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September 21, 2009
Day Four
Thursday September 17, 2009
From Teslin it was just a short drive to Whitehorse. The wind was blustery and the clouds hanging quite low so we weren't in much of a touristic mood. We'd had such a good experience with the Liard Hot Springs that we decided to try out the Takhini Springs north of town. Unfortunately, they were closed when we got there (we found out from the friendly owners who invited us back that they open at 4pm). We set up a quick camp and cooked up some brunch and then headed back to town.
Still craving the springs we decided to check out the activities center which was built in 2005 and in 2007 hosted the Canada Games. This place was incredible. Modern, functional and housing a tremendous diversity of equipment, it would certainly provide a way to pass the long, cold winter of the North.
After being refreshed in the hot tub and steam room, we headed back to town for some shopping and a trip to the visitor's center - a requisite stop for all tourists and travellers. I add that second category in as I refuse to be bunched in with the larger, and sometimes more ignorant group that is 'tourists'. Having learned (in Watson Lake) that the border crossing on the Top of the World Highway was closing on the 21st, we now appreciated the information available to travellers. That same information meant that we were now heading through Alaska first, before attempting the Dempster and the trip to Inuvik.
Having picked up most of the supplies we needed, we left Whitehorse knowing that we would return and have more time to enjoy what it has to offer. The road westward beckoned and we started tracing the way on the map to Haine's Junction. We didn't make it very far before we turned off onto a pullout to enjoy a majestic view of the mountains and the incredible colours present in the Yukon autumn. It turned out that this urge for a beautiful photo was good fortune for a young family with tire problems. They were returning home from Whitehorse (with a tire recently fixed for their truck) when a tire on their van blew out in roughly the same area. Two tires in two days - not a good 48 hours for them...and did I mention their jack was broken? Having heard of their plight we grabbed our jack out of the truck and got to work on their problem. It was also good fortune that an older gentleman with an RV was there as well as he provided a second jack (a nice 20 ton bottlejack) to get the van high enough off the ground for the tire to be removed.
I'll say this - the little jack provided in a Toyota is useful, but not practical on its own. It's not short enough to get under the frame when a tire is blown, and when it is, it can't provide enough lift to get the vehicle up high enough to put a new tire on. With a single jack, the options must include something to hold the vehicle propped up while the jack is moved to another lift point. Much easier with two jacks. Back to the story.
We got the donut tire put on, and after tightening all the wheelnuts, Nat kept the younger kids (4 boys under 10!) busy with a donut from Tim Horton's (Mmmmm, Timmy's). The tire was looking pretty flat so I checked it and it was sitting at 17psi - not great with still 30km to drive home. I brought the truck up beside the van and gave the newly installed compressor it's first test. A minute later and the donut had 47psi, the family thanked us and we watched them limp off homeward bound. We now had time to get that photo that was the original intent of our pullover.
A few more pulloffs for photos were needed on the drive to 'the Junction' but we did evently get there and in time to set up camp at Pine Lake (another great Yukon government site) in daylight. It's such a refreshing feeling to set things up, have dinner and a beer and then see the sunset, instead of doing all the above with headlamps on...I know, I know, I should stop rambling on about that....I blame Led Zeppelin.
End of day four
Posted by Dr.Unk at September 21, 2009 11:47 AM
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