Copper River, YT – August 25, 2018
Aug 30th, 2018 by rallyadmin
We’re up and out by 8:00. The ferry crossing to the west side of the Yukon already has a line, 2 lines actually and since the ferry is small, the rally takes 4 or 5 crossings to get to the other side. That means another mad dash to make the start of the TSD in Tok, Alaska.
The hope had been to stop at Fast Eddie’s in Tok for lunch but that plan is scrapped after the delay at the ferry crossing. We’re sweeping the run to Tok and wait for everyone to cross and start on their way over the Top of the World.
The Top of the World Highway is a magnificent road. It climbs up out of the river valley to a series of ridge line the make the road the highest point in the area. This provides some spectacular shots of the Yukon River valley shrouded in low clouds.
It also makes for some spectacular drops off the side of the road. That’s not what Colin likes. Being a bit acrophobic, he spends most of the trip looking at the route book or out the left-hand window scouring the uphill side for bears and moose.
The closer we get to the US border, the worse the weather gets. First rain then low hanging clouds. Then terrible visibility. It’s no wonder that this road is closed during the winter. It’s very exposed to the weather and I’m sure that keeping the road open during the frequent weather events would be a serious challenge.
We cross into Alaska at the Poker Creek border crossing. Passports are stamped with a unique Poker Creek stamp. Back into the fog and rain. As we get closer to Tok the road descends and the weather clears. Finally, we get to the Alcan Highway and Tok.
We’re too late for lunch before the TSD. Out to our checkpoint. Time the cars. Then lunch at Fast Eddie’s. Out to the truck again.
Drive down the Tok Connector to the Richardson Highway just above GlenAllen. Get fuel in GlenAllen. Back on the Richardson to Copper River and the Princess Lodge for the night. The weather has cleared while we drove down the Richardson and we get a spectacular view of Mt. Drum in the distance.
More beers. Then dinner. Then bed. There’s not much to do here. This “lodge” I owned by Princess Cruise Lines and is here primarily as a land option for their Alaska cruises. Tonight there aren’t any buses from the cruises but the few other visitors certainly look like escapees from a cruise.
Tomorrow, we try to get to McCarthy, Alaska and then Valdez for the night.
Obi-wan
