Additional comments from the present (Oct. 18, 2019): This entry will take us up The Dempster, and back to Dawson City. The dates on the entries are when they were actually posted, as not much cell coverage was available. I’ll add stuff in italics again as needed.
To be honest, I was sort of confused myself about what happened when, so a lot of journal referencing going on. My apologies if the below reads confusing. I tried to have the journal stuff at the end of what was originally elsewhere.
July 3, 2019 (originally on Facebook)
Hi, everyone! Was out of cell coverage, and will be again, so…
Yesterday saw us (still with the group) head up The Dempster. Not a bad road up to Eagle Plains, but it is a beautiful road. Takes a long time, even if we weren’t stopping often for pictures. Epic scenery, great riding. Really enjoyed it.
Started at about 11, and arrived at about 10pm. A LONG day. Camped last night. The sun makes it so damn hard to sleep. It never goes down.
July 2, 2019 (Personal Journal Excerpts)
Today we all departed Dawson City for The Dempster. Destination: Tuktoyaktuk.
Pretty slow going today. Not because of the roads, really. They were excellent for the most part. Slow because of the scenery. So. Friggin’. Beautiful. And diverse.
Rode through Tombstone park. Saw mountains, lakes, rivers, forests, barren tundra, and so much more. The weather was great as well, on the cooler side, but tolerable.
The Yukon is so immense & gorgeous. The clouds in the sky looked fake. Really, it all did. Like walking into a Bob Ross painting.
We ran across a river with rust colored rocks that was simply amazing, providing a neat contrast to the surrounding forest. Found a spot at the top of a pass overlooking a valley that was perfect for a nap. I laid right next to my bike for a few hours. Most of the day was spent hauling down these amazing roads until I reached a picture spot. And then waiting for everyone else. Highly enjoyable.
The surface has been amazing with perfect traction. Sticky, tacky clay to fast gravel. Today had it all.
Long day saw us arrive at Eagle Plains at about 10pm. Had a few beers. Set up camp. It really is hard to put into words how picturesque it is out here. I wish the fires weren’t hazing the views, but so goes life.
The lodge at Eagle Plains is certainly interesting. The people continue to be characters.
Odo Start: 18,202
Odo End: 18,459
Daily Miles: 257
Cum. Miles: 3,896
Additional comments from the present (Oct. 18, 2019): The bartender/waitress/front desk worker at the lodge was an absolute riot to talk to. She had lived up that way her whole life, I believe. We learned a lot of stuff just chatting with her. We also ran into Tim and his buddy, also heading north. Tim will pop back into the story later. Nice guys that held my food in their room when we learned bears were everywhere out here (I forgot my bear vault at home… idiot!).
Oh, I should also tell you about the crows. The crows up here are massive, and they travel in packs. The ones in Dawson City are put to shame by the bastards in Eagle Plains, though. You can’t leave anything on your bike unless you are ok with the crows taking it. They’re even known to destroy people’s seats.
(Back to Facebook) Today we headed up further. Crossed the arctic circle! Absolutely insane. So cool. Made it to the Northwest Territories as well. This is, and I know I keep using this word, surreal… but it is.
Stopped in Ft. McPherson to figure out if we are pushing on to Inuvik, or heading back. The weather isn’t looking great, and these roads aren’t going to be amazing wet. Eventually we are going to call it.
Leaving cell coverage again, so… I’m alive, and having fun.
July 4, 2019 (originally on Facebook)
Well, decided not to push to Tuktoyaktuk. Returned to Eagle Plains to bear some weather. I’m not really intent on going to Tuk, so all good. Came back with two of the other guys.
I’ll head back to Dawson tomorrow, then Fairbanks the next day.
Such a great trip.
July 3, 2019 (Personal Journal Excerpts)
Didn’t sleep well last night. The constant light is the issue. Not sure any of us slept well, honestly.
Eagle Plains sits at kilometer 371 (mile 231) of The Dempster highway, Yukon Territory. It’s the first fuel after kilometer zero. They have rooms, food, fuel, and camping. Of course there is also a bar.
After everyone was fed (the food is ok enough) we headed north again. We’ve been watching the weather reports closely, as they change quite quickly. Rain makes there road a muddy mess, and we have been lucky so far. Hoping for that luck to hold.
Again the roads are good, fast, and fun. I find a groove, really loving the morning. It isn’t long before a significant milestone is reached: The Arctic Circle.
Holy crap! I made it this far. This is the furthest north I’ve ever been. Pretty incredible. It really marks a significant milestone on this journey. I’m officially in the arctic. Wild.
After we’d all soaked it in, taken our pictures, congratulated each other, it was time to push on. Another goal awaited.
There was a problem, though. Marshall’s bike wouldn’t start. Turns out the HID ballast on one of his headlights had gone bad, causing a short. We got it all sorted eventually, but burned nearly two hours. A few of the guys wondered about going further, and int he end the desire to push on won out.
It wasn’t long, maybe an hour, before we hit the next cool marker. The border to The Northwest Territories.
The roads turned to crap as we approached. Deep gravel, soft mud & dirt. Harder riding. The scenery also shifted from forest and shrubs to huge prairies of wildfires. Hardly a tree in sight as the elevation also rose.
The Northwest Territories are incredible. Once we crossed the border the roads immediately improved as we were told they would.
The first hours riding in the NW Territories felt like what I imagine the Scottish Highlands are like. Craggy rocks, ice cold rivers, creating a feeling of having been transported back in time. Breathtaking.
Every time we stopped for photos someone would ask, “where are we?” It’s that amazing, and diverse. Awe inspiring at every turn.
While the weather had started overcast, bordering on cold, it heated as the sun emerged. Eventually it was actually hot.
Approximately 1 hour from the border is a ferry that shuttles you across the Peel River to a small native town called Ft. McPherson. It has fuel.
Food was nearly impossible to find until we stumbled on a work camp cafeteria. Good enough.
One of the guys overheard a thunderstorm warning on the radio, so lunch talk inevitably turned to the plan.
The initial goal was Tuktoyaktuk, but other factors were at play. Matt’s ultimate goal (and mine, actually) is Deadhorse, AK, and this is just a nice detour. Drew, his brother, doesn’t want to leave him alone, but can go either way. Luke & Marshall are wanting to keep going.
Me? My plans never included Tuk, so this is all bonus time to me. The factors I’m thinking about are maintenance (overdue), and rear tire (being used up). I can go either way, but lean towards heading back.
In the end, only Luke and Marshall decide to press on. The other three of us wish them luck, somewhat reluctantly turning back for Eagle Plains.
I know it was the right decision, but a part of me wishes circumstances had been different. I’ll just have to add Tuk to the list. Sooner than later. Still amazing to have come this far.
The ride back was smooth, easy, mostly uneventful. I did get to stop and lay in some snow we found along the road. It was nice.
I remain absolutely amazed at the constantly changing scenery around me. It really is something to behold.
We’ve not seen much wildlife other than birds the last few days. Sort of a bummer. Really hope that changes.
Back to Eagle Plains at about 18:30. Plenty of time for food & beers. Three of us sharing a room this time. Hoping for better sleep.
Odo Start: 18,459
Odo End: 18,693
Daily Miles: 234
Cum. Miles: 4,130
July 4, 2019 (originally on Facebook)
My first Fourth of July out of the US was today (I actually don’t know that for sure). Missing home, but still having a blast.
Woke up to wet roads, cloudy skies, and cool temperatures. At least it wasn’t actually raining. The mosquitos seemed to be enjoying the weather…
We (still riding with two of the guys I met days back) hit the road back to Dawson City, and the conditions couldn’t have been better. Stuff was wet, but the roads were tacky, making the riding fairly fantastic.
Good pace all day for me. Really enjoyed wringing it out in a few spots. Man, it was epic. Everyone was having a great time, and we were humming along.
A few hours later saw a bit of an issue, though. One of the KLRs seemed to have a slightly clogged carb, so he was severely speed limited. Luckily it was towards the end, so we decided to just press on for Dawson City, and deal with it there.
The variety of scenery in this part of the world is insane. Gone from tundra to what could have passed for the Scottish highlands to pine forest to prairies to Rockies. Absolutely gorgeous.
Back in Dawson City for the night. Going to wander around a bit. Alaska tomorrow.
Happy 4th, friends.
July 6, 2019 (partial FB post)
This is gonna be a longer one, because I’m actually going to start with some of yesterday’s shenanigans after getting back to Dawson City.
We called the local “Kawasaki dealer”, who is actually a guy we met the first time into Dawson City to see if he could help with the bike. There was also some welding to be done, so… only in Dawson is there a KLR being worked on in the street in front of a hotel. Totally normal. Even tripping the breaker with a tig welder didn’t phase anyone, and the hotel owner even offered to reset it as needed. He deemed this to be within reason.
Afterwards we went for drinks, and a good time. The reason I’m telling you all this is because we ended up exploring some old abandoned river boats. They were beached about 100 years ago when they were no longer useful. It was really cool, and I figure you’d enjoy some of the images. It also explains why we didn’t hit the road until around 2.
July 4, 2019 (Personal Journal Excerpts)
We didn’t leave Eagle Plains until close to 11 this morning. We’ve all realized it doesn’t matter when the sun never goes down. You could ride all night if you wanted.
Its as cold & wet when we started, but would end up hot and dry in Dawson City. Par for the course.
Another great riding day. Getting to see the terrain in the opposite direction afforded a different take on things. We stopped often due to this. Really enjoyed everything.
With maybe 100 miles to go Matt’s bike decided it didn’t want to rev over ~4,500rpm. It would stutter, protest, but not rev. Needless to say , it was a slow ride out, but we made it.
We actually sent Matt ahead because of how slowly he was moving at times. Drew & I took some time knowing we’d be able to catch up, but it actually led to a somewhat comical situation. Matt got much further ahead of us than we assumed he would, which caused us both to panic, thinking he crashed or we lost him somehow. Some mental math made us realize he really was that far ahead of us, and we booked to catch him. Quite fun, actually.
Just about at mile 0 the road drops down a hill providing a spectacular view. You could see smoke from several fires. I found a spot to watch, and take a few pictures. It was eerie, but strangely beautiful.
Apparently there are a lot of fires right now, causing skies to be full of smoke, impairing visibility. Once we reached Dawson City we found our new rooms at the bunk house.
As has become normal on this trip a KLR was then being torn apart in front of a hotel.
Max even came by to weld a broken crash bar. Plugging in the welder caused a breaker at the hotel to pop. The hotel owner found all of this perfectly reasonable. Only in Dawson City.
I remain convinced we are in either an alternate reality, or something like ‘The Truman Show”. We have yet to see anyone besides Max that was here during our last visit mere days ago. I even went to the Sourdough Bar to buy some beers to go.
Heading to Gerties for dinner. Might actually be all that is open.
Odo Start: 18,693
Odo End: 18,974
Daily Miles: 281
Cum. Miles: 4,411
After dinner, and what qualifies as a bar hop around here, Max talked Drew & I (no idea where Matt went) into crossing the river on the ferry to check out some 100+ year old paddleboat that were beached and abandoned. We also had Tim (I told you he’d be back) with us.
The boats were so awesome. We climbed all over them exploring. Max even climbed inside the stack of one. Nutter.
Didn’t get back to our rooms until 4:30. Going to be a long day tomorrow.
Ryan Cavalier 