Kathleen Lake

We arrive to Whitehorse late morning and I have discovered a new cafe in town called “The Kind Cafe”. By the time we park and walk to the cafe housed at the bottom of a brand new apartment block it is almost midday. I check with the young women serving at the till and we both agree it is close enough to make lunchtime official !

This is quite a new cafe, the space is tiny but it clearly has the reputation and fills a niche market of vegan and gluten free treats.

I choose the special which is the burnt tempeh and mustard dressing salad , André goes for the roasted cauliflower, chick pea and tofu salad. A red berry, banana, hemp and almond butter smoothie for me, Americano coffee for André and a couple of raw treats for after dinner. WOW they are all amazing . The building the cafe sits in is new and showcases the style of the new apartment developments here in Whitehorse, reasonably low rise, lots of windows and quite interesting material selection.

We just need a tiny tweak to the veggie supplies and I get a couple of fresh BC corn cobs. A dare say my catering logistics have been pretty spot on 😊

We are now heading due west to the Alaska Highway and Haines Junction. As we drive along by now late afternoon André spots a grizzly bear right by the road. We double back and park on the other side of the road. It is a very healthy, shiny fur adult grizzly, who has found some very tasty roots to munch on. He is determined to dig them up and we get a good look at the huge claws. He occasionally looks up and gives us a cursory sniff but is otherwise too busy eating. What a treat to see him, luckily after a while he saunters back into the forest and away from the road.

We arrive at Kathleen Lake on sunset with a gale force wind blowing from the lake. We are now in Kluane National park and the campground is run by Parks Canada. A little more up market, the drop toilets have linoleum on the floor and hand sanitiser in each of the toilets. This is real bear country and since it’s berry season in full swing now, we are warned to make noise while hiking, react calmly when a bear is encountered and NOT TO RUN AWAY. With the amount of wind blowing we think we are more likely to pepper spray ourselves then a bear we would potentially encounter! We take an after dinner stroll with the sky putting on quite a show.

In the morning it’s a completely different day, misty, wet and cloudy. Perfect to take a hike leading to the King Throne, skirting the lake first before it hits the steep slopes.

The forest is beautiful with the raindrops and autumn smells brought out by the rain.

For our friends that love beagles a cute message on the trail and some doggie Pooh bags. Pooches are well catered for but must be kept on lead so as to not attract a bear.

We come back for a quick morning tea before we head north on the Alaska Highway to Congdon Campground via the famous welcome sign to Haines Junction, now a tradition to commemorate.

We time our fuel top up in town perfectly, the owner is just pulling out a batch of freshly baked cinnamon buns from the oven smothered in a caramelised topping and walnuts. That’s health food right? Yummy !!

We know we are in real bear country now as this sign warns all campers coming with a tent , that they must stay in the electrified enclosure, a motor home is OK, presumably the food smells are contained inside the van and are less tempting for a bear !

Now for an afternoon hike in Dhal sheep country, we follow the river and come out onto a vast flood pain having to ford the creek. Feet and boots stay dry but this vast open area of the flood plain just feels too much like we are sitting ducks for any hungry observer stocking up for winter hibernation, so we change plans and head up the steep narrow trail lined with fruiting juniper berries . Ah well the lesser of two evils as there are a lot more people on the steep trail and we are all making a lot of noise!

Tonight we go off grid as we have found a lovely stream to camp by and watch for any passing moose.