Day 36, Aug. 7

I belong to a Facebook group called RVing to Alaska 2022. For the last few months, people have been commenting on the horrible condition of the road between  Whitehorse and Tok Alaska. Tales of frost heaves and potholes, blown tires and broken axles have sent some potential travellers back south. 

We didn’t find much of an issue from Whitehorse to Kluane Lake. Fifteen kilometres up the road at the aptly named Destruction Bay, the road changed. There were some potholes, and lots of roller coaster sections of road. There were also areas where the road had been patched with asphalt but the asphalt had not been smoothed down to road level. Creative driving (using the other lane where necessary as there wasn’t much traffic) and going slow made it manageable. 

Then we crossed into Alaska. No issues at Customs although our canoe garnered some attention. They were relieved to hear it had not been in the water for 3 years. The real dodge ‘em game started as we drove away from Customs. The potholes were huge, deep, sharp edged and clustered in groups. Trying to find a path through them was sometimes impossible and Lawrie took the least dangerous route. Fifty miles later, the road improved to the point where you could drive at the posted speed limit. It took 7 hours to go 390 km. We will travel the same section on our way home. 

We camped at the sourdough RV Park just south of Tok. They have a pancake toss at 7:30 each evening for the guests. There were 11 of us this evening - a family of 6 from Paris, a couple from Pennsylvania, a woman from Minnesota and us. The owner of the campground got everyone talking about their Alaska experiences and sharing tips. Then came the pancake toss. Whoever was able to throw a pancake into the bucket got a free breakfast. You got two attempts. I was the 8th to try and on my second attempt, the pancake went in the bucket. Which will surprise those who know me well as I can’t throw worth a darn! I will go down in infamy on their Facebook page.