DAY 1
Got kind of a late start on the day so I could see Lisa and Chris off in the morning. Cruised down the street and filled up the bike and then I was on my way. Pretty excited and a little scared. I have never gone on a trip by myself for more then a few days.
I figured the fastest way out of the country was up I-5 so thats the way I headed. When I got to the border there was just a small line and it moved pretty quick. I got sent to the (I am going to bust your balls line) but that didn't take to long. While I was waiting I met this pretty cool dude from Ireland. We chated for a bit and then we were on our way.
I headed to Vancouver, and of course I got lost. Vancouver and I have an agreement that says everytime I go there I get lost! Caught Hwy. 99 to Whistler and hit my first bit of road construction. BOO!!!
The traffic sucked until I passed Whistler but thats where the road got fun. It runs through the mountains and spits you out on the north side kind of by the Cache Creek junction. It was pretty bumpy, a bunch of cool one lane wood decked bridges and of course the view wasn't to bad. Oh yah (NO TRAFFIC)!
So after a quick rest I was off again headed for Prince George,BC. After you clear Cache Creek it turns in to farm lands. Didn't take any pics of that, we all know what that looks like. I only made it to 100 mile house, the getting lost and hitting traffic hosed me so I gave up. A little over 500 miles for day one.
DAY 2
You will love this one! So I wake up in a daze pretty tired from the first day on the bike. Turn on the tv looking for something that will give me the time. Oh shit it's 8:30, jump up and throw my gear on. Grab my stuff and off I go. I get to the first door in the hall and some sort of alarm goes off. Shut the door behind me and down the stairs. (Alarm went off) Get to the front door and it's locked. Now I am thinking WTF! All the sudden this dude in his boxers comes blowing into the lobby, yelling whats going on!!! Guess what? NOT 8:30, it's 5:30! Duder was not so happy I just woke him up.
So I got a real early start on day 2. Not so warm out side so I pluged in.
Cruised for Prince George, Not missing much there. A few casinos, more or less Remond. But I did find this nice little surprise.
So at Prince George I hung a left and headed west along Hwy 16. The farm lands continue for about the next 200 miles or so. Came across a Bald Eagle sitting in a tree but I was hauling ass and didn't feel like stopping. Hit some more construction and made my first friend.
By the time I got to Hazelton it was probably mid afternoon. Fill the bike up and off I go looking for Hwy 37. Found this in a town called Houston,BC. It's the largest fly rod in the world.
This is where the trip really begins! This Hwy has everything but we'll get to that. For those of you who know me by driving,rideing or walking. I have two speeds. Fast and faster! I talk to a couple of people earlier that tell me the next gas stop will be at Mazaindin Junction. So I'm rippin along not worrying about gas milage(We won't get into how fast I was going) and I get to this junction and no freeking gas station. At this point I don't have enough to go north and I'm not sure I have enough to make Stewart to the west. So I choose west and away I go at a wopping 50 mph. The Stewart Hwy was amazing!!! Waterfalls all over the place, pretty twisty and down torwards the end is the bear glacier.
By the way if you were wondering I made it to Stewart. Not much to look at, about a block long. But the road in was well worth it! Grabed something to eat and off again.
So back out the way I came in, double bonus! At the gasless junction I headed north on Hwy 37 AKA Cassiar Hwy. About 60 miles north I come across this pretty fancy looking lodge campground looking place. And seeing how it was about 9:30 I figured it would do. Set my tent up right next to a cabin with some people partying swating at the bugs and then jumped in my tent. By the way I made up some ground on Day 1. Milage count for day 2, 860 miles...
DAY 3
I woke up at 0 Bong thirty and got my stuff packed up, still swating at the freeking bugs. Fired the bike up and let it idle for a bit. The people in the cabin next to me kept me up till about 1:30 so figured I would pay them back a little. Up the Cassiar I went. I think I road for about an hour and a half and didn't see a soul, except. I think the horses were wild, they were'nt shoed!
This road was great. Water around every corner, mountain views, moose and a ton of black bears. The thing about the Black bears up north is that there about the size of a Grizzly. Not like the skimpy little Washington ones.
About 3/4's of the way up the hwy I come across this. So I stop and climb dow the hill to check it out. The front window had been kicked out and the driver was already gone. I think somebody got lucky.
So I kept on truckin!!! The last 40 or 50 miles turned to dirt, gravel, and screwed up pavement. BOO!!!
Next junction would be where the Cassiar runs into the Alcan Hwy. Hung a left and headed West. By the way after the place where I stayed the road progressivly gets crappier! At this point I was just trying to get to Whitehorse,Yukon Territory for the evening.
I ended up getting to Whitehorse fairly early in the day (5:00) so I kept going. Oh yah I hit road construction a few times in between there. I made it to Haines Junction by about 7:30 or so. Again not much to see here either. But I did spot my first Grizzly right off the shoulder of the ALCAN. Pretty cool but he wouldn't sit still for me so I had to follow him down the hwy for a bit.
So as I am standing at the gas station in Haines Junction taking a break. These to guys on BMW GS's show up. So we get to talking and at this point I was thinking I was just going to make a run at Fairbanks. But Paul and Mike turned out to be really nice guys and let me tag along for the evening. So we head about 60 miles north west of Haines Junction to a place called Destruction Bay. WOW! This is a must on the list's of places to visit. They had called ahead and rented a cabin but the lady at the front desk was nice enough to let me put my tent up in there front yard. These two had been up late the night before partying in Haines so Paul went to bed about 9:30 or so. Mike and I stayed up shootin the shit for awhile. The last picture was taken well after midnight!
DAY 4
So I wake up bright and early and start rolling up my tent. I am on my knees rolling up the tent and turn to grab the strap for it, and to my surprise I had a couple of visitors. A mother Grizzly and her second year cub. Now as you are looking at the next photo I was at the close end of the tent and the two bears where standing just on the close side of the gravel path from where the picture was taken. So I froze for a second and then stood up. The mother grunted and flapped her lips at me. At this point I thought for sure she was going to come chew my face off. I took a step or two back and then turn and started to walk off. Thankfuly she decided I was to skinny and went the other way.
When I realized she had made a turn I bolted for the cabin door. I think I may have scared Mike and Paul more then the bears scared me.
So we continue, I said my goodbyes and off I went looking for a gas station.
I hit the gas station and on my way, saw some more wild horses and then I am introduced to the land of the frost heave. WTF!!! The frost melts off in the summer in spots under the road way and makes it drop into a rythem section like in a motorcross race. Just not that close together. But I would say the road drops about 2 feet in some spots. What a pain in the ass this is. I think I was on my pegs for close to an hour at one point. So for the next few hours I keep running into this lady and here daughter at a couple of gas stations. Finaly I make it to the Beaver Creek border crossing into Alaska. I'm sitting there in line and this lady and her daughter pull up behind me, so I hop off to ask them where to stay in Fairbanks. The lady tells me I am welcome to throw my tent up in there front yard. This is what I'm talking about, the people are just great up there. So she gives me her address and they take off while a take a break. Seeing how this is the shortest day I have had yet at about 450 miles I slack off all the way to Fairbanks. Spent about an hour in Tok talking to a guy from Colorado who was on a GS. Really cool dude, he gave me a map of the Dalton Hwy. because he had already been up it. I finaly made it to Fairbanks around 4:30 or 5:00. (Nice easy day) I show up at there house and they tell me we are going to there family 4th of July BBQ. What a nice family. (Sikmo's) Killer food and nice conversation! After that I had to make a little modification to the rear fender because it was rubbing. And they let me use there hose to was the bike up a little. The guy in the motor home was trying to turn around in the middle of the Alcan and got high centered. REAL SMART!
DAY 5
So after my stay I was thinking I might take the day off in Fairbanks and just hang out. But when I woke up I felt all motivated so I took a quick pic of Mr. Sikmo and hit the Shucks for a few fuel cans and some bungie cords. Stoped at another gas station and the end of the road here I come. The ride out of Fairbanks was nice, kind of rolling hills and lots of trees. I see this guy on a Kawi KLR so I pull over to chat. He asks me where I'm going and I tell him. He says to me "thats not a dual sport", and I tell him "it is today." About 80 miles north of Fairbanks you I come to what I have been waiting for. I have been waiting to take my picture in front of this sign for years. So I stop and take my picture, savoring the moment. You will notice in the picture my big smile. (Remember my smile) I start heading up the road and in the fist few miles I start asking myself what I have just gotten into. The bike was muddy in the first five minutes. When they grade the road they spray it down with water. Anyways it goes on for about the next 450 miles, with a few sections of chipseal in between. So after awhile I more or less get used to the losse gravel and the street tires. By about 1:00 I cross the Yukon river and hit the first of only 2 gas stops. It's pretty big river but not the cool blue color I have been used to all the way to Alaska. A little while later I reach Finger Mountain witch gets it's name from the rock formation on top of it caused by frost pushing up. Not to long after that I am at the Arctic Circle. This was another one of the moments I had been waiting for for a long time. Snapped a few pics and then on my way again. By 6:00 or 7:00 I reach Cold foot witch is about half way up the Dalton Hwy. It has a gas station a visitor center and a really bad motel. So I check out the visitor center get some gas and decide I would rather stay at the camp ground up the road.
Now little did I know that Marion Creek campground is where I would meet my next set of friends that I would spend the next few days with. Garry and Larry both ride BMW GS's as well. These 2 met each other through the ADV forum, they were both from Pennsylvania and were on the 7 week tour. Lucky them! So we shoot the shit for an hour or two and then we were off to sleep, we didn't talk about riding together at this point so I was just thinking these two were just a couple cool guys. This campground was great! 8 bucks and they stalk you with fire wood.
DAY 6
I wake up at about 7:00 and hit the road once again. I don't get to far before I hit a freshly grated section and while I was figureing that out who should pass me up?Gary and Larry! I end up spending the rest of the day riding with them.
We roll into Deadhorse about mid afternoon and had a tour of the oil fields set up for 5:00 so we road around a little and checked it out. The tour was a little anticlamatic but it is the only way to get to the ocean so what are you going to do. Deadhorse is a real deal working town, no frills here.
After about an hour of this tour you finaly arrive at the ocean. This is the moment I have been waiting for for so long. Larry decided he was going to join the Polar Bear Club, Gary decided to just go ankle deep and I decided to pass. That water was far from being anywhere close to warm. They don't give you much time on the beach so while everybody was getting back on the bus I took a few moments to say goodbye to Zach. Spread his ashes in the ocean, Zach and I had finished the trip we had planned so long ago. It was really hard to finaly be there and not have him standing next me to enjoy it.
So after the tour was over it was just about dinner time and then off to bed. $185 a night gets you about 10 square feet of hotel room.
DAY 7
Larry and I got up pretty early but Gary took a little bit to get going. So Larry and I found some food while we were waiting for Gary to get up. So we all hit the post office and drop a few post cards in the mail and then we were on our way.
After a while we came across these bad mothers standing on the side of the road. Gary was really excited to be sharing the same realestate as this animal that has been roaming the earth since the Wooly Mammoth's. (Muskox if you didn'y figure it out)
After a few pics we were on our way again. After a while we looked ahead and the rain was on its way. We road for quite a long time in rain and then the ground reached up and bit me. I was going about 40 mph and then the rear wheel steped out on me and down I went.
After my little misshap we decided to make a break for it and ride out in one day. None of us were really stoked on the muddy road and didn't want it to get worse the following day if we stayed the night. So after a 16 hour day from hell when we left Deadhorse we were back on the pavement. By about 1:30 am we were at the northern most Denny's in the world cold, wet and really tired. After we ate we cruised down the road and got a room.
DAY 8
So I spent the day cleaning the bike up, reasting, glueing up some turn signals and getting the strap for my saddle bags fixed.
DAY 9
Woke up not so early but not to late. Said my good byes and south I went. The Denali Parkway was alright. Not a whole lot of turns but the view was pretty good. The weather had stuck around from the day before so it was a little cold and wet. I took my time on the way to Anchorage because it was going to be the shortest day out of them all. Got to Anchorage mid day and ended up meeting a few more ADV riders. One of them was nice enough to show me around town for a few minutes.
After I roamed around for a bit I tracked my Aunt Becky and Uncle Duke down. They took me out to dinner and let me do some laundry. I had a great evening and they gave me a bed which was the first bed since DAY 1.
DAY 10
In the morning I rolled over to The Motorcycle Shop to drop the bike off for a new chain and a set of sprockets while I hung out with the fam. Becky picked me up and off to the airport. Saw quite a few animals and he flew us by the glacier at the bottom of Mt. McKinnley. There lodge is incredible to say the least.
Here is the view out of my cabin and the big brown things are there nieghbors!
So I spent the next two days hanging out and EATING. I don't get to spend very much time with Becky, Duke, Matt and Jesse so it was really nice to spend a few days with them.
DAY 12
Unfortunately all good things must come to an end. I want to thank Becky and Duke for takeing care of me for a few days, picking me up and dropping me off at the bike shop and in general just being good company. I had a blast and you guys helped make my trip one I will not forget!
After we landed Duke dropped me off at the shop and said goodbye! Picked the bike up and rolled over to the REI where I tracked Mark aka AKDUC down, he had to work until 8:00 pm so I strolled around town and fixed my clutch rubbing problem while I waited. I ended up barrowing a hammer from Mark's neighbor so I could beat out the clutch cover that was rubbing from when I went down a few days earlyier. His brother caught me napping in his front lawn mid afternoon, he had Mark's two other out of town guest with him so we hung out until Mark got off of work.
When Mark got off of work we went out to dinner and then hit the local bike night. After that he gave me the tour of all the good in city roads. Mark was a wonderful host and pretty cool for putting up with three people that he barely new staying at his house. Although I am pretty sure I made a new friend out of the deal.
Later that night Lisa called to tell me that the dog we have had for almost 15 years was dying. Sad news! I felt really bad to be so far away and for Lisa to have to deal with that all by herself.
DAY 13
I didn't sleep a lot the night before so I was dragging ass in the morning. It was raining so I wasn't in a hury anyways. Grabed some grub with Mark and then off I went looking for Canada again! The road out of Anchorage (Glen Hwy)is pretty fun until you hit road construction where they are atempting to straiten it out a bit. It runs along a river and has a fair amount of elevation change.
I made the border by about 7:30 pm and decided to just keep going! I was shooting for Whitehorse but I got shut down by a shortage in gas stations that are 24 hours. So at about 1:30 am I had to shmooze my way into a hotel room in Destruction Bay. Before I arrived there I came across a Moose standing in the road. They are really big animals and do not cast the same shadow as a Dear. I just about had to stand the bike on it's nose not to hit it.
DAY 14
I got a pretty good start on the day and I'm sorry but at this point I start riding more and taking pictures less! This was a pretty out of hand day! The first part of the day was pretty standard. I reached the the junction of the ALCAN and the Cassiar by about 7:00 pm. I was trying to figure out if I could get gas on the Cassiar later in the evening but from all the people I talked to that was very unlikely. So I took a break for a little while and calculated my milage to figure out if I could make the 250 miles to Delta II where I stayed Day 2. I could camp there and get gas first thing in the morning. I figured it would be real close so I went for it.
I only got about 75 miles when I came upon this thing steaming along the road side. Two guys were driving it one of which got eject out of the truck. When I showed up one of the drivers was sitting on the side of the road and a couple from Tennessee had just stoped. I ask the guy if he is ok and if there was anybody else with him. He says there is another guy down in the woods but he says he is ok. I asked the guy from Tennessee if the other guy is ok and he tells me he had not checked! WTF over! So I go running off into the woods to look for this guy and find him with his back turned to me. As I walk up to him I ask him if he is ok and he tells me he is also ok. As I get closer he turns his head around and he had a 4 to 5 inch gash across his head and his left knee was probably 5 times the size of his right. I tell him he is not ok and not to move. Long story short I stop a truck driver who had a sat phone and we get the guys head to stop bleeding, wait for the ambulance to show up so we can truck this guy out on a back board.
So this little event really messed up my game plan but I suppose I was passing by there at that exact moment for a reason. Any ways after that was all over I was back on my way, it must have been about 10:30 or 11:00 pm at this point and the temp had droped quite a bit. I finaly gave up after the road had turnd to muddy gravel and the fog rolled in to the point where I couldn't see farther then about 50 feet in front of me so I found a little turn out and set my tent up. Probably about 1:00am or so.
DAY 15
Got going pretty early and of course it was not really warm out. I coasted in to Delta II on fumes but I made it. My goal for the day was getting all the way home, about 1300 miles. I made Prince George by about 7:00 pm and was still ready for the last 500 or so miles. But by the time I made Watson lake it was probably 10:30 or so and I was fully wiped out. The crash had snuck up on my body and the last two days had been a real grind to stay on the bike. My back and left arm had started to throw in the towel. So I grabbed a room and went to sleep.
DAY 16 and final DAY
Up and on it I could finaly see the light. The road from Watson Lake to about Cache Creek is pretty boring. I had never been down the Frasier River Gorge but I'm glad I passed thru there. Hwy 3 runs along the Frasier River and is pretty twisty, up and down and along the river. If you have never made this trip check it out, but probably hit it on a week day to avoid the traffic. Up thru Hells Gap and down to Hope,BC. Hope is another nice little town, the Frasier makes a big turn there so it had a really nice BREEZE. Continued on to the Sumas border crossing and I was home by about 5:00.
So all in all I had a great trip, I wouldn't change a single thing. I want to thank everybody that I met along the way and to Mark, Becky, Duke, the Sikmo's, Gary and Larry the Cox family and to my wife and son. This will be a trip that I will never forget!!!!
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