Gone State-Side.

Haines Jct. Supposedly the most photographed monument on the AK-HWY.

And on the seventh day the Lord rested.  Well…we’re not going to do that today.  After bacon, eggs and books in the warm sun, Alison has already started off the day with a mid morning 100k ride, no bigs.   

On another note, it’s official, we’ve entered the realm of the Alaskan’s!  After the bumpy ride between Haines Junction and Beaver Creek our excitement began to grow as we continued towards the border, unfortunately however our excitement turned into a feeling of anti-climax rather quickly.  Instead of entering into a land of cascading mountains, grizzly bears and caribou we were met with more mosquito’s, low lying rain clouds and forest fire smog, “heck, it was better on the other side!”  In all fairness the Alaskan wilderness is still a very exciting and diverse experience.   

What we have been able to see is a vast expanse of skinny little trees poking out of the muskeg like millions of toothpicks, and mountains like giants looming behind the thin veil of smog.  The word on the street is that there are a number of forest fires around the Denali mountain range, Chicken (mmm…smoked Chicken…) and a few other towns.  Pilot cars are being used on the Denali highway to get motorists safely through the smoke.  My hopes are that the smoke has moved on when we make our way through the mountain range.

Our stay last night at Cathedral Creek B&B and Campgrounds was indeed a pleasant stay.  Our host was a German woman by the name of Kris who 31 years ago became stranded in Tok, AK when hitchhiking and never left.  We both enjoyed the company of Chessa a 5year old yellow lab that had exceptional table manners and was awarded with the job of prewashing our dishes.  Maybe I should have done some more convincing of Alison that dog’s mouths are more sterile than ours before I handed the dishes to Chessa.

 Now in Fairbanks we refuel, restock and wait patiently to commence our journey on the Dalton Highway!

Adventure on!

A 2fer in Whitehorse

Family and friends, did you miss us?   

We took two brilliant days in Whitehorse to stay with friends (who really feel like family) and decided to sum up the experience all together.
 

Gosh! The friggen’ mosquitoes were so bad at our campsite in Nugget City!  Thankfully Alex had brought along a bad smell that kept the mosquitoes somewhat at bay (a butane mosquito incense – Alex doesn’t smell bad even when camping!).

Early the next morning I spread all the breakfast stuff out and then escaped camp on my bicycle!  Sleepy Alex was left to clean up, pack up, and meet me 100km later.  And it was a BEAUTIFUL day for a cycle and a drive into Whitehorse, YK.

Whitehorse is a clean, organic and culturally rich city.  The native influence encourages all kinds of traditional and new art and recipes from the land.  Cyclists, runners, paddlers and dog walkers are everywhere!  Whitehorse: a rich city of culture, coffee, beer and activity!

What we experienced here were three amazing hosts (Hector, Miche and their wise dog Bella) who delighted us with wilderness stories, history, a fluffy bed and fluffy milk, moose ribs, Hector-blend-granola, and exciting travel suggestions.   

After one particular consultation with our hosts, Alex and I took our second day to explore the city of Whitehorse and spend time outdoors hiking and swimming.  We put our four wheels to good use as we drove far up Grey Mountain before beginning our hike.  Afterwards a cool swim was necessary so we found ourselves jumping into the middle of Long Lake (which was surprisingly warmer than freezing cold).

Our wonderful hosts in Whitehorse!

 Saturday morning has now come and gone, but we are fully rested and excited to…

Adventure on!!

Ain’t no valley low enough…

 

We find ourselves at the end of day two parked in a quaint little campsite situated right beside the Sikanni River, the perpetual sound of icy cold water is broken only by the occasional passing vehicle on the Alaska Highway to our right.  It’s been a wonderful day of travel, learning and adventure.  Thus far the Alaska Highway has served us only a few low-lying mountains and two or three deep valleys to pass through, no major challenges for our little 2.7L quite yet.  We were quick enough to spot the sign for the Old Alaska highway (not realizing it was at mile 21 just outside of Dawson Creek) and got some footage of our little red truck crossing the historic Kiskatinaw Bridge, a 531ft curved timber bridge, the only one of its kind still in use on the AK-HWY.  Before we departed from Mile 0 we stopped in at the Alaska Highway House to see what this highway thing is all about and learn what it actually means to build a 1523 mile highway in 9 months, pretty incredible to say the least.

 

Alaska Highway House

Currently I (Alex, the other writer on this blog) sit here surrounded by hovering mosquitos, hoping the repellent that I’m drenched in will not give out.  Alison has pulled her Hoodini act again and left me with tent setup and dinner duty (she’s gone off to ride up the 9% grade hill on the other side of the river that we descended earlier).

 

Still no wildlife to be seen. We were shied off of going for a hike at Pink Mountain by the locals when they started asking us questions like, “do you have a dog?”, “do you have bear spray?”, “do you have a gun?” Some advice from an oil worker was spoken like this, “drive to the top then walk around above the tree line, then you can see the bears.  I wouldn’t go into the bush without a rifle.” OK! FINE! We won’t go for a hike…jeeeeeze!

Tomorrow we go for a long haul, hopefully pass Muncho Lake and Liard River Hot Springs and arrive somewhere between Fort Nelson and Whitehorse.

Adventure on!