August 4

Today we traveled across the border and down to the south end of Kluane Lake where we camped at a scenic turnout on the lake shore. It is the largest lake in the Yukon Territory and has a beautiful turquoise color although the water is not as clear as that in Lake Powell. The border crossing was uneventful. It was interesting that the US customs was at the border but Canadian customs was about twenty miles into the country just before the town of Beaver Creek. All day the sky has been very hazy with smoke from numerous forest fires burning in both Alaska and Canada. This is a bummer because it totally obscures the view. We have also traveled some of the most frost-heaved highway of the trip with frequent gravel segments up until the town of Burwash Landing. Since then it has been pretty smooth going. I hope this continues because we are lucky to average forty miles an hour on the roller-coaster highway and it really gives the suspension on the vehicles a workout. We lunched at Pickhandle Lake, a very scenic lake on a primary water foul migration route. There were a number of swans and ducks on the lake as well as other little shore birds. At camp after dinner we took a mile and a half round trip hike to the very spot where the “golden spike” of the AlCan Highway was “driven.” At this point on what is called Soldier’s Summit the US Army crews from the north and south met and on November, 20, 1942 the highway was dedicated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. We listened to the actual BBC broadcast of the event on that cold winter day at the observation deck that has been built there.