Broken Leg...Oh No!

Without cell service or internet connectivity, keeping up with posting the journey is difficult. I've resorted to writing our daily trip down in an Apple Pages document, then cutting and pasting to the blog when we get service. The last two weeks have been tough for posting due to the remoteness of our camping sites.

From our rest area stop for the night outside Tok, Alaska on Saturday, August 3rd we drove most of Sunday on the ALCAN to the international border back into the Yukon, Canada.

Having experienced the ALCAN already on the trip north we knew what to expect. We dropped our traveling speed during this entire section and took the frost heaves and damaged road surface considerably slower than when we drove up. Even still, every now and then, a surprise was waiting for even the most vigilant. At one safety stop to check the interior of the rig, we discovered yet another open cabinet and a broken book shelf behind the TV. After almost three hours and 158 miles of ALCAN treatment, we were ready to rest up.

We stopped for the night in Beaver Creek, Yukon at the Discovery Yukon Lodgings where we dry camped. Monday morning, August 5th we continued trekking another 207 miles on to a rest stop near Stony Creek Camp, Yukon just outside Whitehorse. It was another long driving day, almost four hours worth, but Karen is now sharing the driving duties. And do tell, she even confessed enjoying the experience.

When we arrived at this rest stop we encountered a fellow traveler in distress. It turned out that their  Class C towing a boat had a flat on the dually rear tire on the passenger side. Not the outside tire, no...the INSIDE tire and the owner was a without a long enough ratchet extension to get the tire off. This was an ordained opportunity to lend a hand because I had everything he needed. He got the tire off, changed it, and was back on the road headed for the local lake extremely appreciative. I told him we were meant to minister to his circumstances and I blessed his journey as we parted.

It was a short 45 minute drive into Whitehorse to the Walmart, Canadian Tire and Save-On grocery store. We got the needed groceries, DEF and truck fuel before leaving town for Conrad campground outside of Carcross, Yukon which was another hour away and our home for the next three days...we thought!

The south end of the Tagish Road is in Carcross, Yukon. Carcross is also on the White Pass and Yukon Route railway between Whitehorse and Skagway. Carcross is mainly known for its world class mountain biking on the near-by Montana Mountain, and for the nearby Carcross Desert, often referred to as the "world's smallest desert." Carcross was originally called “Caribou Crossing” because of the large number of woodland caribou that migrated through the region.

About ten miles south of Carcross, is a territorial campground on the shores of Tagish Lake near the now-abandoned town of Conrad City that supported the Venus silver mine in the early 1900s. We found a perfect site, long enough, level enough and near enough to the pit toilets and "bear proof" garbage containers to suit our needs. However, in the process of disconnecting from the truck, we encountered a problem lowering the left-front jack. I could tell the motor was laboring to lift the trailer and before it was up high enough to detach from the truck it stopped raising the trailer. I had to lower the front of the trailer to add more leveling blocks and tried again. We got the trailer up high enough to disconnect and pulled the truck away to start the leveling process. As we were lowering the front jacks together, the left jack suddenly collapsed 3 to 4 inches to the adjustable pin stop. Scared the "you know what" out of me.

After some very careful maneuvering I was about to lower both jacks down with enough shoring material to make the rig stable. When I went to try and raise the front jack and test the two together one more time, only the right jack would engage and lift the trailer. Bottom line - we had a broken left jack leveling leg assembly. And well, that stinks....right?

Nothing like being in a remote location with no cell service, internet, electricity, water or sewer services with a broken trailer leveling jack disconnected from your tow vehicle. Does this sound familiar? Time for SEMPER GUMBY and to work the problem.

Let's look at what was good. First, no one got hurt! Second, we have plenty of solar power and sun, a back-up generator with fuel, enough water on board and empty black and gray tanks. Third, I have a 7-ton hydraulic bottle jack on board to lift the left side of the trailer. And finally, the trailer is almost level (a few degrees low in the front) with chocked tires and a solid foundation.

What I will need to reconnect eventually is more wood blocks for cribbing the left side of the trailer frame. Enough for now.

We drove into Carcross to do some sightseeing, including the "world's smallest desert" and the Emerald Lake, known as “Rainbow Lake” by the First Nations. Emerald Lake offers a breathtaking view on its truly emerald-green water surrounded by Surprise Mountain and Mt Gilliam and is located along the Klondike Highway, 7 miles north of Carcross. We enjoyed the local sights and planned a day trip to Skagway, Alaska to ride the White Pass and Yukon Railroad the next day. The jack problem will wait.