Summit Lake is still covered by ice
a young caribou quickly heads for the bushes
we stop for a very special sight, young bison
Toad River Lodge is famous for the collection of hats. They stopped counting
Summit Lake is still mostly frozen and of an eerie beauty
like this mature bull in its prime. Better not mess with him
there are more bison along the road
the herd moves on
just follow mama and it will be alright
these guys are late to the party
from Fort Nelson to Watson Lake
Highway 97 from Ford Nelson to the tiny town of
Watson Lake crosses the Canadian Rocky Mountains and covers the highest elevations
of the Alaska Highway.
The at times narrow road features sharp curves and steep slopes up to 10%.
The sceneries here are
really impressive, especially around Summit Pass that tops at almost 1300 meters altitude.
When we drove this stretch
of the ALCAN in May 2007, the trees in the lower valleys sported already the magical fresh green leaves of spring.
But
at higher elevations there were still patches of snow along the road and Summit Lake was mostly covered by ice.
We met
several flocks of Stone Sheep,
a Caribou and a small herd of Wood Bison, including very recently born calves. We saw also some big
solitary Bison bulls.
Traffic was extremely light and all the outposts and gas-stations we stopped by had that distinct feeling
of, well, being remote.
Do not miss the Toad River Lodge, famous for the large collection of hats stuffed to the ceiling..
at Tetsa River Campground we fill up on gas and homemade bread
we start the climb to Summit Pass, the highest on the Alcan at 1295 meters
Stone sheep on the road hurry to safety
she knows she is beautiful
our hotel for the night
there is a name for this behavior
