When planning our
route to Alaksa, I had discounted the Top of the World Highway – even though I
would have loved to visit Dawson City, Yukon, with its fascinating Gold Rush
history. I had read that the Highway
wasn’t in the best of condition, and Alan and I were both concerned about
damage to the truck and trailer. Having
already had two windshields replaced back home within the past year, we weren’t
too anxious to go through that again. Comments
made by our friend, Bernie, convinced us to give the Top of the World a
go. He thought the road wasn’t that bad
and better than some. I shook off my
reservations, and we decided we’d head north from Whitehorse on the Klondike
Highway, travel through Dawson City and follow the Top of the World Highway on
to Tok, Alaska. If we did that on the
way out, we could take the Alaska Highway on the way back, allowing us to cover
new and different territory. On the
morning of our departure from Whitehorse, news that a wildfire burning to the
north had closed the North Klondike Highway between Pelly and Stewart Crossing stopped
us in our tracks. The fire had effectively
blocked our way to Dawson City.