The Road to the Yukon - Carcross

A short driving excursion from Wheaton River Cabin is Carcross, a small first nations community nestled next to Bennett Lake and Nares Lake. The British Columbia border is just a few kilometres south of here. During the Klondike gold rush, this was a major railway stopping point for prospectors heading north.

A functioning railway station, a thriving tourist market, the remains of an old paddle wheeler (a fire in 1990 mostly destroyed it) and the world’s smallest desert attract bus loads of tourists traveling from all over the world. Unlike most of our other stops to this point, Carcross seemed thoughtfully designed and maintained.

A lady at the visitor’s centre suggested a good walk would be along the beach facing Bennett Lake. The sand was resort-like and stretched for several kilometres. You could fit a hundred thousand people here on a bright and sunny day.

The view was reminiscent of that you see at Waterton Lake. 

The stop that was the highlight of the day was the world’s smallest desert. Around 260 hectares, these dunes are the remains of a glacial lake bed.

The dot between the trees is a person, to give you a sense of perspective.

Heather had the brilliant idea of taking her shoes and socks off after we hiked to the far end. The return walk in bare feet was incredible.

I was a little concerned about how much gas we had in the car. Thankfully, Carcross had an excellent general store of sorts that also sells gas. Having the tank full again was reassuring, as we are heading to Dawson City on Tuesday. Compared to our other days of driving, it will feel like a breeze at between five and six hours.

On most major trips, I manager to find a way way to feel unwell. Last night, a headache rolled in and made sleep nearly impossible. A couple of ibuprofen in the middle of the night took care of that problem. Right as rain the next morning.