This morning we are both feeling some better but definitely not back to normal. It helped that the weather is warm enough for short sleeves for the first time in days. The planned drive is only a couple hours so we’ll have plenty of time to rest and recuperate.
Watson Lake is the gateway to the Yukon, the last Canadian providence we’ll travel through on our way to Alaska. It truly is a remote wilderness.
Both British Columbia and the Yukon are covered by hundreds and hundreds of miles of boreal forests, rivers and lakes. Small villages are 100 or more kilometers between, often consisting of just a gas station. If there are fewer than 10 permanent homes, electricity is not provided so residents have to use generators for power. Bigger towns usually have a grocery store, campground, a lodge of some kind and maybe a car wash and laundromat. Often these are combined in a single business.
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The Alaska Highway is the only road between towns so a GPS isn’t necessary. It would be hard to get lost. Unless you have internet connection and download the map ahead of time, you couldn’t use it anyway. Cell service disappears a few miles outside of town.
The highway was built during the Second World War to support air bases between the Yukon and Alaska. One of those is in Watson Lake so we stopped by to check it out before leaving town.
Watson Lake Airstrip is the last remaining air terminal from the Northwest Staging route still in use. Today, it’s used exclusively for private and charter flights. The main entrance was locked so we followed a sign that said to go around to the FBO. The base operator said we were welcome to look around the old terminal building and showed us the back entrance.
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During the war, the Watson Lake airstrip was vital in Canadian-US efforts to defend Alaska and provide aircraft to Russia through a Lend-Lease program (which they never fully paid for). Thousands of planes stopped here for refueling and maintenance.
A collection of historical photographs are displayed in the old terminal building that describe what it was like during that time.
With the constant movement of so many aircraft around the clock, the lack of navigation aids, nasty weather and inexperienced pilots there were many accidents and crashes along the 3,500-mile ALSIB route.
There were communication problems because of a shortage of Russian-English interpreters, and freezing temperatures made routine chores extremely difficult. Mechanics learned that working for five-minutes without gloves would cost them some fingers.
A significant cause of death was pilot disorientation in freak weather conditions, which resulted in mid-air collisions and crashes. At least 140 Soviet airmen died on the ALSIB route between Fairbanks and Krasnoyarsk.
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Pilots had no heat in the cockpit, other than what a plane’s engines generated. Windshields froze over and instruments often became unreliable. In sub-zero temperatures motor oil turns to molasses, rubber becomes brittle and cracks, and rivets fall out of their holes. In a few short minutes a solid, well-made airpcraft could become a rattling and drafty collection of loose parts at 22,000 feet.
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It wasn’t only men. Many of the pilots who ferried Lend-Lease aircraft along the Northwest Staging Route were women flying B-17s. Women Auxiliary Service Pilots (WASPs) were used to free men for combat roles during the war.
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After leaving the airport, we started our drive north. The landscape was beautiful with snow capped mountains over miles and miles of forest.
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We were surprised that the campground we’d just stayed at didn’t have bear-proof trash cans like we’d seen everywhere else. We guessed they must not have a problem with bears, then we saw this guy lumbering across the road not too far from town.
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We stopped to stretch our legs at Rancheria Falls. It was just a short walk through the woods and along a raised boardwalk to an overlook of the falls. So pretty!
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Tonight we’re staying at the Yukon Motel campground in the Village of Teslin. The campground is on Teslin Lake, just beyond the bridge you see in the photograph.
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I was surprised by the number of cyclists we saw riding on the shoulder of the highway between Teslin and Watson Lake. I can’t imagine how painful it would be to be hit by a piece of gravel considering the damage it does to a windshield.
We’re planning to visit the Tlingit Heritage Center tomorrow before we drive up to Whitehorse. For now, we’ll rest and relax in hopes of getting back to normal.