August 7, 2024
A trip like this is a lot about the equipment. As I mentioned earlier, David and I have communications devices connected wirelessly into our helmets. I have learned through my 3 months of practicing that riding can be an isolating pastime. I often just daydream, solve the problems of the world or, truth be told, listen to an audio book (mysteries mostly). But with communications devices I can say, did you see that? what do you think of that, isn’t Dad…?
We, David actually, has really struggled with the synchronizing all the technology of the helmet communications, Apple CarPlay, Honda Goldwing comms, Google maps. But now he seems to have it set. It only takes him 5 minutes in the morning to set it up ☹. Thankfully, I haven’t had too many issues except for the highway pegs that I installed so that I could have a choice of leg positions if my knees got tired. One of them fell off after the second day. Also, the charging cable shorted out and melted, so I had to install a new one in the Walmart parking lot. Oh, and mysteriously the engine light that I started the trip with that indicated that I had a problem with the oxygen sensor has somehow resolved itself. Woot, woot!
Today we left the surprisingly large and well-maintained capital city of Whitehorse, Yukon and the Alaska Highway and ventured up the Klondike Highway. More fabulous views, but really, anytime that you can see towering mountains, rich forests, clear blue rivers and wide-open twisty roads with barely another vehicle in sight, well it feels like a blessing. We followed along the Yukon, Stewart and Klondike rivers. Many people were concerned about the impacts that wildland fires would have on our trip but other than a faint smell once before, we hadn’t seen much. However, today was our first view of the devastation. We rode for about 30 km and saw nothing but burnt forest as far as the eye could see, through the valleys and up the mountain faces, some areas still smoking.
We ended our day in Dawson City, Yukon, the famed home base of the Klondike Goldrush. It looked just like I would have imagined in its heyday of the late 1800s.
This far north, means that it is still light at 10:30 at night in the Yukon.
August 8th
After much discussion and research, we decided to head out of Dawson City and brave the Top of the World Highway, one of the three most northerly highways in the world. Mom and Dad travelled it by RV thirty years ago and he really wanted us to see it. The highway is about 300 km and connects Dawson City, Yukon to Tok, Alaska. It’s a different view of the Yukon mountains because the road travels mostly along the peaks and crests of the mountains instead of the lower portions as we have experienced for the past couple days. The downside is that over 100 km of it is loose gravel with some hard packed portions. That means that it is very challenging for motorcycles, particularly for those without the right tires. Considering the Goldwing that we expect to sell back to the dealer, the very precious cargo aboard and the fact that we only have street tires, we were nervous.
Our plan was that if it was too bad, then we would turn around. The highway is twisty and has steep inclines, and descents as it weaves its way around mountain peaks. Just imagine the expansive vistas and the many valleys and fiords. Also imagine the loose gravel around the corners, the steep drop-offs and the constant potential for your back tire to slide out from under you, not to mention the occasional large trucks carrying aggregates that speed by you because they don’t have a worry about sliding, nor do they worry about the dust that they leave in their wake.
Sorry to say that I don’t have very many pictures since the key was to keep a steady pace, hands on the bars and try to find the hard packed sections. For the first half of the ride the panoramas were breathtaking, but at about the mid-way point we realized that it was getting hazier, then the distant landscape became more and more smoky from wildfires. It was unfortunate that it wasn’t crisp and clear, but the views were still unforgettable.
Along the way we hit most northerly US / Canada Border crossing.
We arrived safe and sound in Tok, Alaska without any mishaps, tired but proud to have succeeded. We finished our day the same as usual, Dad had a nap, while David and I had a couple beers (today at the laundromat).
Friday August 9
Today was about getting to Anchorage, Alaska. It rained all last night and while it had stopped by the time we set off; we donned our rain gear anyways (Thanks Patricia). I acknowledge that I must have a thing for mountains and forest, because every day we get out on the road the mountains seems bigger and more beautiful than the day before. I think that when people go out, they think that they will only enjoy scenery if there is sunshine and clear skies, but in reality, the threatening skies and low clouds that hung around the majestic mountains today were so impactful to me. The views forced me to imagine the way that the earth was ripping and rolling billions of years ago as these beauties were taking the form that we see today. I think that David and Dad get tired of me saying that I have to stop. I try taking pictures to capture the magnificence that I see, but the photos fail to deliver. Sad to say though that we could only enjoy them for the first few hours of our journey before the skies opened and the mountains were obscured by rain. We stopped for lunch and the sun came out, however it was still only about 15 degrees. As usual we chatted with several people at our pit stop as we ate last night leftovers and then took off again.
Dad really wanted us to see Mount Denali, the tallest mountain in North America. We looked at maps, discussed it, but realized that it would add about 4 hours to our day and that none of us felt keen to add that to a day that was already going to have us on the road for 8 hours. Physically possible, but not realistic. Disappointing but, even though we couldn’t get close, because of its size we still got to experience its magnificence. We also saw glaciers and snow-capped mountains and clouds that seemed to be actively rolling over the crests along the mountain ranges and others that looked almost close enough to jump up and touch.
The roads became busier with vehicles and the mountains became smaller, but Oh MY! the roads were so much fun, narrow and twisty - a biker’s dream. We ended our day in Anchorage after introducing Dad to ramen noodle soup – he’s a big fan.
Saturday August 10
Dad wanted a quiet day and that’s what he got. After arranging a visit between Dad, Aunt Lorraine and Cousin Anne Marie, David and I decided to head out to the Kenai Peninsula, about 2.5 hours away on the south coast of Alaska. Unfortunately when he and I headed out, it was raining hard and it was cold (9 degrees). The coastal highway along the edge of the peninsula was fun and picturesque with lots of winding sections. The weather did not improve and I was struggling with cold and poor visibility through my visor so after an hour of riding I tapped out, stopped for lunch and ultimately headed back to Anchorage to await his return.
I hunkered down in a large and warm library, prepared my post and relaxed with a tea. After finishing up at the library I joined Dad, Aunt Lorraine, AnneMarie and David for dinner at Applebee’s.
Hopefully the weather is better tomorrow but it is not looking very promising.
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WOW, I am so living vicariously through you, your brother & Dad on this trip! Your pictures and descriptions are a delight, despite the challenging bits, and make me wish for a road trip. You really are the courageous, inspiring friend I've always admired! Clearly, those qualities run in the family! :) Keep safe & enjoy every moment!