July 6

I awoke to a clear day in the mid 50s.  I have not had that in quite a while.  I rolled out of the campground about 7:30 and had a great ride out of the narrow slit between the mountains.  The town was still asleep and the road crews that slowed me up on the way in were not working yet.  The remaining stretch of the Cassiar Highway was the same great road and great scenery.  It was about 200 miles to Smithers and I was back in the world. Rats.

Up to this point, since I left Anchorage, I have been in very sparsely populated areas with some stretches of over a hundred miles without a trace of habitation.  Smithers had the first traffic light I have seen in 1500 miles, then another, then another, then…

I did not see any wildlife today except ravens and one golden eagle.  I had hoped to top off my last stretch of true wilderness with some critters but did not have any luck.  I was thinking of camping at a couple of lakes around Vanderhoof but when I checked the campgrounds I was not that interested anymore.  It was still early afternoon so I decided to ride all the way to Prince George.  Between vanderhoof and PG there were four or five delays for road construction and the temperature climbed to 92 degrees.  Once I got to PG I decided to stay at the same RV park from early in my trip were the lady let me stay in her basement instead of camping in the rain.  This time the weather is warm and sunny and matches the lady’s personality very well.  This site is north of PG and not in the greatest area but it is familiar and I only need a spot to pitch my tent.  The shower was free and hopefully the WiFi will let me post this when I am done.

Tomorrow I am heading toward Whistler and hope to find a nice place to camp where I might be able to fish.  I have passed 8500 miles and have maybe 2000 more to get home depending on what I do.  I have a lot of time so I hope to fill it with some good riding and a few places to fish.  I am keeping an eye on the oil leak on my bike and don’t think it will be of any concern since I know the source and it is a common thing on this engine design.  Until next time when I hope I have something more exciting to write about.

July 5

The ride today was absolutely fantastic.  The exact opposite of yesterday’s cold, wet slog.  I left Dease lake a bit after eight AM with some overcast but within an hour the sun broke through and did not go away all day.  I had set my destination as Stewart Canada right near the bottom of Alaska.

The Cassiar Highway is a scenic roller coaster and it was great fun to ride.  The forest is close to the road so one needs a sharp eye out for animals.  It is posted 80kph (50mph) for a lot of it but that is too bad; riding at 65-70mph was a blast.  I did get lite up by a mountie going the other way but he did not turn around.  I behaved for a few miles and then went back to business.

I rode a long time before seeing an animal and there it was, a wolverine.  I can’t believe he was right on the road, unfortunately I got no video of him.  Soon I started seeing a number of black bears and got some footage.

After 200 miles I turned to Stewart and the road there was atleast as nice to ride.  The whole day was spent riding between mountain ranges that have streaks of snow on them and numerous rivers and long, narrow lakes.  The sky was blue and the mountains all shades of green with brown, red, gold and tan thrown in.  The valley into Stewart is very narrow as you wind your way to the ocean once again in a narrow inlet.  The peaks here tower above the small town.  there are a couple of eateries, a motel and two camp grounds.  Across from where I am camped is a huge mountain that is extremely steep.  The campground has a lot of blackberries that are bright red right now.  In a few weeks the bears will be eating them.  I even found a few blueberries right by my site and left them for the bears.

I went into Hyder Alaska and it is practically a ghost town, they even play that up a bit.  On through Hyder a went about sixteen miles up a gravel road to see the Salmon Glacier.  The road puts you across from the glacier and above it so the view is spectacular.  Sorry for not adding photos, it is just too time consuming in the field to edit them for posting.  As soon as I entered Hyder a large black bear was right in front of me and I got him on video.  However, when I stopped at the glacier I saw that there was a bug splattered on my lens so I do not know how some of my videos look.

I passed 8000 miles today on my 250 mile ride.  Tomorrow I will ride nearly 400 miles to get close to Prince George so I can work my way back to the states.  The bike still runs like a charm and the tire wear is very good, I think I can make it back on this set of tires.  I am a bit gun shy about checking tire pressure after the valve stem incident but I have been doing it.

July 3 and 4

Today is the day that Justin and Alla go off on their own so that they can get to the Icefields Parkway while I make my way to the Cassiar Highway.  The morning in Skagway is very windy and cool.  There are wind warnings on the water so it turns out that our ferry ride from Haines was fortunate.  The wind and water were calm and the ride very smooth.  When we arrived in Skagway there was one cruise ship docked and it was late in the day so many of the shops were closed.  The next morning there were three ships docked and at 9am the shops were buzzing with people.  It does not make sense to me that people will take a cruise and then shop in a high-end jewelry store, but they do.  We were surprised the number of shoppers in these stores.

After breakfast and a trip to the park visitor center we said our goodbyes and departed company.  Justin and Alla were going to ride hard to get to Liard River Hot Springs and I planned to see a bit more of the area before riding on.  Skagway did not hold much more gold rush history so I went several miles further to were Dyea once stood.  From Skagway the miners went over the White Pass and Dyea led to the famous Chilkoot trail.  The townsite of Dyea was on the flats at the head of the inlet; today there is little evidence that thousands of people once passed through this place.  I rode to the Slide Cemetery were victims of an avalanche were buried and that was about all there was to see without a long hike.  It is possible to backpack the Chilkoot trail to Carcross and that would be an interesting thing to do.

I came down with a cold and have been dragging the last couple of days so hiking was not in the cards.  I departed the Skagway area and rode up the White Pass.  To the right the railroad right of way can be seen and the steam locomotive still takes passengers over the pass to Carcross.  White Pass is really scenic, even in the cloudy, damp day that I passed through.  Over the top the terrain is very rugged.  It is very rocky and nearly barren because it is bedrock.  It would be very hard to travel cross country up here but with snow there might be an easier time once the path is packed down.  Tutshi Lake borders the trail and I imagine when frozen it would be the easiest path to traverse.  The miners made their way to Bennett Lake where they spent the winter building boats and rafts and waited for the ice break so that they could sail across the lake and then the Yukon River.

The ride to Carcross was very scenic and then I cut east through Tagish to the Alaska Highway.  The ride was cold and there was a bit of rain here and there and once on the Alaska Highway the scenery gets a bit more monotonous and I was back tracking until I reach the Cassiar Highway.  I started about noon and so made it to Swift River by the afternoon.  I found an RV park/campground and learned that they had a shelter under which i could pitch my tent and I even put my bike under.  I was cold and not feeling well so after I ate I climbed in my sleeping bag and read before falling asleep.  During the night it rained on and off and by morning it was a steady, light rain, woopie!  It was 41 degrees.  At least I packed my bike in a dry place and then rode on.  The Cassiar Highway was about 70 miles away and I started south after a detour to Watson Lake.

The Cassiar is a much more scenic drive than the part of the Alaska Highway I was on.  The right of way is narrower and the forest closer to the road which means animals are closer as well.  The rode is twistier and undulates through the Cassiar mountain range.  It would be truly spectacular if it was not raining and cold.  The peaks around me had a fresh dusting of snow on them.  I wanted to camp at Boya Lake and stopped to check it out.  It is beautiful with its emerald blue water but with water falling from the sky it was not what I wanted to do anymore.  I rode on the Dease Lake and booked a room for the night.  I did not know how thoroughly cold to the bone I was until I got in the hot shower, it felt great.

Late in the afternoon the sun broke through the clouds a bit and the forecast is for no rain and weather in the 70s the next two days.  I plan to go to Stewart Canada and Hyder Alaska.  It looks like I will finally get a break and be able to loiter in a nice place.  This area is known for the glaciers that come right down to the road and it is along the coastal Mountain range.

I am nearing 8000 miles on this trip and when I start back from Hyder I will have about a thousand miles to get back to the US border.  I the weather holds I will take several days to make the trip.  There are a lot of optional routes once I get to Prince George and I am still up in the air on which to take.  I am leaning toward the route that goes to Whistler and near Vancouver.  It looks like I will not be on the road as long as I intended because the weather chased me out of so much of Alaska.  Everywhere I have been the locals have said that it is much wetter than usual for this time of year.  Maybe next time the weather will be better.

July 2

The morning was dry when we got up so once again we got to put away dry tents.  Again, the simple things like this are great.  We went off to try and find a real breakfast.  Haines has three restaurants so the pickings are slim.  We chose the Chilkat Restaurant and Bakery (serving Thai food).  There was no omelet to be had but we enjoyed the Thai version of huevos rancheros.  A young boy was fasinated with our bikes and we chatted with his parents.  His father is the police chief of Haines.

After breakfast we had time to go south to one of the state parks and learned that it required a hike into the forest.  Our time was short so we went north to Chilkoot Lake and marveled at the beauty of the area.  We were hoping to see the mother bear and cubs that are in the area but all we saw was scat, lots of scat.  The arm of the sea ran to a short river that flowed out of the lake.  There were fly fishers in the river, and some at the lake outlet, trying to catch sockeye salmon or dolly varden.  The water is a light turquoise blue and the steep emerald mountains come down to meet it.  In the mountains all around there are numerous cataracts.  It is breathtaking.

We had to be at the ferry terminal by 1:30 so we cut our sightseeing and rode over there in time to see the ferry coming and get pictures and footage.  Most Alaska ferry docks can load the RVs and other vehicles from the front and drive them out the back.  The loading is done from the side.  In Haines and Skagway there is only provision for loading from the front so the big vehicles had to back down the 150 foot ramp and then turn into the hold.  The trailer drivers had a hard time and we left about 40 minutes late.  Motorcycles have no trouble getting on.  The ride was smooth and swift and we got to Skagway in about 35 minutes.  The trip through the fiord was very scenic and we enjoyed the ride.

We rode off the ship and found the room we booked for the night.  We needed to do laundry and Alla did not like the funky shower at our campground last night so she wanted modern comforts.

I have clean clothes, nice.

Skagway has a great deal of history of the gold rush and the park service has done a great job here.  I hope to see it all tomorrow before heading on.  The rest of Dawson is a tourist trap catering to the cruise ship set.  There are nice eateries which we took advantage of and lots of jewelry stores and other high-end shops for the well healed, kind of disappointing for a place with this kind of history.

Today we noticed that my bike has developed a small oil leak at the back of the engine that I suspect is the engine rear main seal.  It should be OK until I get home and I will have to split the bike in two and fix it.

After tomorrow I will seperate from my riding companions of the last week or more.  We have had a great time and are very compatible.  Alla is one tough cookie, we have had long, cold, wet days and she takes it in stride.  I do know she will be glad to get back to her world but she will have the best time she can before then.

I will head down the Cassiar Highway and Justin and Alla will continue on the Alaska highway and then to the Icefields Parkway.  I may be out of touch for several days.

Currently I have logged about 7500 miles and the bike keeps running fine.  The Mitas tires are wearing very well and i think the rear will last the entire trip.

July 1

We awoke to perfectly dry tents and a warm morning in the low 60s.  The sun was trying hard to shine and succeeded on and off.  Today we want to end up in Haines, Alaska.

We rode about twenty miles to the Canadian border the check point.  The lady was all business and let us pass.  We wanted some breakfast and got to the only restaurant in Beaver Creek just as they were closing up to be in the local parade; it was Canadian Independence Day.  One of the people reminded us that ours was coming up.  I bet there were twenty people in their parade, this place was small.  So no food but I got a photo of a Mounty in full dress uniform, very sharp indeed.  Sorry for the dearth of photos in this blog, it will have to wait until I return to the mother ship.

Again the ride was very scenic along the edge of the Kluane National Park & Preserve.  We got to Haines Junction and found the only restaurant and had lunch.  I have been craving a real breakfast with an omelet and all the trimmings but have not been able to have one for over a week.  Soon I will have the DTs.

The ride on the Haines highway was one of the more scenic we have had.  We were in and out of rain for a lot of the ride but it was only bad for a short while.  Most of the time it was just light showers.  We climbed to the Chilkat Pass at 1065 meters and it felt like the clouds were bumping the top of our helmets.  We could not see the peaks clearly but had great views just the same.  This area is almost treeless and there are many streams coming off of the snow that is still clinging to the slopes in patches large and small  It was beautiful and I hope my GoPro has captured that ride adequately.

We crossed back into the USA with ease and the last forty miles to Haines was spectacular.  The trees grow larger because they are on the side of the mountains that is moderated in temperature by the sea.  The forest is very dense and the road winds down to the water.  Haines is the bald eagle capital of the world and we saw a number of them on the way in.  We even passed the house of Parker Schnabel’s parents as seen on ‘Gold Rush’.

We went to the ferry terminal to book passage for Sunday and then found a campsite.  The first RV park does not allow tents.  Our camp was in amongst a canopy of trees and was well protected.  The place was old and a bit long in the tooth but it worked for us and I got a shower as well.  We had halibut fish and chips at one of the only restaurants in town and had a beer at the Haines Brewery.  I asked the brewer how many people lived there and he said 1500 within a mile and 2500 people in the whole area.  It is small and has few amenities.  It is a very pretty place with mountains all around and across the water.

We arose early to get a start on a long day’s ride.  A gravel road is like riding twice the distance of a paved road.  Our goal was to make it up the Too Cutoff and back on the Alaska highway almost to Canada.  Even though there was a slight rain most of the night it was dry in the morning and the tents were not wet.  The road was in great shape and we had a ball.

It it surprising how many people live out here in the middle of nowhere.  I even grabbed a flyer for our retirement home; Sandy is going to love it.  This part of the state is easily the capital of sign shooting.  Nearly every sign is peppered with all manner of rounds.  I think I found the highest scoring sign yet; a 4 x 8 inch reflective marker at the entrance to a bridge over the Copper River.  It had one round dead center and two others within an inch, all the same size.  From a moving vehicle it is good shooting.  The river had many fishermen with their dip nets and even a few salmon wheels off in the distance.  It is hard to believe that the salmon can survive in this very silty water.

The Tok Cutoff is very scenic with the Wrangell mountains on the right.  It was a bit cloudy so we did not get to see the highest peaks but it was great nonetheless.  We did not stop in Glenallen for lunch and it turned out we should have.  The next lodge in Gakona is only open for dinner.  We snacked there and finally got a meal in Tok about 4PM.  From there we rode another 65 miles to a campground at Deadman Lake.

The campground was free and probably the nicest one we have shared.  We knew there was no water there so we let Tok with plenty.  The afternoon was warm and partly sunny and the camp setting was beautiful in the Boreal forest.  This type of forest has an amazing variety of plants and three different kinds of trees; black spruce, aspen and birch.  It is pretty dense where the conditions permit growth and some areas are just tundra.  I believe that the lake was formed when the glaciers melted and the permafrost holds the water.  I tried to coax a northern pike out of the reeds and lily pads by stripping some streamers with my fly rod but had no success.

I know my fisherman friends are probably disappointed that I have not been telling fish stories but there has not been that many ‘fishy’ places where I have had time.  The primary mission is riding and that is what I have been doing.  I promise to make some shit up about fishing next week.

The camp had a nice half mile trail on a raised wooden walkway that pointed out the different flora and fauna and ended in a platform looking out over the lake.  We sat there in the deafening silence and just marveled at the serenity of the place.  Once in a while a bird or a loon would break the silence.  A pair of Golden eagles flew by and gave us a sample of their aerial mating ritual; it was one of the moments in life that will forever remain in my memory.  I was also reminded of a time when I was going to an archery rendezvous with my son Nick and we took a long route through the Lockwood valley in the Los Padres National forest.  This area is one of the condor preserves and is very remote and a primitive forest.  I know it is where the dinosaurs are hiding out, I just have never seen one there yet.  Anyway, we stopped in the middle to water some plants and Nick remarked that it was the quietest place he had ever been and it made his ears hurt.  Being a city boy all of his eleven or twelve years he had never experienced such a thing.

The evening was amazing and was topped off by a rainbow out to the east from a storm far away that remained for a long time.  The place was magic and eventually we went off to bed.  The night actually got almost dark for the first time in a while.

What a fantastic day.  The best things in life are free; the next best things cost the most money.

June 29

The day’s goal is ride to McCarthy and the Kennicott copper mine.  The Kennicott mine was the richest copper deposit ever found.  The ore was 70% copper whereas other mines at the time were 4%.  McCarthy was once the largest city in Alaska when a billion dollars of copper was brought out in the early 20th century.

The Glenn Highway appears to be the major league of sign shooting and it runs through very scenic country.  The whole time you are driving toward the Wrangell mountains which have one peak over 16,000 feet.  We got a short look at this peak when there were no clouds above it and it was impressive.  Most of Alaska were the roads are is not that high in elevation, only up to 4,000 feet, but mostly under 3,000 feet.  However, it always seems much higher because of the trees, in the western US similar forests are at higher elevations.

The road into McCarthy is really spectacular.  Off the Glenn Highway you first pass through Chitina and then the road changes.  The first two miles are gravel and a bit rough until you cross the Copper River.  This is a big river and there were a lot people dip net fishing and even some fish wheels off in the distance.  The river is also gray and full of glacier silt and it is hard to believe that salmon can live in it to get to their spawning grounds.

After the Copper River crossing the road became chip seal for fifteen miles and was very fun and we set a brisk pace.  The next 45 miles was gravel and in excellent condition.  Since the television show about McCarthy has been on the number of visitors has doubled and the road is maintained better than before.  We found we could easily exceed the 35mph speed limit and we ripped up for miles.

We got a site at the Glacier View Campground.  It is a no frills private operation and did just fine for us.  After setting up we went into McCarthy and then to the mine.  Being on motorcycles we drove across the footbridge and into town.  Some lady that had to walk over because she was in a car scowled at us.  Too bad, motorcycles rule.

The Kennicott glacier comes out of the mountains and is right in front of the mill.  When it was in operation the glacier was 300 feet higher in above the mill site.  Today you look down on the glacier.

The Kennicott mill site is spectacular.  Imagine if you can that a railroad was built from the coast into the remote interior and a huge industrial operation built.  The mines were a few miles away and the ore brought to this site and processed before loading on the rail cars.  One large building housed four huge steam boilers to power the mill which is hundreds of feet high up the hill on the other side.  Many of the smaller buildings are well maintained in this national park but the large buildings are probably going to eventually collapse because it will be so hard to maintain them.  I can just imagine the noise from the steam plant and the mill, it must have been deafening.

We toured around the mill and took photos and then went into town and had dinner at the old saloon.  There are some of the original buildings still in town and it is surprising how many people live there, this is in a very remote area.  It is a really interesting place and very pretty. One of the people working in the saloon is the guy from the TV show that wants to open the mine to tourists.  I asked a ranger if she thought he could do it and she does not think so, his property is just too hard to get to. After dinner we went back to camp and eventually off to bed.  There was a bit of a sprinkle for the last several hours but it was not really rain so we were not uncomfortable.

June 28

We arose early so that we could get on the road and make some miles past Anchorage.  The weather was not in our favor and our desire to go to Seward was overcome by the forecast of rain.  We saw a good deal of the Seward peninsula so missing Seward is not a big disappointment.

Before leaving we checked our tire pressures and found wew needed to add some air.  Justin got oout his pump and adjusted his then I started on mine.  The front needed several pounds and the rear a couple psi.  The rear started giving us trouble, in certain positions the valve stem was leaking.  I made several attempts to get it to fill to the correct pressure but the stem kept giving us fits.  One more attempt at topping air pressure and upon removing the air fitting the valve stem blew apart and all of the air came out.  That ain’t good.  The stem is a brass insert moulded into the rubber and it just let loose.

Now I need a new valve stem.  I called Alyeska tire, which we could see from the hotel, and they said they do not work on motorcycle or aircraft tires.  Next door to them is a Honda motorsports shop so I decided to try them first since the Yamaha shop was several miles away.  As soon as I started walking with my wheel a local stopped and offered me a ride.  I got to the Honda shop about 15 minutes before they opened and people were there.  They said they do not work on motorcycles, only ATVs.  When I explained that it is a tubeless tire like and ATV they did not care and said they did not have time.  You don’t meet the nicest people at a Honda shop.  I went next door to Alyeska Tire and bought a valve stem so that I had one and tried to talk them into helping someone with a problem who is 4000 miles from home.  Tough shit.

Across the street was an independent auto repair place so I went there.  At first the guy did not want to get involved but I explained that the valve is just like a car and the wheel is out front.  he looked at it and took it to see what he could do.  Ten minutes later the new valve stem was installed and he filled it to 42psi.  He asked for ten bucks and I was on my way.  The versatile independent shop comes through again.

I got the wheel mounted and we were finally on the way about and hour later than we wanted.  It could have been a lot worse.

We made our way to Anchor Point and found the sign that indicates it is the farthest point west in the Americas to which you can drive.  after that it was a long ride back in better weather than we had coming in; we only got a sprinkle once.  The ride back along the Cook Inlet was very pretty once again and then we were in Anchorage.  Get us out of here.  I cannot commend the drivers in Anchorage.  They must never see motorcycles because most don’t give a shit about us.

We made our way to the Glenn Highway, got groceries and gasoline in Palmer and headed to a campground about twenty miles east for the night.  The campground was decent until we learned that the water pump did not work and the camp host was not around.  A nice couple from Germany gave us a gallon of water so we were alright for the night.  Lesson, make sure your water container is full before venturing to the nether regions of Alaska.

The campground is on the Matanuska River which is glacier fed and full of silt.  The water is gray and there are no fish in it.  There is a lot of water in this large river and the current is swift.  We walked along the shore and found some nice pieces of what we think is Alaska jade.  We turned in and awoke to dry conditions, hurray.

June 27

There was no rain in the morning when we rolled out of bed and packed our bikes.  We made a quick stop for gas and some groceries  and then headed to Homer.  We have been watching the weather forecasts for days and really want to go the Seward but it is getting soaked right now.  Homer has a chance of showers and that is much better than the forecast of RAIN in Seward.

The ride out of Anchorage along the Cook Inlet is absolutely breathtaking.  On the right was the gray-brown water of the inlet.  It looked very cold and the wind-bred waves and cop made it look very angry.  On the other side are the glacier encrusted mountains, with just enough room between the two for a road.  The glaciers are long and thin, for the most part, in the folds of the mountains and are much smaller than they used to be.

The sky was gray and the ceiling very low but there was no rain even though it looked like there should be.  This amazing intersection of sea and mountains kept up for about 50 miles until we passed Portage and headed up the Kenai River valley.  Here the road got pretty curvy but we were frustrated by the slow-ass car drivers and no place to pass them.  The trees are a lot larger here.  At a few spots we could see the fishermen lined up in the river angling for salmon.  They term this ‘combat fishing’ because they are all trying to catch their limit and there is a certain etiquette that must be followed.  This is not sport fishing, they want meat for their freezers.

Beyond Moose Pass the road straightens out and gets more agricultural looking but it is still mostly a hall of trees but they have gotten smaller.

We stopped in Sterling for lunch at a cafe and I got a hot turkey sandwich on sourdough with mashed potatoes and gravy.  It was delicious and a large portion and knew I would not need much dinner.  After lunch we left and hit the hardest rain of the day but it was nothing like what I experienced in Canada.  It had been spitting rain on us on and off all day but this was rain.  The bikes had some of the mud from the Denali Highway cleaned off.  The rain let up about the time we hit the coast at Kasilof.  It was hard to distinguish between the gray sky and the cold gray water of the inlet.  The sky was getting lighter as we went toward Homer.  At Anchor Point the road is the farthest west that one can drive in the USA, we missed the sign and will stop on the way back out tomorrow.

We knew it would be dicey trying to camp in Homer because of the rain possibility and were leaning toward getting a room for the night.  First we went out on the famous ‘Homer Spit’ to have a look.  I thought that the Spit was man-made but it is a natural formation that juts out into Kachamak Bay about a mile.  I think it is Alaska’s wang.  There are many dozens of RVs camping on the Spit but the wind would make pitching a tent fun.  If it rains that would make it even more fun.  There is a cruise ship docked at the pier and lots of tourists around.  We spent some time trying to book a room but had no good luck.  We stopped at a lodge right at the start of the Spit and got a room for about the best price to be had here, it is a popular destination.

across the water the view is amazing.  The glacier frosted mountains of the Alaska Range were bathed in more sunlight, through thinner clouds, than on this side and the white on dark green contrast is hypnotizing.

After getting squared away we walked to two local breweries to sample their beers.  Homer Brewing Company Broken Birch Bitter was pretty good but we preferred the IPA at Grace Ridge Brewing.  We learned that in Alaska a brewery must stop serving at 8PM so we got two crowlers for the road.  A crowler is a 32 oz. can.

Tomorrow we may try for Seward but the forecast is not in our favor.