RTG AlMex Daily Dispatch - FINAL - Flipbook - Page 7
27 August to
26 September 2023
Day 3
Dawson City to Whitehorse (655km)
30 August 2023
photos: gerardbrown.co.uk
dawson had been awesome, but all good things
come to an end. Immediately after a Jack London
style breakfast we tore ourselves away from
the dubious pleasures of the Klondike Kate and
flora dora Hotel and rolled down one of Gordon
lightfoot’s Carefree Highways towards whitehorse.
Yukon Territory is indeed “larger than life”. According to
some roadside information we are on the eastern edge of
Beringia, the geological term for the landmass stretching
from eastern Siberia through Alaska to the Yukon. whatever
it’s called the scale of this landscape is truly immense and we
had two regularities and some well-placed Time Controls
to fill it with.
The first regularity hit us right out of dawson, where
the ‘Bear right’ section rolled through disused gold mining
territory along the Bonanza Creek road. for over 30km we
had it to ourselves to enjoy the countless loose corners
and impressive landscape, up and over the hills and down
towards the Stewart river. Unfortunately, Jeff Urbina and
Chris pike’s Belair didn’t get this far. Its rear axle gave up
soon after the start and the crew are having the car shipped
home. They are hoping to join us later with another vehicle.
following the fun and games of the once gilded section,
it was back onto the highway for the long, fast run into
the Time Control at Stewart Crossing. fred Gallagher and
Sarah ormerod signed the crews out at their correct time
to enjoy the run down the Klondike Highway towards the
pelly river and its famous crossing, before slotting neatly
into the frenchman’s lake regularity.
This was another gravel section par excellence, running
for 32km over mixed terrain, with sandy sections, rocky
sections and even some smooth well graded ones. Thanks
to sitting on the dry side of a mountain range there were
bucketful’s of dust hanging in the trees after we’d passed.
This is bear country and whilst confirmed sightings have
been few and far between, the sharp eyed Anthony and
Sonja Verloop managed to provide photographic proof
today of their ursine encounter.
As the day drew to a close, there was a chance for
the crews to take on a little refreshment at the passage
Control at the Carmacks Hotel before the final stretch
into whitehorse. It wasn’t coffee and cakes for everyone
though, Kilian Kozka and Gian paolo Scorzo’s Mercedes had
endured a “slow but steady puncture all day”. By the time
they reached Carmacks they’d had enough of the problem
and rang ahead to arrange four new tyres for the end of
the day. Jack Amies and Andy Inskip were busy in the car
park fitting a new brake pipe to lee Harman and winston
Conyers’ ford Model A. The original had rubbed through
and lost its fluid some 258km ago and lee was left nursing
the old car into the parking lot for attention.
This evening we’re in whitehorse, the very cosmopolitan
Capital of Yukon. After freshening up in the Gold rush Inn,
the rally headed out to explore the dozens of restaurants,
bars and street food stalls which lined the streets alongside
the same river we left this morning.
www.rallytheglobe.com