Our first night on the AlCan was also our first night of “wild camping.” In general, wild camping is used to describe camping “in the wild” rather than at a government or commercial campground. Unlike the US, any land owned by the government, unless otherwise restricted, is fair game for camping. Using information from the Milepost travel guide and an app called iOverlander we found a nice place on what appeared to be an abandoned campground along the Prophet River.
Neither source mentioned that the camp was also home to approximately 3 gazillion hungry mosquitoes! We hadn’t seen a single mosquito at the National Parks – so this welcome party was somewhat unexpected and certainly unwelcome. Fortunately, our “training” in the Everglades left us somewhat prepared for the onslaught. In the coming weeks, our screen room would become our most valued piece of camping gear!
The next morning, we made our way to one of the icons of the AlCan – the Tetsa River Lodge. At some point in the early years of the lodges and roadhouse, the cinnamon bun became the unofficial baked treat of the Alaska Highway, and the Tetsa Lodge became known as the "Cinnamon Bun Center of the Galactic Cluster." Every morning the owners, Ben and Gail Andrews, start the day by baking over 300 cinnamon buns to serve up to hungry travelers.
It is also a great place to stretch your legs and meet some of your fellow travelers. The reality of the road is you will likely see the folks traveling in your direction many times over the days of your travels as there just aren’t that many places to stop. You all tend to need gas, get hungry, and have to pee at about the same time. One couple we would share the road with was a mother-daughter team. We’ll call them Stacy and Brenda – not to protect their identities, but just because I’m super bad at remembering names. Like us, they were taking a summer break to make the pilgrimage to Alaska. We had a nice visit while munching our buns, then headed our separate ways – which just happened to be the same way. Remember their names. Our paths would cross again. Several times.
As you continue west the road cuts through the Canadian Rockies, and the scenery is again quite stunning. One of our favorite sections is where the road winds along the shores of Muncho Lake. You have to stay on your guard. One side of the road skirts along the lake just a few feet above the lake – with no guard rails. The other side is often a steep cliff rising hundreds of feet, that without warning can drop a boulder the size of a minivan onto the road. In fact, just a few weeks after we passed through a full-on landslide would close the road for a few days. It turns out that the main reason there are no guardrails – they would be constantly taken out by rock slides, and make the clean-up more difficult. As it is they can just push the rocks into the lake and be done with it.
The Northern Rockies Lodge lies just west of Watson Lake, about two hours from the Tetsa River Lodge. It was here that we would fuel up and use the restroom. It was also here that Pati would discover she couldn’t find her purse. After a hasty search that involved throwing most of our gear out in the parking lot, we verified that the purse was no longer with us. Distracted in conversation with our new friends and high on cinnamon buns, we must have left it at the Tetsa River Lodge. The only question was whether or not it was still there. Had it been found and turned in? Or stolen?
Unfortunately, along this portion of the highway, there is zero cell service. After a frustrating attempt at using the payphone at the Northern Rockies Lodge (yes, they still have payphones) the office manager was nice enough to use their phone to call Tetsa.
“Hey, Gail. This is Susan over at the Northern Rockies Lodge. I have a few customers here that think they may have left a purse at your place a couple of hours ago… You do? Great! I’ll let them know.”
Susan confirmed that they did indeed have a purse turned in, and if we arrived after the store was closed just knock and they would come down and let us in. And that’s just the way they roll up north.
So we backtracked the two hours to Tetsa to recover the purse, thanked Gail, turned around and retraced our path, stopped at Northern Rockies Lodge to fill up again, checked to make sure Pati had her purse, and then headed for our final destination for the day. Fortunately, with the scenery along Muncho Lake, the backtracking was not a real hardship!
We rolled into our camp at Liard Hot Springs about 4 hours behind schedule, but thanks to the ever longer days we still had plenty of time for a dip in the namesake hot springs. Unlike the modern spa vibe of Radium Hot Springs, Liard has a much more natural feel. It has a gravel bottom and is nestled in a grotto of trees. The water temperature is also much more variable. You could stand in one spot and go from a pleasant warmth to “holy crap! This must be what the lobster feels like!” It was like you could feel the spring breathing. It was a wonderful experience and earned its reputation as a “must do” along the AlCan.
Next stop – the Sign Post Forrest of Watson Lake, and on toward Whitehorse.
Below the Line
Card Lock Conundrum
As you head north from the start of the AlCan you will pass the Shepard’s Inn, one of the more popular road houses on the highway. It is a great place to grab a bite to eat and get gas. We enjoyed a home-cooked turkey dinner and that staple of the North, poutine. We did not get gas. We had ¾ of a tank and knew we could fuel up at Pink Mountain, the next, and really only other stop, over the next 210 miles.
Pink Mountain, like most of the dots on a map of the AlCan, is just a lodge, campground, and gas pump. It was also our first experience with a Card Lock. A Card Lock is a remote, self-service style fuel station. They come in various types, but this one looked like a shipping container with a diesel pump at one end, a gas pump at the other, and a very tiny room in the middle. There is no attendant – you are on your own to follow the instructions. You must use a credit card – no cash or debit cards. You go in the tiny room, run your credit card through the reader, then go out and pump your gas. At least that is how it is supposed to work.
I pulled out my trusty USAA Visa and swiped it… “Card Not Authorized.” Mild panic sets in.
I swipe it again, because, you know, sometimes that’s what you have to do… “Card Not Authorized.”
Deep breath. No worries. I’ll just call the card company. On my phone… “No Service.”
Now the reality starts to settle in. If we can’t get gas here, we are going to have to backtrack the hour and a half back to Pink Mountain. Why didn’t we fill up there when we had the chance? Why are my spare fuel cans sitting in the back empty? Will they still be open?
I had one last option, a “backup” card from another bank. I swiped it… waiting… waiting… “Approved.” Whew. Crisis averted. But we resurrected an old rule from our days exploring West Texas – never pass a gas station!
Pro Tips:
Have a backup card issued by a different bank.
Let your banks know you will be traveling.
Make sure you know the PIN number for your credit card. I didn’t even know I had one. Many self-serve gas stations in Canada will require this PIN number.
Once on the AlCan – never pass an opportunity to fill up! Besides, you might run into your road friends - they need gas too!
Commenti