There were numerous forest fires burning in Yukon this weekend. There was a noticeable amount of smoke in the air making for hazy mountains. Even so, we wanted to head out for the night -- to celebrate our 23 wedding anniversary! No dinners in fancy restaurants for us!
The "to-do" list includes hiking to Samuel Glacier along the Haines Highway. Maybe this was the weekend to do that.
As we passed through Haines Junction to head south on the Haines Highway, the smoke was thick. Usually, the view is in high-definition clarity with the fresh clean air, not today though!
Forest fire smoke in the air over Dezadeash River
Below is a similar view of the Dezadeash River from the bridge on
the Haines Hwy.
What a difference the smoke makes!
On a clear day with no forest fire smoke -
29 June 2013
More forest fire smoke to the west
On previous trips we had noted numerous rough roads along the Haines Hwy. Today we explored some of them. On one, we found some interesting old things ...
Who, what, when and why?
After some exploring of numerous dead-ends, the Kelsall Lake valley came into view. This area has interested us since our March 2013 drive through here. Dressed in all white, the area was beautiful!
By now the smoke had thinned a bit so the views were again amazing.
The single track road leading to Kelsall Lake
After a few kilometres there was a very rough downhill with a creek crossing at the bottom. With the camper on the truck it didn't seem prudent to continue further. So we parked alongside the road and continued on foot.
Steve walking down the road to check out the creek crossing
We waded across the creek. Willow ptarmigan burst into the air on the other side. The dogs went flying. We went flying too ...
Finally got our shoes back on and continued along the road. Not too far along there was a side road that led to a camp spot along side the Kelsall River.
Kelsall River
It wasn't too far to Kelsall Lake. The dogs were both hot and thirsty ...
Kodi taking a drink at Kelsall Lake
It was hot. The area is beautiful! We noted some bear tracks too. Rather than explore further we headed back to the truck.
Looking back at Kelsall Lake
Still some smoke in the air, but not too bad. The dogs were busy pointing out all the Willow Ptarmigan!
Admiring the views
Back at the camper we took a bit of a break. Steve went down to the river while I played with the wide angle lens.
Kodi enjoying the day
Then the telephoto lens to get a shot of the glacier high on the side of Mount Kelsall.
Ice & snow on Mount Kelsall
Then I took some shots the other way, looking south to the Kusawak Range.
More ice & snow
On the way to this spot there was a low wet spot through which the truck was in 4-wheel drive. This spot was lovely but we figured it wise to head back out a bit to get to the other side of the wet spot, just in case a rain storm moved in overnight.
There was another camping spot that had a lovely view of the lake and was high & dry. Off we went.
On the way, met some birds! These Willow Ptarmigan are the most interesting characters. On our trip in May, the ptarmigan were courting. Now they had chicks who could fly but usually ran around instead.
Willow Ptarmigan with a chick in the background
Willow Ptarmigan chick
After the stop for bird photography, we carried on.
Overnight camp spot
The views go on forever
Finally the sun dipped a bit. No complaints at all about our sleeping accommodation!
Set up for a good night's sleep
Despite the forest fire smoke, it was a lovely evening. No one was
around. The willow ptarmigan were busy and noisy. Their
vocalizations are great fun though!