4. Al-Can Highway

Route of flight: CYQH-CYZW-CYXY

Loon on Watson Lake, Yukon

June 9, 2008

We headed northwest out of Watson Lake with the goal of making Whitehorse or even Northway if the weather allowed. After spending the day in the trench, flying the AlCan felt a little like cheating. Just follow that road down there and if you have any engine trouble, just land on the road, or maybe even on the back of one of those massive RV’s or semi rigs down there. Between the road and the pull-offs and parking areas there seemed to be plenty of options.

Al-Can highway

The landscape in this area is rolling mountains, nothing particularly spectacular from Watson Lake to Pine Lake – and to be honest, my brain was OK with not being blown away by the scenery for a change because it was just starting to process the significance of the AlCan highway.

The Al-Can was originally built in 1942 as a supply route from the US to Alaska. It is over 1500 miles long running from Dawson Creek, BC to Delta Junction, AK and runs over mountains, through forests, across rivers, over permafrost, and through bogs. It was constructed in under a year – which is pretty mind-boggling to someone who gets how things are built and who has just overflown a lot of that same terrain in its virgin state.

Given the terrain and the climate, repairing and maintaining the AlCan is a year-round effort. It has only recently been paved. This is one road that is not to be taken for granted.




While the navigation over the terrain was simple, navigating through the air was a little less so. There was a stationary trough that had formed roughly over the Yukon River running from Dawson to Whitehorse and it was creating low clouds and rain along our route. The ceilings were low, pushing us down around 1500’ above ground level (AGL), but with that great big road under us, we didn’t sweat it too much.

Reports from other pilots and the weather service indicated that we might have trouble getting to Whitehorse. One pass in particular, west of Teslin had been reporting marginal conditions today and yesterday. As we reached Teslin Lake, we saw lowering clouds and precip ahead, and fresh snow on the mountains around us. We called in to the airport at Teslin to see if we could get a weather update and learned that a pilot had just reported that the pass was socked in and he was turning around. Since there was no point in going further into those conditions, we landed in Teslin.

We were shortly followed by the pilot who’d returned from the pass, and over the course of the next hour another half dozen planes landed to wait for the pass to clear.

Teslin fly-in

Eventually, after a walk into town, lunch, a walk to the library and checking our e-mail… eventually we heard a plane go by overhead from west to east. The pilot called in and reported that the weather was more or less clearing out and that ceilings in the pass had lifted to 500’ AGL. And so ended the impromptu Teslin fly-in as all pilots packed up, filed flight plans and took off following the AlCan west to Whitehorse.

Low clouds in the pass over Summit Lake

The pass was narrow and full of clouds. We had a little more than 500’AGL clearance as we wove between them. Sunlight broke through highlighting peaks and alpine lakes in some places and creating chasms of shadow in others. It was spectacular.

As the land fell away and opened up into the next valley we gained more clearance and finally the skies opened up a bit over Whitehorse. It was late in the evening, so we decided to call it a night and headed to town for a hotel, a hot shower and beer.

On approach to Whitehorse, Yukon

Whitehorse is a capital of the frontier. It’s a hub for travelers and commerce along the AlCan and a crossroads for folks heading to the Yukon via Dawson, to Alaska via Northway and Southern Alaska via Skagway. It’s retained a lot of its original frontier feel largely because it’s still a frontier town. Sure, they have wireless internet and a Starbucks but they are still pretty isolated and rely on travel along the AlCan route for most of their economic sustenance.

The heart of downtown was first built during the Klondike Gold Rush at the end of the 19th century. It’s not big, but it’s worth taking a walk and looking around. And while you’re wandering around Whitehorse, take a look at the murals on the buildings. There are a bunch of them, they’re very large, and some are quite beautiful.

Of course, so beautiful that I neglected to take any photos.
But here's a link to one I especially liked here.