7-11-04
Tok to Hanes
| I made it in to Tok (Toke) last night at about midnight and pulled in behind the visitors center to bunk out. I got up in the morning and grabbed a shower at the campground before heading south on the Alcan. I am looking to make it to Hanes today which takes me through Canada along the way. You might remember that Toke was where I got to see a forest fire up close when I first entered Alaska a few weeks ago. I wanted to go back to the spot that I shot those photos from to see what was left after the fire. When I got to the turn off I wasn't sure I was going to be allowed up the road. There was a road block that when I pulled up to it the women staffing it came up and asked me where I was headed. I told them I was just going about 10 miles up to revisit a spot I had taken photos |
| Now this is what I love so much about Alaska. It is understood that if you see someone by the side of the road you stop and make sure they are ok. Also if you choose to put your self in harms way that you are responsible for your decision to do so and that you might have to rely on your own skills and equipment to get your self out of the trouble you got in to. So the lady at the road block informed me that there were still many hot spots in the area and that if I decided to travel through to the top of the world highway and the towns of Chicken and Dawson that I would be passing directly through the boundary fire and that it was not only jumping the road in many places but that there were trees falling across the road frequently as well. She gave me a map with the most dangerous spots marked and gave me a finial warning that if I got in to trouble I was on my own, then wished me a safe trip. I just love that I was allowed to proceed at my own discretion and to choose for my self what I could and could not handle. That just doesn't happen in the lower 48. |
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So above and below is the exact spot that I took the fire pictures from. The devastation is complete through out this area. The third shot is of the road back to the Alcan. I really was thinking about traveling to Dawson just to drive through the fires, As I really like to try things that common sense says not to. However I really wanted to see Hanes and catch the day trip down to Juneau, so I headed back to the Alcan. |
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| This dragon fly is big but not the biggest I saw in Alaska its wing span must have been 4-5 inches or more. He hit my windshield (making a good loud crack when he did) at better than 50 MPH and slid down on to the cowl air intake. I noticed that he seemed to be hanging on, I didn't really think he was alive but instead stuck so I stopped to see if he was indeed still alive and kicking, He was! He sat there beating his wings for a few minutes and then flew off, Unbelievable! |
| About 10 minutes later I saw one of the scariest things I have seen in almost 15 years and over 1 million miles of driving over the road. I was in a short stretch of gravel in a construction zone 30 miles south of Tok, traveling about 55 mph and maybe a quarter mile behind a Saturn. The Saturn was moving about the same speed as me and coming around a right handed curve in the road, right as the gravel ended the Saturns backend started to slide and as the sliding back wheels hit the asphalt that Saturn stood right up on it's two left wheels. It looked just like something out of a stunt show. I thought OH SHIT! that car is going to roll! but some how it came back down (I thought WHEW they are going to be ok) but the car came down HARD! blowing out the right front tire. the sudden pull started the back end sliding and as the driver was trying to correct the slide she started to over steer (a very easy thing to do) and the fishtailing back and forth was soon way past the point of recovery the Saturn spun 2 or 3 times as it slid down in to the right ditch, ending up with the bumpers on both banks and the back tires off the ground. I Pulled over and hurried to check on the driver and passenger. Before I got to the car two young girls from Tok had jumped out of the car and were unhurt but very freaked out! The passenger just started laughing saying to her friend that she was sorry she was laughing but she had to or she would cry. They asked if I could pull them out of the ditch, which I could have but I would have destroyed their car in the process. The driver called a friend in Tok who drove a tow truck and he said he was on the way with a new wheel and tire so they could continue their trip to California. I asked if they wanted me to stay until help arrived but they said they would be ok as there were now about 10 or more vehicles stopped, So I headed to Hanes, I hope they made it to CA ok. |
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Back in to Canada |
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Rush hour Yukon style. |
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Kulane Lake |
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Above and below the mountains on the way to Hanes |
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I road side bench made out of Marble |
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| Looking up the Chilkat river. In the fall this river draws more than 5000 bald eagles that feed on the salmon runs. it is the largest concentration of bald eagles in the world. |
| I got in to Hanes at about 10pm and they had already rolled up the side walks. I did manage to catch the clerk at the RV park just in time to get a spot and a shower for the night. She also said that she would leave a note that I needed a ticket for the Juneau trip in the morning and told me to come at 7:30 sharp to find out if there were any open spaces, but she seemed doubtful about my chances. It got darker than I had seen in over 3 weeks tonight but not totally black yet. |
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To go to the next day click HERE |
