.), a terrific peak she had climbed almost a year ago, and its close neighbor Blackcap Mountain (6,000 ft.).
After 30 minutes at the summit of Angelcomb Peak, Lupe was feeling better. She’d had enough, though, and was ready to start down.
Lupe went right back down the S ridge, the same way she had come up. The views improved at first, as she got below the cloud cover. By now, though, there wasn’t any blue sky anywhere.
Lupe was definitely feeling better. She ran about sniffing and exploring, exhibiting no signs of her earlier problems. The descent went quickly. The American Dingo stayed on the trail all the way to the very end to see where it actually came out at. In the little draw the path had come up, she came to a 10 foot drop into a gully that appeared to have been washed out during heavy rains.
A two second scramble down into the gully ultimately led to the pile of boulders in the SE part of the maintenance yard. When Lupe got back to the G6, SPHP found the note Michael Kawerninski had promised under the windshield wiper. (4:13 PM, 43°F)
5:16 PM, 42°F, km 71.5 at the Tombstone Interpretive Centre – With so many clouds, and Lupe not at her best, Angelcomb Peak had certainly been the right choice today! After getting back to the G6, SPHP had driven S to the Tombstone Interpretive Centre to see what the weather forecast was for tomorrow. Maybe after a good night’s rest, Lupe could do Mount Chester Henderson? That would be awesome!
The weather forecast posted in the Tombstone Interpretive Centre, dashed that hope. 60% chance of showers tomorrow, 100% chance of rain the next day, then one nice day when it was supposed to be sunny. After that, 60% chance of showers again.
Forget it! Not sticking around for days hoping for a single nice one. Sadly, Lupe’s adventures along the Dempster Highway, and the new all-season road to Tuktoyaktuk and the Arctic Ocean were over. Angelcomb Peak was the grand finale! All that remained was the drive back to the start of the Dempster Highway. What a fantastic, memorable trip it had been, though!
6:32 PM, 59°F, km 0 at the start of the Dempster Highway – SPHP couldn’t believe how much better the weather was S of Tombstone Territorial Park. Blue skies appeared. The temperature soared to an amazing 61°F! Lupe bathed in brilliant sunshine. SPHP fueled up the G6 at the junction with the North Klondike Highway.
Heading W on the North Klondike Highway to Dawson City, it all lasted 10 glorious minutes. Back under cloudy skies. Oh, well! At least it was still the warmest out it had been in many days.
In Dawson City, Lupe enjoyed an hour spent window shopping. SPHP broke down and bought an Alaska burger, whatever that was, at Dino’s Restaurant. An Alaska burger turned out to be a fish sandwich with fries. Lupe couldn’t stomach fish yet, and turned her nose up at it.
9:50 PM, 50°F at Midnight Dome – One last late peakbagging adventure to take care of! Just E of Dawson City was a L turn off the North Klondike Highway onto Dome Road. Dome Road was paved and wound all the way up Midnight Dome (2,887 ft.), a big hill overlooking Dawson City and the mighty Yukon River.
The end of the road made a loop past a viewpoint where a couple of plaques told about Dawson City, and related an entertaining tale about how Midnight Dome got its name.
The views of Dawson City and the Yukon River from Midnight Dome were lovely, and the peakbagging was a cinch. From the viewpoint by the road, Lupe only had to gain 20 feet of elevation on a short stroll to the top of a mostly barren, rounded hill. On top of the hill was a single perfectly ordinary picnic table, and a huge, rustic wooden bench.
After testing out the bench, which easily supported a single American Dingo, Lupe returned to the G6.
On the back side of the Midnight Dome opposite the viewpoint, but still high on the mountain, there was a rest area where the loop at the end of the road started. Across the road from an outhouse was a decent place to park. A couple of other vehicles were parked here already, but there was still room for the G6. It was getting late. Why not? Loopster could spend the night on Midnight Dome!
Didn’t take long to get settled in. The rain started half an hour later.
Links:
Next Adventure Prior Adventure
Tombstone Territorial Park Map
The Dempster Highway Travelogue
Surfbird Mountain, Ogilvie Mountains, Tombstone Territorial Park, Yukon Territory, Canada (9-4-17)
Goldensides, Ogilvie Mountains, Tombstone Territorial Park, Yukon Territory, Canada (9-5-17)
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