Days 11,12 (July 8,9 2013)
After a ½ day spent in Whitehorse getting some supplies,
lunch and doing laundry, we were ready to take off again towards Tok. Before we
left, a couple of riders stopped by because they “heard” of a father –son team
back towards Watson Lake. Additionally some other tourists from Florida in an
RV stooped to wish us well and bend our
ear to. It seems that word was getting around about out trip. It was great to
meet new people on bikes and campers.
We finally got away from everyone and began our trip
around 5:00 that evening, leaving Whitehorse towards Kluane Lake. However, a
huge dark mass of clouds lay before us and we began to feel rain drops. It didn’t
look promising. So, at the Klondike junction, we discussed options. The best
option was to turn around and spend the night in Whitehorse in a dry place. We
had a friend in Whitehorse, Shawn, who offered us a place to stay whenever we needed.
We took him up on his offer and he made us one heck of a great dinner. And he
had beer. Shawn is an avid paraglider and watches the weather as close as
anyone. He said the forecast wasn’t looking for a while in all directions. Darn
it! We made the best of it and had a nice visit, catching up on our adventures
and to be quite honest, I was envious of him. The wilderness is not more than 5
minutes from his house and he has great mountain views from his back deck.
The next morning we said our goodbyes and headed out
towards Haines Junction and Kluane Lake. Our destination that day was Tok. We
had no rain but overcast skies all the way to Destruction Bay at Kluane Lake.
In fact, I forget how beautiful that lake can be. Shortly after we hit a wall
of rain. It was heavy at times and we began to get a bit chilly. We stopped for
gas near Burwash Landing and recanted our 2011 expedition into Kluane park.
That particular expedition, we took off from Burwash Landing by
foot and headed straight into the mountains, over the tundra to the Donjek
Glacier. We were on foot and had heavy packs with 10 days worth of supplies. No
trail marked our way and all we had was map, GPS, compass, a handful of GPS
coordinates and a vague description of the route. Truly a wilderness trek of a lifetime.
It was both physically and mentally demanding. One of the hardest things both
of us had ever done and worth it in every sense. We saw wolves, bears and had
Dahl sheep come into our camp. We scaled mountains, waded through thick muskeg swamps
and beaver ponds; descended steep, frozen, scree fields that were nearly vertical
and dangerous as heck; forded many glacial rivers; bushwhacked through some of
the most unforgiving country I have ever touched. And yet, the views, the
experience and the wilderness were like nothing we have ever seen before and have
yet to be matched. That was a fantastic trip and provided us memories that I
will take to my grave.
Read more about that expedition here.
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| Ominous clouds in the distance as we leave Whitehorse |
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| The young man looking good |
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| Unfortunately, the normally fantastic vistas at Haines Jct were obscured |
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| Arriving at Destruction Bay and the start of the rain... arrrgggh! |
After reminiscing about our last visit and putting on some
warmer clothes and dryer rain gear, we headed off down the Alcan highway. We
hit a pretty bad stretch of construction where the road was soft gravel and dangerously
deep in places. Our beautiful bikes were looking like we already drove the haul
road as were our clothes. Over the next several hours, until we crossed the
border intpo Alaska, the road was to be like this and even worse with giant
potholes and frost heaves that seemed to swallow our bikes. We had to ride slow
and methodical to stay safe and on our toes.
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| Oh no... it had to happen to one of us sooner or later |
A bit later, we pulled into a rest stop to get a snack
and enjoy the brief reprieve from the rain. Then “it” happened. Johann dumped
his bike. We both knew that this was going to happen to one or both of us
sooner or later. Johann was really upset with himself, but it wasn’t his fault.
The wet gravel on top of the chip seal (not really tarmac) made for ground that
was like ball bearings underneath his boot as he tried to push his bike. The
truth be told, I had a couple of similar near misses already on the trip. If this
was to be the worst incident of the trip, I was more than happy with that. A
couple of scratches is to be expected.
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| The mud was beginning to stick on the bikes |
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| Typical views for us all day (sigh!?!) |
As we pulled onto the road, It seemed like hours went by
before the next break in the rain. At one point we stopped to help a lady heading
towards the Yukon. Her double axle trailer had come un hitched and she was able
to safely exit the road onto the shoulder with only the chain securing the
trailer to the truck. We got her all hitched safely up and went on our way
again. Darn it, we were soaked to the bone with wetness by now and a deep chill
was beginning to settle in. We eventually made it to Beaver and Johann and I
were both low on gas. I checked the mileage to Tok and it would be close for
both of us until we made it to the next gas stop. So we gassed up at
$1.74/liter… DO THE MATH HERE 3.785 liters = 1 gal… Yep, we paid over $6.50 a
gallon for gas!!! Fuuuuuuudge!!! I only put in 2 gallons in each bike. I got a
cup of coffee and Johann had a soda along with a snack for the both of us. We
did what we could to stay out of the rain in the little store there for awhile to
warm up and dry off. However, there is only soo much waiting around you can do,
before the owner gives you the eye and you get the message that you may be overstaying
your welcome. So onward we pressed. More construction and we caught up with a
group of Harley riders that were taking it very, very slow through the gravel.
Too slow for our pace, so we waved at them as we rode by, standing on our foot pegs
to catch the wind to help dry us out.
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| If the rain stopped, this is what it was like |
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| Finally.. good roads in Alaska.. will the rain ease up as well.. |
We finally arrived at the Alaska border after what seemed
to be hours and hours of riding. Geez it was a looooong day of riding. Tok was
about 2 hours away at this point and were wanted to get an Alaskan Burger at Fast
Eddies before they closed. So off we went again, but now, the roads were in
much better shape… we were able to do more than 35-40 miles on hour…. The pace
we had been used to for the last several hours ever since we left Burwash
Landing.
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| Nope, a storm was heading our way... Darn it!!! |
We arrived in Tok about 9:00. Luckily Fast Eddies was
open until 11:00. I think we stayed there until they shut down for the night.
We met many nice folks traveling both by RV and motorcycle. It was the motorcycle
folks that we could really relate to. Johann was comfortable talking to them.
And why not, he relate to the pain and suffering that all of us had just experienced
on the road today. I listened closely and he was talking more and more like a
true veteran rider now. We had ridden
over 2500 miles at this point since leaving home. He has experienced gravel, asphalt,
chip seal, calcium chloride soaked dirt, dust, extreme heat and humidity… and now
heavy rains. Yes, he was maturing pretty
quick as a rider on the road. I was a proud father.
We tucked in for the night at some hotel down the road. For
some reason, most of the motels/hotels were nearly full and this was one of the
last places we checked. Our room wasn’t very good and cost us $139!! Too much,
but we were tired and rain soaked. It felt good to take a warm shower and put
dry clothes on and watch some TV as we both faded off into the night, sleeping
well.
The next day looked promising. We met the folks from
MotoQuest and me the “Chief” who was driving there very cool support vehicle
which they named Jethro. I can’t say enough nice things about MotoQuest. I’ve
met the owner when he was in Seattle and they answered all my questions I sent
them via email during my trip planning stages. Not only did they answer them
quickly, they told me to feel free to ask them if I had any more questions
and/or call them. The “Chief” let us borrow a rubber mallot. It seems that when
Johann dumped his bike, he bent the pannier mounts a bit and we had troubles
mounting his pannier back on his bike. We took the panniers off to go to the
car wash. Down the road, is a free car wash with every fill-up at the gas
station. Even though it was raining, we wanted to get the mud off our bikes… it
didn’t really help as it rained pretty hard again on this day.
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| Arrival in Delta Junction |
The ride to Delta Junction was uneventful, save for the dozen or so moose we saw grazing on the side of the road. We decided, that for safety, to ride single file close to the middle of the road to give us a better chance to avoid hitting moose. I am happy to say, that despite the limited visibility and the heavy showers, we had no incidents or close calls.
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| These mosquitoes are life size |
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| They want your blood!! |
When arrived in Delta Junction. We wanted to get lunch, not
because we were really that hungry, but mainly to get out of the rain and dry
off. Fortunately, there was a grocery store with a small sandwich shop and a
fire place. We stripped off our gear off and dried them near the fireplace. To
the dismay of other patrons, we dried our boots there as well J
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| Wet and cold, but not discouraged |
We left Delta Junction and made it to Fairbanks were the
weather began to get much better and the sun even began to appear for a bit. It
was warm and muggy though. Having been to Fairbanks before, I knew where to go
to find the University of Alaska. We were abel to get a room for the night… $37
night. Very inexpensive. There are community showers and no TV, but hat was
alright with us. They had WiFi and we were able to call and email the homeland
back in Seattle.
We met several other riders who were either returning form
the Haul Road to Prudhoe Bay OR heading up the next day like we were. Again, we
had a lot in common with the other riders here and we had some great conversation
out in the parking lot as everyone prepped their bikes and gear. Not a Harley
in sight as all the bikes here were either KLRs or BMW GS’s… locked, cocked,
ready and loaded for adventure on the Dalton Hwy. We felt at home. Oh and many
of the bikers were from Europe, so that made for some interesting conversation
for all of us.
We spent the rest of the evening prepping our gear and
packing a couple of bags to leave behind and even a pannier (top case) to
lighten our load for the trip north. The University stored our gear for free!!
We couldn’t have asked for a better situation to start our trip up to Prudhoe
Bay. Checkignthe weather, it was supposed to be sunny and warm for the next 4
days as a strong high pressure system was settling in over the north.
AWESOME!!!
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| Our Dorm room at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks |
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| Front row view to the action and the other bikers who were heading out with us. |
I was soo excited that I barely slept at all that night.
All the stars and planets were aligning. This was going to be perfect!!!
Stay tuned for the next leg of the trip... The Dalton Hay and Prudhoe Bay. Whoohoo.
Until next time....
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