Alaska Highway (Day 4) – Watson Lake, YT to Whitehorse, YT

July 18, 2013

This was a long day’s drive (285mi.).  As usual, the scenery was great and the road was pretty good (speed limit 100 kph), but I kept it under 90 kph. Our first stop was Rancheria Falls on the Rancheria River. It was a couple of hundred yards in to the falls on a path and boardwalk through a boreal forest with mostly white and Black Spruce with a mossy floor. A pretty walk if you sprayed yourself! Lot's of mosquitos.

The Forest at Rancheria Falls.

Rancheria River Falls

Bridge across the Nisultin River and Teslin, YT

 

 

Afterwards, we crossed the Continental Divide. A big anti-climax as it was just another hill with a bigger one beyond it. We finally got to see some of the mountains closer to the coast. These were bigger and many still had snow areas. We made it into Teslin and now I have some stories to tell from the Teslin Tlingit Heritage Center where we spent quite a bit of time. So much in fact we snuck behind the Tailender. Although we spent lots of time here, the only pictures are from the museum, not the people we met.

Teslin Tlingit "Clan Poles".  Each pole designate one of the 5 Teslin Tlingit Clans.

Teslin Tlingit "Clan Poles"

Inside the Teslin Tlingit Heritage Museum

Tlingit Leather goods. The gloves are Moose leather that has not been smoked. The brown part of the moccasins have been smoked.

Lake Teslin, north shore area.

 

Our first friend is Margaret Douville, a Tlingit Artist and Traditional Garment Maker specializing in home tanned moose leather and is from the Eagle Clan of the Teslin Tlingit. She does not care for factory tanned moose as it stretches when wet and wears out fast. When we met her she was working on a heavily beaded “Octopus Bag” and we chatted briefly. We went to the gift shop where I found a pair of moccasins to try on. Well, she came over and quietly told me no, but she had a pair that might fit me. Well they did and she gave me a price.  Good moose leather is soaked in moose fat and moose brains in water. Then stretched to dry, and kneaded to softness. Temperatures lower that -32 make better quality leather. The leather is then white and is stitched into a tent shape with a canvas skirt. The leather is then smoked over jack pine cones, acorns, and rotten wood. It has to be watched constantly to be sure it doesn’t ignite and for desired golden brown coloration. Any real moose leather home tanned will smell of smoke! Everything is stitched with moose sinew, even the beads. Yes, my new Tlingit moccasins do smell of smoke. Oh, by the way, she asked me if I wanted to come back this winter and help her make leather.

 

After this she walked over to our coach and took me up into the wiid to meet another friend Tim Dewhurst. He is in the process of setting a base hunt camp for hunting season (August 1 it begins). I am certain if Margaret was not present  my conversation with him would not have occurred. Although gruff at first, he is a big friendly guy. His first words to me were “pull up a stump and have seat so we can talk.” This will be the base camp. Hunters can fly commercial to Whitehorse and drive down (several hours drive each way if rental cars are available) or fly in a float plane and land on Teslin Lake. Hunters then pack into the mountains to hunt, usually 2 hunters, 2 guides, and a camp cook to keep camp. Hunts a scheduled for 15 days which you pay for regardless of how long the hunt is. Hunters usually fill their tags way sooner. Then you can go fishing. Don’t ask me how much as I did not ask, but I bet it ain’t cheap!

 

WOW! What an afternoon and we still had over 2 hours drive.  Oh yes, the Teslin Tlingit were originally coastal clans, but after the English and Russians began coastal contact and operations, they moved inland the Yukon River Valley and traded  with the Inland First Nation Peoples.