August 10

We got a fairly early start on the road to Atlin. It is about seventy five miles from camp. There was about a forty mile stretch of very well maintained dirt/gravel road for a stretch in the middle. It was not the spectacular beauty of the Skagway drive but definitely had its moments and the town of Atlin was very interesting. On the way down we followed Little Atlin Lake for a ways and then picked up and followed ninety-mile-long Atlin Lake the rest of the way. Early in the trip a large porcupine crossed the highway ahead of us but by the time we got stopped for pictures he was scurrying off into the thick brush so no picture. We drove short distances into first Snafu and then Tarfu Lake Territorial campgrounds. Each lake was very pretty. The names come from army acronyms meaning “all fouled up” and “really fouled up” respectively. At one photo stop we chanced across a large patch of wild raspberries just off the road and picked some to bring back to camp (except for the ones we ate). Atlin is located right on the shore of Atlin Lake and, as so many towns in this area, started as a gold mining town in the late 1890’s. There are still many old buildings and a couple of very old boats on display. Many buildings, some of which are either residences or businesses currently, displayed small plaques describing their early history. There is a large marina in town which is understandable given the large and beautiful lake and the many island campgrounds within the surrounding Atlin Provincial Park. Atlin Lake is incredibly clear making it easy to see what I’m sure was at least twenty feed deep along the marina catwalk. The main attraction for tourists besides the scenery and history seems to be float or flying tours with the costal range in the distance. After wandering around town for a while we took side trips first up Discovery Road and then up Warm Bay Road that travel west and south respectively out of town. Along Discovery road we stopped at the incredibly beautiful Pine Creek Falls which is really a long series of falls down into a deep canyon with sheer rock walls. Near the falls on tiny Spruce Creek we tried our luck, and had none before we got rained out as near Dawson City, at gold panning just below where it was obvious that a large amount of gold dredging had occurred along Pine Creek. This is another spot open to the public to pan for gold. Our final act before heading for the barn was to check out the old mining ghost town site of Discovery. What is left of it is largely overgrown but it is another reminder of the brief life of so many towns and cities that coincided with the Klondike Gold Rush.