Tombstone Territorial Park - multiday hike to Grizzly, Divide and Talus Lakes

July 18, 2024 by Catherine Forest in Hiking, Yukon, Backpacking

First, please know that this is ideally not a first time backpacking trip. The trail is rugged and unforgiving, especially when wet. It is very challenging in certain parts and the 46 km definitely takes longer than the distance suggests (not many of those are easy miles - or km!). The trail requires full attention from km 2 all the way to Divide Lake. The 6 km section between Divide Lake and Talus Lake is the easiest.

The first day from the trailhead to Grizzly Lake is 11 km, but with 878 m of positive elevation and 444 m of negative one, and most of it on rocks from km 2 onward, it makes for a challenging day, especially when wet.

It was raining for most of the day and with a 30 minutes lunch break, it took us 7 hours.

John filtering water from Grizzly Lake in the morning sun on Day 2.

JF going up Glissade Pass. You can see Grizzly Lake and the white cooking tents on the shore.

When leaving Grizzly Lake you have to get up and over the infamous Glissade Pass. The ranger told us that many people turned around at the top in the last few weeks, too scared to go down. Usually, the snow had melted by now. The sleep incline and the exposure made for a very impressive sight. If it hadn’t been for JF’s confidence, Aïsha’s enthusiasm and John’s support, I very much doubt I would have attempted it.

Be warned that these are no NPS American Rangers. “There’s a little river crossing before Grizzly” means “You could easily fall in without experience or proper river crossing shoes and it’s quite slippery and ice cold.” And “There is still snow on Glissade Pass, just dig your heels” means “You will likely feel like you might slip to your death, crampons are a good idea”.

JF going down Glissade Pass. It was steeper than it looks. It was indeed so steep that people who turned around asked us if we went down facing the mountain, like on a ladder.

Hiking past Divide Lake on our way to Talus.

Our second day of hiking from Grizzly Lake to Talus Lake will likely remain one of the most memorable hiking days of my life.

Our campspot at Talus Lake, overlooking Tombstone Mountain hidden on the far right.

The most popular time to visit is the end of August because of the fall colors, but unfortunately, since there are only 4 tent pads at Talus (the most spectacular spot), they are all booked very quickly by tour companies flying photographers over (and back) by helicopter for 10,000$/person. The ranger we met said it was quite a sight to see. Women in high heels and rolling suitcases, rangers being treated like bell boys… so yeah, unless you want to people watch, I’d book at a different time!

We had the place to ourselves and it was pure bliss.

John went into each of the 3 lakes. It was cramping cold.

Here are some stats for people who are interested:

Trailhead to Grizzly Lake: 11 km 878 m + et 444 m -

Grizzly Lake to Divide Lake: 6 km with Glissade Pass being 1,8 km with 400 m+ et 400 m- (crazy steep!)

Divide to Talus: 6 km 200 m+ 190 m- (the easy part!)

We strongly suggest the following itinerary: 1st night -Grizzly, 2nd night - Talus, 3rd night-Divide, 4th night - Grizzly.

Reserve one night before your trip at the territorial campground 15 km from the trailhead and the last night as well. You do not want to have to drive back 6-7 hours to Whitehorse on that same day.

2 am on July 10th at Grizzly Lake. No need to pack a headlamp!

Also, our packs were very light for 5 days and it made the technical sections more manageable and the rest of the hike more pleasant (without water):

John: 35 lbs (which is great given that the bag itself weighs 7 1/2 lbs!)

JF: 33 lbs

Aïsha: 25 lbs

Cat: 23 lbs

The return from Grizzly Lake to the trailhead on Day 5 was a slog… We were in the thick fog the whole time and it rained non-stop, making for a very slippery terrain.

Dawson City

August 21, 2014 by Catherine Forest in Yukon

Everytime we go to Dawson, I have this same feeling. We are not locals, but not tourists either. As we drive the Third Avenue in our (very dirty from the Dempter Highway) Westy, locals smile at us. We fit the bill. The Dawson summer crowd is quite colorful: lots of artists and crunchy hippies, too many tourist and some First nations cross paths on the wooden boardwalks... The atmosphere is welcoming and warm. We walk in the Alchemy café and are served in French, we meet a long-lost friend at the Taco stand... I understand better why people are attracted by Dawson's magnetism. There is definitely a sense of belonging here.

Hiking the Tombstone

August 18, 2014 by Catherine Forest in Yukon, Hiking, Camping spots

As we cover the 7 hours that separate Whitehorse and the Tombstone Territorial Park, I try to make sense of my impatience of the last few days. That’s one thing the road does for me: it allows me to sit with my feelings. Sitting with discomfort is never fun. It’s so much easier to run away and get busy with something else. But here, between Carmacks and Pelly Crossing, there are only rows of spruce trees and the nagging rain. I feel frustrated. As I talk to JF, I realize he also feels the same. There is 100 reasons to feel frustrated. There always will be if we choose to be frustrated. It’s all about attitude. We can choose to focus on what we wish we had or we could try and turn this frustration into gratitude for what we actually have. And we do have a lot. By Steward Crossing, the frustration had dissolved and we both felt lighter and ready for a weekend of fun.

We arrived at the Tombstone campground a bit after 11 pm (yes, it was still light out. And no, there would be no Perseids watching for us this year!). In the Yukon, you don't make reservations, you just show up. For $12 (or $50 for the entire season in any Yukon government campground if you are a resident) you get a gorgeous campsite and free firewood!

On Saturday monrning, the sun was shining. We made cinnamon-apple latkes while the girls made their most beautiful fairy garden ever (because there is all sorts of mosses and berries here, mama!) and we hit the new interpretation center for some more info on the hikes. There, we got to try some bannock bread and delicious tea made of yarrow, blueberries and labrador tea leaves, while the girls practice a puppet show with Joanna, a park interpreter that also spoke French. That interpretation center seriously rocks!

We decided to drive North a bit more (we were a mere 350 km from the Arctic Circle!) to do a hike called Surf Bird in the alpine tundra. It is quite fascinating, 20 km North of the campground, the boreal forest is no more, there is only alpine tundra.

When we arrived at the trailhead, there was no trail. Only 360 degrees of mountains and wet and mushy tundra. There were tons of ripe blueberries and moss berries and almost ripe cranberries. We feasted on them every ten steps. The dwarf birches and alder were already starting to turn red and yellow. We could see the moon the whole time we were there. Is it because we were so far north?

The next day, we decided to do a guided hike (with our beloved bilingual interpreter Joanna) to Grizzly Lake overlook. It's fun to notice things we wouldn't notice without an interpreter and it seems to motivate the girls to be in a group. Here, Aïsha gave highbush cranberries to an Irish man for him to try.

I stopped at the lookout with Mathilde who had a sore knee, while JF and Mara and Aïsha kept going up. Here, we can see Monolith mountain. Many people do an overnight hike to Grizzly Lake (11 km) down in that valley. We'd like to do it in 2 years with the girls.