Adventures on the Haines Highway

Hi Blog!

On Thursday, July 22, 2016, we began our last road trip into Alaska. Our destination - Haines. The town of Haines has a long and colorful history. The first known meeting between white men and Tlingit took place in 1741 when a Russian ship anchored near Haines and started the fur trade in the area. In 1892, Jack Dalton established a toll road on the Tlingit trade route into the interior to cash in on gold-seekers and others heading north into Canada. Parts of Dalton's Chilkat Trail are now the Haines Highway.

We left our rig in Haines Junction, Yukon Territory, Canada, and drove down the Haines Highway. It's about 150 miles and most of the highway borders Kluane National Park and Preserve or Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park. We wanted to take our time driving down and enjoy some of the sights along the way.

With our Haines Road Guide in hand, we began our adventure with a stop at Kathleen Lake. We parked in the day use area and hiked around the lake on the Cottonwood Trail. At the trail junction, we took a short side trail down to the shore of Kathleen Lake. Here Kathleen is pointing the way to Kathleen.

The normally blue-green waters of the lake were steely gray. The weather forecast called for rain all weekend. We find it hard to see the mountains that surround the lake. It made for a very dramatic, if muted, setting.

We left the lake shore behind and began to climb over the shoulder of the King's Throne. Since we had a number of stops to make, we opted not to climb the three miles to the top. After hiking for about two miles along and above the lakeshore, we turned around and headed back.

We had one last look at the lake. The Dalton Range was almost visible. We plan to stop again on the way back from Haines if the weather is better.

Our next stop was Rock Glacier.  The Rock Glacier Trail is a self-guided trail with interpretive panels providing information on the rock glacier. (Thank you Canadian Conservation Corps for building a lovely boardwalk and stairs.) The trail took us right up and onto the glacier. No need for crampons on this glacier.

Unlike an ice glacier, rock glaciers usually have very little ice visible at the surface. If you are on the ground looking at one from a short distance away, it might not look at all like a glacier. Rock glaciers move very slowly, typically just a few centimeters per year. You wouldn't even notice the trail move.

If you wanted to, you could follow the rocks all the way into the mountains to the St. Elias Icefield. Dave is pointing the way. Unfortunately, it will have to wait until next time. We have more stops to make today.

Before heading back down, we took one last look at Dezadeash Lake. Miles to go before we sleep!

How could we resist a stop called "Million Dollar Falls"? The falls are located in a Yukon Provincial Campground. We drove in and parked in the day use area and hiked over to the falls.

The water builds up force as it tumbles down the narrow canyon.

To get a feel for the power of the water, click the link to watch the video of Million Dollar Falls.

We spent a few minutes admiring the beautiful blue-green color of the crystal-clear water before continuing with our adventure.

We crossed over the Chilkat Pass and began our slow descent toward the U.S./Canadian border.
We drove through tundra with mountain ranges on both sides of us.

The Three Guardsmen is the name popularized in Old West literature describing three lawmen who became legendary in their pursuit of many outlaws of the late 19th century. Deputy U.S. Marshals Bill Tilghman, Chris Madsen, and Heck Thomas were The Three Guardsmen, working under U.S. Marshal Evett "E.D." Nix. The Three Guardsmen pictured here guard the Chilkat Pass.

The Chilkat Pass marks the boundary between the Coast Mountains and Saint Elias Mountains.

There was a break in the clouds just long enough for us to get a photo of one of the glaciers.

The border crossing was uneventful. The Haines Road follows the Chilkat River into Haines. There were several fish wheels right next to the highway. The baskets were spinning, but there were no salmon running that day.

We thoroughly enjoyed our drive to Haines. The road surface was one of the best road surfaces we've encountered during our whole trip. We did save a few stops for the way home.

Now, it is time to explore Haines. Stay tuned.