Summit Lake is still covered by ice
a young caribou quickly heads for the bushes
we stop for a very special sight, young bison
Toad River Lodge is famous for the collection of hats. They stopped counting
Summit Lake is still mostly frozen and of an eerie beauty
like this mature bull in its prime. Better not mess with him
there are more bison along the road
the herd moves on
just follow mama and it will be alright
these guys are late to the party
from Fort Nelson to Watson Lake
Highway 97 from Ford Nelson to the tiny town of Watson Lake crosses the Canadian Rocky Mountains and covers the highest elevations of the Alaska Highway.
The at times narrow road features sharp curves and steep slopes up to 10%.
The sceneries here are  really impressive, especially around Summit Pass that tops at almost 1300 meters altitude.
 
When we drove this stretch of the ALCAN in May 2007, the trees in the lower valleys sported already the magical fresh green leaves of spring.
But at higher elevations there were still  patches of snow along the road and Summit Lake was mostly covered by ice.
 
We met several flocks of Stone Sheep, a Caribou and a small herd of Wood Bison, including very recently born calves. We saw also some big solitary Bison bulls.
 
Traffic was extremely light and all the outposts and gas-stations we stopped by had that distinct feeling of, well, being remote.
Do not miss the Toad River Lodge, famous for the large collection of hats stuffed to the ceiling..
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at Tetsa River Campground we fill up on gas and homemade bread
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we start the climb to Summit Pass, the highest on the Alcan at 1295 meters
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Stone sheep on the road hurry to safety
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she knows she is beautiful
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our hotel for the night
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there is a name for this behavior
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