Day 22 - 23 - 24 Whitehorse, YK

I'm not sure if you could say we are getting use to the gravel parking lots but Teslin came with a bit of a view. I guess you could say it was a bonus.

Just after leaving the campground we ran into some more road construction. The gravel road and dust lasted for at least 10 km. I can't imagine what the inside of the rig is going to look like. I will keep everyone posted.

Anyway we are now following the Yukon River and that will lead us right into Whitehorse. Our next stop on this amazing adventure.

We drove into Whitehorse and will be staying for three nights. We all need a break from driving and the hectic pace we have been keeping. Some need to catch up on laundry, some grocery shopping, and others just plain rest. And for us we need to do some major dusting.

Whitehorse was incorporated as a City in 1950 and in 1953 the capital of the Yukon was transferred from Dawson City to Whitehorse. Whitehorse got it's name after the rapids of the Yukon River which resembled the flowing manes of charging white horses.  In 1958 the construction of the Whitehorse Hydroelectric dam tamed Miles Canyon resulting in the once-foaming White Horse Rapids is now the Schwatka Lake reservoir. So it only made sense that our first stop on this city wide tour would be Miles Canyon.

Originally referred to as the Grand Canyon, Fredrick Schwatka renamed it in 1883 Miles Canyon after General Nelson Miles. Accounts differ as to the ferocity of the rapids. There was no question that they were dangerous. During the Gold Rush years hundreds of boats loaded with precious supplies perished, as well as several lives before the Northwest Mounted Police arrived to regulate traffic.

We were all sitting peacefully looking at the water enjoying the beauty and serenity...then a boat went through. We were not expecting that.

The Robert Lowe suspension bridge across Miles Canyon was built in 1922. Lowe came to the Yukon in 1899 and had mining interests in the Whitehorse Copper Belt. He also became a serving local and territorial politician. 

Schwatka Lake Reservoir

We drove a little further and we even got a better view of the canyon.

As I mentioned earlier the building of the hydroelectric dam calmed Miles Canyon but created another problem. How do the Chinook salmon get upstream to spawn?

Hydroelectric Dam

Yukon River below the dam

Responding to genetic and environmental triggers, adult Chinook salmon leave the Bering Sea in early summer and begin a 3,200 km or 2,000 mile journey up the Yukon River to the exact location where they were originally spawned several years earlier. They don't eat during the three months it takes them to swim to Whitehorse. They rely on stored body fats for energy. Most of the salmon will become victims of predators, starvation, or fishing. Only a small portion will pass through the Whitehorse Rapids Fishway.

The Whitehorse Rapids Fishway is the longest wooden fish ladder in the world. Glass windows in a viewing area allow you to see salmon, grayling, or trout swimming upstream. However, a crack in one of the windows developed during the winter, so the water was diverted out of the fish ladder and back in the Yukon River.Unfortunately no fish sightings today.

What a great afternoon. We all felt like hiking, away from the city, just some quiet time. It worked out great. Tomorrow is another day of discovery.