Haines Junction, YT to Dease Lake, BC (Aug. 23, 2015)

This travelogue report covers my journey on Sunday, August 23rd, from Haines Junction, Yukon eastward along the Alaska Highway (#1) through Whitehorse to the junction with Cassiar Highway (BC-37) near Watson Lake and then southward to Dease Lake, BC. The sky started out once again overcast, partially clearing in the afternoon, staying dry most of the way.

The following map shows my route for this day’s total distance of 500 miles / 805 km.

My route from Haines Junction, Yukon to Dease Lake, BC

My route from Haines Junction, Yukon to Dease Lake, BC

After breakfast with Shawn in the morning, I departed his home at 8:37 AM PDT and resumed my journey east. For the first couple hours of travel, I didn’t feel motivated to take any photos, although at the time I write this report, I can’t recall whether it was due to the weather or repetitive scenery.

Shortly before 10:30 and 100 miles / 161 km from Haines Junction, I stopped for fuel and a cup of coffee at a Petro-Canada station just past Whitehorse. After getting into conversation with another customer, it was 30 minutes later that I finally continued on.

Nearly 12 miles / 19 km east of that stop, I saw the Lewes River bridge and took a photo of the view ahead.

IMG_4219s

After cresting the first hill beyond the bridge, this next photo shows the view of the mountain beyond.

IMG_4227s

Another 45 miles / 72 km further, this next photo shows the scenery near Squanga Lake, another of many lakes along the Alaska Highway in the Yukon Territory. The lake wasn’t visible from my position on the road.

IMG_4246s

Only ten minutes later and 12 miles / 19 km further, I again came to Teslin Lake, which I ridden by previously on my way to Whitehorse.

IMG_4251s

Here’s another photo of Teslin Lake taken nearly 26 miles / 42 km later.

IMG_4268s

Again I passed by the Teslin Tlingit Heritage Center without stopping..

IMG_4271s

Apparently the police patrols by the RCMP are insufficient to deter speeding through Teslin. In front of a truck stop, there is a fake police car to trick speeders into slowing. From a distance it almost looks like a real RCMP patrol car.

IMG_4277s

The highway crosses Teslin Lake via the Nisutlin Bay Bridge. These two photos show the view across the lake towards the south and the view straight through the bridge.

IMG_4281s IMG_4283s

25 miles / 40 km later, the highway crosses into British Columbia for a 40 mile / 64 km segment before returning into the Yukon. This time I didn’t notice or photograph any signs welcoming me into either province as I crossed the borders.

Approximately 2.3 miles / 3.7 km before the border, I did encounter a construction zone at the Partridge Creek Bridge and had to wait for nearly 1½ minutes before proceeding across on the single lane. While stopped, I took this photo. Being a Sunday, there was not much work being done on the bridge.

IMG_4295s

For more than two hours and 142 miles / 229 km, I rode along without taking more photos. When I reached Good Hope Lake, I took this photo of the view across the lake.

IMG_4305s

After passing the lake, the scenery was again long stretches of chipseal roadway bordered by small trees and without many scenic overlooks or other breaks. This next photo shows the view towards the south at one such break a short distance past the lake.

IMG_4311s

Straight-ahead I again saw the possibility of rain.

IMG_4314s

Although I don’t recall donning my rain jacket, I probably did tuck my camera inside my jacket to keep it dry since I took no further photos during this day’s trip to Dease Lake.

The segment of the Cassiar Highway that was being repaved during my trip to Alaska was fully completed except for lane striping.

At 5 PM I arrived at the Arctic Divide Inn, where I had made an online reservation through Booking.com. On my prior trip through Dease Lake, I stayed at the one other motel in town called Northway Motor Inn. I found the Arctic Divide Inn to be preferable with a nicer room, albeit upstairs rather than on the ground floor as I generally prefer.

Since I once again arrived in Dease Lake on Sunday evening, the sole restaurant in Dease Lake was closed. Rather than buy another sandwich from the hamburger stand, as on my previous stay, I opted to buy something prepackaged along with a beer from the convenience store at the gas station and took it back to the motel.

That concludes this travelogue report for August 23rd. The next day I continued south, stopping again at Meziadin Junction, taking a side-trip to Stewart, and then continuing to New Hazelton for the night. More about that day’s journey in my next report.

Don

About Don

I'm a retired computer programmer who enjoys touring the country by motorcycle.
This entry was posted in Summer Tour 2015. Bookmark the permalink.