Getting There (Part 2) - Flight Plans?

I arrived in Whitehorse from Vancouver at about 9 p.m. Pacific Time Zone, to me it was 11 p.m. Central, which meant that I had been in airports or planes for approximately 16 hours yesterday...needless to say I was tired. Even though the airport in Whitehorse is very small (perhaps one of the smallest “international” airports?)

Whitehorse Airport from the Airport Chalet

it still took about an 45 minutes to get my check luggage and my car rental. I’m actually not complaining, there was only one person working the counter, with what looked like maybe 4 rental envelopes waiting. He was extremely courteous (maybe more so than folks back home!), and again because I was organized things went quickly and smoothly. The car they gave me is a 2012 Chevy Sonic. Its pretty spotless, but of course they mark everything down including the tiniest paint chip (which worries me a little, but I did get insurance). I don’t plan to go off road in this thing, but of course there’s always the distinct possibility that a moose, caribou, or bear will see otherwise. I’ll be driving the car to a little airstrip just outside of Haines Junction that plays host to Sifton Air Tours, which is the company that I’ll be using to do the flight seeing over Kluane!!

After leaving the airport I made a very, very short journey to the Airport Chalet (just across the street).

Airport Chalet in Whitehorse

Its an older hotel/motel/(no tell?) with an attached restaurant, bar, and lounge. I really didn’t have the energy to get food or a drink, it was 10 p.m. here (midnight for those of you are keeping track of the Central Time, which my body is still on!), so I got my room key and went straight to bed.

They bill it as a no smoking establishment, however it smells like the interior of a VFW Hall or Elks Lodge - musty, pungent, cigarette smoke engrained in the carpet and walls kind of smell, and there’s an ash tray in the room. Again I’m not really bothered by it that much, just taking note.

Though I did turn on the vent in the bathroom, and the little fan on the desk (which within a few minutes promptly rattled itself right off that desk!). I repositioned the fan on a large chair where it couldn’t dislodge itself, settled my effects for the morning (toiletries, clothes, phone charging with alarm set), and tried to get some sleep.

This is where the real time difference come into play. The fact that I’m only 2 hours behind my usual time really isn’t that big of a deal, what is a big deal is the fact it doesn’t actually get ‘dark’ up here until about 12:30 p.m. (Pacific), and only stays ‘dark’ until about 3:30 a.m. I phrase it as ‘dark’ because while the sun has gone down behind the horizon there is still a faint glow in the sky. Its actually pretty similar to living in the city with the street lights, etc pouring light in through the gaps in your window shades/blinds.

After getting about 5-6 hours of sleep (I’m anxious to see Kluane, Dawson, etc.) I awake to find it gently raining (which I’ve been told its been doing for a few weeks here) and about 50 degrees (which since most of you that are reading this are probably in St. Louis right now...yes I am rubbing it in a little since its probably going to get up to 100 again there today). I shower and dress and stumble down to the little restaurant, desperately in need of a cup (or 3) of coffee. I eat a nice healthy breakfast of one giant flapjack, 2 eggs over easy, and 4 strips of crispy bacon. I’m surrounded by mostly large men who look to be either working or adventuring in the surrounding wilderness (a couple of guys talking about some sort of construction or engineering job, another looking like he’s probably headed in the same direction as I today to maybe hike or climb, and a few that have probably jumped in outta there big rigs for breakfast). I finish up and go back to my room to prep for Kluane and to grab my camera to take picture of the chalet and the surrounding country side. I’ll need to call Sifton to make sure that we’re on for today, the air tours are subject to weather, and even though its drizzling here it could be sunny or thunder-storming there (there’s no wifi and to use my phone would cost me exorbitantly, so I’m relying on the hotel phone to call Sifton and find out, this was posted once I reached Dawson where there’s wifi in the residency). Either way I plan to make my way to Kluane to at least do some hiking, which if the air tour happens I’ll do afterwards, and if not I’ll hike for most of the day. I do plan to stop by the visitors center in Haines to find out if I need to purchase bear mace or a whistle or something, since I will be hiking in grizzly bear country! I’ll also be taking my camera along regardless, so I’ll be sure to share some photos of the adventure(s).