North to Alaska 2016: Skagway to Whitehorse

Skagway to Whitehorse

108 miles

At 6:45am, we said goodbye to the deserted streets of Skagway.

We all left independently this morning for the long, slow climb up and over the Coastal Mountains. Canadian Customs does not open until 7am, and we did not want to be stuck in a line of 25 or more RV's waiting to clear in to British Columbia.

It was a foggy morning climbing up hwy 98, and as we ascended the summit, the fog became thicker.

At the summit we entered British Columbia, Canada.

The larger rigs in our caravan parked in this rest stop and were bussed back to visit Tagish Kennels.

Welcome to Tagish Kennels, located on Lake Tagish in northern BC.

The welcoming committee, especially if you purchase doggy treats from the treat jar. No fooling this crowd. John was the man of the hour here.

Tagish Lake is the off grid, summer training camp for Michelle Phillips, Canada's #1 female musher.

Michelle Phillips is a born-and-raised Yukoner and accomplished musher who has been running dogs for 18 years.

Her racing history is wide-ranging and accomplished. She’s a six-time Yukon Quest and Iditarod veteran, she’s won the Yukon Quest 300 twice, she’s raced the Percy De Wolfe, the Kobuk 440, the Klondike 300, the Cantwell Classic, the Gin Gin 200 (winning and breaking a record, too), the Denali Doubles, Taiga 300, the Paul Johnson Race, and the Copper Basin 300.

She’s collected awards and personal-bests along the way. In the Iditarod, Michelle Phillips received the Herbie Nayokpuk Award, presented to the musher who best exemplifies the level of sportsmanship and love of dogs that Mr. Nayokpuk demonstrated in his life. She has also earned “Rookie of the Year” in both the Percy De Wolfe and the Copper Basin 300 races. In 2009, she received the Vet’s Choice award for the Yukon Quest.

Throughout the race, she must carry at least 200 lbs of dog food between each check point, as well as her food, sleeping bag, first aid and other necessities needed in this frozen wilderness.

Sled loaded and ready to go.

Michelle has a kennel of 60 dogs that she raises, trains and breeds. That is one heck of a lot of dog food each year!

Summer training involves 3 runs per day for each dog. The dogs are not fond of the summer heat, so the runs are approximately 1.5 miles. The dog team pulls an ATV with 6 or 8 passengers, giving them strength training and good workout.

These rides are great for visiting tourists to learn about dog sledding and the income helps with operational costs.

The dog teams range from 8 to 12 dogs.

The lead dogs are the runners, and generally more experienced dogs. They have the confidence and smarts to run, follow the mushers commands and lead the rest of the team.

The dogs closet to the sled are known as the wheel dogs. They do much of the heavy pulling and guide the sled.

All are hard working and pull as a team.

Rest stop along the way. Here the dogs cool off in either the pond or one of their pools.

Alan is riding in the front seat and I am standing in the rear. It was quite an exhilarating experience, especially the downhill tracks. Michelle does provide some brake assistance on the downward slopes.