Alaska & Beyond, pt.ix – take 2

Met a group when I stopped for gas. Four guys heading the same way. We rode the rest of the day together. So…

Additional comments from the present (Oct. 15, 2019): As I pulled up to the pumps there was already a group there getting fuel. Four guys, all riding KLRs. I assumed they were together based on their interactions with each other.

I got fuel, and headed into the store for some type of energy drink, and stickers (oh yeah, I’ve been buying stickers everywhere I can). It was either in the store, or just outside that I started chatting with one of the guys about their trip. This is when I started learning about them, and their plans. Turns out, there were some parallels to be had.

The first of the four turned out to be called Drew. As we were talking, the second of the four came over – Marshall. He wanted my opinion on the groups tires. He was (very) concerned that they just didn’t have enough tread to make it to their goal – Tuktoyaktuk. I said it was ‘probably fine’, but that didn’t seem to comfort Marshall. You could see in his face I probably made the anxiety a bit worse.

The two other guys (who would turn out to be Matt, and Luke) were off taking a nap. Apparently we’d all stayed out a bit late the night before (which might be a theme). While we waited for the nappers we continued talking, and got some hotdogs. Actually, I think Luke even joined for the hotdog part. 

Through the course of our discourse I learned that we had the same destination for the day – Dawson City. I also learned that we had the same plans for the next few days – Dawson City. I also learned we were all staying in the same hotel for the next few days – The Downtown Hotel. For whatever reason I decided to inquire about tagging along for the rest of the day’s ride. It made sense somehow, and we all sort of clicked. Or at least seemed to.

Before I move on with the rest of the story, let me introduce the guys really quickly:
Drew – Matt’s brother, from NJ originally, but living in CO
Matt – Drew’s brother, from NJ originally, still living there, riding from Key West, FL
Luke – from NJ originally, living in Salt Lake City, UT
Marshall – Drew’s roommate, from NJ originally, but living in CO

I gave Marshall a yellow ‘Safety Third’ sticker for his bike before we all shoved off towards Dawson City.

I’m changing my plans. They’re all going to Tuktoyaktuk, so I’m gonna tag along. I’ll ride up there, and then to Fairbanks. Needless to say they’re alright guys.

Rode through a forest fire, which was incredibly surreal. The sky was nearly crimson. Other than sucking down ash, and smoke it was really interesting. Completely felt apocalyptic.

Additional comments from the present (Oct. 15, 2019): The fire… what we would later call the portal. We were convinced riding through (or as close to through as we could it seemed) a forest fire transported us to another place. Another time. Another… dimension? Things ceased to be ‘normal’ after the fire.

At first it was just the smell of fire. Fires burning in Alaska were sending smoke into Canada, and had been for a few days. But as we rode the sky darkened with an increasing haze, the air quality diminishing with each kilometer.

And then the ash came. Raining down on us, creating a surreal environment. None of us had ever ridden this close to an active fire. Not sure if we’d even be able to make it through, we pushed on. The sky filtering the sunlight into an apocalyptic mix of crimson & amber. 

We stopped a lot for pictures. We stopped a lot to marvel at how odd everything felt. The air itself was nearly too still. I half expected thousands of animals to come racing out of the forest, fleeing the flames. The silence made things even more uncomfortable. 

Eventually we made it out of the smoke, but the entire experience was… interesting.

After we made it out of the fire we fueled up in a place called Stewart Crossing, which isn’t that interesting in and of itself. What was interesting was the people we met. The Yukon River Quest had just ended (444 miles of paddling – https://www.yukonriverquest.com) so there were a lot of folks on their way out of Dawson City. They had questions for us, and we had questions for them. Good discussions all around.

And now I’m in Dawson City. This is also surreal. So awesome to be here. Staying for Canada day tomorrow, then heading up the Dempster. Yeah!

Additional comments from the present (Oct. 15, 2019): Of course Marshall was still worrying about tires this whole time, which had us all looking around for somewhere that might carry them. It turns out motorcycle shops don’t exist in Dawson City, and all of the auto places were closed anyhow. 

This town is seriously like you’ve stepped back in time. So awesome. Looking forward to exploring tomorrow.

Exhausted, so it’s beer time. Night.

Odo Start: 17,868
Odo End: 18,202
Daily Miles: 334
Cum. Miles: 3,639

Additional comments from the present (Oct. 15, 2019): There is so much that I left out when I originally wrote this. I figure this is as good a time as any to fill in the massive gap.

After we got to our hotel we decided that the best plan was to take quick showers, rally at the hotel bar, and have some food. And drinks, obviously. Marshall and I had a little surprise for the rest of the guys. We knew something about this bar that they didn’t, but we’ll get to that.

First, the ongoing tire saga gets even… funnier? Yeah, I think that is the right word. You see, Marshall inquired at the front desk of the hotel if they knew anywhere to get motorcycle tires. While they didn’t, a strange old man said he did. A strange old man everyone called “The Captain”. 

The Captain handed Marshall a phone book, and told him to call Dick. Yes, a phone book. A printed one. Let’s not get hung up on that. Amazingly, Marshall found Dick in the phone book. More amazingly, the number worked. Sadly, Dick didn’t have any tires anymore due to the fact he’d sold all of his stuff to another guy. Dick did offer to try to get in touch with the other guy, though, and promised to text Marshall as soon as he could. 

In the meantime we had that surprise to attend to. The Downtown Hotel is famous for a drink known as the Sourtoe Cocktail. Yes, you read that correctly – sourtoe. Legend has it that in 1973 The Captain found the amputated toe of an old miner, started plunking it into people’s drinks, and a legend was born. I believe the toe we sampled was number 8.

For the record, you don’t swallow the toe. It doesn’t even go in your mouth. You line up with our shot of whiskey (Yukon Gold in this case), pay the man $8, and take a seat. The Captain waves the toe in front of you face and tells you the rules… “you can drink it fast, you can drink it slow, but your lips must touch the toe”. 

It really wasn’t bad. 100% worth it for the certificate. Sure, it’s strange, but that is part of the whole thing, right? I’m impressed all five of us did it, and nobody backed out. Marshall even got a bit of a haircut in the process – The Captain mentioned he wanted to cut off a curl that had formed at Marshall’s forehead, and that is exactly what happened. Marshall might be married to The Captain now – no-one is sure.

After the hotel bar closed we found a pizza place, met some of the locals (they’re… interesting)  and got the tip to go to Gerties. Diamond Tooth Gerties is the local casino, and they do cabaret shows a few times a night. It was super fun, and another must if you’re ever in Dawson City. One note I’m still having issues wrapping my head around is the casino’s status as a non-profit. That was a first for me.

After that it was off to “The Pit”. A bar I really wasn’t into. Even so, the guy selling hotdogs outside (the cheddars were great) was super interesting. Hotdogs pay the bills, but rapping is his actual passion. Again, more characters to talk to.

Oh, the featured image was taken at approximately 2am. In case you were wondering what the sun situation is this far north. 

Tune in tomorrow for more exciting adventures in Dawson City. A whole day in town, plus it’s a holiday!