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!

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

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.

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!

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.

Additional comments from the present (Oct. 14, 2019): The above post is obviously light on content. There is an explanation. We’ve reached a spot where I need to decide how to proceed. I could just write what happened, and that would probably be fine. I could also add to what happened, and then add the “truth”, which would would be… better. I could  totally lie. It’s a weird decision. Without having been there, it’s hard to even understand. So, I’m buying a day in essence by asking you, the reader, to accept this as my entry. Believe me, it will be way more exciting shortly. After all – this is the day it really got going… in a Stephen King sort of way… I’m going to make this much more interesting, I promise.

Not too long after the skies became black, lightning shot to the earth, and the skies rumbled something fierce. The rain was back. Giant drops I could feel through my gear. Drops that stung where they managed to find skin. It didn’t last long, but it would come back again and again. And again.

The temp swings were pretty insane as well. At one point it went from 67ish to 43ish in a matter of minutes. I pulled into Quesnel to near 80 degree weather that has since turned to (surprise!) rain. Seems I’ve been chasing a thunderstorm all day.

I didn’t take too many pictures because of the weather, but the sights were amazing. Some really excellent old/abandoned buildings also. Love that stuff, and wish I’d had more ability to explore a bit.

I had lunch in 100 Mile House, which was… sort of sad. I dunno. Wasn’t into it. Even so, it was an opportunity to layer up, and I’d be glad for it (see above re: temp. swings).

Wasn’t a crazy long day at only about 330 miles, but was certainly a varied one. I suppose I could have pushed a bit further, but here I am.

Here I am with a beer in hand, and a grilled cheese on its way. Not too shabby. I think I was supposed to stop here.

The downs… been in a weird mood the last few days. Normally I’d be halfway through a vacation, starting to think about work again. Now I’m not, and it feels… empty-ish. Found myself wondering if I made a mistake, but I think it’s just temporary. As much as I liked my job, and love Mazda… I needed this more.

Alright, enough sappy stuff. I’m gonna go figure out where to go tomorrow…

Additional comments from the present (Oct. 9, 2019): This was a hard day for me. I had a small crisis, to be honest. Sometimes being alone with your thoughts isn’t really the best, but it’s hard to avoid on a motorcycle. It all worked out in in the end. Below you’ll see an excerpt from my personal journal that sort of expands on it. For whatever reason I think it’s important to share this part of it. Experiences like this aren’t all sunshine, rainbows, and positive. I feel it’s a thing people should understand, so…

June 26, 2019 (Personal Journal Excerpts)

Today… today was a bit up, a bit down, a smattering of sun, and a healthy dose of rain. 

Today is/was also my Nephew Owen’s 6th birthday. Happy birthday to my dude. Missing you so very much. 

Missing the whole family, really. Hard being away. Wish I could just ‘pop in’. Let’s get the ‘down’ part out of the way now. Missing the fam. Special days are hard. More than that, though… I’m basically at the point where I’d [normally] start realizing I have to go back to work soon. I’d start to let it creep back into my thoughts. This time I don’t have to, and it’s making me feel… I don’t know… empty-ish I suppose. I’ve found myself wondering if I’ve made a huge mistake leaving my job, but I think it’s just temporary. As much as I liked the work, and love Mazda, I need this more. I’ll be fine, right?

…

Odo Start: 16,357
Odo End: 16,680
Daily Miles: 323
Cum. Miles: 2,117

June 27, 2019

Guess what, folks! Today started cold & dreary. Bet you didn’t see that coming!

Luckily, it got hot not too long after. I’m talking nearly 70 degrees hot. Yeah! It was a pretty nice morning from that perspective.

The morning saw not only a rise in temperature, but a change in scenery as well. So far it’s been “expected”. Pine trees. Mountains. Rugged. Today brought larger open spaces, more “prairie” feel, and wind. A lot of wind. Son of a…!

At first they were few and far between, standing like ghosts among the pines. Tall, pale, slender, and nearly naked spruce trees slowly started appearing amongst their evergreen brothers. Slowly they became the dominant sight along my journey, their leaves shimmering in the wind creating a captivating sight. Absolutely beautiful.

Even though the landscape had changed the rivers and lakes continued to dominate. Each one felt just as special as the last. Each one uniquely its own.

It’s difficult to take a lot of pictures here. The roads are too travelled to just stop like I’d done in Patagonia. The places you can stop generally provide no view. I’m learning to just enjoy with my eyes as I pass.

The smells are also something to be savored. Pine, flowing water, wildflowers, grasses, fresh air. I feel bad for the “cagers” stuck in their climate controlled bubbles. They’re missing an enhancement to the visuals.

Not long after things warmed up did I have my first wildlife run-in. It wasn’t a bear, a deer, a moose… nothing like that. It was a dog. Two, actually. In the middle of nowhere. How the hell? Also, is it me? Same thing happened in Patagonia. Crazy.

Not long after that I saw a bald eagle. Absolutely awesome. Love those birds.

Not long after THAT the road climbed again. The temps dropped again. And then it happened… saw my first bear. Then another one. I’m not saying the paranoia of bears “everywhere” kept me from stopping much, but I’m not denying it, so…

My stomach was growling, the bike was running low. It was nice to reach an actual town. Chetwynd allowed me to gas up, and get food in my stomach. Sadly, it was Subway, which was only a marginally better option than A&W. Blech.

At this point I want to thank the gentleman at the gas station that made a “dodging the rain” comment. Way to ruin it, dude.

Sure enough, it poured on my way out of town. Small drops this time. Each like a needle no matter where it hit. Radical.

It did let up long enough for me to enjoy an intersection, and chat with a local. After that, though… it got worse. Wanna guess when it stopped? If you guessed the second I parked at my motel you’d be the winner. Give yourself a prize.

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful unless you count the steel floor bridge that was the worst I’ve ever been on. Metric spacing, maybe? Awful. The old pig was not happy, and I thought I might actually go down at one point it was moving so much.

351 miles today. Not too shabby. In Ft. St. John tonight. Heading to Muncho Lake tomorrow.

Odo Start: 16,680
Odo End: 17,031
Daily Miles: 351
Cum. Miles: 2,468

Got to see Brandon for the first time in ages, which was awesome.

Packed the bike for my departure tomorrow, rearranged a bunch of stuff. Should probably wash a few things tonight.

Whistler tomorrow. I suppose that’s the “real” trip start.

June 23, 2019 (Personal Journal Excerpts)

…Did an REI run for some supplies. Needed a beanie, some food, shovel… totally lame stuff I should have remembered. Oh, bear spray. I also bought bear spray.

Tried to visit a BMW dealer, but it was closed in spite of their listed hours online. It is Sunday, so I didn’t really think they’d be open, but I was hopeful. I’ll pick up an air filter somewhere north. Not a huge deal. 

…Got everything repacked to set off tomorrow. had to put the bike in the garage. Nice to have that option with the rain.

Whistler tomorrow. I guess that is the real trip start. Nobody to visit, just miles to log, and sights to see.

June 24, 2019

About to head over the border for some French fries and gravy, eh.

Day 12? I’m losing track.

Left Bothell, WA today heading for Whistler. Rather than just go up 5 I went 9 north to cross the border at Sumas. Was a bit busier than expected, but the ride getting there was way better.

After entering Canada as gently as possible I skirted Vancouver proper to avoid traffic. There’s quite a lot of roadworks, but not bad overall.

Grabbed a few Portland friends, and rode the first leg from Carson, WA to Packwood, WA. It was an absolute blast. Amazing weather, mostly fun roads. Took a while to get used to the big bike loaded on gravel again, but it eventually worked out. What a riot.

Had some righteous dudes come with me, too. Keith, Shahin, and Adam rode with to Packwood where we shoved some burgers in our faces before parting ways.

They headed back south while I headed north around the back of Mt. Rainier. I cut through the national park, and climbed to cold weather with snow still on the ground. Absolutely beautiful sights.

Popped out near Enumclaw, then the quick run to Bothell.

Awesome day. Long day (almost 12 hours). Point me to beer!

June 21, 2019 (Personal Journal)

Today was, in a word, awesome. It was a day that felt so “normal” it made me feel at home.

I woke up at Shahin’s where I’ve been spending most of my Portland time. He made coffee, lox, bagels, eggs… good energy food for our day ahead.

A really significant part of this trip was my desire to get some friends together to ride at least leg 1 of the Washington Backcountry Discovery Route (WABDR). It’s been so long since we’ve had a chance to ride together, and having friends along for gravel would ease my mind a bit – at least for the first part.

Luckily, Kieth (yes, I know it’s actually ‘Keith’), Adam, and Shahin were game. Unfortunately, Rick & Devon couldn’t make it. Still, I was excited. Shahin & I headed to Washougal, WA to meet Adam & Keith, have coffee, and get ready to roll. It was a 10am meet time, which we arrived to ~15 minutes late to. Fashionably, of course. About 30 minutes later the group was blasting towards Carson, WA, home of Backwoods Brewing. No, we didn’t stop.

Adam led us to the start in Carson. The beginning was fun, but I was very apprehensive. I’ve not had the big girl loaded, and on gravel in a very long time. Actually, Patagonia may be my last big & loaded ride – that wasn’t even my bike.

Spent a good bit of the time second to last, just getting used to things again. Took a while, but eventually it started click. No major issues, but certainly adjustments. 

So, the WABDR leg is broke up by some very short paved sections every so often, which is actually a nice break here and there. The first such one allowed a regroup, some water, and got us all looking out for… well… a lookout. I wanted pictures.This time I took up the back of the pack, which was totally ok with me. The trail was so dusty (been hot and dry in these parts) that last let me lag enough to ride out of most of it without leading.

There were some huge potholes. I mean huge. There was also deep gravel, sand (Keith steered us quite wrong… quite wrong), rocky bits. A bit of everything, really.

A few wrong turns, and dirt legs down found me in front of Shahin. He really wasn’t in love with his tires. Eek. Confidence in your equipment is huge. Sucks when it isn’t there. His waned while mine grew. Ah, I’m a bit ahead of myself. While still riding sweep, I came across Shahin. In a ditch. Oops. Still up, thankfully. He had taken his eyes off the road for a split second, which is all it takes. 

Moved some sticks. Slight push. Easy peezy, lemon squeezy, back on our way. A few corners later and we found an epic spot looking out at a beautiful valley. The perfect place for a break. 

Snacks, laughs, water, shenanigans, and we were finally back on our way. ‘Finally’ only because we all could have sat in that spot all day. Absolutely epic view. Not quite as epic as Mt. Adams later, but not far off.

Adam was learning a new bike, Keith got less slow, I was getting faster, Shahin was doing his thing. It all meant we stayed pretty close together, which was nice. Keith & Adam switched being lead, and both led us to u-turns more than once, which was actually mostly funny.

So many miles of gravel came down to a near 20 mile sprint to Packwood, WA. A 20 mile, gravel, mostly open, sprint. The stuff I absolutely love to ride. So… I sped past the group, twisted my wrist, and found myself flying down some fantastic roads at speed in the 70s at times. The mix of gravel with tacky, wet earth was fantastic. Reminded me of some of the best Patagonia days.

I finally hit my stride with the big bike right as things were winding down. So worth it. Adam, usually way faster, said I was flying. Wish he had a new bike making him nervous every time we rode. So fun! Love being a rabbit when no-one is catching. 

We reached Packwould at about 5pm-ish. That’s quite a bit longer than I thought it would take, but I wasn’t mad at all. We grabbed some burgers and beers in town at a small place called Cliff Droppers. Highly recommend. So good (I’d imagine even without having just had a giant ride). Do want to return.

Afterwards we said sad goodbyes. I was heading north still. They were going back south. Wish they could have kept going with me.

After I jumped back on the road at ~1800, it was another 3 hour run to reach my ultimate goal for the day – Bothell, WA. Staying a few days with my friend Jamie & her husband Gary.

Went around Mt. Rainier, through the national park, and up to snow littering the ground before finally reaching Enumclaw.

The road around/over Rainier is breathtaking. Amazing views, great riding, and just a total riot. Loved it all. 

Sadly, the jaunt up the highway was none of those things. What it lacked in desirable categories it made up for in speed. I arrived just before 2100, right as the sun was packing it in for the day. Perfect timing. 

Nearly 12 hours after getting on the bike saw my day finally end. I wish it hadn’t. Such a great day. Can’t wait for more. 

Odo Start: 15,806
Odo End: 16,131
Daily Miles: 325
Cum. Miles: 1,568

Afterward: I’m surprised it’s that many total miles so far as I’ve been messing around so much. I’m sure they’ll start to tally quickly soon.

I rolled out of St. Helena at about 13:00, so perfectly on schedule seeing as how I have no schedule.

It was perfect weather, clear skies, warm temps as I wound my way through the Napa valley on some perfectly winding roads. Absolutely beautiful day. The roads kept being excellent as well.

Eventually it was onto the 101 for a while. Stopped in Ukiah for a bit to check out some Sun House I saw a sign for. I was curious, so pulled off for a look. Turned out to be some sort of museum, which I wasn’t in the mood for. Even so, found a cool wall with an old door, saw an old house. Nearly melted. It got hot. So hot.

Back to the 101 where the scenery kept getting better as I rolled along. Redwoods started dominating the landscape, and I got excited for…

Avenue of the Giants! Not my first time, but these trees never cease to amaze. So massive. I always pretend I’m flying through on a speeder bike (yeah, I know how nerdy that is). I did the whole thing from bottom to top, and enjoyed all of it.

Grabbed gas in Miranda while I was passing through. The lady couldn’t understand how my bike took so much fuel. “Never seen a BMW motorcycle…” That can’t be right. Oh, at this point the weather was still great. That’s foreshadowing, in case you were wondering why I mentioned the weather.

After a while you’re forced back to the 101, so that’s what happened next. The Redwood Highway does not disappoint. Still crazy beautiful sights to be seen.

Unfortunately, it started to get cold. Then colder. Enough that I pulled over, zipped every zipper closed, and found warmer gloves. Good thing I did because the fog started rolling in taking temps further south. Down into the 50s south. Brr.

I kept seeing cool things to stop at (like the best old building in the pictures), but it was getting late. I was getting tired. It was getting colder. Some cool stuff had to go unexplored. Really didn’t get to my hotel until about 20:30.

Long day, but totally worth it. Tomorrow: it’s on to Portland!

Odo Start: 15,151
Odo End: 15,472
Daily Miles: 321
Cum. Miles: 909