Tombstone Territorial Park – The (Mostly) True Adventures of Lupe

To the Arctic Circle! – Return of the Most High Exalted Dingo of the Arctic Sisterhood (8-16-19 & 8-17-19)

Days 12 & 13 of Lupe’s 2019 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon & Alaska!

8-16-19, 6:02 AM, 36ºF, at the Mount Haldane trailhead – Chili bean! Chilly enough to fire the G6 up to get the heater going. Might as well drive a bit. Minutes after waking, Lupe was headed S on the Silver Trail.

Mostly cloudy, with darker stuff to the W. SPHP didn’t drive far, 15 km? After crossing the Minto Bridge over the Mayo River, SPHP pulled into the rest stop on the other side. Chili for breakfast. American Dingoes love chili! Lupe happily scarfed down her share. SPHP moved the G6 close to the river where she could watch a flotilla of ducks.

The sky darkened. Mist, then rain. Hah! The decision to climb Mount Haldane (6,023 ft.) yesterday had been a good one! A beautiful day hadn’t gone to waste. Apparently, if yesterday had been spent driving to get into position for a different peak this morning, Loopster would have gotten rained out anyway. As it was, after two big days of peakbagging in a row, a lazy day was in order. Let it rain all it wanted!

8-16-19, 3:36 PM, 57ºF, Silver Trail at the Minto Bridge rest area – Rain tapering off, and the trip journal caught up. About to get underway again!

8-16-19, 4:09 PM, 51ºF, Five Mile Lakes campground – No rain here! Still heavily overcast, though. Lupe got out for a look at the lake. Nice, but certainly nowhere near five miles long or across. The name must come from being five miles N of Mayo. Turned out that the picnic ground was at a separate location a short drive from the campground.

At the **Five Mile Lakes** campground beach.

The picnic ground was empty when Lupe arrived. The lake wasn’t far away, but wasn’t in view, either. No matter. SPHP heated up a can of clam chowder for supper. American Dingoes aren’t thrilled with clam chowder. Loopster sniffed around the edges of the boreal forest and found a squirrel to bark at instead.

8-16-19, 7:42 PM, Gravel Lake – Lupe’s 2019 Silver Trail adventures were behind her now. Along the N Klondike Highway, a short stop was made for a look at Gravel Lake. Big, round, and probably shallow, Gravel Lake appeared to be merely an over-sized pond.

However, a plaque about lodgepole pines contained amazing information. These days Gravel Lake is about as far N as lodgepole pines are found in the Yukon, but 1,000,000 years ago they grew as far N as Old Crow. The virtually unbelievable part was that lodgepole pine seeds can remain dormant for 10,000 years before sprouting!

8-16-19, 8:31 PM, 55 ºF, at the start of the Dempster Highway – At the S end of the Dempster Highway, SPHP fueled the G6 up at the automated gas station. No quibbling about price, even if one wanted to. Not a good place to get stingy, anyway. Last chance for gas between here and Eagle Plains – 369 unpaved km away!

In 2018, Lupe had traveled the entire 737 km Dempster Highway all the way to Inuvik in the Northwest Territories. She had even pressed on taking the new all-season road (Hwy 10) to Tuktoyaktuk on the Arctic Ocean, 845 km from here! Whether the Carolina Dog would get that far on this Dingo Vacation or not wasn’t decided yet. Adventures were in the works as far as the Richardson Mountains N of the Arctic Circle. Beyond that, the crystal ball was hazy.

At any rate, the Most High Exalted Dingo of the Arctic Sisterhood was on her way back to the true Arctic! To commemorate the occasion, she stopped by the big Dempster Highway sign before heading N.

The Dempster Highway starts at this junction with the North Klondike Highway 496 km/308 miles N of Whitehorse.

8-16-19, 9:39 PM, 50 ºF near Dempster Highway km 26 – Now that it was about over, Loopster saw the first hint of blue sky she’d seen all day. For a moment sunshine was on a hillside! Encouraging, although the sun never appeared. The Ogilvie Mountains were coming into view ahead! SPHP found a spot to park, so Lupe could get out for a look.

A chance to stretch after being cooped up in the G6 most of the day.

Approaching the **Ogilvie Mountains**. Photo looks N.

Far enough! Still light out, but time to call it a day. With a little luck, the Ogilvie Mountains would be out of the clouds tomorrow. Although she’d snoozed for hours in the G6, Lupe went right back to preparing for Mount Chester Henderson (6,300 ft.) in the morning.

*Shhhh! Peakbagging preparations underway!*

Not long after dark, though, the mist returned. Then rain. Not good.

8-17-19, 6:50 AM, 36 ºF – What’s this? A clear blue sky! Awesome! Full of optimism the American Dingo hit the road N. Soon she reached the S boundary of Tombstone Territorial Park. Sunlight was visible on the peaks of the Ogilvie Mountains, yet the sky was much hazier than just a short while ago. Trees were swaying in a lively breeze.

About to enter Tombstone Territorial Park. **Ogilvie Mountains** in view. Photo looks N.

8-17-19, 8:14 AM, 32 ºF, km 71.5 of the Dempster Highway at the Tombstone Interpretive Centre – What a change! Cold, windy, with new snow on the mountains. Mount Chester Henderson lost in the clouds. The interpretive center didn’t open until 9:00 AM. A weather forecast posted outside showed sunny with highs of 12 ºC and lows of 0 ºC the next several days, but that was for Dawson City, not here.

No local forecast, but there was one for where Lupe was ultimately heading – km 450 of the Dempster Highway. That had to be Wright Pass in the Richardson Mountains on the border of the Northwest Territories, or close to it! Unsurprisingly, the Wright Pass forecast wasn’t as good as Dawson City’s – highs of 3 or 4 ºC with lows of -3 to 1 ºC today and the next 3 days. Most days cloudy with periods of rain or snow.

So what did you find out, SPHP?

Mainly that we should wait for the interpretive center to open, Loop. The forecast for Dawson City, which isn’t too far away, is decent, but that’s way down by the Yukon River. Maybe the rangers can tell us a little more about what to expect up here?

New snow in the mountains across the Dempster Highway from the Tombstone Interpretive Centre parking lot. Photo looks E.

Breakfast was lukewarm. The cold wind made it nearly impossible to heat anything up. SPHP returned to the interpretive centre shortly after it opened. A surprisingly busy place, but that was due to the weather. Everyone was cancelling hikes and backpacking trips, and wondering what else there was to do?

A local forecast? Nothing official, but the ranger SPHP talked to said to expect little change. Overcast, high temps near freezing, and a 60% chance of rain or snow every day for the next 3 days. Improving after that. They did have a new extended forecast for Wright Pass, which was at least somewhat encouraging.

What’s the verdict, SPHP?

What we see is going to stick around awhile, Loop.

Mount Chester Henderson isn’t happening then, is it?

Nope, don’t even want to leave the G6 in this frigid wind. No point in it, anyway, with the mountain up in the clouds. Same situation for anything else we might consider around here.

So what now?

I’m pondering that, Looper. Seems we’ve simply hit it wrong. Our timing is off. The safe bet is to just chalk it up to bad luck and head for Alaska. Somewhere skies are blue!

We’ve come such a long way, though, SPHP! Are we really going to give up on everything we were going to do along the Dempster Highway just like that? Aren’t there any other options?

Yeah, we could just sit here or go to Dawson City waiting for the weather to improve, but that’s not in the cards for at least 4 more days. Even then, no guarantees. Only one other thing I can think of, but it’s a gamble. We could keep heading N. Things aren’t any better in the Richardsons, but if we can make it over Wright Pass, we could probably go all the way back to the Arctic Ocean at Tuktoyaktuk!

Oh, the Arctic Ocean would be grand! And that would chew up a few days, SPHP! Maybe it would warm up by the time we headed S again? We might still get a shot at climbing a mountain or two in the Richardson Range!

Exactly, Loopster! The extended forecast does show improvement at Wright Pass on the 21st – sunny and 9 ºC. Cloudy with showers the next day, but then mostly sunny and 11 ºC on the 23rd.

And even if none of that works out, remember Greg and Svetlana from Mount Lorne? They invited us to go to Grizzly Lake with them on the 23rd here in Tombstone Territorial Park. Maybe that would work?

Certainly a possibility. So what do you want to do, Loop?

Well, as the Most High Exalted Dingo of the Arctic Sisterhood, I feel some responsibility to make an effort to return to the true arctic. Can we just keep going N and see how things turn out? Not many Dingoes have ever been to the Arctic Ocean twice!

You can say that again! Darn few have been there even once! Actually, if we get there, you will have almost made it to the Arctic Ocean 3 times. Remember Deadhorse, Alaska? Since they didn’t allow Dingoes, I had to take the Arctic Ocean tour as your personal representative, but you were within only a few miles of the Arctic Ocean then, too. Alrighty, then. I sort of feel the same way you do. Shall we gamble?

Onward, SPHP!

Cold and windy out, but road conditions were fine. Even beneath leaden skies, the scenery was spectacular! No rush on such a day. The G6 made many stops at favorite points. The first was at the famous viewpoint overlooking the North Klondike River valley only a couple of km beyond the interpretive centre. On a clear day, Tombstone Mountain (7,192 ft.) could be seen at the far end.

This wasn’t a clear day.

**N Klondike River valley**, Tombstone Territorial Park. Photo looks SW.

A closer look with help from the telephoto lens.

The Carolina Dog went past Goldensides, over North Fork Pass, and saw the lower slopes of Angelcomb Peak.

Approaching **North Fork Pass**. Photo looks NNE.

**Upper E Blackstone River valley** from **North Fork Pass.** Photo looks WSW.

**North Fork Pass** looking down the **E Blackstone River valley**. Photo looks NW.

**E Blackstone River valley**. Photo looks W.

8-17-19, 11:39 AM, 30 ºF, Dempster Hwy km 95 (Bubbly Pond) – A longer stop was made at the Bubbly Pond pullout, the lower portion of a two-tier parking area on the E side of the Dempster Highway. Even colder here, but low enough to be protected from the wind, so it didn’t seem bad at all.

Lupe got a chance to sniff through the bushes, play with a stick, and show off how fast she could run! Naturally she visited the bubbly pond, too. Before hitting the Dempster Highway again, she topped it all off with a leisurely counter-clockwise sniff clear around the perimeter of the big parking area.

The bubbly pond parking area, km 95 of the Dempster Highway. Photo looks WNW.

Surfbird Mountain (km 98) was low enough to be out of the clouds and had only a skiff of snow. Farther on, Loopster made stops at the E Blackstone River rest area (km 107) E of Peak 5262 and Chapman Lake.

The **E Blackstone River** was running high. Photo looks NE.

**Chapman Lake** just N of Tombstone Territorial Park. Photo looks N.

The Carolina Dog barked at wild horses in the E Blackstone River, but they were too far away to even look up.

Wild horses in the **E Blackstone River valley**. Photo looks E with lots of help from the telephoto lens.

Despite the endless gloomy sky, optimism grew. All was well! The G6 rolled on. So much fun to see these incredible places again! Lupe had been this far N on the Dempster Highway only once, but that had been just a year ago. Memory was still fresh. Suddenly being here again felt fantastic! If only the weather would turn, fabulous adventures awaited!

A quick stop at Windy Pass (km 152) recalled the tremendous day Lupe had climbing Windy Pass Peak, Distincta Peak, and Peak 5906 last year. The Carolina Dog also got a chance to stretch her legs at scenic Engineer Creek (km 168 & 172) and the bridge over the Ogilvie River.

Back at **Windy Pass**. **Windy Pass Peak** (L). Photo looks S.

**Engineer Creek**, km 168 of the Dempster Highway. Photo looks SE.

**Engineer Creek**, km 172. Photo looks S.

Dempster Highway and **Engineer Creek**, km 172. Photo looks NNE.

Bridge at the **confluence of Engineer Creek and the Ogilvie River**. Photo looks SE.

Same bridge with **Sapper Hill (3,150 ft.)** (Center) in the background. Photo looks E.

Shortly after passing Churchward Hill (km 225), the situation began to change. A light rain set in. No problem, at first, but Seven Mile Hill where the Dempster Highway climbs out of the Ogilvie River valley wasn’t much farther, and proved to be muddy and slick. Low traction caused the G6 to struggle and slip. No guardrails. A tad unnerving!

Snow was in the air by the time Lupe reached the Ogilvie Ridge rest area (km 259) at the top of Seven Mile Hill. Not sticking much … yet.

The situation was deteriorating by the time Lupe reached **Ogilvie Ridge**. Normally a great view of the Ogilvie River valley from here. Not today.

I don’t know, Looper. We better talk about this.

Thinking about turning around, SPHP? We got up Seven Mile Hill alright.

Yeah, we were doing great, but now it appears we’re heading into weather. Hasn’t been a speck of blue sky all day. Rain is one thing, but the snow scares me. We’ve got 5/8 of a full tank. If we go much farther, we won’t have any choice, but to continue on to the Eagle Plains hotel where the next fuel is. If we wait too long to turn around, we won’t have enough fuel to get back. The G6 isn’t any good in snow. If conditions worsen, we might easily end up stranded.

How much farther to the Eagle Plains hotel?

Still 110 km to go. Will take hours bumping along at a snail’s pace.

Can we stay at the hotel, if we get there, SPHP?

Sure, if they’re got room.

Well, we can go a little farther, can’t we? If it starts snowing harder, we’ll turn around having given it our best shot! If things improve or stay about the same, we can head for the hotel. How’s that?

A little dicey, but makes some sense. At least there aren’t any more hills as big as Seven Mile Hill before we get to the Eagle Plains hotel. OK, we’ll go a bit farther and see what happens.

8-17-19, 4:05 PM, 35 ºF crossing the Eagle Plains – No turning back now! Not enough fuel. A mix of snow and rain all the way since leaving Ogilvie Ridge. Fortunately, still warm enough so nothing was sticking. The Dempster Highway was a rough, pot holey, sloppy mess, but firm. The G6 crept along, jolting and splooshing through the puddles.

Despite how slowly SPHP was driving, no vehicle going N passed the G6. Scarcely any traffic at all. Occasionally a vehicle heading S appeared. Lupe actually had a few peakbagging objectives along in here, minor hills that should have been easy climbs, but SPHP couldn’t even find them in this weather. Not leaving the highway in this cold, foggy soup, anyway. No way!

8-17-19, 5:38 PM, 33 ºF, Eagle Plains hotel – Nothing dramatic happened. Just a dreary, damp, marginally above freezing day. The G6 made it! At Eagle Plains fuel was $1.70 CAN per liter, roughly $4.95 US per gallon. A bargain. Fill ‘er up! Confidence restored.

A hopeful Dingo looks forward to a pleasant evening at the **Eagle Plains Hotel** *(km 369)*.

Any rooms available? Yes! $160 CAN per night, tax included. Sounds good! Only one person? Yep, and a Dingo. Sorry, no pets. We have 2 pet friendly rooms, but both are taken.

No soft warm bed. No spacious room. Lupe was crushed.

A check of the latest weather forecast on display in the hotel wasn’t as good as the one back at the Tombstone Interpretive Center. One day of sunshine ahead 4 days from now with a high of 6 ºC. The next day 8 ºC, but cloudy. Then a 10 ºC day, but rainy. Until then 3 more days of gloom with rain, snow, and temperatures within plus or minus a few degrees of freezing.

Only one thing to do.

8-17-19, 7:03 PM, 33 ºF, windy, leaving the Eagle Plains hotel – 36 km to go. Barely raining now, so the road was a bit drier. After crossing the Eagle River, the G6 had an easier time climbing the steep hill out of the valley than last year. Kms clicked away. The lower, snow-covered slopes of the Richardson Mountains came into view.

The Most High Exalted Dingo of the Arctic Sisterhood was coming!

Approaching the **Richardson Mountains**.

8-17-19, 8:18 PM, 33 ºF, breezy at the Arctic Circle (km 405) –

Congratulations, Loopster! You’ve made it back to the true arctic for the 4th year running!

Thank you, SPHP! The mountains are all snowy!

Yeah, and the forecast is lousy. Not going to stand much chance of getting any peakbagging done in the Richardsons. Maybe Peak 3850 just S of Wright Pass on the way back from the Arctic Ocean? That’s about it.

We’re going on to Tuktoyaktuk?

All depends on if we can make it over Wright Pass tomorrow. If we can, I think you’ll be seeing the Land of the Pingos again. Still a long way, but we’ve already come so far. Why not go for it?

The American Dingo was more than willing.

The Most High Exalted Dingo of the Arctic Sisterhood returns to the true arctic!

At the **Arctic Circle** 4 or 5 miles from the **Richardson Mountains**. Photo looks NE.

**Richardson Mountains** with help from the telephoto lens.

Same view with help from the telephoto lens.

The plan was to stay at the huge pullout at the Arctic Circle rest area for the night. Lupe hadn’t been here too long, though, before it began to snow lightly.

8-17-19, 9:50 PM, 32 ºF, at the Arctic Circle – A few vehicles had come out of the N. SPHP had been chatting with several people who stopped. Two women had just come from Inuvik. They’d made it over Wright Pass, but the road was treacherously muddy and slick coming up from Rock Creek. A man made it over the pass, too, but had picked up a nail in a tire. Had to stop every 20 km to air it up with a compressor. He agreed that Rock Creek was a mess.

A friendly family in a motorhome were the only ones still heading N. Still optimistic, they encouraged Lupe before continuing on their way.

The last tail lights disappeared. Twilight fading. Alone at the Arctic Circle! A year ago, it had rained incessantly all night here. Fortunately, it had been just warm enough. A degree or two colder, and there would have been feet, not inches, of snow. No telling how long the G6 might have been stranded. Hadn’t happened, though. The next morning Lupe had pressed on, eventually getting all the way to the Arctic Ocean.

Outside the G6, the snowflakes racing by in the wind were now huge. The ground was white. An inch already. Snowing hard and sticking! Almost no visibility. Close to blizzard conditions. If this kept up …

At the **Arctic Circle**, Yukon Territory, Canada 8-17-19

Links:

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Angelcomb Peak, Tombstone Territorial Park & the Midnight Dome, Dawson City, Yukon Territory, Canada 8-23-18

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.

A chilly start to the new day at km 107.6 of the Dempster Highway. Too cold to bother with details like focusing the camera!

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!

By the time breakfast was over, the **Ogilvie Mountains** looked like they might be about to escape the cloud cover.

On the drive S, encouraging amounts of blue sky were appearing.

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.).

Then again, still plenty of clouds hanging around.

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.

Lupe waits near the Dempster Highway during a quick stop to clean up her blankets. She seemed to feel much better immediately after throwing up, but maybe it was best to go for the easiest peak today, in case she got worse again.

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.

Setting out for **Angelcomb Peak**. Photo looks NE.

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.

On the S side of the little draw near the start of the unofficial trail to Angelcomb Peak. Photo looks ENE.

The gravel yard Lupe started from is beyond her. The wide valley the **East Blackstone River** originates from (Center) is across the Dempster Highway. Photo looks W.

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.

The trail heads toward **Angelcomb Peak’s S ridge** (R). The summit (Center) looked like it might soon be cloud-free. Photo looks N.

Checking out the first little high point. Photo looks NNE.

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.

Heading up the S ridge. The flat rocky area (R) is an intermediate goal en route to the summit (Center). Photo looks N.

*We’re almost to the flatter rocky part of the ridge now!* Photo looks NNE.

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!

The sky begins to clear over by **Trapper Mountain**. Photo looks NE.

*Look at that! Maybe we can go climb **Trapper Mountain** next?* Photo looks E.

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.

The trail didn’t always stay right up on the ridgeline. Here Lupe is W of, and a bit below, the rocky shelf. Photo looks N toward the summit (Center).

**Goldensides Mountain**, which Lupe had climbed in 2017, is on the L. The Dempster Highway and **North Fork Pass** are on the R. Photo looks S.

Getting to the final push up **Angelcomb Peak**. Photo looks NW.

**Mount Robert Henderson (6,998 ft.)** appears briefly in the distance on the L. **Blackcap Mountain (6,000 ft.)** is at Center. **Goldensides Mountain (6,000 ft.)** is beyond Lupe on the R. Photo looks SE.

**North Fork Pass** and the Dempster Highway. Photo looks S.

Upper **East Blackstone River valley** with help from the telephoto lens. Photo looks SW.

**Angelcomb Peak’s S ridge**. This is the way Lupe came up. Photo looks SSE.

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.

Feeling sick in the cold fog, but still heading higher. Fortunately, not much farther now!

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.

Success! Lupe at the **true summit of Angelcomb Peak**. Photo looks NW.

On the same summit rock, but this time looking NE.

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.

A minute later, more of the **NW ridge** came into view. Photo looks NW.

The **East Blackstone River valley**. Photo looks WSW.

The **summit of Angelcomb Peak** – just about the whole thing. Photo looks ESE.

*Well, we made it! Hope you don’t feel as queasy about it as I do!*

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.).

**Angelcomb Peak’s NW ridge** during a brief moment out in the clear. Photo looks NW with help from the telephoto lens.

The **East Blackstone River** and ponds near **North Fork Pass**. Photo looks SW.

Looking down **Angelcomb’s short SW ridge**. The gravel yard where Lupe started out from is on the L. Photo looks SW.

Most of the fog finally drifts away revealing the valley to the NE.

After 30 minutes at the summit of Angelcomb Peak, Lupe was feeling better. She’d had enough, though, and was ready to start down.

At a dramatic point shortly after beginning the descent. Photo looks S.

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 on the descent. **Blackcap Mountain** (L) and **Goldensides Mountain** (R) are both near the (Center). Photo looks SSE.

**Blackcap Mountain** (L) and **Goldensides Mountain** (R) with help from the telephoto lens. Photo looks SSE.

A glance over at the ridge leading to **Trapper Mountain** (R). Photo looks E.

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.

The washed out gully at the start of the trail. Photo looks W.

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.

At a Dawson City park near the Yukon River.

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.

**Dawson City** and the **Yukon River** from **Midnight Dome**. The Klondike River joins in from the L (E). Photo looks upstream (SW).

The **Yukon River**. Photo looks downstream (NW).

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.