Day 3: Kluane National Park

Today, was the day for Kluane National Park.

We got to the meeting spot early.  Oh no, there were 60 odd people at the same spot.  Would this be a crowded bus trip? Thankfully not. We watched most of them pour into a tourist bus, while six of us took seats in a 24 seater, enough for all of us to have a window seat.  Harry sat at the front, looking at the driver panels and I in the middle (the safer part of the bus).

"Did you see the northern nights last night?" asked the driver chirpily. Dumbfounded we looked at him. We had been awake, tossing in the warm night as they danced in the sky above us.  We hadn't thought to look!!  We looked out the window every other night, but the clouds stubbornly arrived in the early evening. 

The trip took us along the Alaskan highway. Note to me "never complain about New Zealand roads again". The Yukon roads are far worse and according to the driver a result of climate change. The roads are built on permanent frost which is slowly melting and causing subsidence. Must be a nightmare to maintain (or not as there some pretty big cracks). 

 

 

The country is impacted considerably by climate change. Bears are hibernating later due to the warm weather and as they need more food they are coming closer to communities (as humans have, and continue to encroach on their habitat) - its a vicious circle.  The indigenous spruce beetle (similar to a termite) is thriving in the warm conditions and chewing through trees at a great rate of knots,  the dead trees are perfect fuel for the forest fires (you can see them everywhere).

The Alaskan Highway takes us through stunning scenery, divided by the road.  On one side we looked out to rolling hills, and on the other a vista of high mountain peaks with glaciers cascading the hillside (but sadly very far away). 

We stopped at Haines Junction Visitors Centre for a while to watch videos about glaciers and getting a better understanding of the topography of the area.

Lake Kathleen was our stop for lunch which unexpectedly was provided by the bus company (we had lots of food for dinner that night).  Afterwards a short board walk took us along some of the foreshore.

  

 

A bit of history.  In the 1800s a glacier calved into the river and the lake was formed trapping chinook salmon.  As the salmon could not travel to the Pacific Ocean, they adapted to fresh water and are now a protected species (ie no fishing in Lake Kathleen). Even when the dam broke 150 years later, the salmon had lost their instinct to travel to the sea.  

We walked up on an old glacier bed (pretty old ie 10,000 years ago the rocks were covered by a  glacier).  We have done similar things below, and I find it hard to imagine the churning of rocks below the moving ice. 

Another short walk through a forest. Mushrooms galore but no bears, coyotes or moose to see. Only one bald eagle.

A rough ride back (rougher than before - probably cos the driver was keen to get home - although the speed limit is only 70 kms). Harry spent most of the trip talking to Alex (a fellow passenger) and I admired trees and more trees (trees are slim and reasonably short, a result of poor nutrition) and thought how beautiful it would be in winter. 

We found a street of food caravans opened on a Monday night, but decided our dinner in the fridge and left over lunch was more appealing (though only just).

Tomorrow we are off to the supermarket, we have found a brand of Thai noodles which are yummy.