Additional comments from the present (Oct. 24, 2019): Greeting AND salutations, good people of the internet! This is another part of the trip where not a lot was posted on the Bookface. SOOOO… I’m just going to relay the story of our departure in Fairbanks, and our arrival in Coldfoot. Coldfoot being the last outpost until you reach Deadhorse. I’ve also reached into some photos that weren’t shared previously.
July 7, 2019 (personal journal)
No the earliest start today, but with the light the way it is, not a big deal. It’s both a blessing and a curse to have 24hr a day light. Great for riding, but terrible for sleeping.
There are apparently 57(!) active fires in Alaska, and we had to ride towards one. The smoke was progressively worse, not clearing until nearly reaching the Yukon River about 2 hours later.
But I was on THE DALTON! Amazing. Heading towards my goal, I was buzzing with excitement. This is really why I came.
The road is mainly gravel, fairly rough in sports as it winds it’s way through switchbacks, and over a mountain. It’s beautiful, as well as dangerous. I can fully see how bad it gets when it’s wet. Luckily the weather is dry – so far.
The weather – Alaska (well, nothing north of Liard, really) has not been as expected. It’s been really hot for the most part, with several days in the mid-high 80s. Not the freezing I was warned about. Crazy to me.
When we stopped at the Dalton Highway sign a few guys rolled up for a quick chat. We saw them again upon reaching The Yukon River Camp. The first stop for food & fuel. Really good burger, actually.
Additional comments from the present (Oct. 24, 2019): The road even getting to The Dalton is seriously garbage. It’s paved, but the winters completely kick the crap out of it. Garbage is even a terribly nice way to refer to the road. We saw a camper nearly go over, the heaves are so bad. It’s easy enough to catch air if you want to.
The two guys that stopped at the sign with us… nice guys. A bit older. They bragged about chasing us down, and catching up to us. So, we’d see them on the road to the river, and I’d make a point to chase them down, and beat them into camp. Just because I’m a child like that sometimes. It was so fun!
I mentioned we had to ride next to another fire, and that is what we did. At the time we joked that we’d found the exit to the portal that had led us to Dawson City, but we’d later realize that wasn’t the case. If anything it was just a maintenance tunnel.
Right across from the ‘camp’ is a little visitor’s center. They have stamps for your passport, area info, and a great viewing area for the pipeline.
You can see it here and there throughout Alaska, but this was really the first opportunity up close for me. Damn impressive, and I’ll be riding along it the next several days. Before moving along I had a stroll down by the river for a nap. While lying down I accidentally discovered a geocache. Funny. It was hidden inside the railing I was using for shade.
Additional comments from the present (Oct. 24, 2019): Still riding with Drew, and his brother Matt. I’m impressed that we’ve all been hanging out this long, and for this many miles. Really a group that just clicked. Super fun.
Back on the road after a thirty minute power nap. Next stop was Finger Mountain. Just below the Arctic Circle, Finger Mountain is a series of unique rock formations. Totally worth wandering around. Frost heave creates rings of rock all covered in lichen. Really amazing to look at.
Fireweed continues to be everywhere, and adds to the beauty of the landscape.
And hour later found me (us) crossing the Arctic Circle again, back to the arctic we go! Still super cool. Pretty far north, but I’ve got further to go.
Drew kept having chain problems. The thing would fall off every so often, which made for some slow going. The third time it happened the decision was made to replace it. At this point it was almost 10pm. Like I said, slow going.
Turns out, neither Drew nor Matthew had ever really changed a chain themselves. It’s been quite a while for me. This was going to be interesting. While Drew found tools (and parts), I remembered how things worked, and Matt made some food. He also gave us a shot of ever clear, which probably jogged the memory.
Once the chain was fixed, and we were packing back up, I heard something. Something large was in the trees on the other side of the road. Not great. Noise was made, bikes were started, and the culprit (likely a bear) disappeared.
There best of the run to Coldfoot was easy, even mostly (poorly) paved. We hit Coldfoot minutes after midnight, and the restaurant was kind enough to serve us even though they were technically closed.
While we ate we decided to camp at Marion Creek a few miles up. We also decided we would spend the day relaxing, not leaving until sometime around 8pm. Cooler temps with plenty of light, nearly no trucks or construction provided another advantage to a night run to Deadhorse.
Finally set up camp at about 3am. Time to pass out. Long days are long. Really long.
Odo Start: 19,400
Odo End: 19,702
Daily Miles: 302
Cum. Miles: 5,238
Ryan Cavalier 