Land of the midnight sun – day 9

The tree tops were still, and the birds silent in the heat. A squirrel chattered away. The smell of cedar was a constant. The sun beamed through the branches, highlighting the lupines. Their vertical stemmed flowers standing tall with the colours almost fading out in the brilliant sunlight.

Montana Mountain June ’24

Our afternoon included, but was not limited to, a 6.5 km hike on Montana Mountain.

Carcross also boasts the world-class Montana Mountain biking and hiking trails, built and maintained by local Indigenous youth since 2006, through the Single Track to Success (S2S) program. Retrace the steps of a century-old mule trail on the Mountain Hero Trail, explore the re-purposed old mining trails and climb to the top of Montana Mountain for an incredible view shared with the caribou, and enjoy the exhilarating return to the bottom!

Montana Mountain Bike Park website

The trails were well maintained and obviously enjoyed by the bikers*. While hikers have right of way, we did step off the trail and let the group proceed. The young man politely thanked us. We did see another group but not on the trail. The trails are rated green, blue, and black, just like ski runs. I hesitate to say I could do the green as even it was quite gnarly with roots and rocks. So it’s likely just as well we didn’t rent bikes.

Montana Mountain Mixture June ’24

The road to get to the hike was … Let’s just say .. not in as good a condition as the trails! A truck would have been preferable, but we made it up and back. Fingers crossed no flat tires from it as once was enough. 

We should have reversed our activities as a trip to the beach to chill off after would have been nice. But instead, we had lunch** at the beach. Which seems, to us, to be almost incongruous with The Yukon. The sand was phenomenal and the water warmer than our usual Saskatchewan lake. There were loads of people down enjoying lake time. The White Pass Yukon Train headed out and so I was able to capture it going alongside Bennett Lake.

Our morning activities also made us hot and sweaty as we climbed to the top of the Carcross Dessert.

Carcross Desert, located just outside Carcross, Yukon, is a series of sand dunes. The Carcross Desert measures approximately 2.6 km2 (1.0 sq mi), or 259 ha (640 acres).

Carcross Desert is commonly referred to as a desert, but is actually a series of northern sand dunes. The area’s climate is too humid to be considered a true desert. The sand was formed during the last glacial period, when large glacial lakes formed and deposited silt. When the lakes dried, the dunes were left behind. Today, sand comes mainly from nearby Bennett Lake, carried by wind. The dunes contain a wide variety of plants, including unusual species such as Baikal sedge (Carex sabulosa) and Yukon lupine, among others.

Wikipedia

It was, as you would suspect, difficult to walk in. And it was as far up as the bottom right picture makes it look. The views were worth it, as you can see from the top right photo with Lake Bennett and the Chilkoot Mountains.

We spent a considerable amount of time (likely 4 times as long as the average visitor as we read each display panel) at the Caribou Crossing Trading Post. Billed to us as a taxidermy*** display, the bus driver had failed to mention the informative NWMP/RCMP exhibit about their work and history in the north. These original 40  men policed the north, including the Chilkoot Trail, and worked closely with the Indigenous populations at the time. They had special constables who assisted them. It seems to have been more harmonious than in the south, but perhaps they just ommitted the role the RCMP played in the residential schools.

Of the multitude of items on display, the item that stood out for me was the “would-be” gold prospectors packing list brought to life. It would have been more than shown here as they just had single bags of things like flour, sugar, dried beans, etc. A full load would have taken approximately 27 trips up Chilkoot or White Pass Trail. And so few of them actually struck it rich, although many turned to other jobs in the north to male their “fortune.”

Our final evening in the Yukon deserved a special ending, so we drove the “10 mile road” down to Tagish Lake to the Southern Lakes Resort. The view was expansive, the beer cold and crisp and the food outstandingly delicious.

Thanks again for following along. I am super behind in responding to comments and hope to catch up tomorrow during airport time.

Bernie

* Our son was so keen to come when we had first planned this trip for June of 2020 and bummed when it didn’t happen. Perhaps someday he and his wife will make it up here as they would love it!

**lunch was slim pickings as the Carcross grocery store also had slim pickings. We bought eggs for breakfast, and with the extras, I made egg salad sandwiches using Keen’s mustard as the mayo. No veggies, no beer, and no cookies. Most unusual.

***once home, I will do a few follow-up ThrowbackThursday sort of posts to fill in a few gaps. I have limited time on trips to detail it all. Although seems the sun goes down so late, it feels like I sleep a lot less as I can’t go to bed until it has at least dipped below the horizon. I will miss it and want to return every June!