I spent two years at remote Chilkat Pass on the Yukon/BC border, studying winter migration and predation of willow ptarmigan. I used radiotags to find the animals through the winter. This little-known corner of BC has some magnificent scenery, some of it now protected by Tashenshini Provincial Park. The Haines Road, connecting Haines Junction in the Yukon to Haines Alaska, runs through the pass. Unlike the much more famous Chilkoot Pass, this area features more open alpine landscapes and gentler slopes. The area makes for stunning hiking or skiing in winter. It has become a popular snowmobiling area.
The first year I lived in a small shack in the middle of the pass, perfectly in line with a highway of storms rolling in from the Pacific.This made for some wild weather in the winter!
The Hovel, Chilkat Pass, Haines Road, BC
The second year, I graduated to a much nicer log cabin with wind and solar power on the Yukon/BC border, in present-day Tatshenshini Provincial Park.
Log cabin along Haines Rd BC
2 Comments
Fantastic.
What an experience.
Especially the “hovel”. I can imagine what it was like with a big storm trying to blow the roof in.
The storm-issue solved itself: with the first major storm, the entire shack got snowed in. We built a bit of a hallway with some ice walls and a roof of plywood. A ladder and a trapdoor got us outside. Result: a cozy little cave under the snow. Kind of like the ptarmigan we were chasing – they sleep in snow caves as well. See https://www.bluepeak.net/pictures/canada/chilkatpass/shack-winter.jpg.html .