YUKON 2011..... Cruzin

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

slowandsteady BJ

slowandsteady BJ

Joined
Sep 25, 2009
Threads
121
Messages
2,492
Location
Victoria BC Canada
​
I thought id take a bit of time here and share a bit of my Yukon adventure. I feel there are some good stories to share, some cool history and a few great pics as well. So here goes…..

Gina and I decided in the spring to go for a 14 day road trip up to the Yukon in July. I have family up there so we would drive up in the 60, take our time and camp as we went. We were on a tight budget so we kept the costs to a minimum, cooked our own food and camped “off road” when ever possible. Gov’t campsites are all over but offer little more than bush camping and charge for the site as well as fire wood so we learned fast not to bother with them.​

Day 1​

We took the ferry from Nanaimo and headed across Georgia Strait to Horseshoe Bay. From there we went past Whistler to Pemberton and up the Duffy lake road. Sweet vistas and some really steep climbs with great switch backs. Lots of 3rd gear climbs with the pyro nearing 1200 all the way up. The B held in there but I monitored its vital signs like a hawk. I shot the rear diff after an hour of steep climbs and was glad to see it wasn’t getting too hot pushing the 2700KG 60 around.​

Tires were inflated to 45psi
14.4L/100k throught Duffy Lake hills
13.1L/100k once past Lilooet​
Yukon 2011 001.webp
Yukon 2011 012.webp
Yukon 2011 015.webp
 
Day 2

Headed north up the 97 from the 99 and things were a bit boring for a while. 100mile house, Williams Lk, Quesnel, and PG clicked by. The turbo was making some strange noises at this point and boost was dropping off, but I ignored it until the end of the day while I pondered diognostics in my head.

We hit the 29 near Chetwynd and went north via the Peace River valley. The Peace is some of my favourite country and the drive is stunning in the fall when the leaves are changing. This being spring it was alive with green and the river was swolen due to all the recent rain. We found a side road that led to the river proper and made camp is the most beautiful spot. I set up the tent and Gina cooked up a storm. For dessert, a fine Cariboo lager and bone to pick with a turbocharger. Plus a bath in the river.....burr!

Turned out the rubber Autometer fitting for the boost line had cracked and was leaking. 1 red rubber band and we were off with more power and lower EGT's. I have since replaced it with a proper compression fitting.

Milage suffered with the leak
16.9L/ 100k
Yukon 2011 028.webp
Yukon 2011 197.webp
Yukon 2011 295.webp
 
Day 3


Muncho lake was the destination so we first must bake it over the Pink Mtns. and past the oh sooo long straight stretches surrounding Ft. Nelson. We kept the speed to 100kph with the tach at 2500. We got passed by everything but that’s fine. Nearing Muncho the fun began. Glacial lakes and long drops of the highway that seems to be chiseled from the hillside. We camped at Muncho and the place is littered with sings saying "no off road camping" as the whole place is a BC park. We obliged and payed the $16 + $5 for wood. Bathed in the lake and cooked dinner.

Mileage was 14.2L/100k
Yukon 2011 069.webp
Yukon 2011 073.webp
Yukon 2011 087.webp
 
Day 4

after an hour of steep climbs and was glad to see it wasn’t getting too hot pushing the 2700KG 60 around.
A quick stop in the a.m. at Lliard Hot Springs. These can't be missed, they are beautiful and one feels great afterwards.

Also went to the Watson lake Signpost Forest.

Back on the road with Whitehorse as the day 4 destination. We had to idle our way through a heard of buffalo who didn’t mind us being there in the least. Gina could have reached out and pet one if she wanted, luckily the window was up so the dog wouldn’t scare them off with his excitement / small man syndrome barking. One snorted at him (the dog) and Tucker headed to the back of the 60 and hid till we cleared the herd. Awesome.
Yukon 2011 112.webp
Yukon 2011 095.webp
Yukon 2011 308.webp
 
Day 5

Packed up and headed off again. Easy day ahead, we drove to Dawson City grabed the river ferry across the Yukon River and headed to camp. My family has mined in the region for years and it was nice to make it back. This time as a visitor.

We spent a few days at camp and I helped out changing some engine mounts on one of the old diggers and I even got to scratch around a bit in the old girl.

We used the camp's circa 1950's ringer washer to do laundry and had a nice warm shower in the "outdoor" facilities. Rustic living indeed.


Milage 14.2L/100k
Yukon 2011 151.webp
Yukon 2011 196.webp
 
Some more pics.......
Yukon 2011 175.webp
Yukon 2011 127.webp
Yukon 2011 174.webp
 
Cool trip! I've been as far as Ft.Nelson, a couple hours down the Sierra road to a couple drilling rigs. Still need to get further north though.

I just finished a rebuild on a 1900 and the shovel mechanic is from Dawson, has a bunch of claims, been mining gold for years. I'll fill you in when i see ya'.
Cheers!
 
We explored an old abandoned asbestos mine that was active in the 60's and 70's. There was quite a town here back in the day. Over 1000 people worked here, a bank, saloons and a hospital onced supported this old mine. They had 2 mine pits, a tram way from one hill to the other and an air strip big enough for a DC-3.

A crusher and a processing plant. When the mine packed up they left behind anything that cost more to move that it was worth to sell. An old shovel and drill remain today. Cool history but practices like this give mining a bad name.
Yukon 2011 316.webp
Yukon 2011 320.webp
Yukon 2011 315.webp
 
In Dawson City we met a couple from Oklahoma. They were in their 70's and had made the trip up by car. We got chatting (and drinking) at the resteraunt we were in. Sheldon and his wife Jo Anne drove up to place a memorial.

In 1971, Sheldon, his mother and his (then wife) were flying in a small single prop plane piloted by his father. They were VFR and bad weather came down on them. They were forced to make an emergency landing on The Top of the World Hwy. The asbestos mine ran a phone line all the way from the mine to Dawson. This phone line was suspended atop telephone poles and the line crossed the road right where they tried to land. The only pole in hundreds of kilometers and they hit it.

Sheldons wife and mother perished in the crash. Sheldon and his father survived. A tragic story.

Sheldon had three kids to raise on his own. He met Jo Anne later on and fell in love. He preposed 4 DAYS after they met and they have been together ever since!

He returned after 41 years for the first time to place a memorial for his late wife. He wasn't sure he had found the right part of the highway so I said I'd take a look for him and make sure he had gotten it right.

Cheers Sheldon and Jo Anne, such a touching story. Thanks for the memories.
Yukon 2011 167.webp
Yukon 2011 168.webp
Yukon 2011 169.webp
 
right on... looks like it was a sweet trip....
and look at Gracie.... wow havent seen her seen her for a long time....:D
 
Right..... time to head for home.

Gina and I left Camp and headed for the Canol rd. We drove a few clicks up the Canol and made camp.

Gravel pits aren't that senic but they are great for the pets as we can see what they are up to. The bugs are few and far between and there isnt much threat of starting a forest fire.

We decided to head south down the Cassiar Hwy. It was more cruiser friendly as the speeds are kept to 80kph or so. Lots of bumps and gravel but fewer people and great camping.

(Tucker hates his sweater)

Canol rd....ill be back for you!
Yukon 2011 126.webp
Yukon 2011 253.webp
 
seapotato said:
I'll bet he does, that's one gay looking sweater...did it start life as a tube sock? :lol:

cool pics tho. you've given mel the bug to get an rtt, have to see how the crv can handle the military trailer...:hillbilly:
Click to expand...

I picked that little number out myself! I found it in vancouver on a cool little petshop on Davie st. The guy that helped me pick it out was soooo friendly. :doh::hhmm:

Seroiusly though..... The tent is worth every penny. Especially on a trailer, my truck makes it a little hard to reach during set-up. I took a header and dented the hood three times in a single bail/faceplant/roll over.... thud.

Ill get to that later in the story.....

Im off to a BBQ for now.

Thanks for the comments.

Cam
 
slowandsteady BJ said:
I picked that little number out myself! I found it in vancouver on a cool little petshop on Davie st. The guy that helped me pick it out was soooo friendly. :doh::hhmm:

Seroiusly though..... The tent is worth every penny. Especially on a trailer, my truck makes it a little hard to reach during set-up. I took a header and dented the hood three times in a single bail/faceplant/roll over.... thud.

Ill get to that later in the story.....

Im off to a BBQ for now.

Thanks for the comments.

Cam
Click to expand...

Good thing Tucker is secure enough in his manhood to pull it off, John Wayne wore a pink shirt in dozens of westerns and had Marion as his middle name...all good.

Conversely there was Rock Hudson...:lol:


And yeah, looking forward to messing with the m101 soon, plan to lower it an inch or two, move the axle back a smidge, maybe extend the tongue, and see if I can get it to work with the crv's bigass swing out door.
 
Nice. The north definitely has a pull for me. Only two short trips there right now, and they both just laid the groundwork for a much longer trip and more time spent in the future.

gb
 
Thanks for the story Cam. I love road trips :)

That is also pretty cool meeting up with Sheldon... very touching story.

What town was it you explored the abandoned asbestos mine? Is there any of the town left?
 
Cam it was good meeting you and Gina.
Your rig kicks ass, thanks for the good write up!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom