Additional comments from the present (Oct. 28, 2019): I must apologize for missing last Friday. Things got busy, and I ran out of time… so… here we are, on Monday with a new post.
Going to stick with using my journal for the next few posts. Because of a lack of cellular service things got a bit out of order.
As you’ll find out, I made it to Deadhorse Alaska, and to the ocean. Technically it’s the Beaufort Sea, but that is part of the Arctic Ocean, so… enjoy.
July 8, 2019 (personal journal)
This morning was miserable. Barely slept. Partly because of the light. Partly the heat. It’s so hot still. I’m in the arctic, and it’s almost 80 degrees. Alaska is supposed to be cold.
Because we decided to ride late the morning was sitting around, napping, trying to relax. Unfortunately, our campsite has zero shade. Add the sun that is perpetually up… yeah, awful.
It didn’t take us long to break camp to head back to Coldfoot. At least they had shade, a restaurant with fans, and cold drinks. Hung out there for a bit.
Ran into Acorn again, who has decided to ride with us to Deadhorse. Nobody seems to mind.
Before leaving we went to the visitor center across the street. In spite of not having A/C it was quite cool. I fell asleep in a movie they were showing. Fell asleep again in a comfy lobby chair. Really needed the sleep, apparently.
It was probably 8pm before we finally turned north. 239 miles to Deadhorse!
Not long after we left I saw a moose with her calf playing in a lake. So cool I actually stopped to watch a bit while everyone else kept going. I’m usually the fastest rider, so it isn’t hard to catch up.
The road is still not awful. Still a mix of paved, barely paved, gravel, not sure… and all with potholes to dodge. Haven’t been really challenged, and that is a-ok. Having a blast. About 60 miles north of Coldfoot the road begins a steep, switchback-laden climb over the Atigun Pass. This signifies two things: 1) you’re nearly on the north slope, and 2) you’re crossing the continental divide.
Holy crap! Another milestone on this rad journey north.
I guess there is a third thing: the mosquitos are about to get 75x worse somehow. It’s seriously awful. I really don’t get it, at all. I’ve likely used enough deet to go sterile. Still better than being eaten alive.
Nothing really interesting between there & Prudhoe. Yes, the views are still rad. Yes, the pipeline is still majestic. No, you don’t constantly stop. Mosquitos.
This is also the longest stretch without fuel. I carried extra that I didn’t end up needing, but the KLRs did. Even so, I’d run in on fumes. Some day I’ll tame my throttle wrist. Yeah, probably not.
Just about two hours to go caused the sun to pretend to go down. That simply meant you were riding into it just over the horizon seemingly everywhere you turned. Such an odd phenomenon. The temps also started to drop. The KLRs ran out of fuel.
40 miles to go was when it got really cold. We were riding above the clouds it seemed, approaching a point we’d have to plunge in. Ice was all over the distant hills.
I forgot to mention that we hadn’t seen tree since Atigun Pass. This land is eerily beautiful. At one point I surprised a musk ox grazing along the road. Luckily he retreated into the ditch, and not my line.
At this point I could see the inevitable ride into the clouds, and couldn’t stand the cold any longer. I waved everyone ahead so I could add a layer plus a balaclava. All the while swatting the swarming mosquitos.
When you first stop there are none, and seconds later 1 or 2. Fractions of a second later, millions. I really don’t get it. They are the worse. Not sure they should even exist.
At any rate, once bundled I pressed on, plunging into a freezing, near blinding fog alone. Immediately soaked, my visor turning to a muddy window, this was actually a bit of a challenge. The visibility was almost nothing. Never did we emerge from the freezing, impossibly cold arctic fog, yet we managed to find each other again at the end of the road.
We made it. At approximately 2:15am on July 9, 2019 we arrived in Deadhorse, Alaska. Prudhoe Bay.
We needed gas so we hung a left to the container gas station (cheapest in town, apparently – by $.08).
It really didn’t hit me that I’d done it, achieved my goal, until I got gas. I actually did the thing I’d set out to do. Yes, there were delays & detours. Minor setbacks. Mental blocks. Even so, I did it!
This is the furthest road north in the United States. Holy shit!
A list of things to get here:
- Enter Canada
- Cross B.C. south to north (bottom to top)
- Enter the Yukon
- Detour to the Dempster
- Visit the NWT
- Cross Arctic Circle (TWICE!)
- Cross Continental Divide
- Survive
I’m so proud of myself for doing this. Even when I talked about it… even when I left home… it seemed impossible – or at least not quite real. It wasn’t impossible. I did it. Not sure how to describe the emotions involved.
Deadhorse. I’m here.
We had planned to camp before Deadhorse, but it was freezing, we were exhausted, not to mention wet. So the four of us decided to try to find a room.
First two places we tried were full. Not unusual, as this isn’t a tourist place. This is a working oil field, really. In fact, there isn’t a good reason to come here if you aren’t involved in the trade, to be honest. It’s simply a destination for some of the crazier adventure riders.
We found Deadhorse Camp, rooms for us, beds, showers. Passing out is going to be amazing.
I DID IT!
Odo Start: 19,701
Odo End: 19,958
Daily Miles: 257
Cum. Miles: 5,395
July 9, 2019 (personal journal)
In spite of not falling asleep until well after 3am I was up and moving fairly early. Somewhere around 7:30. Early enough to have breakfast. Which was fantastic, and actually made to order. These oil folks know how to do it.
Deadhorse is actually ~10 miles short of Prudhoe Bay. Because it is all oil fields security is tight. The only way to get to the Beaufort Sea (part of the Arctic Ocean) is to sign up for a tour 24 hours in advance to allow background checks to be done. Obviously, we did that. Would be a shame to come all this way to not touch the water.
Our bus left at 8:30, showing us the oil operations. Pretty interesting, but I just wanted to get to the ocean – LET’S GO! After a while, including going through a checkpoint (seriously, security is real here), we got to the water. The bus actually stops at a man-made rock ‘pier’, and thing you get to go out on and get in the water.
We were warned to watch for polar bears. The ice is melted which means they are coming in. Not frightening at all… right?
Drew and his brother took a full swim. I did not. I went to my knees. Damn that water is cold. Still got my certificate. I’m ok with not having gone full polar bear. It was still an excellent experience that few will have. I did it! Cross that off the bucket list.
When we got back to camp (forgot to mention the tour bus left from where we stayed, which was convenient) it was nap time. They let us stay late due to our late arrival.
Acorn didn’t do the tour with us, and seemed irritated about waiting, so… I guess he left with some other guys. Not a big deal. He was starting to wear a bit, he’s just a lot of character.
Took an amazing shower after my nap. At this point I should describe the place a bit. Deadhorse Camp, and really all the places here, are for the oil workers to live. As such, they’re simple rooms, dorm style baths, mess halls. Working places. Deadhorse Camp assigns rooms. All the rooms lock from the inside (no keys), and it all seems to be built from containers. Oh, shoes off is a strict rule.
The weather today was great, by the way. No fog, and warm in the sun. “Warm” meaning not freezing. I liked it.
Took a while to get the bags packed, but we finally figured it out. I might have been the slowest, until Matt & Drew decided to do random bike maintenance. I relaxed some more.
From there we visited the general store for stickers, pictures with the actual Deadhorse sign, and more ‘celebration’.
There really aren’t any restaurants in Deadhorse, it all revolves around oil. Lunch isn’t as simple as finding a burger joint. Hotels aren’t your normal hotels.
Where we had lunch was on of the bigger ‘hotels.’ Oil companies really pay for them as dorms. Everyone is required to wear booties. The front dest eventually explained it all to us, and it made way more sense.
The mess hall is $19/person, all you can eat, plus you’re free to pack food to go (which we all did – enough for two days). Sanitize your hands, put on gloves, get food. Find table. Remove gloves. Eat.
Do not touch anything without gloves if it isn’t the food you are actively eating. Seriously. Don’t.
Their hygiene practices are serious. Their food is simply ok. Their variety is nuts.
After eating, and packing extra we basically hauled back to Coldfoot. Well, KLRs ran out of gas, obviously. Gotta laugh.
I did find an old fire station that is long abandoned on Atigun Pass. Way cool to poke around a bit while waiting for the guys.
Smoke from a fire somewhere caused the sun to create an impressive ‘sunset’ that we stopped to enjoy a while. I even saw the moon come out for a short hello.
Made it back to Coldfoot before midnight where we set camp. They actually have a free area. Excellent.
Odo Start: 19,958
Odo End: 20,210
Daily Miles: 252
Cum. Miles: 5,647
P.S. Seriously, though… Prudhoe Bay! Arctic Ocean!
Ryan Cavalier 