The MV Kennicot Diary, days 84...88
84- Monday, October 31,
6:00 up long before daylight...cold, 12*F, very difficult to load roof deck because of the cold and frost over everything.
8:00 drove into Whitehorse to gas up. Very difficult to drive Defender in dark with only one headlight. The headlights were new just weeks before the trip.
9:00 off to John's Auto Repair for final checkup. Both Travis and Olaf suggested i upgrade the Defender's computer chip so as not to burn the pistons. Nice to know this now before my 4000-mile drive home.
10:15 on the road to Skagway and the ferry south. Odometer shows 9700 plus miles for trip. Drive to Skagway was quite interesting. A little bit of everything - snow, fog, ice, frost, clouds, sun, etc. Road was empty - 3 vehicles in almost three hours. The frost and ice covering all the trees and plants gave off an eerie Halloween like appearance. Once we hit Alaska, we drove through treacherous but thrilling White Pass. Last time it was all fogged in and i could see nothing except 20 feet ahead of me. Went through at least five avalanche zones in the Yukon and BC. I can see why they close the road.
12:45 (Alaska time) pulled into Skagway. Streets were deserted. Tourists all gone. Even though most places are shut down for the winter, i like the town like this. Solitude. If you have ever seen the way the tourists from the cruise ships behave in this town, you would understand why the locals prefer the off season too, except they know they cannot survive without the tourists. Skagway is made up of one main drag, Broadway, and about a dozen side streets. Every one of the establishments are done in in colorful Klondike style, although you have to wonder if it really did look this way in Klondike days. People like it, so they come, by the boatload in the summer. The gold rush is alive and well in Skagway.
2:00 drove out to Dyea Campground 9 miles from town. Leben and Erde and i stayed there in 2001. Open all year.
2:30 drove on to the Slide Cemetery to pay my respects but the road was closed due to construction. Max, the flagman, recommended West Creek Trail up the road and the Chilkoot Trail. So off we went.
3:00 drove West Creek Trail road. Narrow, rough, dirt road full of potholes and some rough areas. Really eerie landscape - frost covering all the trees, plants and grass. The Defender performed marvelously, restoring my confidence in it, although there are still some things i need to get done in Seattle to make it drivable back home. The headlights, for instance. It is impossible for me to drive at night with the left headlight out. So much for these fancy LED headlights. They are probably excellent for getting to and from the golf course, but not to the Arctic.
After a few miles on West Creek we turned around and headed up the Chilkoot trail itself. At one point, even Donner turned around when the going got rough.
6:00 back into Skagway. Donner had dinner on Broadway, literally. Skagway is like a ghost town. I don't care that most of restaurants, cafes, stores and shops are closed, as i would not use them anyway.
7:00 got on line for the ferry. First car in line. Only about 10 vehicles boarded at Skagway. The last travelers in Alaska.
8:00 Boarded vehicles. Got a good spot this time in bow of ship, first in line. Spent 30 minutes preparing the vehilce for Donner, including covering all the windows. My concern is for the aggressive female dog tied down in the back of a nearby pickup. She has already broken free. Donner keeps looking out at her through the small opening he has in the front window.
8:30 car deck closed. Had to leave Donner.
10:00 Haines. Car deck open. Took Donner for long walk on the street, but not very interesting. Walking up and down the ramp to/from the shore is quite a problem. The ramp itself is made of metal diamond-shaped links about 5" wide and long, meaning a dogs's foot and leg could easily fall through. Very stressful for both of us going up and down. At least there was a guard rail this time. On an earlier trip, there was a railing but no guard rail, and Leben in his wheel chair almost plunged off 15 feet into the water beneath the ramp.
11:30 car deck closed. Settled into a lounge chair for some shut-eye.
2:35 a.m. i was awakend by a ferry staff member telling me that my German shepherd was loose on the car deck. In my haste to make things comfortable for Donner and block out his view of the well-lighted car deck, i had forgotten to tie him down in the Defender even though i secured all the doors. But also, since i did not have three Defender these last several weeks, i had gotten used to not having to secure him in the car. As i hurried to the car deck, I was worried that he found that aggressive female dog and one of them had killed the other. When i got the car deck, cursing myself as much as Donner, I blew the whistle and he came running. Back at the vehicle i saw how he had gotten out. He tore through the rear plastic window on the new roof and pushed aside with his nose the metal gate that was secured tightly with bungee cords on both ends, and squeezed through a gap five inches wide. As the window is part of the back panel, the new roof is essentially destroyed. To replace it will cost at least $1500. Ironically, i got the new roof just days before i left for the trip to get rid of one irritation --- a damaged back window. So I am right back to where i started, except out $1500. But it's not only the cost to replace the roof, but not having a usable rear window for the rest of the trip, especially in the rain and expected cold as we start heading east. But also, i am shocked and happy that Donner did not break a leg jumping out of the Defender as the drop from the top of the back door onto the concrete floor below is almost five feet.
It's my own fault for forgetting to tie him down, because i have to recognize that he is long past the age where he will learn by any training or discipline i give him.
3:00 returned to lounge; couldn't get any sleep wondering what Donner was up to in vehicle. This leg of the trip is more stressful than in Whitehorse.
4:00 - 5:00 port stop in Juneau. Took Donner for a walk on street, 12 miles from town. Not very interesting walk. I was still not a very happy camper with Donner, even though it was my own stupid fault for not leashing him.
5:00 - 8:00 got some shut-eye on a bench in the cafe.
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