Lifes2short....Ride the World

[kiwi]

Re: Whitehorse

Nice! You're bringing back some memories. I did the Yukon and Alaska in the mid 90s. I got right up to Valdez. Most amazing adventure I ever had in all the world travels I did. If you go past Sheep Mountain, my buddy flew his hang glider from there

We camped in Whitehorse.. I remember that town. There was a great bar there too.. ah.. the memories!

enjoy the trip.

 

[l84toff]

Alaska

Just before crossing into Alaska, we passed the 20,000km mark for the trip. Wow! We’ve really been putting some miles down so far and are both starting to feel it.


Alaska can be summed up into one word. Actually, no it can’t. It has turned out to be the visual highlight of our trip so far. If I had to start somewhere it would be with stunning! There are literally glaciers after glaciers, after glaciers…you get the idea.


Within moments of crossing the border we had a black bear and her cub cross the highway in front of us. We slowed down well in advance to let them cross and only continued once they were up the hill. About halfway up the hill mom stopped and looked back to see if we were following, then took off after the cub.


[video=youtube;UfG8kz3avww]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfG8kz3avww[/video]
Pretty cool.


There are two cool campgrounds in Tok, actually probably more, but 2 you should stay at. On our 1st stop here we stayed at the Sourdough campground just south of Tok right off the Glenn highway (I’ll get to the other campground later). Cool place, the owners do a performance of some Johnny Cash and other old school tunes most nights. They actually sounded very good. In the morning there is all you can eat pancakes if that’s your thing, or you can ride into town for some real food. In the morning we made some tea while packing up and stopped at the grocery store to pick up some snacks before heading out.


Which way to go though? Valdez sounded like a not-to-be-missed spot but they had been having record rainfall for June, July and now in Aug. The forecast showed nuthin’ but rain for the rest of the year. It didn’t take much convincing on Lori’s part to aim the bike for Fairbanks instead, where it was sunny and warm.






About halfway between Tok and Fairbanks lies Delta Junction, where the Alaska Highway comes to an end. We had travelled all 1387 miles (2219km) at this point.


Fairbanks was an interesting day for us. We stopped at a scenic pull off during the morning and a moment a moment later another loaded bike pulls over and we met Daniel from Germany, who's pedalling his way to Ushuaia. You can find him online at http://www.danieljussen.net.



He told us about his bear encounters so far and having to use his bear spray on a black bear just a few days before, which didn’t exactly add to Lori's comfort level of being up in Alaska. It’s definitely a little different being all alone on a bike up here. A benefit of having a motorized version is that they’re a little louder and can outrun bears a little easier than bicycles. He also explained that he found having a third wheel much more stable and how he had all his electronics charging off it.

We ended up in a campground in town right next to a fair. It was one of the least communicative days we’ve had to be honest. Lori wanted to hang out at the fair and I wanted nothing to do with big crowds and loud places. Spending nearly every waking moment together and doing over 21,000km in 2.5 months was starting to catch up to us. Neither one of us ended up too happy this day. At least there would be little chance of a bear encounter with all the noise next door.



It was definitely one of the more unique campground offices I've ever seen. Fit for a Hobbit I say.





We left Fairbanks the next morning in silent running mode. It was a beautiful day and although we were only an hour or so outside of Fairbanks, we could see Mt McKinley quite clearly way off in the distance. Little did we know it would be our best view of the mountain. We had a very long chat about the previous day and essentially a status check with each other.


It turns out that all the camping, bugs, Alsaka, bears, camping near bears in Alaska, all of this, is pushing Lori’s personal comfort zone in every way. In the meantime, here I am having a blast. She’s wishing we could stay indoors more often and I’m hoping we ca do some stealth camping. Hmmm! Well it all kind of came to the surface around Fairbanks. I’m not sure what kind of solution we arrived at, if any, but it was really good to discuss it all. Communication is one of those key things when travelling with a partner, whether a spouse or a friend. Expectations and comfort zone play a huge factor in enjoyment of the trip. It’s really difficult to make everyone happy 100% of the time. Like any relationship, there has to be some compromise.


We continued on and after a stop in Cantwell for the night we took off down the Denali Highway in the next morning. Don’t let the word highway in the name fool ya. It’s paved for about 2 miles at the west end where we started and another 21 miles at the other end. Everything in between is anything from washboard, to potholes, to loose gravel to nice dirt to really crappy dirt. Overall not too bad riding though, we were still cruising along most of it around 80-100km/h






The scenery made concentrating on the actual road that much more of a challenge.



Mesmerizing suff out here.








I want to say that the Denali Highway felt very remote, but it was actually the busiest road we experienced in Alaska. It was crawling with hunters on their ATV’s and RV’s. As it turns out we were here on a Saturday. Animal sightings today = 1 squirrel.


We stopped about halfway down the highway for a break at The Sluice Box. A bit dark inside, the place was covered with dollar bills on every wall and ceiling. Lori had read somewhere about this old cabin circa 1900 being off the Denali and we had been on the look out for it. The dude at The Sluice Box said that it must be about 2-3 miles down a dirt road just past the bridge right off the Denali Hwy towards some mines. Well off we went in search of this mystical cabin.



Looks good enough to be a golf course down there.


Well after 10km we finally gave up and turned around. Bike eating potholes, 3 water crossings, some excellent views but no cabin. No mines that we could see either. Nice little side trip but we were glad to be back on the main highway. We had seen plenty of the Denali and decided to head back towards Cantwell instead.






Maybe this was the cabin, I dunno. Glad I didn't have to cross this water though.



Someone was nice enough to build a little rock bridge over the river.


We pulled in to the only gas station there and met up with a group of guys from Columbia riding MotoQuest rentals. The one guy nearly dropped his big GS1200 trying to get on, he was a bit vertically challenged for the big bike. Or maybe he just didn’t have enough gear piled on to lower it, I wondered . Moments after filling up, the owner came out and covered up all the pumps with plastic bags.





No more gas! This is why you fill up pretty much every chance you get up here. You just never know when a gas station is going to run out of gas.


All fuelled up, we headed south only stopping at the north and south view points for McKinley. Only the south gave us a little peak through the clouds.



Pretty cool sight actually. A few moments later it was completely enshrouded in cloud.



There was still plenty to see from the south viewpoint.



We pulled into the Big Bear campground in Wasilla after hours and set up in one of the middle spots where RV’s park. I know, I know, living on the wild side. There were plenty of vacant RV spots so we didn’t think there would be any issue with it. We'll plead ignorance in the morning. The following morning we awoke to another tent set up in the RV section, perhaps inspired by our brash disregard for campground protocol.

 

[Rotten_Ronnie]

I'm following along...

I tried out my alcohol stove at the VRRA race track and sadly underestimated the amount of fuel. I found I was using about 3oz a burn, and my pot didn't cover the flame spread properly and shot straight up the sides. Perhaps a potstand and or a wider bottomed pot might help.

Could I see some more of your routine camp life?

Keep Lori smiling. Compromise is tough, but a woman that will put up with that many black flies and bear stories is a keeper.

You rebels. Call it a two wheeled recreational vehicle?

 

[l84toff]

I'm following along...

I tried out my alcohol stove at the VRRA race track and sadly underestimated the amount of fuel. I found I was using about 3oz a burn, and my pot didn't cover the flame spread properly and shot straight up the sides. Perhaps a potstand and or a wider bottomed pot might help.

Could I see some more of your routine camp life?

Keep Lori smiling. Compromise is tough, but a woman that will put up with that many black flies and bear stories is a keeper.

You rebels. Call it a two wheeled recreational vehicle?

Pushing your personal comfort zone is tough too. It's one of those things you may not even be aware of until you get out there and are doing it.

I use the home made cat can stove 99% of the time, with the windscreen very closely wrapped around the pot. There is still a bit of room around the edge but not as much as you have in your pic. I think this helps in efficiency somewhat as the heat is retained and re-directed back at the pot, rather than losing it, at least I think. I don't measure the exact amount of fuel that I use but it's definitely less than 3oz per boil, I'd say about 1(ish) oz. Typically with the ambient temp in the high teens or better I fill up the stove once to boil 1L of cold water (using our 1.4L GSI MicroDualist pot - it's not super wide). I do also get some flame coming up the sides at times as evidenced by the burnt handle.

The wider pots are a bit more efficient and quicker at boil times I think. For solo hiking I use an MSR Titan kettle with the cat can stove and it works very well. But I never place the stove directly on the ground or a cold surface, it sits on a circular piece of carbon felt for some insulation. You could also just use a small piece of foil, similar to the windscreen. Also, heavier/thicker pots take longer to boil water I find.

I will say that for this kind of a trip, I would probably prefer a multi fuel type stove, something that can take regular gas, as it's just more readily available in every country and the stove itself is much more versatile. But it really depends on what you want to cook and how much you're going to cook. For boiling water, the alky stoves are fine, they become much less efficient at anything more than that. Yes I can cook an entire meal with it, but I'll end up using a lot of fuel (6-10 ounces depending on what we're cooking), but it does take much longer.

Lately we're doing a lot more cooking over the fire. Tinfoil is perfect for this. We usually get a roll and rip off sections (about 24" or so), fold them up and place them in a zip lock to keep them dry (yes this is important, DAMHIK), lays perfectly flat in our cooking bag until use. We've grilled potatoes, all kinds of meat, veggies over the fire using tin foil.

What more do you want to see?

 

[Rotten_Ronnie]

All the nitty gritty stuff of failed equipment, bug bites, dust, camp fires.

I'm a glutton for punishment. Lol.

I really enjoy the shots you and Lori are posting. It's putting Alaska so much higher on the tour list.

I never thought about the insulation to keep the stove off the ground, but like you, I'm going back to my white/red gas SVEA123R as I can cook on it, and it burns so much hotter than alky.

How are your tires holding up?

 

[l84toff]

SVEA123R

Sounds like a Russian sub, or maybe a new Van Halen album.

Tires have about 13,500km's at the moment, the rear is almost done, I won't put more than another 1k on it. The front is looking great. As for the K60's in general, I really like them. Super in the dirt, riding the bike down the Denali was a blast, and they've been fantastic on road. No issues what so ever. Will definitely stick to them for a while.

I will say that they seem to be much louder now than when they were brand new. They seem to sing the song of their people when cornering.

 

[Rotten_Ronnie]

Lol! I squared off my front Conti Trail Attack2 and at 18,000km it doesn't want to turn in anymore. It resists, then drops you in.

They don't make the Heidenaus in the 650 Versys rim sizes. :'(

Gas stoves I looked at were the standard MSR range and I found an old brass Primus/Optimus design that scored very highly for lack of maintenance. I used to set up twenty Coleman stoves for the troops to boil up their lunch during an exercise, so they could march into the area, drop their IMPs into the pressure cookers, and go relax. Those stoves were a pain, but I had all the spare parts to fix them in the field, generators and pump washers, lubricant (Butter and engine dipstick oil, chapstick are a few that work when the leather dries out)

The SVEA123R was designed for mountain altitude use and has fewer parts that fail, and simply great reviews for 'Used it seven years ago, pulled it out of the shed and it fired up perfectly.'

It doesn't have a perfect simmer though, and still needs a separate fuel bottle, but can be run on gasoline and has a self cleaning needle that can clear a blocked jet very quickly.

It drops into the pot set pictured and packs away very handily.

My good friend has a brother-in-law that is an honest to God mountain climber, a tour guide that used to stage climbs of Everest. He recommended the Primus Himalaya multifuel, and if the SVEA123R dies, then I'll replace it with the Himalaya.
http://primuscamping.com/products/omni-fuel-with-6-liter-fuel-bottle

 

[l84toff]

Lol! I squared off my front Conti Trail Attack2 and at 18,000km it doesn't want to turn in anymore. It resists, then drops you in.

They don't make the Heidenaus in the 650 Versys rim sizes. :'(

My good friend has a brother-in-law that is an honest to God mountain climber, a tour guide that used to stage climbs of Everest. He recommended the Primus Himalaya multifuel, and if the SVEA123R dies, then I'll replace it with the Himalaya.
http://primuscamping.com/products/omni-fuel-with-6-liter-fuel-bottle

18k and it doesn't turn any more? You should definitely go get your money back . Why would you be looking for anything else if you can get that many clicks from those tires btw?

The Omni is actually one of the stoves I was thinking about above. At this point I'm going to stick with the alky as we don't expect to do any camping throughout Central America.

 

[l84toff]

Alaska II

When checking out, the lady at the campground said she would normally charge us the full rate since we camped in an RV spot but if I didn't say anything she would cut me a break. Not only did she not charge us for the RV rate, she also gave us the Good Sam discount which was a couple of bucks less than the regular camping rate, score! Thank you!


Lori booked us into a B&B in anchorage for a couple of days. The B&B is basically a regular house in a regular neighbourhood. Our bed was comfortable enough and the room had a retro music motif going on. Breakfast was ok, definitely not as fancy shmancy as the B&B we stayed at in Quebec, which set the bar pretty high.


We spent a couple of hours at breakfast chatting with another couple staying there, then spent another couple of hours on the phone calling family back home. It was well into the afternoon before we finally made it out the door. We were both super hungry by then so we decided on an early dinner at Moose's Tooth, for some Za!


The next morning while having breakfast, I got an email from REI saying our tent had arrived. Woohoo! Good thing as we were leaving Anchorage today. Our old tent, the Sierra Designs HT3 Lightning had been leaking for some time. The seam tape had started to flake off pretty much everywhere and although I tried to clean it up and re-apply seam sealer, I ultimately thought it was a bit premature for a tent to have such a problem. Since we bought our old tent at REI back in Feb, we were able to return it no problem. Not sure how it’s possible, but when looking at both packed tents sitting next to each other on the counter, the new REI Half Dome 4 actually packs smaller, go figure. In the end, it cost us less than $40 to upgrade to our new home. Not a bad deal.


Before we could even leave the parking lot of the REI, we met a young dude, Chase, who is about to drive his custom built Isuzu from Mexico to the east coast and then eventually down to Ushuaia. Cool!


We’ve lost track of the number of conversations we’ve started in a parking lot next to our bike. It typically goes like this: We pull up to a Tim Hortons (insert your favourite coffee shop here), get off the bike and someone comes up and strikes up a conversation. 15 minutes later we make it inside and order something to warm us up and someone else strikes up a conversation with us as we sit down at a table. Then when leaving we get our jacket, earplugs and helmet on, and sure enough someone comes up and starts up another conversation. Off come the helmets and earplugs, cause you know, I CAN’T HEAR WITH THEM IN. But seriously, it’s been a blast meeting new people this way for us. The loaded Tigger seems to attract a great deal of attention and people are always curious.





It was noon by the time we rolled out of town so we went back to Wasilla (or Wasabi as I called it for some reason) for some lunch. Finally getting back on the ROAD, we snaked our way out of town through another small town and along a massively wide riverbed that was a relative trickle now in August. Between the river and the mountains behind it, it was difficult to keep focus on the road. I gave myself a virtual smack for taking one of the turns a bit wide which sent us across the double yellow. Luckily no other vehicles occupied that space at the time.


Both the frequency of snow capped peaks and the size of them increased as we rode on. Ultimately it was about 200km before the scenery flattened out. But before it did, we got treated to several glaciers. The largest (or so it seemed) and closest to the road was the Matanuska Glacier.










Simply mesmerizing! Virtually no cars occupied the parking lot or the pull off another half mile further up the road.



We kept up a pretty good pace after that running into some strong winds about an hour outside of Glenallen. We also ran into (or rather "out of") another problem we haven't had since the east coast. We almost ran out of gas. We pulled into Glenallen on fumes and filled up on over 5 gallons. 19.54 litres to be precise, out of a possible 20 litres.


Approaching Glenallen we got another beautiful treat in the form of, yup you guessed it, another mountain range. This time it was the Wrengell's. Wow! I thought if we run out of gas, at least I have that view if I have to walk.



Just after leaving Glenallen we came across an airstrip with Mount Drum in the background.



Please believe me when I say that the pics don't even come close to doing this justice. It was almost surreal!



Tigger always trying to steal the spotlight...


The GPS indicated we'd be in Tok at 9:20 so we cranked the throttle a bit, trying to make up a few minutes. We both wanted to get in as early as we can due to the really long day we have tomorrow but also didn't want to be on the road so late in the day with all the wildlife out here. All of a sudden we got passed by a van so we kept it in sight till Tok. I didn't mind doing 85 for a while, especially knowing the van in front of us was paving the way. We passed a couple of vehicles heading in our direction and maybe two heading in the opposite. The road definitely had a remote feel to it. I asked Lori if she still felt the same about the remoteness of the roads, like she did earlier, “no, not nearly as much," she replied.


We pulled up to the campground right at 9, Thompsons Eagle Claw. Definitely highly recommended for bikers. Due to our (hopefully) early departure tomorrow, we opted for a bunk cabin to help speed things along in the morning. Our new tent would have to wait. $20 for the both of us and we even got to use the wood burning outdoor sauna.














You can even sleep in an old ambulance. The place is just too cool!

Packing up our cabin in the morning.



Somewhere along the way we noticed the sun halo above us.


I’m not sure I can describe how I felt today. The day definitely typified what Alaska is all about for me. Remote, mountains, glaciers, just mesmerizing stuff.


I’m tempted to end the Alaskan story right here. But the next day, we left Tok and headed for Haines, Alaska. The coolest part is that we’ll be in Alaska, Yukon, BC, and back to Alaska all in a single day.


About an hour outside Beaver Creek, we saw our first Grizzly bear, as it crossed the road in front of us and then ran along side the bike on our left for a bit before zagging into the bush. Construction was pretty crappy today and the weather around Destruction Bay was bitter at best.


Once into BC, the temp dropped to 9.5C at the peak of another mountain range. Amazing cloud formations enveloping the mountains around us. Even at 3,000 feet, we were essentially in the clouds. The landscape appeared to be more tundra than anything else. No trees what so ever, just shrubs and rocks. Definitely the coldest we've been in the last 5 weeks. We put our rain jackets on as it started to sprinkle, actually I think it was more the fact we were traveling through the clouds at the time but it definitely helped warm us up a bit. Of course we started descending almost right away and within minutes we were at the border crossing, where it was back to a balmy 15C.


Other than the cold, it was a stunning ride into Haines. Even sitting here at the Bamboo Room splitting an order of fish and chips ($24 for a regular order of fish& chips on the coast - WTF?) we could see glaciers on the mountains surrounding Haines. Spectacular!


Tomorrow we’re taking the ferry from Haines to Juneau, then to Prince Rupert. Here's a little video I've stitched together of our Alaska trip with a sneak peak of the ferry crossing.

[video=youtube;ipbBtWYYnwQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipbBtWYYnwQ[/video]

 

[l84toff]

Alaska's Marine Highway

We ended up skipping some of the spots we were hoping on visiting due to the record rainfalls along the coast in Alaska this summer. Valdez, Seward, Homer, all will have to wait for another trip.


Haines was also a wet experience, from the time we arrived to boarding the ferry the next morming. Our dry spell was officially coming to a close, over 5 weeks with less than 3 hours of rain while riding was pretty amazing.


Although it was cold and the clouds hung low hugging the surrounding mountains, we still spent most of the crossing topside under the covered (and heated) section. There is a helicopter landing pad next to the covered section where you can actually camp overnight. I think that would have been a pretty cool experience but we were getting off in Juneau a few hours later anyway.



Our escape pod at the ready.



The clouds parted every so often at what seemed the perfect times.



Waterfalls and glaciers everywhere.






Just stunning.





We could have taken this ferry all the way to Prince Rupert, but for some reason the more direct route would have us arriving in Prince Rupert after midnight, so we opted for the one day lay over in Juneau. We had a few hours before we could check into our accommodations for the night, so we hit the town.



Dinner at the world famous Red Dog Saloon.



Pretty cool place inside, everything from the entrance way, to the staff wearing period costumes (at least the ladies), to the sawdust on the floor and live entertainment, all fantastic.


We stayed at the International Youth Hostel, and contrary to the name, there are no age limits to stay here. Nice place, strict rules (so no setting up your tent in the wrong spot), clean, laundry facilities, but it’s located on the side of the mountain essentially, so parking the bike took a little thought. You also have to sign up for a chore but for $12, I think it was an excellent bargain.


The next morning we left the bike parked at the hostel and spent the day walking around town. Our motorcycle rain jackets coming in handy here, although most sidewalks downtown are sheltered by a canopy. We stopped at The Rookery Cafe for brekky (a little pricey but overall excellent), and later had an early dinner at Hanger on the Wharf (much more reasonable $ wise) and excellent views as it's located right on the water.



Found this little gem in one of the stores. Hey everything's better with bacon after all.


It was a soggy but enjoyable 2 days in Juneau. As we rode to the ferry later in the afternoon, we got treated to another dumping of rain, and not one but 3 bald eagles perched on the light fixtures along the highway.


"Nothing combustable, no spare fuel, anything like that?", asked the crewman as we were about to board the ferry. "Nope", was my response. As we pulled away, he yelled at us to stop. "Then what's that?", he yelled pointing at the RotoPax under the side case. Oh oh! "A spare fuel canister...but it's never been used", I yelled back. "Never?". "Nope, as in it's essentially brand new", I replied. "You just said the right words", he said, "carry on". Whew! Of course I completely forgot about the bottle of stove fuel that I have strapped between the side case and the bike. Good thing his eagle eyes weren't working overtime. Another thing to note if you ever find yourself taking these ferries is that you need to bring your own straps to tie the bike down.



Lori taking a picture of me trying to take a picture of our cabin aboard the Taku. I'd love to show you what my photo looked like, but the camera refused to take a picture for some reason. It was right at this moment that I realized why the Nikon wasn't taking any pics. We lost the memory card. Luckily, we had just transferred over all the pics from the card to the laptop that morning. Whew!


Our cabin was quite small, although worth every penny of the $60 we paid for each night. It came with a bunk bed and it's own bathroom. As appealing as camping on the top deck was (at least for me), it was nice to have our own little space and our own shower. If you're tenting, you have to take the tent down every morning as the area is used by everyone on board. Or of course you could forgo the tent and cowboy camp instead (just the mattress pad and sleeping bag).



We got settled in and made our way back outside just in time for departure and what turned out to be a spectacular sunset.



Mendenhall Glacier coming into view as we pulled away from port.












Watching the clouds you'd swear they were alive.






A final look back. Wow!



After a great nights sleep, we awoke to a beautiful sunny and crisp morning.

 

[l84toff]

This was most of the scenery today. We actually decided to put the camera away and enjoy the rest of the day just hanging out. Later, Lori took an afternoon nap while I caught up on the blog a bit.


Of all the port stops the ferry made, Petersburg was the most entertaining. The sun had set about an hour before and it was completely dark when we departed Petersburg for Wrangell. At first I thought we were going back the same way we came into Petersburg as the channel straight ahead looked way too narrow for a boat this size. Nope. Ahead full it was. I could make out the sea of red and green beacon lights in front us that we would have to navigate, they were all over the place, some to the left some to the right, like a maze almost. If this was a highway, we surely would have seen the "winding road for the next 15 miles" sign. "This should be fun", I thought. We grabbed a seat at the front of the boat next to about a dozen other passengers.


Every few minutes we'd see the big spotlight shine onto shore, checking how close we were, and close we were! I could have easily tossed a baseball underhanded to someone on the shore. The Helmsman was just putting on a show as we were literally zig zagging our way through the narrow channel. In fact Lori left and returned a few minutes later with popcorn, this was better than going to the movies. I wondered if it was more exciting to see this during the day or night?



The next morning we encountered some cool looking fog on our port side. It was also apparently a good time to complete the "weekly abandon ship drill". I wasn't sure if this was something we should be concerned over or not, you know, "oh it's only a drill", meanwhile...Ultimately it really was a drill and we sailed on without incident.



Star(jelly)fish?



The elusive tail shot, or about as close as we got to one. Although we did see some whales today, they were a significant distance away for any good photos. We’re not too disappointed though, our best whale watching experience continues to be in Maui, where we spent 2 fantastic weeks camping in early 2013. The whales that are in Alaska in the summer can be found migrating to Maui for the winter. So if you miss them here, I guess you’ll just have to book a flight to Hawaii.


Overall we really enjoyed the ferry. Everything I read about it, prior to booking it was that it was fantastic. It was one of the reasons we decided to take the plunge . I have to agree, it was one of the best experiences we've had. It really added so much to the Alaskan leg of our trip, not only did we get a break from riding, but the scenery was just incredible. The sailing was smooth for the most part, Lori said she woke up the first night due to the motion, where I found that it actually helped me sleep. Food was very good, better in fact than the ferry to Newfoundland. Lori feels at home by the sea so this was an absolute treat for her, for us both. It was nice to have he downtime and we both felt like we just had a mini vacation by the time we pulled into Prince Rupert.

 

[MacDoc]

Re: Alaska's Marine Highway

Oh excellent - glad you got to see some of the area by boat since Valdez was socked in.

 

[l84toff]

Re: Alaska's Marine Highway

Oh excellent - glad you got to see some of the area by boat since Valdez was socked in.

Us too. The ferry was quite the highlight actually. We met another couple (from the UK) travelling on a Tiger 800 that ended up missing the coast in Alaska due to all the rain.

 

[l84toff]

Horizons Unlimited, here we come



We arrived in Prince Rupert somewhat refreshed from our mini vacation on board the Taku ferry. Our next destination? The Horizons Unlimited (HU) meeting in Nakusp. We were also super excited about having upgraded our accommodations to something waterproof as it rained our first night in Hazelton.



Hagwilget suspension bridge just outside Hazelton, BC, is a single lane bridge 460 feet in length and suspended 262 feet above the water.

Day 2 weather began overcast and we quickly rode into rain. It was teeming by the time we rolled into Prince George. I guess it was appropriate enough as we were celebrating our 3 month-iversary on the road. The odometer indicating we had travelled 24,500 km's in that time. We were essentially on pace to ride 100,000 km's in one year. 2 up! In 3 months, we've gone coast to coast, Newfoundland to Alaska, and then some. We really have to slow down.

Our camping experience in Quesnel that evening, or should I say mine, was also appropriate for our anniversary. While using the campground shower, I reached up to adjust the shower head as it was directed at the side of the shower stall. A second later I was standing there holding the shower head in my hand. It had simply come off the wall, with significant ease I might add. The water as now shooting out like a jet at the side of the shower stall. I had already spent the first 2 minutes of the precious 5 minute shower time allotted by my 2 Loonies (paid shower) waiting for the hot water to arrive and now I had some plumbing to do before getting to the actual showering part.

Then just before climbing into to the tent for the night I went over to use the faucet at the neighbouring campsite to brush my teeth, since our site didn't have any water. I reached down to turn the water on, and immediately the water shot out every which way but down, spraying all over my pants. Seems someone thought it would be an excellent idea to screw a bottle cap to the end of the tap. Total Mr. Bean camping experience. Or perhaps the universe just giving me a gentle poke. Things aren't always going to go your way. This is how we got started remember?


The next morning we headed into town for a Tim Horton's brekky but found Granville's Coffee shop serving up real breakfast so we ended up there. Cool little place.

The temperature was up and down all day today. We started out at about 15C and were up to about 30C by the time we cruised through Cache Creek. The landscape dramatically different here, super dry, it looked like it would make a great backdrop for a western. After a stop in Vernon to do some laundry and dinner, we ended up in Lumby at a municipal campground for the night, and back down to about 15C.

We were left with a relatively short 150km ride to Nakusp the next day. Between us and Nakusp stood a short ferry crossing in Needles and one of the most fantastic roads in BC, highway 6. Super twisty and freshly paved. Zoom zoom zoom!


Stopping for a round of golf? Nope.


As we rode past we saw this sign and a bunch of motorcycles parked out front. So we decided to pull in for some brekky.

Happy to arrive a day early for the HU meeting, we had our pick of camping sites. It was actually nice to stay in the same place for several days, in fact we had trouble leaving after the HU meeting and I became concerned we were growing roots, but I'll get to that shortly.

If you're not familiar with Horizons Unlimited it's a fantastic resource for worldwide overland travel. You can find info on everything from planning your own world wide adventure on two wheels, gear talk, ride reports from other travellers, to info on shipping your vehicle (or your pants), trip paperwork and so much more. Why go to a HU travellers meeting? Well, to quote their website:

You can meet people who don't think you're crazy for wanting to ride your bike to South America or Africa or across Asia, or even around the world! Admit it, all your 'normal' friends and most of your family fears for your sanity! So, this is your opportunity to meet the people who will encourage you in that craziness, share their experiences and advice on how to do it, and maybe you'll meet them again in Mongolia or Timbuktu!

But it should also come with a warning, because going to one of these will likely take that little smouldering idea you have in the back of your head for some distant trip and turn it into a burning fire of reality.

This HU meeting was no exception. it was a fantastic experience much like the one we attended last year in Ontario. Last year though we were getting ready for this trip and actually had to leave the event early as our newly listed house was getting significant attention. It was a little bit different experiencing this years event not as dreamers but as travellers. We also decided to volunteer our time to help out with registration and photo taking during the event, both of which helped us meet dozens of new people and make some very cool friendships.


Lori showing off her kung fu shirt folding skills at the registration desk.


As usual there were lots of presentations from those who had already travelled to far away places like Iceland, South America, Africa, Russia, Mongolia and South East Asia to name a few. Fantastic stories, tips, tricks and general info.


Some had come from as far away as Australia.


Grant doing his usual tire change presentation which always gets a large crowd and of course there was Nevil, who tells a tale like no one else.


Nevil did some very cool presentations on fixing your bike with things like duct tape, zip ties, WD40 and using things found laying around in the bush. I called him the Motorcycle Whisperer.


Home away from home.


Some brought even more comforts of home.






Lot of cool bikes.


Tigger even had some company over the weekend.


There was even a skills course set up. Some showing how to ride in the sand.


I think that Tigger was a little overwhelmed by all the excitement and needed a nap. Its first dirt nap.




Glad to see other bikes were also getting tired.

 

[l84toff]

Horizons Unlimited, here we come


Lori making new friends.


Meet Ducati, he's riding down to Argentina with a couple on two Suzuki DR650's. You can read about his side of the story on their blog SMBoilerworks here.

If you're thinking motorcycle travel may be in your future, I highly recommend attending one of these events in your area. Super informative, inspirational and a great way to meet like minded (karazy) folks like yourself.

Since we had no real plan of action for leaving Nakusp, we decided to stay Sunday night. We also found that we were super busy the entire weekend either helping out or attending all the presentations. Not to mention all the unscripted evening activities that went on, campfires burning, beverages flowing. As it turned out another couple, Steve & Jeanette from the UK, who are riding a Tiger 800 from Alaska down to Argentina, also had the same idea and stayed back. We ended up cooking dinner over the fire and hanging out together. Check out their blog Tiger800RTW here.

In the morning, one of our new friends Onno, came around and we all ended up spending the morning at Fairytale Cafe in town. By the afternoon, Steve & Jeanette had packed up and left to continue their RTW adventure while we decided it would be a good idea to empty every bit of our luggage and go through everything in an attempt to slim down and eliminate anything we didn’t need or hadn’t used.



So we thought "hey what's another night". Tomorrow! Tomorrow for sure we'll leave. But where to? One thing we did make a decision on was how we would travel from now on. We had been travelling far too fast and it was literally exhausting. We were on pace to ride 100,000km in a year. Now a small part of me thinks that's kind of cool, but in reality, it means riding long days and not exactly seeing everything that we're riding past.

Now in all fairness the last 3 months were a self imposed timeline as we wanted to see Newfoundland first and then also get up to Alaska before attending the HU meeting. We considered going to Alaska after the HU meeting but our original plan also had us riding to North Carolina after the HU meeting to the Overland Expo. I say original, because over the last few days here in Nakusp, we talked a great deal about our speed and how riding all the way back to NC would see us keeping up pretty much the same pace we have been so far. Neither one of us was looking forward to that. Now don't get me wrong here, this isn't a complaint. We both really appreciate being out here. It's an opportunity not everyone gets and we both feel immensely privileged to be able to do it. But since we don't have to be back at the end of the week, why rush through it all, just to get somewhere? What if we didn't have to be in NC in a month and just took our time riding down the coast, we asked ourselves?

Invigorated and inspired by the HU meeting and also the break from traveling, we packed up and headed out Tuesday at the crack of noon. We made it as far as the Main Street in Nakusp, I mean we had to eat after all. Oh and while we're at it, we might as well get caught up online, post an update on Facebook, upload all the pics we took over the week, maybe write a blog entry.

[video=youtube;af-z9jHZ4aE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=af-z9jHZ4aE[/video]
Here's a little time lapse video of everyone leaving on Sunday.

It seems leaving Nakusp is not an entirely easy thing to do. Fair warning in case you make it to the little town, which is beautiful by the way. Earlier in the week I noticed an apartment for rent sign posted at one of the businesses downtown. I though if we stayed any longer we might as well see if we can rent the place. We finally managed to break free from the strange invisible grip the place had on us at 5:07pm. Our destination? I didn't care. As long as it wasn't Nakusp.


I always knew there was treasure at the end of the rainbow.

 

[MacDoc]

Re: Horizons Unlimited, here we come

Excellent - how far behind on your posts are you against actual area you are in?

PCH by way of perhaps Yellowstone is lovely this time of year and not so touristy.
Catch Mount St. Helens ( fantastic ) and Glacier National Park ( we missed it )
Then bump down the coast to St. Louis Obispo at a leisurely pace. Big Sur would be a great place for a break.

If you do the PCH keep an eye out for Pelican Brewery
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1304/?view=ratings
Good food and lovely setting.

Pebble Beach route through Carmel is very scenic but costs $17 I think. Monterey neat but very touristy.

Cut across to Yosemite and then the back way out and figure best route around Bryce, Zion and Arches in Utah.
The central valley is in serious trouble for water so best to avoid.

Of course along that route south is Seattle and San Fran - not sure if you are avoiding cities or not.
If the weather is dry Seattle is great for a couple days being tourists. SciFi Museum, Space Needle, the original Starbucks, good fresh food market. Nice city.

San Fran always fun but might culture shock after the last month.

 

[l84toff]

Re: Horizons Unlimited, here we come

Excellent - how far behind on your posts are you against actual area you are in?

PCH by way of perhaps Yellowstone is lovely this time of year and not so touristy.
Catch Mount St. Helens ( fantastic ) and Glacier National Park ( we missed it )
Then bump down the coast to St. Louis Obispo at a leisurely pace. Big Sur would be a great place for a break.

If you do the PCH keep an eye out for Pelican Brewery
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1304/?view=ratings
Good food and lovely setting.

Pebble Beach route through Carmel is very scenic but costs $17 I think. Monterey neat but very touristy.

Cut across to Yosemite and then the back way out and figure best route around Bryce, Zion and Arches in Utah.
The central valley is in serious trouble for water so best to avoid.

Of course along that route south is Seattle and San Fran - not sure if you are avoiding cities or not.
If the weather is dry Seattle is great for a couple days being tourists. SciFi Museum, Space Needle, the original Starbucks, good fresh food market. Nice city.

San Fran always fun but might culture shock after the last month.

Oh I dunno, about a month behind. Was trying hard to catch up but at this point I may never get there . Lori finds it easier to stay more up to date on Facebook though. You can click on our SPOT in my sig to see where we are.

Check and check. We did Glacier on the way up to Alaska and Rainier and St Helens on the way down the coast. We scooted inland for a few days. All were excellent. Didn't see the brewery

We're just outside of SF right now in Vallejo, didn't go into SF but did stop at a look out to see the Golden Gate bridge. Heading to Mariposa tomorrow for another HU meeting, then back to SF for a couple of days and then fly home for a couple of weeks over Thanksgiving. At the moment I'm looking for somewhere to store the bike in the SF area, if you know of a place...

Bryce, Zion, Arches are definitely on the list although it won't happen till we get back here. So we'll see what the weather is like by mid to end of October.

 

[l84toff]

British Columbia Continued




We managed to ride a whopping 92.1km upon leaving Nakusp and ended up camping in Kaslo that night. Hey that’s quite a bit considering our post-5pm departure. It’s officially our smallest mileage day to date, our smallest mileage week for that matter. Yup, I think this slowing down business is going well. Not a lot happening in Kaslo but the road going into town, 31A is quite twisty and very scenic. It was as if the road was welcoming us back. I will say that I had some of the best fish & chips at a little booth next to the gas station at the main intersection of the little town.


Tigger had his second dirt nap while we were setting up the tent, seemingly spontaneous. I had parked the bike on a hill and apparently quite upright. Lori removed the bag with all our camping gear and we were literally in the middle of setting up our tent a couple of minutes later when we heard the loud thump and looked over to see the bike on its side.


We had such a long tough week we decided we needed a break at the Ainsworth Hot Springs after breakfast the next morning. It definitely helped melt some of that tension away .


When having trouble deciding on a route, look at a map and find the twistiest road you can. Our friend Onno let us use his Destination Highways map while we were touring around BC, which we decided to use as our planning guide. Destination Highway maps are essentially created for bikers and highlight the more scenic and twisty stuff, there’s also an accompanying booklet (which we didn’t have) that describes each road in more detail. Not exactly cheap but if you live in the area and are able to explore every nook and cranny shown, it might be worth a look.


According to the Destination Highways map we were now equipped with, 3A running right along Kootanay Lake is one of the best riding roads in BC. It was definitely nice but after arriving in Creston at the southern terminus, I'm not sure I agree. Certainly 31A was much better and Highway 6 between Lumby and the Needles ferry scores way more points, from me anyway, as far as the best riding road in BC. Perhaps this is all too subjective anyway.





Over the next couple of days we made our way towards Kelowna where Onno and his wife Chieko hosted us for a night and I was able to change the oil on the bike in their garage. Did you know sawdust is great for absorbing oil spills. Good thing Onno has plenty of the stuff. Thank you very much for the hospitality guys.


We were welcomed by rain as we left Kelowna and the temperature dropped to about 7C as we gained elevation on Highway 97C, back to single digits, back to status quo. Lori did her usual “I’m cold…my lips are turning blue…me, me, me”, so we stopped at a Starbucks in Merritt to thaw her out and discovered the line up was out the door. Busiest SB we’ve been to so far, although the service was pretty good.



The weather cleared right up as soon as we left Merritt






The scenery started to remind me of the Badlands area as we headed northwest on 8 towards Cache Creek.



Outta my way


Crossing the bridge just before Lillooet, we noticed a perfect little campground along the river below us. A sign greeted us as we pulled: “NO TENTS”. Hmmm, sadly I couldn't talk Lori into cowboy camping. Did I mention it was completely empty? Oh well. During dinner in town, Lori found us another campground just down the road. Gotta love that ALLSTAYS app! It was nearly dark by the time we found the place though as the GPS and actual location were a few miles apart.


As we were setting up a very strange looking man rides up on this old beater of a bicycle and starts chatting us up, telling us about the black bear that came around the day before and ate all his pears. After a few minutes he says “just give me $10 for the site”. After he left we both wondered out loud if he was the real owner of the place or just another guest. Strange dude, and since no one else came around looking for money, I'd say he was probably the former.



Interesting campground, lots of antiques laying around, campsite seating brought to you by the back seat of a (former) car. Much to Lori's joy, we had another bear free experience. I guess the bear must have been full from the night before.


The following morning we took Highway 99 hoping to make Whistler for breakfast. Just a brilliant stretch of road leaving Lillooet. Definitely worth a mention as the highway twists and carves its way around mountain peak after mountain peak, I found myself wondering aloud "where did this come from?" as I tossed the bike into one S-bend after another. The temperature hovered around 7C throughout the morning, the fog hugging the mountain tops turned to cloud and eventually rain.



Just can't seem to lose the snow.



Or the rain.



By the time we arrived in Whistler we were ready for a hot meal and drink. Warm and dry-ish, we took a walk around Olympic Village.


About halfway to Vancouver, highway 99 turns into the famous Sea-to-Sky highway, something I had been looking forward to for some time. Although I think it may have been a better experience without the rain and low cloud cover, I have to say I was not that impressed. On the other hand I was blown away with the first section leaving Lillooet. This has happened on a few occasions now and after thinking about it, I think it has a lot to do with expectations. I had none of the first section of road and it was spectacular. The Sea-to-Sky highway, I was expecting to be spectacular and found it just ok. In all fairness a twisty road in the mountains with zero traffic, beats congested and scenic any day of the week. Although beautiful, we found Whistler and the Sea-to-Sky to be very touristy and busy.


We rolled over 30,000km on the odometer today (26,500km for the trip) - WooHoo!


We found ourselves on the ferry heading to Vancouver Island shortly after brekky. Our new friends Mark & Leslie who we met at the Horizons Unlimited meeting a few days ago, invited us to stay with them on the island. Hard to refuse a fantastic offer and great company like that.



The next day Mark & Leslie took us out to McMillan Provincial Park where we got a chance to walk amongst trees as old as 800 years. Perhaps not nearly as impressive as the Redwoods but definitely the largest we’ve seen so far.






Mark & Leslie are real tree huggers.



The “Goats on the Roof” market was also pretty cool.



Kinda reminds me of a horny Chewbacca.



It was an absolute treat to have a roof over our heads, shower, laundry, amazing food and fantastic company for a couple of days. We also both agree, that was THE most comfy sofa bed we have ever slept on. We can’t thank you guys enough for your amazing hospitality.


Since we had no real plan, Leslie suggested we ride out to Tofino and check out the beaches. Sure! Unfortunately about halfway there our old nemesis H2O came crashing down on us again, in Monsoon fashion. Highway 4 is another road that I would have preferred to ride on a nicer day. We made it as far as Ucluelet before waving the white flag. It had also stopped raining and we were hungry.



We found a campground in town with a spectacular view.





We awoke to the sounds of pitter patter on our tent in the morning. The forecast for the next few days - more rain. I’m sure the Tofino beaches are real nice and we were so close but neither one of us wanted to stick around to find out. We packed up and headed back the way we came. I learned a valuable less this day: never complain about how bad the rain is, because it can always get worse. Before we were even out of Ucluelet, the rain went from hard rain, to Monsoon like, and then…it got even worse. Leslie later described it as “Biblical rain”. We stopped in Port Albernie at a Tim’s to warm up. Our table was soon surrounded by a small lake of water that our rain gear managed to create. Not sure how it’s possible but Lori’s rain gear seems to be sucking, I’m fairly dry under my rain jacket and pants and she is completely soaked. Total head scratcher as we have the exact same rain gear at this point. We left Tim Horton’s with hotel reservations in Victoria. As hard as I tried, I just couldn’t talk my soaking wife into setting up our already soaked tent tonight - I just don’t get it!


As for the Biblical rain, well it kept us company all the way to Victoria. Seems pretty appropriate considering we ended our east coast adventure on Newfoundland with an all day rain-fest. Why should our Vancouver Island ride be any different?

 

[ganicuss]

good reading,nice pics......... subscribed

 

[l84toff]

Close Encounters with Bush-Bears

In contrast to the previous day, we awoke to clear skies and sunshine, birds were singing, the tank was clean…THE TANK WAS CLEAN?! Brekky was at the waterfront Breakwater Cafe & Bistro.



Real potatoes tossed in rosemary & sage, real bacon and eggs - delicious!



The Fairmont Empress hotel in the background...where we did not spend last night.



Parliament building.






Gate…black.



The boat in the foreground actually doubles as a bus when out of the water - seriously. The smaller craft past that is a water taxi - there were dozens of them around here. Oh and behind that, the front end of a mega yacht - the rest wouldn't fit in the shot.



The waterfront in Victoria is quite picturesque. Another city we would love to spend some more time in, add that to the ever growing bucket list.





The ferry to Port Angeles was actually the roughest crossing we've had to date. There was about a 10 minute stretch at one point where the boat swayed side to side so much that I actually thought we'd go down to find the bike laying over, even though it was tied down against the wall. Getting through customs was a very atypical experience. We actually had to go through customs in Victoria harbour, where you get locked down in the parking area at the ferry terminal about 90 min before the boat even arrives. When the customs officer came over, we basically chatted about the coffee we were drinking. He looked at our passport and the customs form we filled out, and told us to take both inside another building. No "where are you going" or "how long will you be there", nothing. Easy peazy! The poor guys that arrived on bikes 10 min later got a much different experience. They totally got grilled by a very different guard about pretty much everything. I'm pretty sure there were some latex gloves sticking out from his back pocket. He looked at us and asked if we had already been checked in. We couldn't say YES fast enough.


After a quick fill up in Port Angeles, we took off down the famed highway 101, another bucket list item for me. I had read and heard enough of the 101, that this highway made its way to my bucket list quite a long time ago. Let me say that the northern section around the Olympic Peninsula did not disappoint. Super twisty and super fun around Lake Crescent. Lori found us a campground supposedly right on the ocean, Kalaloch campground, about 150km down the highway so that’s where we headed.


We arrived to find the place was better than advertised, with spectacular views of the ocean and we quickly grabbed a site across the driveway from the ocean front sites. We had already set up our stuff and I was trying to dry our tent out when a couple of young ladies on bicycles came up and said that they just paid for this very site. W-T-F? The sign clearly says to set up first, then pay. Instead of getting into an argument with them, I immediately suggested we split the site since there was plenty of room for all of us. Our share for the site…$7 - for (almost) ocean front camping.



"No honey, your hairdryer isn't in the tent...yes I'm pretty sure". I was actually trying to dry out our tent, it was still wet from Ucluelet.


In the morning the girls packed up and continued on their trek and as we discussed our plan, the spot across from us became available. This was one of THE PRIME ocean front spots. We quickly moved our stuff and decided to stay another day. We later learned this is known as the Kalaloch Shuffle.



Drying out Lori's riding gear.



Hey honey, I got wood!





In fact, the next morning we decided to stay a few more. Other than the heavy fog in the mornings, the rest of the days were perfectly sunny and in the 20’s. It’s the beginning of September and we were getting our first official tan of the year.


Judging by the number of people coming by every morning asking if we were leaving, this was indeed prime camping real estate. Kalaloch Lodge is a short walk down the road and has a full service restaurant, not cheap by the way. If you ever stop here pass on the $3.50 coffee in the restaurant and get it at the store right next door. Exact same cup of coffee for $1.25. Go figure.



View from Kalaloch Lodge.



Pretty much what every sunset looked like here.


One night I found myself awake at 3am needing a bathroom break. I stepped out of the tent to witness the wildest moonset ever. I tried to get Lori to come out but she was all snuggled up and declined.



Sadly this was the best picture I managed to take before it set a few minutes later. It more resembled a sunset, with its orange glow reflecting on the Pacific Ocean. Truly one of the most unique sights I have ever seen.



Our last night, our campsite neighbours came over and offered us some of their home made apple pie. Totally awesome! Easily our most favourite camping spot to date. We would have stayed much longer had there been shower facilities and cell service or wifi, but for $14 and those views, we weren’t complaining one bit.


I somehow managed to talk Lori into leaving the ocean behind (not an easy thing to do let me tell you, especially after we determined that Lori is solar and ocean powered) and going to see Mt Rainier and Mt St Helens. I think she took advantage and talked me into staying indoors for a night (or two - I think I actually suggested we stay the second night), something about if I get the mountains, she wants a hot shower and a bed, I don’t get it…


We also had a few administrative tasks building up and needed some attention, one of which was to print off an insurance slip for the bike. The temporary one had expired about a month ago and I had forgotten all about it. Luckily we didn’t meet up with any LEO’s in that time. We had to mail home a care package of gifts we had been carrying for a bit and I also needed to locate a new rear tire.



2 days later, with our to-do list checked off and a tire waiting for us in Medford OR, we boarded the train for dinner, literally. Someone built a restaurant inside an old train. This place is going nowhere fast!



Looked pretty legit on the inside.


Located in Mount Rainier National Park, we stopped at Cougar Rock Campground for the night. The National Parks pass we bought earlier in the trip had already paid for itself a while back. Definitely recommended if you plan on visiting more than a few national parks during a 12 month period.





Lori had an eventful night when she ran into some bush-bears during her late night bathroom escapade. What’s a bush bear you ask? Great question, I’m not sure either but she was surrounded by them. Leaving the bathroom, Lori shall we say got “turned around” and didn’t know exactly how to get back to the tent. With a fading flashlight (the batteries were conveniently almost dead), she did a little sightseeing trying to find her way back and apparently every bush she looked at was a bear ready to pounce. She walked right past our loop and to another loop and managed to find the other bathroom, it was well lit after all. She said she was tempted to just stay there and wait for daylight but instead had another pee and headed back out. Braving all the bush-bears, she eventually found her way back. I was sound asleep during all this and didn’t hear about her adventure till the morning. I have a feeling my idea of going to the bathroom a few feet from the tent might be growing on her.