Dredge #4 - This thing is HUGE!

Day 09

Another day in Dawson. The morning was again beautiful, I have been fortunate to wake to such beautiful weather.

Sleeping in a bit this time, until 9, I got dressed and soon after Geoff and I walked into town to have some breakfast again at the wonderful Chinese restaurant.

Outside, Stewart and Carl were packing their bikes for the ride home, stopping off in Fairbanks tonight.

We said our goodbyes, and they were on their way.

Both Stewart and Carl are great individuals, and I hope that we are able to meet again in our adventures.

After a breakfast of Ham and Eggs, we sat down for some coffee at the Internet Cafe, where the young lady made a wonderful (One of the best) Vanilla latte’s I’ve had in ages.

Speaking with her, she hopes to one day open her own Coffee Shop. She would do extremely well in the Seattle area, and hope one day she is able to make her way somewhere and open herself a coffee shop.

After coffee, Geoff and I headed back to the Hostel, geared up, and went for a ride.

A Water Pump in Dredge #4

Exploring some of the side roads, and old forest and mining roads, we also took the tour of the #4 Mining Dredge, one of the largest ever built.

The whole history behind, and the operation of a dredge is very interesting. The destruction they left behind though, will be apparent for many generations to come.

Having done the tour, we set off again to do some riding, exploring some old forest roads, crossing a few streams, and making our way up into the mountains.

Eventually we turned around, and headed back into town.

A stop at the local market, and some browsing down the street, we went back to the Hostel for the evening to make our dinners.

Geoff made Spaghetti while I made Alfredo.

We decided to hang out the rest of the evening, just lounging around camp, when a young KLR Rider came riding up.

Just as he was unpacking, it begun to rain slightly.

He had rented a tent spot, and we offered him to go ahead and just roll his sleeping pad and bag on the floor of our cabin, as their was plenty of room.

Nile, the young rider, had just started riding earlier this year.

He was inspired last year to pick up a motorcycle, when he saw the thousands of bikes while he hitched hiked across Canada from Toronto to Inuvik, to study the local culture for a paper he was writing for class.

Parts of a Dredge

Having picked up a bike this time, he was enjoying himself tremendously, and was excited by the way he had been treated by the motorcycle community around him.

Having heard Nile’s story, and knowing he was tight on funds, I offered him up a bunch of my freeze dried food I had prepared for the trip.

I had brought not only enough for my trip, but for a bit longer, and on top of that, I was not eating breakfasts, and I was eating out a lot more than I had previously planned on.

With that, I gave him enough meals for 2 weeks of dinners and a week of breakfasts.

I also, while going through my things, gave him the spare inner tube I had won as a door prize at the D2D Banquet.

He was extremely grateful of the generosity that Geoff and I had shown him, and I hope to hear of his travels one day.

After getting Niles all settled in, Geoff and I finished getting everything in order for our departure the next morning, and we set off for a nights rest.

Tomorrow night we will be in Fairbanks with another down day on Monday while we prep the bikes for the Dalton with new tires, and if all goes well, in Prudhoe Bay by Wednesday.

Tags: Arctic Expedition 2010

Day 08

This morning was the first time I’ve had the chance to sleep in.

Waking up around 5am again, I promptly went back to sleep to get a couple more hours.

Having the long daylight hours, my internal clock is way off. By midnight, I’m not even a bit tired, and it doesn’t seem until the sun goes down enough behind the mountains that I can start to get tired remotely enough to actually fall asleep.

Not long after I awoke, Geoff did as well, and I went out to get a couple items from my bikes.

Outside, I noticed 2 more bikes had come in during the night at some time. The two gentlemen, Stewart and Carl, were both up, and we started to chat about the Dust 2 Dawson get together.

After a bit of chit chat, we decided on all going to the Chinese restaurant for some breakfast. As weird as it sounds, they provide a decent breakfast for $5.99.

After we all ate our breakfast, we all decided to make our way down to the Dawson Hotel to see if anything was going on.

We spent some time chatting with some folks, then Geoff and I decided to go get some coffee at the local “Internet Cafe”, where we both got online and did some updating to our various sites.

Geoff’s blog can be found at http://offroad.com.au and is about this travels to North America for his 54 week holiday.

Dinner! The steak was soooooo gooooooood! Props to the support staff of the D2D!

While on the internet I checked the forecast for Inuvik and the Dempster Highway. The outlook looked grim, as rain was in the forecast for the next several days. Way to many days to wait out in hopes of it turning around.

With that decision, I decided to change my plans and head towards Prudhoe Bay along with Geoff.

So with that, we came back to the Hostel, grabbed my “Mile Post” book, and made our plans and reservations at various points.

Having the ability to split the costs for rooms, this sounded well enough for me.

Our plan is as stands.
We will stay 1 more day in Dawson, mainly to ride around the surrounding area for some photo’s, where we will then leave on Sunday Morning for Fairbanks via the Top of the World Highway.

Once in Fairbanks, we have 2 nights planned. We will use the other down day to get tires changed on our bikes.

I need a new rear, which I have with me, and he needs a new front and rear.

Leaving Fairbanks, we will travel up the Dalton Highway towards Prudhoe Bay. Staying around Coldfoot or just outside it, we will then push on into Prudhoe Bay come Wednesday.

Riding Blind! The Adventure Biker Games!

We will spend 2 nights in Prudhoe as well, as on Thursday, we will be taking the guided tour to the Arctic Ocean (The only way to access it).

Not only will I now be in the Arctic Circle, I will be taking it all the way to the northern most ocean.

This works well, as it was in my backup plan had Inuvik not worked out, so I am limited on disappointment.

Secondly, I will be traveling with someone who has become a friend, and is a great individual, and hearing his stories over in Oz is very fun, and enlightening.

Once leaving Prudhoe, we will most likely make another stop in our around Coldfoot, depending on how we feel.

We may also push on to Fairbanks.

At Fairbanks, we will part ways, and I will begin my journey home to Washington State via the Cassiar Highway in British Columbia.

Currently, this puts me back home sometime around Wednesday the Following week. A few days longer than I was expecting, but unavoidable.

After we had the route planned, we headed back into town across the ferry on our bikes for the big D2D Dinner Banquet.

The turn out was amazing, in fact they had sold out of dinner tickets, and over 40 riders were not able to attend, due to the seating arrangements.

The dinner was great. A large steak, a baked potato and rolls, and a wonderful desert, and other various items.

During the banquet, I won a door prize of a 17 inch rear inner tube. Although I already have a spare, no problem in having extra’s!

An an absolute perfect ending to a awesome day - Sunset over the Yukon River

After the banquet was over, the main street was closed off and the bike games begun. Various people entered into competitions such as “Slowest to the end”, 2 up competitions with water balloons and hotdogs, Blindfold Competition and other various challenges.

The turnout was great. Tourists, locals, and adventure riders from all over the world attended to watch the carnage that was taking place. After watching, I kinda wish I entered, and when I return one day, I will. It sure looks like fun.

With the competition over, midnight approached, and the lining of the bikes began.

All 200+ bikes were brought into the street, lined up, and the midnight photo took place. Still completely light out, everyone then parked their bikes back in place, and the official D2D Stickers were handed out.

At the end of all of these events, it was again time to catch the ferry back across the Yukon, while admiring the beautiful sunset at 12:15 in the morning.

I finish writing this at 1 am in the morning under the bright twilight around me before I take my bed for the remainder of twilight night.

Tags: Arctic Expedition 2010

I had been waiting for an opportunity to take a reflection photo the whole trip. The sky was not the greatest, but I got my shot!

Day 07

I awoke again this AM around 6am.

The sky remained cloudless for the most part and I went outside to walk around a bit in Whitehorse before returning to my room to begin loading my bike.

On my way back into the Hotel, Geoff was already packing his bike, so I promptly went to my room and started grabbing all my items.

Having not having to setup camp, everything was already packed up.

Once packed, I grabbed my gear, and said goodbye to Doug, and wished him safe travels to Alaska, and for his return home with his wife, who he would be meeting at the airport come Tuesday morning.

Geoff and I both decided to grab a coffee before leaving, and went to a small bistro in downtown Whitehorse, ordered our coffee’s (I ordered a snickerdoodle as well, which I can say wasn’t all that great), and we then soon headed off down the Alaska Highway towards the Klondike Highway.

Shortly after, we had our bearings headed up the Klondike. Gazing at the scenery, I noted that I have been in forested area since I left on Friday of the week before. As we continued to drive, we came across a beautiful lake, where the waters where as calm as glass itself.

A quick photo op, and we were back on the way.

There was a lot of beautiful country, again something you see plenty of on this journey. The cloudiness soon parted, and we had the full heat of the sun baring down on us.

Five Fingers Rapids on the Yukon River

We later came to the Yukon River, and a place called 5 Fingers Rapids. A channel with large rock formations in the middle of the river and a swift drop, caused this channel of the river to run much swifter than the rest of the river. The history of how they used a cable to pull boats through the channel, some pictures, and we were again on our way.

We fueled up in Carmacks, a small town along the road, and pushed on further. After making our way across Pelly Crossing, and then decided to break for a bit once we were across Johnsons Crossing, another bridge crossing.

After that, we rode on straight into Dawson, both of us hitting our reserves.

First stop, was the Downtown Hotel for D2D Registration. I decided since I was here, I may as well stick around for it.

Secondly, we headed across the river to the Youth Hostel.

This my first experience with a Hostel, I must say I am rather intrigued with the concept.

I know they are very common in Europe, and I’ve read about them, but never realized exactly what they were. I’m not entirely sure I could stay in these for nights on end, but for now, the 2 nights I will be staying here is only costing me 46 dollars, which is just over the cost of a campground, and it gives me a place to stash my belongings during the D2D.

Dawson City is like taking a step back in time, to the days of the gold rush. By far, my favorite town so far, and I can't wait to visit again.

So far this trip has introduced me to a wide variety of new things. Things I never would have normally been apt to try. Being extremely antisocial for the most part, and taking time to actually listen and talk to others, has given me a new look on life.

I came to a realization the night before, one of how much this trip has changed me personally. Embarking on this trip, and doing it alone has brought out a side of me I have never had the opportunity to explore in the past.

The ability to talk to complete strangers from distant area’s and form friendships along the way has become an experience and adventure all in itself.

I have found that talking to the locals is a great source of information, and a great way to find a solution to any problems you may be encountering. I have seen people for who they are, generally good at heart, and willing to help.

Maybe it’s because they are on a major tourist route or maybe it is just good nature, whatever it is, it has opened my eyes to how good the world really is around us. With hearing of so much crime in this day in age, it is a relief to see that good is still very common.

Dawson City from the Hostel located across the Yukon River

As I sit here writing this, and it is Eleven PM, the sun is still high in the sky. Current sundown is at 12:50am, with sunup at 3:15am. To experience no darkness at night (Just a couple hours of twilight) is completely astonishing in a way.

Hopefully tomorrow I can get on the net, and see if I can figure out my webserver. If not, this will have to wait until I return.

Tags: Arctic Expedition 2010

A small meadow just off of the Alaska Highway between Watson Lake and Teslin

Day 06

I awoke again this morning to the sun shining through my tent at 5am.

The sky’s were blue and the temperature was in the mid 50′s. It looked like today would be a wonderful day of riding as opposed to the somewhat rainy day before.

How little did I know that my assumptions would be so wrong.

Not 30 miles into our day, we hit rain. And it continued to rain.

We continued to ride on, with no stops until we had to fuel up in Teslin. It was there, that we both agreed to get a hot meal and coffee (Tea for Doug) and hope that the rain would soon let up.

The rain did not.

We ate while chatting with a couple from Iowa who are on their way to Dawson then to Prudhoe Bay.

After an hour, we continued on our way. This time I hooked up my heated gloves to make the trip more bearable through the continuous wet.

We continued on, until finally coming to Whitehorse, where the rain, while entering town, let up.

We first stopped for gas, then afterwords, we headed across the street to the Kawasaki Dealership in search of a blank for my bike.

After buying 2 blanks, both of different lengths as they did not have the right one, but they fit in the ignition, they kindly gave me directions to the locksmith in town.

The locksmith, a very generous individual, took his time to cut each key, both working better than my original key.

He only charged me four dollars for the cuts, which is very reasonable, especially after having spent 20 dollars for the 2 blanks.

Had I known where the locksmith was, I could have had him make a key, as he had blanks for three dollars fifty a piece.

After the locksmith, we made our way to the Walmart. I wanted to pick up a bug lantern that Doug had been using. It has worked out very effectively, and it is cheap for 16 bucks.

At about 30 minutes into our ride to Whitehorse, we spotted rain ahead. Rain that would last the entire day without a break

I also picked up a phone card so I can make calls back to the US. As it stands, I will probably have a 100 dollar international call bill from AT&T for just spending time talking to US Bank to get my check card sorted out. Which it does seem is done now, as I am able to use it once again.

After Walmart, we made a quick stop at Canadian Tire Company so that Doug could schedule an appointment for tomorrow to change the tires on his trailer that he is towing, and then off to look for a Motel.

Deciding to stay in a hotel tonight was a decision made over lunch. It would be easier for us to split costs, and I was very much looking forward to a bed for a night, a hot shower that I could take my time in, and to do laundry.

Finding the hotel was a bit of a journey. Whitehorse is a busy town, and when went by a hotel they said they were booked.

Luckily, the nice lady behind the registration desk, who noticed we were in Motorcycle gear, gladly told us to hang on.

She then proceeded to call hotel’s around the area, looking for a room for us. Soon after she found one, and had it held for us.

We ended up staying at a hotel called “Stop Inn Family Hotel”. Noot to bad hotel and at 120 (60 each) a night, fits the bill fine.

The hotel is ran by eastern Indians and provides a Laundry Mat, Wifi, and Indian Dining. It also sits next to a McDonalds, which became dinner for the night. A double Quarter Pounder with Cheese. It tasted excellent. It tastes different than in the states, it is prepared differently, but I’m not certain why.

While unpacking, an Australian here on 12 month holiday was out in the parking lot. He came over and wanted to take pictures of my KLR, saying I had the most stuff on one that he has ever seen. I myself have come to the conclusion that I packed way to much, even food.

Throughout the night, I kept running into him, learning later on his name was Geoff (Jeff), and was here to explore North and Central American on his F800GS BMW Motorcycle.

I also learned from him that he was heading to Dawson the next day, and to stay along for the D2D.

I explained my travel plans, and that I may or may not stay in Dawson for the D2D, mainly due to accommodations.

He told me not to worry about it, and that he would email the hostel to hold a room with double beds and we would ride up together.

This came as a huge relief to myself. In fact, I had just called GusGus in hopes that he could try and get a hold of one of the Alaska Crew to see if they had any spare room. Even a floor space for me to unroll my sleeping bag is all I needed, and would have been more than happy to pay a share of the bill.

Later on, I decided to try and get online. I was able to make a quick call out on Skype, but then the internet went down.

I am beginning to think that I have provided some bad luck.

Everywhere I go, the internet seems to stop working once I get there. Here I am, was able to get on momentarily earlier this evening, but now I am unable to.

With a phone call home, my mother let me know that my web server was down. This is a shame, as I have no way of checking on why it is down until I get back home in 2 weeks.

I now sit here, in the laundry mat that is in the hotel doing laundry and writing this entry.

Tomorrow morning Doug and I will part ways, and a new journey will begin with another complete stranger. My trip has unfolded to be a lot more interesting than I could have ever imagined.

Tags: Arctic Expedition 2010

The surrounding mountains are so green!

Day 5

This morning I awoke to realize that it had rained the night before. Not much, but enough to tramp down the dust, and make the rainfly of the tent wet.

I proceeded to pack my belongings in the tent until it was ready to break down the tent. I checked for internet one last time, and it had not yet come up again, so I abandoned all efforts of updating any more photo’s from the night before.

Once packed, I sat around camp for a bit. I was to meet Doug at the Super 8 Motel at 8am to make our way to Watson Lake.

At 7:45, I finally geared up, and pulled out. Arriving at the motel about 5 minute later, I found Doug finishing up his packing, and soon we were on our way.

The morning started off very overcast and cool. Much different from the warm sunny evening we experienced the evening before.

As we made our way down the Alaska Highway, we began to climb into the mountains, slowly the clouds became closer and closer, and eventually we surrounded by the thick moisture of clouds as the road continued to climb.

Eventually, we finally made our way back down, stopping shortly for some photo’s where I ran into Betty and her husband, the couple from New York that I had met the night before.

She was happy to see me again, and wanted to take my picture by my bike. So I politely obliged to her request while she took photo’s of me by my bike, with the vast expanse of the Northern Rockies as the backdrop.

Once back on the road, we tried to put miles behind us, but started to stop often for pictures of various mountains until the rain started.

We ran into a wall of rain, a wall that stayed with us for much of the time, only giving us slight breaks here and there.

There were some amazingly beautiful views of rivers, lakes and mountains that I would have loved to have captured, but the rain forced us to press onward.

That looks promising...

We finally caught another break, just before Toad River. We fueled up, and took a quick look at the hat collection they have acquired over the years. Over 7000 hats from travelers from all over the world have dropped their hat off at Toad River.

We pressed on again, and stopped atop a ridge overlooking the valley. Directly in front of us was blackness. The blackness of rain in which I have not seen in several years.

We both put on extra gear to tackle this next stage, and continued on.

We passed several beautiful rivers, several amazing lakes that stretched along the highway. Much of which I would have loved to have taken a photo of again, but the rain pressed us onward.

Eventually, I was able to get some photo’s after breaking free of the wetness.

It wasn’t long beyond this, that we would finally cross over into the Yukon. We were officially now in the Yukon Territories, and Watson Lake was not far ahead.

Stone Mountain, or what I like to call "One Big Rock!"

We entered Watson Lake and fueled our bikes. Deciding that we would camp at the Junction 37 Full Service Station that is located 10 miles west of town at the intersection of the Alaska Highway and the Cassiar Highway.

But before heading out, we make our stop at the Sign Post Forest, and took some pictures. I even got one of me under a Seattle sign. I was surprised we even found it.

Interestingly enough, where I decided to park, the sign to one of Doug’s nearby towns was directly in front of his bike. Needless to say, he was excited about this, and I took his picture for him. Something he can hang on his wall at home.

We eventually left, and rode the 10 miles to Junction 37.

Junction 37 has seen better days. Described as a full service park, with restaurant and saloon, all that remains is the campground with RV hookups in a state of disarray.

There is much to offer from this facility, if it was fully operational.

The Cafe and Saloon are both closed, the service shop as well.

The camping was cheap, 15.75, and they have showers and laundry facilities, so that works in my favor.

The Yukon is THIS BIG!

We unpacked and setup camp, and Doug got out his mosquito lantern, a device he bought at a Walmart.

The lantern actually works well, and is not that expensive. He said he paid 16 bucks for it, and the cartridge of butane is supposed to last 16 hours. The pads are to be changed out every 4.

Hopefully I can locate one of these in Whitehorse. It would be nice to have for when I go North to Inuvik.

We cooked up our dinners eventually, and talked about various topics while sipping on gin and tonics prepared by Doug.

Eventually as the evening pressed on, it was time to call it a night.

Tomorrow we will be pushing our way into Whitehorse. The weather has been great, and it will be nice to be in a decent sized city to stock up on a few things and hopefully locate some blanks to have spare keys made for my bike.

Seattle! At the Sign Post Forest in Watson Lake

Tags: Arctic Expedition 2010

Departure Day is quickly approaching as I continue to prepare myself for this trip.

I’ve realized, that while I have all the gear to do this trip, I still need to do a bit of clothes shopping and buy some clothes for it, like convertible pants, a good mosquito hat, some more under armor, new synthetic socks and other misc items.

Do to time restraints I have dropped the item of making my own dry bags for the time being. I picked up some heavy PVC style ones from Walmart in Hood River.  They will work for the trip better than the ones I had purchased earlier this year that began to fall apart the first trip I made with them. At least, that is my hope that they will hold up. They are from Walmart.

As the days continue to fly by, I am reminded just how much preparation I have done, and yet how much I am left to do.

It seems, for the most part, that I feel as if I am back 6 months ago, when I decided I was doing this trip.  Even with all of the research, all of the time spent, the supplies purchased, I still feel like I’m a ways off.

It is now time for me to stop over complicating things and just let the day come.

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Tags: Arctic Expedition 2010