winterlong brewing

For a week in August 2019, my partner, Marie, and I flew to Whitehorse, Yukon from Yellowknife for a weeklong road trip through southern Yukon and eastern Alaska. These are a collection of unedited notes and journal entries I took along the way.

You can also jump down to the photos here.

August 8, 2019

Flew to Whitehorse from Yellowknife at 2:45 pm
Arrived in Whitehorse at 3:45 pm
Found out Budget cancelled car rental because we were 40 minutes late for reservation cut off.
Was able to rebook with Driving Force and was picked up at the Transportation Museum. We rented a Kia Forte. It was red.
Checked into Airbnb on Hawkins Street in Downtown Whitehorse. Cute place.
Walked to Fireweed Farmers Market where we bought local meat, carrots and tomatoes. They had a beer garden for a fundraiser and were serving Winterlong Brewing Beer. A local craft brewer.
Walked past the Klondike Ribs and Salmon but a 45-minute walk moved us along.
Stopped at Woodcutters Brewing and had a pint on the patio. Bought two glasses. Liked this place.
Found the Dirty Northern Bastard for dinner. It was basic. Beer was basic. Food was basic. Grabbed some off-sales beer and went back to Airbnb. Crashed early.

August 9, 2019

At 8 am we went to Alpine Bakery where manger Erica gave us an incredible tour of the bakery. This was Marie’s gift to me by arranging this. It was interesting to learn about the operation of the bakery and how they are not strictly wood-fired oven bread or sourdough. It seems like many places are not just sourdough.
Had a small breakfast at the bakery of local yogurt and granola, while also getting some gluten-free crackers, hummus and expedition bread.
Walked to McBride Museum near the Yukon River and spent an hour going through the museum. The exhibits ranged from First Nations to the Klondike, to the construction of the Alcan Highway which later became the Alaska Highway. This was the neatest part of the Museum but there were little books found on the subject.
After the museum was visited a complex that houses Bullet Hole Bagels. We purchased two bagel sandwiches, which ended up being more than anticipated in price. And being a baker, I can commend their work and what they have built but prefer my own bagels.
From there, we took a drive up the Klondike Highway and stopped in at the Takhini Hot Springs. There was much farmland along this way.
We doubled back past Whitehorse to Miles Canyon where we joined a free guided tour to Canyon City by the Yukon Conservation Society. Sylvie and Wyatt were the guides. Wyatt came off as an ass at first but ended up being very knowledgeable and hilarious. He, by far, made the whole tour worth it. The canyon itself was very neat and we both learned a lot about the local flora and fauna, the history of the river and how the soil and trees play a role in the Yukon.
For dinner, we went back to the Klondike, which had just opened and we were one of the few there. It is supposed to be the equivalent to Bullocks in Yellowknife for stature. It is a tourist trap but was mostly filled with old-timers. Marie had the ribs, and I tried the Elk Stroganoff. The stroganoff was too rich, and the whole experience was underwhelming and expensive. Good to try but not worth the money.
After dinner, we tried to find a place to have a few more and get a sense of the local flavour. We ended up at a place called The Local, which was formally the 202, as it was at 202 Jarvis. It was like a mash-up of the Monkey Tree and Gold Range. There might have been live music, but we were there so early it was still empty. We are not late-night people. We played two games of pool and left. Finished was a beer on the front lawn of the Airbnb before getting too tired at 8:30 pm and going to bed.

August 10, 2019

Cleaned up Airbnb first thing to get ready for check out.
Headed to the Burnt Toast Cafe for breakfast. Arrived a little early so checked out Mac’s Fireweed.
At Burnt Toast Cafe, Marie had the Cowboy Scramble sans cheese and I had a Croque Maddam.
As we left Whitehorse we stopped at a grocery store, fruit stand and outdoor store to get very basic provisions.
Our first detour off the Klondike Highway was up the Takhini River Road that led to a beautiful glacier-fed lake.
Otter Creek Bridge – Where an original 1903 bridge constructed for the highway still stands.
Stopped in Haines Junction and at the Village Bakery where we had a sandwich and got coffee and gas.
On the highway to Haines, still in Yukon, we started to hike the Kathleen Hiking Trail, which was 15 km round trip. We made it less than halfway, about 5 km and turned back due to seeing nothing and the threat of rain.
Driving on we drove through Kathleen Lake Campground – part of the National Park – but the campground was full.
Continued 30km further we found the Dezadeash Lake Yukon Territorial Campground where we found one tent site left at the self-check-in campground. We set up our tent to claim the site and grabbed a permit and left for a hike again.
Back 6km we stopped at Glacier Rock Trail, known for the massive rock piles the glaciers left in waves up the mountain. The hike an easy 3.8km was up a boardwalk and then a rock carved pathway upward. Right near the top of the marked trail, right before circles identifying the top. we spotted a small black bear heading up the rock deposit further ahead of us. We stopped. It stopped. Looking at us. We moved slowly backward keeping an eye on it. It continued to move upwards. We returned to the trailhead.
Returning to our campsite, we had a fire and a few snacks while reading. Finally retiring to the tent. Rednecks a couple sites over are load. Odd novelty in the wild wilderness of the Yukon’s Highway 3.

August 11, 2019

Sleep was limited overnight due to the ongoing party two sites down. The drink escalated. The yelling escalated. The fighting escalated. It was too much.
Up at around 7 am to a beautiful sunrise over Dezadeash Lake.
Breakfast was sandwiches with bread from Alpine Bakery toasted over the fire. Packed up and left.
First stop of the morning around 9 am was at St. Elias Trail. We each thought the trail was 3.8km round trip, but this was actually only one way. Total trip was 7.6km according to Marie.
St. Elias Lake Trail is a beautiful trail. The lake itself not so much due to not much of a viewing location, but the meadow before had was amazing. We both pondered life with sheep in this meadow. Just grazing.
Both being tired we both decided it was best to try and head to Haines quicker than planned. We both forgot about the time change when entering Alaska.
We did not stop much along the way but entered British Columbia and the Chilkat Pass Summit.
The Chilkat Summit Pass is an amazing location. It resembles the terrain and land of Bathurst Inlet and the West Fjords of Iceland. Barren and treeless, but beautiful with water flowing rapidly through carved out canyons of rock from high above.
Through the pass and down a steep hill we found the US Border and Customs. Our stop at customs was quick and Marie didn’t get us detained despite being nervous about our fruits. We continued to Haines.
The road to Haines can only be described as misleading and unfortunate. Unfortunate in the scene that a Canadian has hard converting Miles to Kilometres and therefore took much much longer than anticipated. It was windy. It was flat. It was treed. It was boring.
Our first stop in Haines was the Pilotlight(sp) Restaurant and Bakery. The chic little restaurant nestled into a hill overlooking the bay for which Haines is situated on reminds one of the houses from the Gooneys. Except that house resides in Oregon and was a house. It was if we were old fisherman just popping in for a bit. Relics of a time before lay around the building, overgrown with grass waiting for their next great adventure. The food. T’was fair. Eggs, sausage, bacon. It was underwhelming but a meal.
The town of Haines seemed quiet for it being high tourism season. There were certainly enough RV’s to keep a person guessing where everyone was from.
We drove to the Chilkoot State Park Campground to find a site. The site of which is just beyond a popular Grizzly Bear feeding area. The fish are running, you know. Snagged a site. Left the campground.
Back in Haines we parked on Main Street and walked up and down to see what was up with this little town. We had picked up a newspaper print visitors guide and it showed useful in finding interesting shops. That said not much is open on a Sunday.
At a sporting goods store, we picked up another blanket. At a liquor store, we picked up a combo pack of Alaskan Brewing Beer. At the IGA we picked up water and ice. Note that most campgrounds don’t have potable water.
Randomly we started to drive in the opposite direction of the Chilkoot Lake and the Canadian Border and ended up at the Chilkat State Park. This was a beautiful view at the end, but the highlight really was seeing a porcupine alongside the road. Marie took a photo.
Along the way, we stopped at a Cannery where a nice lady gave us information about the state park. We noticed in the processing plant load Latino music was being played. We wondered if many of the labourers were actually Latino.
For dinner, we tried the Lighthouse Restuarant, but it was dated and the menu was lacking so we sat down and the left. We found a Cafe/Thai place, with a hilarious owner we served and cooked at the same time. It was nicer.
After dinner back at the campground, we walked down to the lake with some drinks and watched the fish jump in the lake, catching flies. Two local men tried to get a boat going with no luck. An old man caught a trout and walked away with it. We then walked back to the Chilkoot River and saw a small grizzly bear catching fish.
We retired to the campsite for the night.

August 12, 2019

Woke up in the Chilkoot Campground to the sound of our Sonoma originating neighbours in the 4×4 Mercedes Spritzer.
Had sandwiches at the campground and packed up our camp.
Due to a rather unfortunate water battle incident, parts of the tent and foamy were wet, which needed to dry out. The foamy found a seat in the back of the car to air out.
While leaving the campground heading towards Haines we stopped at the Ferry Terminal and checked into our ferry, making sure we knew what line and what time we needed to be back.
Back in Haines, we stopped in at the Rusty Compass Coffee Shop, not to be confused with Fort Smith’s Rusty Raven Coffee Shop. We sat and watch locals come and go for a while.
We walked around Haines to find the Library where we were able to connect to the Internet briefly to check in with the world. It was a nice library for a small community.
While still in town we stopped at the IGA and picked up another bag of ice.
In Haines, we all picked up a bottle of Chilkoot Bourbon distilled in Haines. It was $36 USD for a 375ml bottle.
Around midday, we lined up at the Ferry Terminal and waited to board the Columbia.
Our 1-hour ferry ride from Haines to Skagway was full of a beautiful vista, much like the ones you would see on a postcard.
On approach into Skagway, we gawked at the large cruise ships in port. The massive ships looked dwarfed beside the magnitude of the mountains.
Disembarking from the ferry did not take too long and before we knew it we were enthralled into the chaos that is Skagway. Shops with expensive foods, souvenirs and trinkets were everywhere as people rushed to get from one place to another. Tour operators were loading and unloading people by the droves. In a rush not to spend too much time in a tourist trap, I hurried us through the town trying to find food, which ended up being a bust on my part. I had a cod taco in the parking lot where we were parked. There were too many people.
We – or rather I – did pick up a Saison from Klondike Brewing to go along with the Alaskan Brewing variety pack we picked up in Haines.
Marie took the pilots seat as we drove into the Whitepass on our way back to the Yukon. Stopping infrequently to take pictures. We summited the routed and were able to see the glaciers in front of us and the river below us.
At Fraser, we crossed the Canadian Border back in British Columbia. The border patrol officer made us nervous with his stern, emotionless demands. We made it through with no issues and were on our way.
Leading into Carcross, Yukon you follow several long, glacier-fed lakes, that look majestic as they reflect the mountain ranges that stand around them.
Carcross is a quiet little town nestled into the Southern Lakes area of Yukon with a focus on Indigenous cultures, and arts and crafts.
After setting up our campsite at the campground right within the small community we walked to the area they call Carcross Commons. The area houses several small artisan shops, along with a coffee shop, visitor centre and bistro with patio. The whole area is nicely constructed and geared towards visitors. It was late and we were tired be we enjoyed a pint on the patio of the bistro with some chicken wings.
Back at the campground we enjoyed our last campfire while we played a very drawn out game of Scrabble.

August 13, 2019

We were not so much in a rush upon waking up to get a move on but we don’t waste time. Since the tent and gear were dry, we packed everything up and drove to the Carcross Desert. The smallest desert in North America.
The are is filled with natural forming sand dunes that stretch a kilometre in all directions. We scaled up the sandy hills and enjoyed the view. A treat was to take off our shoes and socks and feel the cool sand on our feet.
For our morning coffee we visited the Chilkoot Sourdough Bakery in an old log building which use to house the RCMP barracks. The coffee was strong and hot. The bakery small, with only some small pastry like items. They did have loaves of bread for sale but this was definitely a secondary product, and not what I would consider authentic sourdough bread.
We walked back through the Carcross Commons, now with more shops open and picked up some souvenirs to bring back home. We also stopped in a Caribou Coffee and picked up a slew of fresh baked goodies and more coffee for the road.
Our next stop was to a family friend of Marie’s who we thought was close to Teslin. To get there we set out on Highway 8 to Tagish. After passing Tagish we drove across the mouth of the river that connect to Marsh Lake.
Marsh Lake was actually where this family friend lived, but just off the Alaska Highway, and closer to Whitehorse than we though. Our stop here was a calming walk on the shoreline of Marsh Lake.
On our way back to Whitehorse we decided to start a Whitehorse Brewery Crawl, unintentionally.
We first stopped in at Winterlong Brewing on the road to Mt. Sima, Whitehorse’s ski hill. The brewery was in an industrial area, but still seeing regular traffic. This brewery only consists of a tasting room and patio, while the brewing operation is hidden from view. I bought a nice shirt from them, and we sat and had a flight of four of their beers on tap. We tried the Pingo Pale Ale, Mountain View Saison, Weekend Warrior IPA and Reckless Abandon Double IPA. Their place was funky, minimalistic, but refined and on point.
Our next stop was just past downtown Whitehorse to the original brewery of the Yukon, Yukon Brewing. This is definitely well established, having been open since 1997, and supplying beer all over Western Canada. Before we took their brewery tour we tried a flight while we waited.
On the Yukon Brewing Tour, I was the only one who did not speak french ironically. So the tour was in english much to my argument. Yukon Brewing has a massive brewing operation with up to seven fermenting containers at least 20 feet tall. They also have a bottle recycling program and washing machine, a label and bottler, a canning machine and mill, all in a building they keep expanding on. At the end of the tour, we got to again sample Yukon Brewing’s core lineup of beers. From light to dark.
Being after 3pm we were then able to check in to our Bed and Breakfast in the Riverdale area of town. This was across the Yukon River in a residential area.
We realized there was a street food festival happening this afternoon and stopped there before dinner. We stopped and tried some falafels from a food truck that was converted from an old 60’s RV with a truck cap mounted on the roof to increase head clearance.
To further kill some time before heading to dinner we stopped in a Whitehorse’s third and most recent craft brewery, Woodcutter’s Blanket. Right in downtown Whitehorse, this brewery, which is a cocktail/bistro place and only opened its brewery in 2019, is housed in a historic log cabin that was built in 1938. We sat at their patio bar and watch the hustle and bustle of life pass by on a busy afternoon.
Finally, for dinner we made our way to Wood Street Ramen. Ramen had been on our mind since leaving Whitehorse several days earlier when we discovered this place and since we no longer have a ramen vendor in Yellowknife. And to make ramen it takes a long time. Wood Street Ramen is located on Wood Street in downtown Whitehorse. I tried the Tonkotsu Ramen while Marie tried a lighter version with chicken instead of pork belly. Both were good in flavour profile, but the real treat for me was the fresh noodles. While still cut with a pasta cutter, they were fresh and you could tell.
Back at the Bed and Breakfast we finished off our last night in Whitehorse.

August 14, 2019

We could have laid in bed and took it easy at the bed and breakfast, but that is not us. We struggle with staying put for too long. So up we got, packed, cleaned out the rental car and off we went again to look for breakfast and coffee.
For the sake of familiarity we stopped at Alpine Bakery again to get coffee and good. Marie had a Morning Glory Muffin and Curried Bunny (dough ball with potato curry inside), and I had the housemate granola and yogurt.
Our next stop was to the NorthLight Innovation Centre, which houses the Yukonstruct Co-working space, maker space and launch space, along with a startup vegan cafe and Yukon Development Corporation. We just showed up with no expectations, but, Ulrich, the gentleman at the front desk gave us a tour of the whole facility. The collaboration and the ingenuity to bring such a large space together is admirable.
Our final stop in Whitehorse before catching our midday AirNorth flight to Yellowknife was to the Yukon Transportation Museum, which was chalked full of exhibits on early aviation, to rail transportation, to the construction of the Alaska Highway. It could have easily taken an hour or two to read everything.
We checked into our flight and made our way back to Yellowknife, rested and full of ideas for the future.

On the road through Yukon and Alaska