Day Thirteen-Left Fort Nelson at 7:30 arrived Watson Lake, Yukon at 6:30. We traveled 318 grueling miles of mostly uphill and more uphill. Eleven hours of adrenaline rushes and abject fear. This took us through the Northern Rocky Mountains. An easy hill would be a 6% grade. We didn’t have any of those. We had four 8% grades over a mile on each and then a 9% grade of almost two miles. On 9% grade Bertha the Beast had, finally, had enough. She was down in granny low and climbing slowly like most grannies do when she just gave out. She stopped about 400 yards short of the summit and would go no further no matter how I whipped her accelerator. I set the park brake, put a chock under the wheels and sent Summer on up to the summit to disconnect the travel trailer and return to pull me the rest of the way up the mountain. Summer returned with Spike (A 4 wheel drive Dodge Ram 3500 Bully Boy dually and black, of course.). Summer backed up to the bus, which was still attached to the 28’ trailer. We put a chain around the bus bumper and her trailer hitch. Spike pulled Bertha the Beast with trailer up the mountain, as if there was no load at all.
During our 11 hour ordeal, we saw one moose, one red fox, several caribou and a whole flock of bison. It was a Canadian safari at 29 miles per hour.