Days 33-35 of Lupe’s 2018 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon, Northwest Territories & Alaska!
9-5-18, 8:04 AM, 39°F, Denali State Park – Blue skies! An encouraging start. Maybe today was the big day when Lupe would finally get to climb Reindeer Hills (5,102 ft.)? Warming the G6 up a bit, SPHP drove NE on George Parks Highway No. 3. During a quick stop at the Little Coal Creek trailhead (MP 163.9), Lupe stretched and sniffed around, while SPHP got ready for the Reindeer Hills.
A mile back, SPHP had driven past the Denali North viewpoint. Better check that out before continuing on to the Reindeer Hills!
Any day an American Dingo gets to see Denali (20,310 ft.) is a great one! Lupe had been to Denali State Park in both 2016 and 2017, but apart from a couple of brief partial glimpses, the highest mountain in North America had always remained hidden among the clouds.
However, today was a great day! Gleaming white against the blue sky, Denali was out in the open, along with a host of other mighty peaks of the Alaska Range.
Lupe had already seen Denali from the South viewpoint a couple of days ago. SPHP was of the opinion that the S viewpoint actually provided a better look at the monstrous mountain.
However, on the way to the Reindeer Hills, well out of Denali State Park along George Parks Highway No. 3, Lupe had even better views of Denali right from the highway. Far more of the frozen giant was in sight. Even from 45 miles away, the towering height and sheer massiveness of the world’s coldest mountain outside of Antarctica was incredible to behold!
Approaching Cantwell, the Reindeer Hills came into sight, mere blips in comparison with Denali, but nevertheless, an exciting and challenging peakbagging prospect for Lupe and SPHP.
The key question was how to access the Reindeer Hills (5,102 ft.)? At Cantwell, SPHP turned E on Denali Highway No. 8, which soon turned to gravel. The high point of the Reindeer Hills is only a couple of miles N of the highway 6 or 7 miles E of Cantwell. However, all through this area, the road stayed S of a heavily forested creek drainage.
Loop would have to battle through a lengthy stretch of trackless forest and bogs, crossing the unseen stream somewhere along the way, before reaching the lower slopes of the Reindeer Hills. The prospect seemed daunting. 8 miles from Cantwell, SPHP parked the G6 by a lovely little lake on the S side of the highway. Lupe got out for a look around, while SPHP paused to consider her options.
Gazing at the Reindeer Hills high point, the mountain looked like an easy climb, if only Lupe could get to it!
Pondering the situation, getting across the hidden stream seemed to be the crucial issue. The topo map showed the creek being closest to the highway a couple of miles back W where it joined a tributary of the Jack River. W was sort of bad, though, because that was in the downstream direction. Even before reaching the Jack River tributary, the stream would be bigger. On the other paw, the stream was so close to the road there, it wouldn’t take Loop long to get to it. She would find out very quickly if fording the creek was realistic or not.
May as well give it a shot! SPHP drove back to the tributary of the Jack River, parking the G6 at a pullout on the SE side of the highway just N of the tributary. Full of enthusiasm, the American Dingo hopped out to give it a go. (9-5-18, 11:52 AM, 51°F)
Lupe and SPHP headed N from the highway into a flat region densely covered with bushes. The bushes were only a few feet high, but to Lupe, they formed practically an impenetrable jungle. Although this area looked flat, before she made it very far, the terrain was pockmarked with holes full of water 2 or 3 feet deep. Nevertheless, Loop managed to thrash through it all until she was roughly 300 feet from the highway, where she reached the S bank of the stream she needed to cross.
The stream was only a few feet wide, but fast-flowing. The water was easily over Lupe’s head and SPHP’s knees, and perhaps deeper than that. Hard to tell. The tightly packed bushes along both banks made the prospect of getting into or out of the stream look troublesome at best.
SPHP didn’t like it. Lupe might easily get swept downstream out of sight in the frigid waters of the powerful current. Unable to touch bottom, what if she couldn’t escape the deep narrow channel? SPHP wouldn’t be able to get to her in time to help her.
No, not worth it. Maybe the confluence of this stream and the tributary of the Jack River would be an easier spot to cross?
Trying to get the confluence, Lupe fell into one of the waterholes among the bushes. She managed to scramble out, cold and wet, but didn’t care for the experience. Loopster wanted to head back to the highway. She did, too. All by herself. SPHP could explore this morass alone!
SPHP had to plead with Looper to give it one more try. Reluctantly, she did, but the confluence of the streams presented no better opportunity to cross. Alright, forget about it! Not happening! The Carolina Dog was plenty happy to return to the G6. (9-5-18, 12:21 AM, 51°F)
Much closer to Cantwell, a couple more possibilities were checked out where Lupe wouldn’t have had to cross any streams. However, potential private property issues cropped up. This area was miles from the high point of the Reindeer Hills, anyway. Already afternoon, and too late in the day to consider an attempt, even if clean access had been found.
No Reindeer Hills! Most disappointing. What to do? Seemed terrible to waste the rest of such a beautiful day, but after Loopster’s big trek up to Ermine Hill (2,700 ft.) and Peak 3700 on K’esugi Ridge yesterday, maybe a day of rest was a good thing. The plan became to drive back to Palmer, where Loop could take on Matanuska Peak (6093 ft.) tomorrow.
9-5-18, 7:57 PM, Wasilla – Not even 8:00 PM, yet the sun hung low in the W. The days were noticeably shorter now than a few weeks ago when the Most High Exalted Dingo of the Arctic Sisterhood had returned to the far N. Kind of sad. Lupe’s time in Alaska was running out.
9-6-18, 6:50 AM, Palmer – Surprisingly dark. Only partially due to the changing season, though. The sky was all a depressing gray. The pointy summit of Matanuska Peak (6,093 ft.) was in view beneath the clouds, but perhaps not for much longer. Within 10 minutes, a light rain set in. Too bad.
Might as well face it. Matanuska Peak wasn’t going to happen for Lupe, either. Suddenly it was clear that the long road home had already begun when the Carolina Dog left the Reindeer Hills behind yesterday. After stops at Fred Meyer’s for groceries and fuel, SPHP drove out of Palmer heading E on the Glenn Highway. Lupe stared out the window of the G6 as the windshield wipers slapped away the rain, and the miles rolled by.
More than 3,000 miles to go! Lupe’s adventures on this Dingo Vacation weren’t over yet. She still had time, extra days she could spend along the way. Surely, fabulous mountains were still to come. A little cooperation from the weather was all it would take. The American Dingo was merely on the road again, looking for fun!
9-6-18, 10:15 AM, 41°F, Gunsight Mountain trailhead – Forgetting about Matanuska Peak had been the right thing to do. By the time Lupe made it to Gunsight Mountain (6,441 ft.), all was mist and fog.
Loopster had already climbed Gunsight Mountain in 2016, but nearby Syncline Mountain (5,471 ft.) was of interest, too. Not for today, but in the hope that Lupe might return to Alaska someday, SPHP wanted to check out the Syncline Mountain access situation. A map at the Gunsight Mountain trailhead showed possible access from Belanger Pass.
Some sort of route to Belanger Pass left the Glenn Highway at MP 123.3, only 5 miles E of here. Since it was on the way, Lupe and SPHP went to check it out.
At MP 123.3, a decent road left the N side of the highway. SPHP drove a couple of miles along it before deciding to turn around at a giant mud hole that covered most of the road. On the way out, a man was outside working on a deck for his summer home. Lupe and SPHP stopped to chat with him. He said the G6 could make it to a parking area about 3.5 miles shy of Belanger Pass. A 4WD road went over the pass and 40 miles beyond it.
Interesting, and hopefully helpful on some future date. SPHP thanked him for the information. Lupe and SPHP then went on, but not before getting a photo of the spiffy sign this guy had posted along the road not far from his driveway.
9-6-18, 1:07 PM, 50°F, Copper River overlook – The journey E continued. The miles rolled by. Lupe didn’t escape the G6 again until she was at the Copper River overlook one mile E of Gakona Junction along the Tok Cut-off. The sky remained dull and gray, but the rain and mist were over.
Lupe and SPHP had often stopped here to see the magnificent view of the Copper River, but had always gone on after a few minutes. Having been cooped up in the G6 for most of a day and a half, though, Loop was anxious for action. A dirt road headed down into the river valley. Never explored it before. Maybe Lupe would enjoy a little romp to see what was down there?
Oh, yes! Lupe heartily approved of this plan. She raced ahead going back and forth checking trees for squirrels.
After losing roughly 100 feet of elevation, the road curved sharply NE, then leveled out only a few feet higher than the river. Lupe and SPHP continued along the road gaining vastly different impressions.
The hike was pleasant enough. Both sides of the road were lined with trees and bushes. However, since the road always remained 10 to 20 feet from the river’s edge, and the intervening strip of land was heavily wooded, SPHP was disappointed that the Copper River was never in sight. Loopster, on the other paw, was thrilled! The trees harbored a lively squirrel population.
What joy! Everywhere she went, all up and down the road, Lupe found more squirrels to bark at.
One would think this road might eventually lead to river access at some point, but to Lupe’s great delight the road went on and on, never getting any closer or farther from the river. Meanwhile, the woods provided a steady supply of squirrels that needed a good barking at. That was fine for a while, but after 0.33 mile, SPHP insisted upon pushing through the narrow woodlands to the edge of the Copper River.
Hmm. Water was way up against the bank, putting an end to any dreams of a stroll out on a nice long exposed stretch of riverbed.
9-6-18, 8:30 PM, Donjek River, Yukon Territory – The Copper River had been the highlight of the day. 456 miles from where she’d left Palmer, Alaska this morning, Lupe arrived at another mighty river, the Donjek, in the Yukon Territory. Clouds had spit rain on and off all day long.
There was a glorious mountain here S of the river. SPHP had taken to calling it Donjek Crossing Mountain. Ever since Lupe had first crossed the Donjek River in 2016, thought had been given to climbing it, but the weather hadn’t ever cooperated. Wasn’t looking all that promising this evening, either, but who knew what the morning might bring?
In any case, stopping here for the night. Going to give it a chance. The Donjek River was very low. As day turned to dusk, the Carolina Dog had a fabulous time wandering up and down exposed riverbed with SPHP.
9-7-18, 6:10 AM, Donjek River – Light out, but the news was as expected. An hour and a half ago, it had been raining. No rain now, but heavily overcast. SPHP petted Lupe, and got an enthusiastic licking in return. No huge rush, may as well sleep in a bit. Not likely, but maybe the sky would clear?
9-7-18, 8:48 AM, Donjek River – No change. Low ceiling. Simply dismal. Donjek Crossing Mountain, along with every other high point, was cloaked in clouds. Otherwise nice enough out, but no point in climbing anything only to spend the whole day lost in a fog.
Lupe still managed to have a fun morning constitutional romp along the mighty Donjek River, though, before pressing on.
The weather gradually improved on the road S. By the time Loop got to Kluane Lake, patches of blue sky were visible off to the E. However, the visitor center at the SW end was closed when she arrived. A few miles farther, Lupe and SPHP stopped again at a big pullout at the far S end of the lake.
This pullout is a favorite spot. Lupe had first been here in August, 2016 only a few months after an incredible change occurred. In May, 2016, Kluane Lake’s principal water source was naturally diverted elsewhere. Meltwaters from the Kaskawulsh Glacier broke through a former ice barrier, and completely changed course. Instead of flowing N into the Slims River and Kluane Lake, the meltwaters now flowed E into the Kaskawulsh River.
This dramatic change had happened practically overnight. Sadly, the water level in Kluane Lake has been dropping ever since. The lake was still huge and beautiful, but noticeably lower again this year. Lupe and SPHP spent a little while enjoying the lake, the mountain views, and a few rambunctious Dingo games.
Light rain fell in Whitehorse when SPHP stopped for supplies, although it had been merely cloudy on the way here from Kluane Lake. The rain didn’t last, and by evening Lupe was back in Alaska! With 2 big cruise ships in port, Skagway was busy.
The Most High Exalted Dingo of the Arctic Sisterhood dropped by the Arctic Brotherhood building, just to let them know they still have some competition. Then she took a stroll down to see the cruise ships, before finishing up her tour with a sight-seeing drive out to Dyea.
For 3 days now, Lupe had been mostly on the road, taking her fun in bits and pieces at short stops along the way. Bigger opportunities for more than that hadn’t panned out. However, with any luck, tomorrow that would change. The Most High Exalted Dingo of the Arctic Circle would be hitting the trail to high adventure once again, right here in Skagway!
Links:
Next Adventure Prior Adventure
Sheep Mountain, Kluane National Park, Yukon Territory, Canada (8-13-17)
AB Mountain – Lupe Joins the Arctic Sisterhood!, Skagway, Alaska (8-7-17)
Want more Lupe adventures? Choose from Lupe’s 2018 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon, Northwest Territories & Alaska Adventure Index, Dingo Vacations Adventure Index or Master Adventure Index. Or subscribe free to new Lupe adventures.