'Alaska Highway' Dan Bern
Critter count:
1 silver fox (alive and running)
A few other things, all stuffed.
A rather ridiculously low count considering the wilderness that we have passed through; the fox was outrageously magnificent though.
Trees, trees and more trees, The Yukon is COVERED in them with just the odd lake, river and creek breaking them up. Practically no one lives here either. The total population is only circa 30,000, with 25,000 of those living in Whitehorse which is where we find ourselves for the next two nights.
The whole of our route today has been on the Alaska Highway and jolly empty it was too, surprisingly. We didn't think it as majestic as the Cassiar but the grey, overcast weather and occasional driving rain probably didn't help.
The road was built (all 1,700 miles of it) in a staggering 8 months in 1942. The USA wanted to create a supply route to Alaska for the war and they sent in the army in undertake this. They seem to have ignored the rather large country in the way (Canada), and ploughed through it without consultation.
It was a truly staggering feat in atrocious conditions. The winter temperatures can drop to -70! It came at some cost to the local native people though.
Teslin, a tiny place that holds the largest concentration of Indians in the Yukon, the Tlingit tribe, stood right in the way of the new road. The native people had lived happily off the land, hunting and fur trading and moving with the seasons. First they had to put up with missionaries making them become christians and then, when the US army came to build the road, they brought with them diseases such as measles and chicken pox to which the Indians had no immunity. Many died during this time. The influx of soldiers did not respect the land or the native traditions in any way either. Off duty soldiers were allowed to hunt for pleasure indiscriminately and hibernating bears, for instance, would be dragged from their dens and used for target practise. Ancient burial houses would be stripped of their artefacts and centuries of tradition mocked.
Once the road was finished the government decided to remove native children as young as 6 or 7 from their parents and send them to church boarding schools, many never saw their families again. This trauma led to a very long period filled with despair, decline and alcohol for many. It was only in the early '70's that the native people were able to reestablish their community and grow again.
Now, they are semi-autonomous, thriving and living productively again in Teslin but what a price they have paid.
Nearly all the buildings in Whitehorse have a temporary feel about them somehow. It is an odd place but then living in this desperately harsh climate in such a remote town must affect the psyche very much. I get the feeling that the men are tough and the women possibly put upon. It doesn't have a good 'feel' to me. It does, however, have the enjoyable MacBride Museum which gives an insight into the areas history. This museum also houses stuffed animals of the region. Hence my pathetic attempt at upping the critter count for today.
Tomorrow, we are going on a full day excursion on the White Pass and Yukon Railway to Skagway and back. Should be fun. We just need all that rain and cloud nonsense to go away; it's spoiling our views.
1 silver fox (alive and running)
A few other things, all stuffed.
A rather ridiculously low count considering the wilderness that we have passed through; the fox was outrageously magnificent though.
Trees, trees and more trees, The Yukon is COVERED in them with just the odd lake, river and creek breaking them up. Practically no one lives here either. The total population is only circa 30,000, with 25,000 of those living in Whitehorse which is where we find ourselves for the next two nights.
The whole of our route today has been on the Alaska Highway and jolly empty it was too, surprisingly. We didn't think it as majestic as the Cassiar but the grey, overcast weather and occasional driving rain probably didn't help.
The road was built (all 1,700 miles of it) in a staggering 8 months in 1942. The USA wanted to create a supply route to Alaska for the war and they sent in the army in undertake this. They seem to have ignored the rather large country in the way (Canada), and ploughed through it without consultation.
It was a truly staggering feat in atrocious conditions. The winter temperatures can drop to -70! It came at some cost to the local native people though.
Teslin, a tiny place that holds the largest concentration of Indians in the Yukon, the Tlingit tribe, stood right in the way of the new road. The native people had lived happily off the land, hunting and fur trading and moving with the seasons. First they had to put up with missionaries making them become christians and then, when the US army came to build the road, they brought with them diseases such as measles and chicken pox to which the Indians had no immunity. Many died during this time. The influx of soldiers did not respect the land or the native traditions in any way either. Off duty soldiers were allowed to hunt for pleasure indiscriminately and hibernating bears, for instance, would be dragged from their dens and used for target practise. Ancient burial houses would be stripped of their artefacts and centuries of tradition mocked.
Once the road was finished the government decided to remove native children as young as 6 or 7 from their parents and send them to church boarding schools, many never saw their families again. This trauma led to a very long period filled with despair, decline and alcohol for many. It was only in the early '70's that the native people were able to reestablish their community and grow again.
Now, they are semi-autonomous, thriving and living productively again in Teslin but what a price they have paid.
Nearly all the buildings in Whitehorse have a temporary feel about them somehow. It is an odd place but then living in this desperately harsh climate in such a remote town must affect the psyche very much. I get the feeling that the men are tough and the women possibly put upon. It doesn't have a good 'feel' to me. It does, however, have the enjoyable MacBride Museum which gives an insight into the areas history. This museum also houses stuffed animals of the region. Hence my pathetic attempt at upping the critter count for today.
Tomorrow, we are going on a full day excursion on the White Pass and Yukon Railway to Skagway and back. Should be fun. We just need all that rain and cloud nonsense to go away; it's spoiling our views.
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