Top of the World Highway and a town called Chicken

Leaving Kluane National Park we headed northwest towards Alaska again to the small and exciting (not) town of Tok, Alaska. As boring as Tok is, it's a good place to stock up on supplies and fill up the car before setting off for the Top of the World Highway.

Downtown chicken

A far more interesting stop is a town called Chicken that was settled by gold miners at the end of the 19th century. When a post office was established, the settlement required an official name. Since nobody could agree on the spelling of Ptarmigan, a name suggested based on the prevalence of ptarmigan in the area, they agreed upon Chicken to avoid embarrassment.

These days, Chicken is home to 17 inhabitants and downtown Chicken consists of a souvenir shop, a saloon and a cafe as well as Chicken Poop, the public bathroom. There are still some active gold mines in the area and some old dredges can be seen around Chicken.

Chicken Poop

The Top of the World Highway is one of the most northerly highways in the world and it winds its way along the crests of the hills. It's supposed to be one of the most scenic highways, but I was a bit disappointment. The scenery is beautiful and the views are spectacular but I expected snow capped mountains instead of rolling hills.

Poker Creek is the highest US road border and there is a one-hour difference in time zones at this border. The highway is mostly paved on the US side but once you cross into Canada, most of it is unpaved until you reach the vicinity of Dawson.

US-Canadian border along the Top of the World Highway