6,000 kilometers of self-driving journey through the uninhabited land of Yukon in North America_Yukon self-driving study abroad

It has both the static beauty similar to the Jiangnan region of China, and the majestic and magnificent Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The most unforgettable journey - driving through the uninhabited land of Yukon in North America, which lasted 9 days and covered nearly 6,000 kilometers, from the south to North, from early autumn to late autumn, and then to the snowy winter, you can have a panoramic view of the beautiful scenery along the way: wild animals, vegetation, rivers, lakes, snow peaks, glaciers, hot springs, grasslands, green mountains, clouds, rainbows... It can be said that the scenery changes with each step. , it has both static beauty similar to Jiangnan in China, and magnificent waves like the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Yukon is one of the three major administrative regions of Canada. This vast land is located in the northwest of Canada. It borders the Northwest Territories of Canada to the east, Alaska to the west of the United States, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the northern latitude to the south. It is bounded by the 60th parallel and connects with the Canadian province of British Columbia. Yukon, named for the Yukon River that flows through the territory, is the only provincial territory in North America with road access to the Arctic Circle.

Yukon is vast but sparsely populated - in this land of more than 480,000 square kilometers, there are only about 33,000 residents, and the population density is an average of 0.07 people per square kilometer, mainly Aboriginal people , 25,000 of whom live in Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon. Yukon has a vast uninhabited land. In addition to its continuous forests and beautiful natural scenery, it is also famous for its gorgeous Northern Lights and midnight sun, attracting a large number of tourists for sightseeing. Therefore, tourism has become its second largest economy. Pillar industries.

Three of us chose to drive to Yukon in the golden autumn. Loaded with pots and pans, oil, salt, firewood, sleeping bags, pulling ropes, electric air pumps, anti-bear spray and other necessary items, we set out from Vancouver and drove north out of British Columbia, then headed north along the Alaska Highway and crossed The vast uninhabited land leads to Kluane National Park in western Yukon and adjacent to Alaska in the United States. This trip was my most unforgettable journey in North America. It lasted 9 days and covered nearly 6,000 kilometers. From south to north, from early autumn to late autumn, and then to the snowy winter, I had a panoramic view of the beautiful scenery along the way: wild animals, vegetation, rivers, Lakes, snow peaks, glaciers, hot springs, grasslands, green mountains, clouds, rainbows... It can be said that the scenery changes with each step, ranging from the static beauty similar to the south of the Yangtze River in China to the majestic waves of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Driving on this road, there are few people and cars. Drivers don’t have to worry about hitting people. The most worrying thing is the wild animals that appear everywhere, so “beware of animals” signs can be seen along the way. Warning signs are posted on the roadside.

In mid-September, the autumn air was crisp. After we set off, we first headed east along Highway 1, which crosses Canada from east to west, and then turned to Highway 97 to go north, passing through Prince George in northern British Columbia. The next day At noon we arrived at the starting point of the Alaska Highway - the small town of Dawson Creek in British Columbia.

The Alaska Highway has quite a history. After Japan successfully attacked Pearl Harbor at the end of 1941, it invaded and occupied several small islands in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska in the United States. To ensure the safety of Alaska, the U.S. and Canadian governments decided to build a strategic highway from the continental United States to Alaska via Canada. At that time, U.S. Army engineers, soldiers and Canadian road construction workers worked together to build it in less than nine months. Today, at the starting point of this highway, in the center of the square in Dawson Creek, there is still a zero kilometer sign, marking the beginning of this highway and its end point - Delta Junction, Alaska, USA. However, after many renovations in recent decades, the original gravel road has been replaced by a two-way asphalt highway, many curves have been straightened, and the original mileage of 2,700 kilometers has been shortened to 2,232 kilometers.

The scenery along the Alaska Highway is extremely beautiful. In addition to many provincial parks, lakes and hot springs can often be seen dotted along the roadside, and wild animals can be found everywhere. Driving on this road, there are few people and cars, so drivers don’t have to worry about hitting people. What worries them most is the wild animals that appear everywhere, so “Beware of Animals” warning signs can be seen on the roadside along the way. Within about 5 meters of the road on both sides, the bushes were cut down and a barrier was established to prevent drivers from seeing the animals when they suddenly jumped onto the road.

The Yukon is a paradise for wild animals. The animals here are neither afraid of cars nor people. In fact, this is their territory, and they are the masters. Humans are just intruders. Along the way, we saw herds of American bison walking slowly on the road, refusing to give way when cars approached, or grazing on the roadside as if no one was around; sometimes, elk in twos and threes would walk on the road or on the road. While looking for food; there are also big and small black bears who go their own way and are very naive.

On the way, we met a big black bear on the roadside. We were worried that the approaching car would scare it away, so we stopped far away. Later, we found that it ignored us at all and was looking for itself in the grass. berries, so we drove the car only two meters away from it, and it just looked up at us and continued to look down for food. It was not until a large truck rumbled up that it interrupted its delicious meal. He turned around and hid in the bushes. After the car passed by, he turned around and "returned to his old business." Another time, we saw a small black bear under the roadbed. Because it was a little far away, we decided to get out of the car and take pictures. Maybe the little bear was timid. Seeing us approaching, we turned around and ran a few steps, then sat down and looked at us. For a moment we forgot about the danger of bears and instead found them cute.

Most of the highways pass through uninhabited areas, so you often see signs saying "No gas stations within 300 kilometers" on the roadside, reminding drivers to always check the fuel level in their vehicles. We must fill up the tank before setting off every day and decide where to stay at the next stop, because if we miss it, we will have to drive hundreds of kilometers to get to the next stop. Of course, there is no cell phone signal on the way, and GPS will probably not work, so we all rely on maps. However, this road is the best self-driving route - the scenery along the way is endless, the road is smooth, especially in autumn, the mountains and rivers are colorful: emerald green, golden, orange, plus blue like Samiti Lake and Mengzhuo Lake The green or emerald-colored lakes, white snow peaks, and misty clouds made us feel extremely shocked!

Since an American soldier nailed the first road sign, more and more road signs have been nailed, finally forming a spectacular forest of signs. Currently, there are more than 60,000 signs, and the number is still increasing.

On the side of the Alaska Highway, about a two-hour drive from the town of Watson Lake, the third largest city in the Yukon Territory, there is a famous open-air hot spring - Liard River Hot Spring, which is a popular place for everyone driving along the way. A place to relax and unwind.

On the afternoon of the third day, we parked here, crossed a boardwalk, and walked for about 10 minutes to the hot spring. There is a small wooden house next to the hot spring for tourists to change clothes. The so-called hot spring pool uses the natural terrain to create an irregular pool of tens of square meters at the outlet of the hot spring, and then introduces stream water from a high place to join the hot spring. The water temperature is very high, but when mixed with the stream, the water temperature is hot but not scalding. Except for the wooden steps beside the hot spring pool, there are no other man-made things. Everything is so natural, primitive and simple. After a long drive, soaking in it is extremely refreshing. Looking around at the autumn colors, I feel like I am completely immersed in nature. Not far from the hot springs, we also discovered golden pine trees - the needles of the usually evergreen pine trees have turned golden yellow, presenting a rare beauty.

On the evening of the third day, we arrived at Wasen Lake Town, which has only over 1,000 residents. This small town is located at the junction of Yukon and British Columbia at 60 degrees north latitude. It is the gateway to the southeast of Yukon and the only place to enter Yukon from British Columbia. Since it is, after all, the third largest city in the Yukon, we thought accommodation would be no problem, so we didn’t book it in advance. It wasn’t until we drove into town that we realized something was wrong: this so-called “third largest city” only had Several rows of sparse bungalows and several small hotels were all full, which made us immediately nervous: Are we going to live on the streets tonight? Fortunately, after some twists and turns, I finally stayed in an Indian cabin at the end of the street. But from now on, we would call in advance to reserve accommodation before heading to our next stop.