More rain when we woke up in Teslin. There wasn't much improvement through the day as we drove north.
Weather continued to be overcast through Whitehorse. Rather than stop overnight in Whitehorse, we planned to stay in the Haines Junction area. It was still raining when we reached the Pine Lake Yukon gov't campground just south of Haines Junction. So we decided to carry on and thought Kathleen Lake on the Haines Highway would be a good alternative.
Kathleen Lake is within Kluane National Park. We have seen numerous pictures of the lake but had not stopped to see for ourselves.
The clouds mingled with the mountains as we hiked along the east side lakeshore.
Looking west across Kathleen Lake from the east shore
Looking north on Kathleen Lake, from the east shore
Again, looking west from near the boat launch area
There are numerous hiking trails in the area, including the Cottonwood Trail.
This trail can take numerous days to complete from start to finish, but many
people from the campground headed out on it for just a few hours exercise.
Start of Cottonwood Trail in Kluane National Park at Kathleen Lake
People heading out on the trail were given a good reminder of just where they were.
Warning sign at the start of the Cottonwood Trail near Kathleen
Lake, Kluane National Park
The national park campground is similar to the Yukon government campgrounds in that there are no services. However, the overnight fee was more costly than the Yukon Gov't sites, and there was an additional fee of $8.00 per night for firewood. Firewood is free at Yukon Gov't campgrounds.
The campground was not near the lake, although most of the sites were private and scenic. This evening the campground was busy with a Japanese group of tourists on an "adventure tour". The campground also had some people there for the annual Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay (to be held on June 20 in 2009). These crazy people race their bicycles from Haines Junction YT to Haines AK.
