North to Alaska!: Haines Highway

Stepping out of the back of the camper on the morning of August 15, the sight of these mountains greeted us . . . majestic start to another beautiful, sunny day! It's much easier to rejoice in the day the Lord has made when it's a sunny one! :)

View from the deck on the shower/restroom building

After breakfast in the camper and some visiting with fellow campers--many of whom had also come from Dawson City and were headed to Haines--we got on the Haines Highway. The highway borders the Kluane National Park and Preserve in the Yukon on one side, which adjoins Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska.

Fantastic views of the St. Elias Mountains in the Kluane National Park and Preserve as we drove along the highway . . .

We stopped at a wayside to stretch and read one of the informational signs--it had a little information and a path to a "rock glacier." Deciding we could use a little exercise, we walked down the boardwalk path, which led to a sawdust path, which eventually turned into a dirt path, all leading uphill higher and higher. Neither of us had seen any information about how far this path led, but we could hear voices farther ahead . . . much farther! The only information at the outset was a warning to wear sturdy footwear because the path was treacherous in places. Out of curisoity, I guess, we continued--farther and farther uphill. Eventually we came to a wooden deck, looking out over a far-reaching landscape--far, far below!

Looking up from the wooden deck at the "rock glacier" A rock glacier is an area of rocks left behind after the ice glacier melts or moves on (put pretty simplistically--the geological explanation is much more complicated)

The "path" continued over the rocks--the "path" being only larger, flattish rocks turned over for stepping-stones. At this point I told Ernie I'd stay on the deck, and he could read the information to me and show me his pictures. Any of you who know me well know that I don't do extremely well with heights--I had almost had a panic attack going up to Pike's Peak the first time! I have trouble looking down long distances, especially when there's no guard rail or when walking, a hand rail to grasp. I've gotten much better on this trip because so much of our time has been spent on mountain roads, so I've acclimated to it somewhat. Going this far up was a stretch for me, but it was OK because most of the path had been wooded, so I couldn't see down. As we came out of the woods, there was a handrail leading up to the deck. On the deck, I could hold onto the deck railing. But from this point on, there was nothing to hold onto. Ernie went on higher, and the trail led out of sight, when he called to me to keep going, the view was worth it! I didn't know if I could gather that much courage--I envisioned a misstep (I'm not exactly the most coordinated person!) and tumbling down the mountainside. But I took a deep breath and started up--with nothing to hold onto, I was terrified, especially when the rock stepping-stone shifted when stepped on! I finally resorted to sort of a crab-walk, trying to hold onto the larger rocks in front of me and taking lots of deep breaths. Ernie finally noticed I was having a little trouble and came down further to hold my hand the rest of the way--it was all OK after that--as long as I didn't look down any further than my feet!