Day 21 of Lupe’s 2018 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon, Northwest Territories & Alaska!
7:20 AM, 50°F, Midnight Dome near Dawson City – A warm night! Kind of nice. Rained the whole time. Outside the G6, it was still coming down. Mist and fog. So no big rush to do anything. SPHP caught up the trip journal while Lupe dozed or watched raindrops on their sudden dashes down the windshield. Not too scintillating.
9:21 AM, 45°F – No change in the weather, but the American Dingo was about to get underway! A day of peakbagging Domes along the Top of the World Highway was in store. Lupe kicked things off with a super easy one. Since she had spent the night on Midnight Dome (2,887 ft.) not far from the summit, a second quick ascent was in order.
Lupe had already seen the lovely views of the Yukon River and Dawson City from Midnight Dome yesterday evening. No special reason to make another ascent except for its own sake. She certainly wasn’t going to see anything this morning. On the other paw, the summit was only a trivial 20 feet higher than the viewpoint along the loop road, and the Carolina Dog was already here, so why not?
Two minutes after escaping the G6, Lupe was again standing on the huge, rustic wooden bench at the top of Midnight Dome.
Heading back down Dome Road to the North Klondike Highway and Dawson City, the thrill of not having seen a thing wore off pretty quickly. Not to worry, more excitement was only minutes away! SPHP let Lupe stand in the rain near the fabled Yukon River, which actually was in view, while waiting for the George Black ferry.
10:19 AM, 48°F – The ride across the Yukon River aboard the George Black ferry is free, and the ferry operates around the clock. Vehicles had been disembarking on the far shore when Lupe arrived, but soon the George Black was on its way back.
10:36 AM, 48°F – Once across the Yukon River, Lupe and SPHP set out on the Top of the World Highway (Hwy 9) to look for the road to Clinton and Cassiar Dome (4,450 ft.). Hwy 9 climbed steadily out of the river valley. For several miles, the road was paved. Even before it turned to gravel, Lupe was back in fog again. Rain continued without let up.
A discouraging start, but after 40 km, occasional breaks appeared in the clouds. Lupe could sometimes see nearby ridges, and even enjoyed brief moments of sunshine. This more hopeful weather held for the next 15 km, before conditions deteriorated again. Only a few km farther, about 59 km from Dawson City, the road to Clinton appeared as a R (N) turn.
SPHP hadn’t noticed any signs for Clinton along the Top of the World Highway, but a white sign 200 feet N of the junction mentioned Clinton Creek, so this had to be the right road. The topo map showed that 6 km (4 miles) N of this intersection, Clinton Road goes over a saddle that might make a decent starting point for an ascent of Cassiar Dome.
However, the weather was lousy. No point in leaving the Top of the World Highway just yet. The American Dingo was going to have to wait for improvement. SPHP parked the G6 at large level area W of Clinton Road close to the intersection. Might as well wait here.
11:47 AM, 43°F, km 59 of the Top of the World Highway – After a quick romp in the rain and fog, it was time for lunch. Canned salmon and Ritz crackers! Lupe feasted on both. Nothing changed outside, so after lunch the Carolina Dog took a long nap. Not to be outdone, SPHP joined her.
2:20 PM – Still raining, but the sky is a bit brighter, and the fog isn’t as dense. To the N, some of Clinton Road is visible. The whole area it goes through looks heavily forested. If that is what the route to Cassiar Dome is going to be like, Lupe will get absolutely soaked before she’s 20 feet from the G6.
However, off to the SW, a barren ridge is in sight. The map shows that Swede Dome (4,150 ft.) isn’t too far beyond that ridge. Maybe Lupe ought to forget Cassiar Dome, and go check out Swede Dome instead? With only a little over 300 feet of elevation gain required, Swede Dome isn’t much of a climb, but considering the circumstances, that’s a good thing! The Top of the World Highway passes right along the N and W slopes, so it won’t be a long trek, either.
Maybe Lupe can climb Swede Dome even in this weather?
2:38 PM, 44°F – SPHP parked the G6 W of Swede Dome close to the km 64 marker. Only light rain at the moment, probably about as good as things are going to get today. Swede Dome is not forested, and the top isn’t that far away. Might as well give it a go!
Leaving the G6, Lupe crossed the highway, went up an embankment, and started up a long, broad slope.
Swede Dome was an easy climb. Not too far from the top, Lupe reached a region of low bushes, and thick, spongy tundra which made things a bit more difficult, but abundant blueberries slowed SPHP down more than anything else. The steepest part of the climb was just above this zone, but didn’t take long. Soon the slope was leveling out.
The top of the mountain was a large, nearly flat area of tundra dotted with sporadic low bushes and a few scattered conifers. Several cairns were along the N rim. Lupe came up from the W, and still had a bit of a march ahead of her to get to the actual high point.
The true summit of Swede Dome was somewhat E of the center of the spacious flat region, nowhere near any edge. A big cairn sat at or very close to the actual high point. Nearby, an ancient battered washtub was attached to a post. Lupe got up onto the cairn to claim her Swede Dome peakbagging success!
Fog occasionally swept over the mountain. The cloud ceiling was too low to permit any distant views. Looper couldn’t see much from Swede Dome, except along the N edge where she could look down on the Top of the World Highway.
3:26 PM, 44°F – Lupe didn’t stay up on Swede Dome for long. Less than an hour after leaving the G6, she was back. She had scarcely returned, when the sky brightened. For several minutes, sunshine filtered through the clouds. Coming on the heels of Loopster’s Swede Dome success, the sunlight was enough to revive hopes for Cassiar Dome. Clinton Road was only 5 km back. Maybe Lupe ought to at least go take a closer look?
Approaching Clinton Road, a high hill could now be seen off to the N. That had to be Cassiar Dome, didn’t it? In front of the hill was a faint rainbow.
3:52 PM, 45°F – Coming from the W, a green street sign for Clinton Road did appear along the Top of the World Highway prior to the turn. SPHP drove N on Clinton Road almost to the saddle SW of Cassiar Dome. Two side roads split off from the same point on the R (NE) side of Clinton Road shortly before reaching the pass.
Most interesting! SPHP parked the G6. The map didn’t show these side roads. If either one could get Lupe closer to Cassiar Dome (4,450 ft.), that would be a huge help! The sunshine had disappeared, and it was raining again, but Lupe and SPHP got out for a look.
The side road on the L went NW toward a big ridge. Whether the road was destined to go up onto the ridge, or around to the other side couldn’t be seen from here. The top of this ridge was actually the route that SPHP intended Lupe to take over to Cassiar Dome, provided it wasn’t forested. Didn’t look like it was, either, so that was great news!
The side road to the R went NNE, more directly toward Cassiar Dome, but gradually losing elevation as it disappeared from view among tall bushes. Apparently it wasn’t headed for the top of anything. Between these two roads was a sign. Unfortunately, the sign gave no indication where either road went.
Sticking with the original plan by taking the side road to the L as far up onto the big ridge as possible seemed like the thing to do, except for one thing. Looking over at Cassiar Dome, a thin, but distinct line could be seen in the vegetation running horizontally along the SW slope. That line wasn’t an awful lot higher than where the G6 was now. 200 feet?
A road? Had to be, didn’t it? Maybe this side road to the R didn’t keep sinking into the valley between here and Cassiar Dome, but instead went around the N end of the valley to link up with the road over there? That would be awesome! A fabulous shortcut, a road directly to Cassiar Dome! What a gift! Lupe had to check out that possibility.
A short foray was made down the road to the R. Loop didn’t have to go far before the side road leveled out. More horizontal line could be seen on the side of the slopes ahead. Yes, it did look like this road might well be the same one visible on the side of Cassiar Dome!
So taking the side road to the R became the new plan, but the plan couldn’t be implemented yet. Raining too hard! The way things were looking, Lupe would almost certainly get drenched if she took on Cassiar Dome today, probably multiple times, but that didn’t mean she had to start out when it was raining this hard. Lupe and SPHP retreated to the G6, as more rain and fog swept through the region.
4:39 PM – Still rather foggy, but not raining. Now or never! Abandoning the G6, Lupe and SPHP headed out taking the side road to the R. Other than one empty beer can, Loop saw no sign that anyone ever comes this way anymore. Not a speck of trash. In a few spots, the wilderness was starting to close back in, but the road was never completely blocked. The little road served as a great path, fine nearly the entire way. The Carolina Dog made rapid progress.
After going perhaps a couple of miles, the road reached the lower SW slopes of Cassiar Dome (4,450 ft.). The most direct route to the summit would have been to leave the road right away and start climbing. However, the mountainside was steep here, and thickly covered with wet bushes taller than SPHP.
Lupe wouldn’t have to climb terribly far to get up above the bushes, but such a feat looked like a struggle. The Carolina Dog was already sopping wet from vegetation on the road. SPHP was only wet to mid-thigh, and wasn’t anxious to get totally soaked head to foot.
Maybe the road would climb above the bushes, if Looper followed it far enough around the S end of Cassiar Dome? That might add quite a bit of distance, but following the road was fast. Wouldn’t take that long to at least give it a shot.
So Lupe stuck with the road quite a bit farther as it curved SE around the N end of the Cassiar Creek valley. Loop got all the way to the S end of Cassiar Dome where the road turned E. She’d gained a little elevation, but not much. However, it was enough. The slope leading higher to the N wasn’t as steep as before, and only a narrow band of tall bushes had to be negotiated before Lupe would reach open ground.
Leaving the road, the American Dingo charged N up the slope. Lupe was beyond the stand of tall bushes in practically no time. Only relatively low bushes, rocks, tundra, and scattered stunted conifers up here. Off to the SE, Clinton Road was in sight. SPHP could tell where the junction with the side roads was back where the G6 was parked. Lupe still hadn’t gained much elevation. 200 feet max, maybe less.
Beginning her search for the summit of Cassiar Dome, Lupe headed N. She had gone so far S on the road that it was going to be a bit of a trek. Loop came to a series of big benches on the way. None were difficult climbs.
As Lupe climbed, stunted trees and even low bushes vanished. The last couple of benches were just rocks and tundra. By the time Lupe reached the top of the last bench, she was on a wide tundra plain in dense fog. The terrain sloped barely higher as Looper continued N. Couldn’t be too much farther to the summit, could it?
In the Yukon fog, what was probably only a 5 to 10 minute march N on the uppermost bench seemed endless. At last, a dimly perceived dark form could be seen ahead. A few more steps, and the looming presence transformed into a hill of dark rock. This hill was maybe 100 feet high. That had to be it! The summit of Cassiar Dome was up there!
Up until now, Lupe had been exceptionally lucky. So far, she had only been sprinkled on a few times. Suddenly, though, the fog was getting darker and denser. Rain! Going to get it this time! Before taking on the dark rocky hill, SPHP stopped to put on the rain poncho.
The intrepid American Dingo started climbing. Lupe arrived at the top of Cassiar Dome (4,450 ft.) in the worst weather of the day. Raining hard with a cold W wind. Miserable!
The summit area was roundish, at least an acre in size. Big patches of dark-colored rocks were scattered over tundra-covered terrain. Lupe came up near the S end. Not too far to the NE sat what appeared to be a large cairn of dark rocks. This cairn was higher than anything else on the mountain, but may not have been at the true summit. The highest natural terrain seemed to be closer to the NW edge.
Lupe visited both the cairn and the natural high ground, but under these inhospitable conditions, only briefly. Couldn’t see a thing in this fog, anyway, and the cold wind and rain weren’t any fun at all.
The weather improved markedly shortly after Lupe began her descent. She went down the SW slope to begin with, but then had a mysteriously long march curling back around to the E looking for the long upper bench where she had finally seen the summit hill. Perhaps SPHP had gotten turned around in the fog to some extent?
Whatever the reason for the unexpectedly long march, Lupe did make it back to the upper bench.
On the way down the various benches, Lupe emerged from the fog. She now enjoyed her best views from Cassiar Dome. The weather was still unsettled, but Loop could see farther than before. Wispy banks of fog sailed with dramatic effect among rounded hills and ridges beneath a still overcast sky.
For Lupe, the highlight of the whole trek back down the benches to the side road was seeing two deer, or maybe they were caribou? Lupe didn’t care which they were. Even though they were a long way off, she was excited and keenly interested.
The descent down the benches was pretty easy. Once Loop made it back to the side road, she still had close to 3 miles to go to get back to the G6 the way the road went. It was all fun, though.
Well, almost. During the return, Lupe had only been lightly sprinkled on a few times. Ten minutes before the Carolina Dog made it back to the G6, though, the sky darkened again. Hurrying didn’t help. Only five minutes short of the G6, Loop and SPHP endured a second drenching.
8:10 PM, 45°F – Immediately upon reaching the G6, SPHP drove back to the Top of the World Highway and turned W. It wasn’t raining over by Swede Dome, in fact Lupe had a much better view of Swede Dome now than she’d had earlier.
SPHP stopped briefly at km 64 again, where Lupe had started her trek up Swede Dome. The weather had improved so much that Loop could now see from the highway the views to the W that had been hidden when she’d been way up on Swede Dome.
9:23 PM, km 106 – Too late! Lupe arrived at Alaska/Yukon border to find the customs station and gates closed. Only open 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM. Loop was going to have to wait until morning to enter Alaska for the first time on this Dingo Vacation.
No problem! SPHP drove back E a couple of km to a high ridge where a big pullout was on the S side of the Top of the World Highway. The American Dingo could spend the night right here! The customs station at the border was in view, so Lupe could even monitor any activity.
Heh! Maybe not. Minutes later, the fog rolled in once more.
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