Back to Alaska

Our plans are always flexible. With the trailer issues we had no idea how long we’d be stuck in Whitehorse. With the resolved issue the decision was to push a bit westward then south to Haines. Haines is an Alaskan coastal town with a single road to it that crosses both the Yukon and British Columbia about 150 miles south and west from Whitehorse.

From Whitehorse we followed the Alaska Highway westward back towards Alaska. Arriving in Haines Junction, Yukon we stopped for lunch at a sweet café/bakery on a side street. If you didn’t know about it you would never know it was there. After a great lunch we left the Alaska Highway and headed south on the Haines Highway. It’s 150 miles or so to Haines and the road slowly climbs a couple thousand feet as it passes the mountains. Here the seasons appeared to roll back to winter as we climbed higher into the mountains. The stark, wintery view was amazing.

After the Haines Highway Summit around 4,000 feet the road slowly descends to the US Canadian border. From there it’s a gradual 39 mile trip to Haines. The road passes by the Chilkat Eagle Preserve where thousands of eagles cognate in early November feeding on the Alaska’s latest salmon run. All five Pacific salmon spawn in the Chilcoot River. During Spring and Summer, the river runs high over vast gravel bars and much water seeps into the gravel. In the Fall with less flow coming down the river, the water underneath seeps up into the river and raises the stream temperature. As a result, the salmon run is very late in the season. Eagles are opportunistic and know the fish are easy pickings when there are not many other easy food sources around.

Haines and Skagway sit in the upper reaches of the Lynn Canal. It’s not a canal, rather a fjord. It’s the longest fjord in North America snaking through the mountains roughly one hundred miles from the Ocean. Speaking of Haines and Skagway, they sit 14 water miles apart by water, but about 350 miles apart by road.

There are two rivers near Haines, the Chilcoot and the Chilcat. One is great for viewing eagles in the fall while the other is great for viewing Brown Bears in the summer. We’ve seen and I’ve photographed Brown Bears two other years while we visited in the past.

Other interesting things about Haines. Like other coastal Alaskan towns there’s a free spirit feel mixed with a bit of funkiness and artistic flair. If you are heading north from Washington State on the Alaska State Ferry System, Haines is the end of the line. To go further north on the ferry system one needs to transfer to another ferry route either here or Juneau.

Getting back to the drive into Haines. After the border we were taking our time heading down the highway when a car pulling a loaded small trailer flew past. I didn’t think much about it, but a few miles further down the road the car and trailer were stopped in the road in driving lane. We stopped to see if help was needed. It was needed. The woman was moving from Anchorage to Haines with all her possessions and the trailer bounced off the trailer hitch. It dropped to the road and one of the tow chains broke. The second tow chain stayed intact preventing a potential disaster. In addition, the wiring broke so she did not have any trailer lights including break lights. A young guy around 19 stopped as well. The four of us lifted the trailer back onto the hitch and made sure the one tow chain was still attached.

Once we got her reattached, I suggested we follow her into Haines since we knew all her trailer lights were out. She agreed and thanked us. I also suggested she drive slow since there was still potential for issues. She agrees, got back into her car and zoom she was gone. Every so often we saw her up ahead waiting for us then zoom she was gone again.

Once we arrived in Haines we did a quick resupply then headed out to the State campground 10 miles from town. We camped here in the past and were hoping to secure another lakeside site. Luck was on our side and we got one. It was next to the site we had for a week last summer.