The world beckons with wild places filled with quiet and peacefulness. They are landscapes which fill our lives with memories and experiences unmatched in the everyday world. To surround ourselves with this serenity all we need to do is venture into them.
We hiked into the Tombstone Mountains, part of the Ogilvie Mountains, 30 miles NE of Dawson City in the Yukon. The area was officially made a Territorial Park while we were in the mountains, but for a number of years was in provisional status.
Its an 8 mile hike from the Dempster Highway to Grizzly Lake where we spent the first night. After you leave the trailhead you hike in the trees following a creek, then climb steadily to the ridge where alpine tundra is gained, follow the ridge and eventually the trail drops down to the valley floor. We've never found it an easy hike especially if you get a clear hot day, but if you go early enough in the summer there is water and snow up high to replenish.
Grizzly Lake is behind Valley in this photo. (Click on any photo to enlarge.)
Nicki on typical terrain playing the Pied Piper roll with the dogs. The dogs carried their own food which consists of Eagle Pack Power and dehydrated meat as a supplement. Rocket also carried our apres-hiking shoes. Valley also carried some fuel and food.
The snow surprised us the night we arrived at the lake and by staying around the next day. You know something is up when the pitter-patter sound of the rain on the tent changes to something softer sounding. The few folks we met on this adventure asked us how the dogs liked the trail, we just laughed, the dogs were having the times of their lives. This picture taken at 4 in the morning.
After we waited out the snowstorm, spending the day relaxing, snoozing and reading we headed up and over the pass to Twin Lakes. This was the only "treacherous" part of the hike, snow on ice on scree.
Up in the pass to Twin Lakes, with Rocket looking back towards Grizzly Lake.
Looking past Jago up valley beyond Twin Lakes.
Campsite at Twin Lakes.
I always forget something, on this trip it was the windscreen to the stove. It blew pretty good everyday so we had to improvise. We also forgot our hiking staffs which was a major pain the rump for the ascents and descents. I also ripped out my pants in the front the first day, boy what a drafty pain that was.
On a walk to look at the upper lake.
Time to take a break.
You'd never know this girl was so afraid of life she was unapproachable for years. Seems pretty happy now. She has adrenal gland failure (Addison's disease) so we plan life around her Percorten injection. In this case, we had it the day we departed.
I have never been on a hike where the weather changed so quick, so often and so drastically. It went from hot to cold to hot again many, many times.
Two happy girls.
Valley! We used the Flexi leashes 26 feet long(8 m) of the ribbon variety. The rock ate away at the ribbon so we almost had complete failures a couple of times. I like the length and weight of those units butmaybe the web variety is the way to go.
Can you spot our tent in this picture?
Using a snowline to climb out of the valley back up to the pass...much easier walking than footwork on scree or negotiating giant rocks.
The dogs were always after ground squirrels and marmots. Jago(Babe) spent the time at Grizzly Lake by the outhouse which had a resident marmot. That damn marmot was pesky. He jumped out of the john, threw a giant rock holding the seat down at me, then ran over and kicked my shin. LOL.
Jago leaving Grizzly Lake to head back home.
Nice view looking back to the lake from the approach ridge.
Looking down at the Dempster and if you look closely, you can see the trailhead lot.
Rocket! No trip to the Yukon is complete without swimming in the Yukon.
We do a long backpacking trip into the wilderness every year. We like to get away where it is quiet and their aren't many people or other disturbances. About the only criteria we have is we like to find a place to hike without trails. The dogs come to life on these adventures so they love them as much as we do. We grow closer to them and they to us.