Up until this point the route had been focused on the east to west trek. After a few days of reorganizing we were able to tackle the problem that the British Columbia (BC) Wildfires presented. The Rocky Run had begun.
Phase I: Castle Dowdall to  Gregg Lake, William A Switzer Provincial Park
Distance: 598 km
Phase I.I: Gregg Lake to Buckinghorse, BC
Distance: 705 km
The original plan had involved driving from my parent's house out to the west coast and then up through the interior of BC. Unfortunately, this was no longer an option. Instead we decided to run up the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains and through the northern half of BC to reach the furthest point in the trip; Dawson City, Yukon Territory.
Driving to Gregg Lake was a fantastic cruise down memory lane for me. When I first moved to Canada my family and I lived in a small town in Alberta called Killam. We had friends there who one year took us up to Sylvan Lake. I remember spending many summer evenings camping up there and playing board games. One of the most memorable parts of Sylvan Lake was a place called the Big Moo. It's an ice cream shop with hundreds of options. As a child I loved getting an ice cream from the Big Moo, there were so many flavours to try! Since I was passing through I couldn't help but stop of and get a good ol'cookie dough ice cream cone. It was everything I remembered it to be.
Gregg Lake itself was a beautiful park. A simple, but perfect place to end up. I'm sure that the park had more to offer, but we were on a timeline. After one night, we hit the road and booked it all the way to Buckinghorse Campground in BC. I can't say anything special about this stop in the trip as it was quite literally a campsite on the side of the road that runs on the honour system. Don't worry, I paid the park fee, although it did cross my mind to not. After a night there, we booked it to one of the best spots on this trip: Liard Hot Springs Provincial Park.Â
Phase II: Bucking Horse to Liard Hot Springs
Distance: 476 km
The Liard Hot Springs had earned its position as a mandatory stop on the trip. Every review about it paints it as a must do. So we did. It’s a small provincial park and the primary attraction is the hot springs. Are the hot springs that good? The answer is: yes they are! Even though I'd had the chance to shower and reenergize at my parent's house, I still felt drained and dirty. Sitting in the hot springs entirely changed that. Laying on my back and paddling through the warm water eased every muscle in my body. If you get the chance to visit the springs, I highly recommend it.  After one night in Liard, it was off to Kluane National park.
Phase III: Liard Hot Springs to Kathleen Lake, Kluane National Park
Distance: 820 km
I had a lot of preconceptions about the territories and the northern parts of Canada, but the drive from Liard to Kluane completely changed that. I originally envisioned the north as nothing but tundra. Instead, it consists of some of the most diverse wild and plant life in Canada! At one point, the road took us through what I can only think were sand dunes. It was stunning. After a few hours of basking in the scenery and stopping for bison, we arrived at Kathleen Lake.
When a lot of Canadians are asked to think of mountains, they probably conjure up images of the Rocky Mountains that divide BC and Alberta. The mountains up in the north easily trumped the Rockies around Banff. In the morning, you woke up to the mountains cutting through the clouds as they ominously rolled towards us. There were times when the entirety of a mountain would get swallowed. What you could see the night before would be gone in an instant. It was breathtaking. Kluane is home to some of the tallest mountains in all of Canada including Mount Logan. I didn't get the chance to venture that far in to the park. However, I can guarantee you that I'll be returning when I can.
Phase IV: Kathleen Lake to Dawson City, Yukon
Distance: 682 km
Dawson City marked the end of the road. It was the furthest point from my home in Ottawa that I was going to see. The city is a few kilometres from the Alaska-Canada boarder and played a central part in the gold rush. Walking through the city is enough to get a feel for the old prospector homes and their watering holes. The downtown hotel still works as an old style saloon that is most widely known for the "Sourtoe Cocktail". It's a shot with an old mummified toe in it. You may have heard about the toe being stolen a few months ago. Well, as a proud member of the Sourtoe Cocktail Club, I can assure you the toe is back in Dawson and bathing in shots every night from nine to eleven.Â
The Sourtoe cocktail was not the only reason for visiting Dawson. Since Dawson played a pivotal role in the Canadian gold rush there are a lot of abandoned towns just outside the city limit. One of the most famous sites is Forty Mile. It's an old prospecting town that you can still walk through today. While nature has begun to reclaim what it once owned, there is still a lot of the town to be seen. Forty Mile may not be a proper ghost town, but accidentally stumbling upon the old cemetery can be quite chilling. It was eerie walking through as you couldn't really discern what was a grave and what wasn’t. After a run in with some grizzly bear fur on a tree, it was time to get out of town.
Dawson City is an amazing place to visit that probably doesn't get the attention it deserves. If you're interested in visiting you can actually fly in and out! For now it's time I pack up the car and begin the long journey home.
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