Monday 8/27
This morning we did chores. Nancy made some phone calls. We haven’t had a cell signal in Canada since we were near the border, so we have to make calls while we’re in the US. Though Haines is b-a-r-e-l-y in the US, we still have coverage so we’ll take advantage of that. While she’s calling, I head to the library to make one more connection with the “net”. We’ve parked the Admiral right across the street from the library, so that I can work in the comfort of our mobile abode, but alas, I don’t appear to have the wireless signal I used yesterday. When I inquire at the library I discover that there is no free Internet in Haines—Alaska Power and Light (the only local provider) charges by the KB, and the library can’t afford the tariff. So yesterday I was tapped into somebody’s private account as I spewed megabytes into the ether. Sorry, somebody.
In the meantime, Nancy also returned our video rental from last night. We’ve watched a lot of movies on the trip. It’s our end of the day ritual. We’re out of virgin DVDs, so we decided to rent. Interestingly, the rental store had only a handful of DVDs—the vast majority of their library was still in VHS tapes. Another sign that technology arrives slowly in the wilderness.
On our way out of town, we stop to top off fuel in the Admiral and CJ. This is our last opportunity to buy gas at US prices—the next thousand miles plus we’ll be pumping Canadian petrol, which is roughly the cost of Chanel #5.
We leave Haines with fond memories. This is a nice little town with nice folks. We’ve been parked on the shore with a stunning view of Chilkoot Inlet and the surrounding mountains. We’ve seen bears and birds and fish. We’ve seen the sun.
As we trace the braided Chilkat River delta through the Bald Eagle Preserve, we see several more of these stately birds. We’re reminded that there are 80 pairs of eagles that nest here, but as many as 3,000 birds in the area during salmon season. We also work on identifying the owl we saw yesterday and determine it to be a Barred Owl—a new bird. Another bird in the book is called a Flammulated Owl. We muse on the meaning of “flammulated” (see below).
As we pass into Canada, we begin the long climb into the surrounding mountains. The Tatsheshini-Alsek Wilderness is on our left. There are many glaciers and countless waterfalls.
For the first several hours there is very little traffic on the road. During one magical hour of isolation we see but one other vehicle. We stop frequently to watch swans and ducks.
I fish at Three Guardsman Lake, which is beautifully promising—catch no fish and get no bites except from the mosquitoes which are swarming. We haven’t had bug problems for a long time, so I’ve put on no repellant. For mosquitoes, a mammal with no fur, no netting, and no repellant must be like a hot fudge sundae.
I fish again at one of the Goat Creek bridges. Bridges can be good places to fish since there’s often a deep channel underneath. I work the pools and eddies downstream to no avail then cross over the bridge and begin to ply my small black fly along the edge of a backwash. I’ve added a tiny weight to the leader so that the fly is dragged deeper into the current. There’s a tug as I gather line to retrieve the bait, and then, almost instantly, the pulsing vibration of a living creature on the other end. It’s a tiny fish, maybe 8 inches, but it fights valiantly, and it’s my first Dolly Varden! Nearby I catch a second Dolly about the same size. Then Triton closes the door, and the fish are finished for the day.
I fish again at the Blanchard River. Like all of these streams it reeks with promising water. I KNOW there are fish here, but whatever fish there are, they are not interested in my offerings.
Photos, fishing, and birding have slowed our progress. In 4 hours we travel less than 80 miles. We find these stretches of the trip intoxicating. “My god, we’ve gone only 78 miles all afternoon—how cool is that!”
In the early evening we turn east on the Alaska Highway. We stop at 9:30 p.m. about 20 miles west of Whitehorse.
Flammulated \flam"mu*la`ted\, a. [L. flammula little flame, dim. fr. flamma flame.] Of a reddish color.
