Day 12
8/2/26 Thursday
It’s cold out today. On our drive at 11am it’s only 44’. Good news… fewer mosquitos (maybe). Rain showers were on/off during our drive. Little snippets of sun on occasion.
We are taking a tangent today off the Alaskan Highway and headed south back into BC to Atlin Lake.
Continental Divide. But before we arrive there we have the Continental Divide to cross. Rivers to the east flow into the McKenzie River and the Arctic Sea. Rivers to the west flow into the Swift River and ultimately the Bering Sea (Pacific Ocean). On the highway they have a few information signs but no big Continental Divide markers like you would see in the US. It’s a big deal but not a big deal it seems.
Since we’ve crossed the divide we are seeing big mountains again with some snow but I haven’t figured out what they are called. We have mikes and miles of forest, rivers, creeks and small lakes along the highway. There are several small establishments (former lodges) that no longer exist or are private properties now. They all look pretty rough around the edges. It’s not an easy life or very lucrative in this area.
Teslin Lake and Teslin community. The came into town crossing a Bridge over a bay on the lake. The lake is beautiful. It is 86 miles long… wow! Teslin is a First Nations Tlingit community. Big stop for gasoline and one restaurant. So many motorcycles eating at the restaurant and one bicyclist. They are all bundled up and cold this afternoon. Lots of coffee orders!
It has come to our attention that motorcycling the Alaskan Highway is “a thing”. Dozens and dozens.
2 black bears on the side of the road. One black and one cinnamon. Came across the road and right up to sniff my front tire… yikes!
Finally the turnoff to Atlin and Atlin Lake. This lake is 90 miles long. It is the largest natural lake in BC. We are not going to get all the way to Atlin today. We’re choosing to wild camp further north. We found a rest area with 3 campsites on the lakefront. This will do nicely for this evening. About one hour or so from the town of Atlin. We will be pulling out the down puffy jacket for the night and morning for sure. Brrrr
cinnicrew 
I did at least one, maybe two, heliski trips in Atlin. Guide died when he fell in a crevasse in 2011. (just looked it up) We used to take a seaplane that had skis from the lake in front of the hotel load it with jet fuel for the heli and fly to somewhere, the helicopter would then fly us in the mountains to ski Santa Claus flew the plane and the whole plane was held together with duct tape! Making me remember things, you are!!
gs ________________________________
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