Dezadeash Lake with Enid on Rock Glacier trail
We are on the edge of Kluane National Park, which is just across the road from this Yukon Government campground. It is cheaper to stay in the Yukon park, and as well, there is a fire ban on in Kluane, but not on the territorial side. Firewood is also free in the Yukon parks, so it wasn’t a hard decision to make to stay here, and not at Kathleen Lake, which is in the national park. At Kathleen Lake campground there is also no drinking or cooking water, while here we have the lake.
It is a bit cool in the southerly breeze from the lake, but at least it is keeping many of the bugs away. However there are large clouds of some kind of a tiny gnat. They don’t bite, but they are flying all around. There are also many bees here, getting the last of the fireweed blossoms. They seem to be attracted instantly to the truck, so as soon as you stop they swarm around it.
We left Whitehorse this morning in the rain, again. By the time we were partway here to the park it had stopped, and now it is a very nice clear sunny day, with some clouds. The temperature is about 17 °C, a bit cooler than it has been, but it is sure nice to be out of the rain. It is surprising that they have a fire ban here, given the amount of rain we have been in. It must be dry here in the rain shadow of the St. Elias Mountains, Canada’s highest, just to our west. From here you can’t see the glaciers, but we will probably see them on one of our hikes if we get high enough.
This afternoon we hiked a short trail called “Rock Glacier Trail”. We scrambled up the hill a bit past the end of the maintained trail, which was easy to do as it wasn’t too steep, and is just the broken rock of an old moraine. At the top there were some small stunted poplars. Someone had also taken the trouble to construct several chairs from the broken rock, so we sat in them and took our pictures.
After that we drove the Yukon to the boat launch and washed it in the lake. It was very muddy, as there are several kilometers of construction between here and Haines Junction. When they repair the roads here they water them, and then grade and roll the gravel. It must help to compact the rock, but it sure makes a mess of your vehicle when you drive through it.
Last night we set up the tarp to eat supper, and after supper I went to lower one side to keep the rain from running off onto our tent. When I did that I somehow pulled the peg out of the other corner, and the pole struck Enid in the head. She was sitting at the table, and she got quite a large goose egg, and a headache. So in addition to getting us wet, interrupting our travel with road closures, the rain has caused other problems as well! It is very nice this afternoon to be able to sit out without worrying about the rain.
I find it surprising that the leaves here on some of the trees are already starting to turn color. It hasn’t frozen yet, but the poplars are turning yellow. The berries that we would normally pick in the late fall such as high bush cranberries are already ripe. The growing season is so very short, but the long hours of daylight still allow the plants to flourish.