China Beach

Most days I go to a restaurant for at least one good meal, but today was not one of those days. After spending one night at another over-crowded RV park near Tofino, I got up early to secure a very nice walk-in site at the Provincial Park nearby. I vowed to make to make whatever adjustments were necessary to stay in Provincial Parks rather than RV parks, which mainly means arriving not long after noon, if not sooner. So, 3 nights at Green Point, 2 nights at Rethevor and 2 nights at Lake Cowichan were all in Provincial Parks. My bathing suit was rarely dry and I am working on a good tan. At the Pub in the town of Lake Cowichan I learned that, contrary to my map, it was all paved road to Port Renthrew and then down the sparsely populated southwest coast to Victoria. The roads were a little gnarly, but they were awesome and there were some nice hiking and photo opportunities along the way. I still made it to China Beach in time to get a camp spot, but I did have to cut out any restaurant stops. So I relied on my cache of mostly backpacking type food for the day. Trail mix and an apple for lunch and powdered broccoli cheddar soup and black beans and rice for dinner. I make it a point to not carry meat with me. Fresh meat would go bad, I don't like canned meat and meat will attract visitors I don't want. The stuff I use is actually pretty good, I just need to be sure to use plenty of water and let it cook for a good while. As with many aspects of this type of travel, the key is to keep the riding day short, get to camp early and have time to enjoy the surroundings and properly attend to my chores.

Vancouver Island, north

The north end of Vancouver Island is very nice. I camped at Marble River and hiked out to Bear Falls. The nex t day I moved down to Campbell River, a very friendly little town. Then I rode out to Gold River, a very scenic ride and camped at Butte Lake on the way back. As I moved further south down to Qualicom Beach, the traffic increased markedly. The ride out to Tofino on the west coast is twisty and scenic. Tofino used to be a real hippie hangout and still is to some extent, but the tourist market is definitely making itself felt.

Port Hardy

Ok, so the ferry was more expensive than I anticipated, but otherwise, it turned out great. I met Peter, a dirt biker from Vancouver Island, in the campground in Prince Rupert who was taking the same ferry. So we rose at 5 am to pack the bikes and board, then spent much of the ride kibitzing and enjoying the great views and great weather. The ferry docked in Port Hardy about 10 pm, we found a nearby campground. Distance wise, I've now traveled about halfway between Anchorage and LA in only 2 weeks. Since I don't need to be back home for several weeks, I can slow down, ride shorter days and take more days off. Up north, there really wasn't that much to do except enjoy the riding, but now the towns and the attractions will be more densely populated. That has advantages and disadvantages.

Route Change

My usual practice is to ride no more than 3 days in a row without taking a day off. Since I was in the very scenic town of Stewart after riding for 3 days, I decided to spend a day exploring on foot. At breakfast, a waitress told me about a nice little trail used by locals for snowboarding that provided a nice overlook for the harbor. After hiking that, I also almost walked to Hyder Alaska, but turned back because the road became too narrow and the pavement is a pain for walking. I got on my bike to ride there and only then realized that I had walked within a couple of hundred yards of the border and the little town on the other side. I ate dinner the Bitter Creek Cafe and got into a tussle with the waitress there about using the internet connection in the attached hotel, where I had stayed the night before, before moving to a campground managed by the same people. Anyone catering to travelers should realize that internet access is not for fun and games but a link to vital information such as weather, accommodations, ferry schedules and the like as well as the best method of personal and business communication. She could have told me that the Information Center had free internet access. Everyone else I met in Stewart was very nice.

That evening, while studying the map to plan the next day's ride, I realized that the option of riding to Prince Rupert and taking a ferry to Port Hardy on Vancouver Island had significant advantages. It would save several hundred miles of riding and eliminate much backtracking on Vancouver Island. Besides, this is supposed to be a West Coast trip and the riding would all be far inland while the ferry would stay along the coast. So at the junction of Hgwys 37 and 16 I turned west rather than east and therefore traveled for 150 miles in the same direction on the same highway as last year. But I tell you, between the junction with 37 and Prince Rupert, Highway 16, known as the Yellowhead Highway, is as scenic as any in North America. Riding it again was not disappointing.

Bike Service in Alaska

I've had pretty good experiences with the service people there. Like most people in Alaska they seem genuinely interested in helping out other people, even tourists. Of course, it's best to understand their perspective and meet them at least half way. They are busy in the summer and don't want to tie up mechanics with a major job that will leave several other customers waiting. Try to make sure your bike is in good shape before heading up the AlCan. Pay particular attention to the tires as you will likely travel several thousand rough miles before returning to the lower 48. New tires are much more expensive in Alaska and tire dealers won't ship there. The more work you can do on your own, the better off you will be. I was able to get new tires mounted in a day rather than weeks only because I was able to remove the wheels myself. Practice this at home. And lastly, I would say, be prepared to leave your bike there for the winter and fly home if there is a major problem and you can't wait weeks to get it fixed. That's just the reality of riding to Alaska, which is a great adventure but deserves adequate preparation.

I did require major service in Alaska last year, replacement of the starter, but that took only a week and was not the reason for leaving the bike there over the winter. Not making the return trip the same year as the outbound trip greatly helped the psychology of the trip. At times during a long trip the riding can get wearisome and it plays on the mind that every mile you ride out is another mile you need to ride back. On the return trip, there is a tendency for tunnel vision for just getting home, forgetting the critical objective of enjoying where you are. All that was eliminated by flying home. Doing the return trip during a different year makes it a whole new trip, one that can be enjoyed on its own merits. And the riding in Alaska and Canada can be so awesome, you may just want to do it every year. Having a bike already there, rather than having to ride thousands of miles to get there, is a treat.

Borders

Back in Skagway, I met several other bikers at the campground (Tom, Paul, Craig and Rich). We talked for a while, then I cleaned up and went for a meal and a beer or 2. The next day, Saturday, was more coastal fog and mist. I spent the morning doing laundry and food shopping, but when I checked the weather report, it looked like that afternoon would be the best chance of getting over the pass back into Canada for the next few days. So I put the luggage together and headed out. I was rewarded with a mostly dry ride over the pass and beautiful riding afterward, all the way to Teslin Lake, where I camped for the night. On Sunday I rode the AlCan to the junction with highway 37 known as the Cassair Stewart Highway. Unlike the AlCan, there is no shoulder on 37, just steep dropoffs. A trucker died that day when his rig went off that road. I camped at Dease Lake and met Chris and Shaun, 2 nice dirt bikers camped next door. We all had breakfast together and headed off in different directions, Shaun north, me south and Chris on some dirt road. At Bell II I stopped for gas but couldn't unlock the cap. Just then Chris pulled up behind me cover in dried mud. I borrowed some WD40 from the service station and worked the lock for while before it finally became unstuck from road grit. I then rode on to Stewart BC, an interesting and scenic little town. An arm of the Pacific Ocean traverses through the Alaskan panhandle and reaches Stewart, thus providing access to ocean fishing to an area that appears on the map to be land locked.

Chilkoot Trail

The Chilkoot Trail was used by the gold rush stampeders in the late 1800's. It served as the most direct path to the gold mines, not necessarily the easiest. It starts out easy enough from Dyea, the first 12 miles go from flat to gradually increasing grade. Sheep Camp is the last campground before the pass, so it is the best place to stay before starting the difficult climb. The day I went over the pass, the weather was rather nasty; cold, rainy and foggy. Everyone from Sheep Camp started before me, so I was alone scrambling up steep rock piles and ascending icy snow fields, trying hard not to lose the trail in the fog. When I finally reached the hut at the Chilkoot Pass summit, I caught up to some other hikers and they were as soaked and exhausted as I was. The trail continues through the pass, where crater lakes looked likes oceans because the distant shores were not visible. It was all quite spectacular and surreal. Upon reaching my intended destination for the night, Happy Camp, the hut was crowded with wet hikers and dogs. I wanted to camp at a lower elevation where the wind, cold and rain would be less of a problem. Even though I was exhausted, wet and cold with aching feet, I left Happy Camp for a 2 mile hike down to Deep Lake, which was much nicer. The next day the weather broke clear and stayed nice for the remainder of the trip. The third day was a relatively easy 4 mile hike to Lindeman and the last day was a beautiful 6 mile hike to Bennett. The Bennett campground was a sandy beach surrounded by breathtaking mountains. I arrived about midday with temperatures well into the 70's and a blazing sun, so naturally I went for a swim in the glacier fed lake and then laid in the hot sun. The return to Skagway was by the White Pass railroad, which included a pre trip meal of beef stew. There was much camaraderie among the hikers gathered for the meal and train ride, knowing we all pushed ourselves to tackle a challenging, rewarding and historic trail.

Skagway

I rode to Skagway on the 4th and there was much going on. But I was here to get a permit to hike the Chilkoot Trail, which I will start on Monday and hopefully finish on Friday.

Returned as planned from the Chilkoot Trail hike on 7/9, which had adventure I hope to write more about.

Leaving Anchorage

I retrieved the ST on Wednesday. The tires did not have much tread, so I made some phone calls to see if I could get any in Anchorage. The Motorcylce Shop had a Z6's in stock but they said if I wanted them mounted any time soon I would need to take the wheels off myself. Well, I had prepared for just such an eventuality last year by removing the wheels for new tires, but that was with the benefit of a manual and proper tools, neither of which I had with me. But they were very nice and said I could borrow some sockets and work in their parking lot. The only problem was my battery died just short of their parking lot. So I pushed the bike into a space next door and went to work. I got the wheels off ok but had problems getting the rear back on with the brake set properly. I thought the brake might come in handy, so I got the very nice mechanic to help with that and slipped him some cash for his time and trouble. The battery wouldn't charge so I got a new one of those, too. It took most of the day but I left with a bike better prepared for a long distance trip.

I left Anchorage about mid day Thursday. The ride out to Glenallen was very scenic and it felt great to be on the road again. The weather was good that day and again on Friday so I rode a long day for me, to Yukon's Destruction Bay on Lake Kluane. Although the road conditions are challenging, the scenery is amazing and the people are friendly.