Day 22: Kennewick, WA to Home-Sweet-Home

We hopped on over to the Triumph dealer on Saturday morning. We dropped my bike off in the capable hands of their experienced mechanic, with the plan to pick it up sometime in the next couple of weeks once it got a new radiator. I climbed on the back of Mark's KTM. It wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be, except for that one part where we were entering a turn that had a sign that said SLOW TO 45mph and I noted on Mark's dash that he was doing 75. I am fairly certain that I made my discontent with his approach clear at that time, and after that he toned it down a bit. We made it home after 300 miles of this, everyone safe and sound. Total miles for trip: 7107 Thanks for following along with us! Anne, Mark and Adam (and Loki, too!) July 21, 2012

Route:

Day 21: Colonial Creek CG to Kennewick, WA

Just because we were back stateside did not mean our adventure was over! More beauty on Highway 20 to Winthrop, WA and on up through Tonasket to Republic, WA. We figured we would wind our trip down with an artistic flourish by having our last ferry ride across the Columbia River on the Martha S.--she has been in service since 1948.

The winds were howling on the ferry, and as we got to the other side, the skies were looking ominous. Porkchop pulled over to put on his raingear. Mark was somewhere in front of me. I rounded a corner and got blasted by a gust of wind. It was looking like we'd be taking a trip to Oz, not to Boise, given the looks of this storm. I flashed my lights at Mark to get him to pull over and yelled at him, "we MUST take cover! We MUST take cover! AHHHHHH!" Fortunately, we spotted a nearby farm and the three of us ducked into their heavy equipment shed, which I must say was very well constructed. Seconds thereafter, the thunder and lightning started and the rain was coming down in firehose-like fashion. The shed, with its metal roof and excellent acoustics, made things even louder and more exciting.

After some time, this storm passed, we geared up, and kicked it on down the road. Ultimately, we wound up in Kennewick. It was hot. I would not recommend Kennewick as a vacation spot. Sorry, Kennewick. No camping, just an exceptionally bad motel, chosen by me. Sorry Mark, sorry Porkchop. Miles today: 375 Weather: hot, cold, sunny, windy, cloudy, stormy, torrential downpour-ish. No snow (hooray!), and we did not see a tornado touch down (hooray!).

Day 20: Marble Canyon CG to Colonial Creek CG on the North Cascades Highway

Today we had a chance to ride on Highway 99, the Sea to Sky Highway, which runs from just north of Cache Creek to Vancouver, BC. It is a windy little road! We stopped in Pemberton, BC to grab some gas and a coffee at a great place called Mount Currie Coffee Company. I enjoyed the best cup of coffee of the whole trip! Stop here if you are ever in Pemberton. Just down the road is Whistler, BC, and not surprisingly, it was very crowded with summer visitors to the resort. Further south, as the road opened up, we got more great views.

But wait, there's more! The ocean! Imagine our delight at traveling past huge mountains and then getting to enjoy the smell of the salt air as we whisked by Horseshoe Bay! Urban chaos subsequently ensued through Vancouver proper, as the entire road system seems to be under construction. No carnage, fortunately, and on we went to the border. About 40 miles south of the border, we turned east to Highway 20. Again, more beautiful scenery and twisty roads. As we had stocked up on food (in a stunning twist, this time chicken sausage and vegetables) and beer, we decided to camp in the North Cascades National Park. Adam did not inform us prior to the trip that he was an avid birder, but the man came through again as an excellent team member with a double baby Barred Owl sighting. These owls compete with the Northern Spotted Owl for space in the world.

We also enjoyed a most spectacular sunset!

Daily dose of distance: 350 miles

Day 19: Tyhee Lake Provincial Park to Marble Canyon CG on Highway 99

Today was a mad dash through the bucolic, verdant countryside of British Columbia! We had to put on some miles. Our route took us through Prince George and south to Highway 99. Not many photos today, just lots of time (10 hours) on the bikes and 2 Red Bulls, 2 Starbuck’s Double Shots and 2 5-Hour Energy drinks for the team. Our campsite was amazing--Marble Canyon, just off the road on Highway 99. We highly recommend it!

Distance: 810 kilometers, just over 500 miles

Day 18: Stewart, BC to Salmon Glacier to Tyhee Lake Provincial Park

The alarm went off at 7 am for an early adventure before breaking down camp. We were headed up to the Salmon Glacier, about 25 miles up a narrow dirt road outside of Hyder, Alaska, just down the road from Stewart. This road was originally made by gold and copper miners, and I wouldn’t recommend taking just any car up to the glacier. There is still active mining going on, and some big, scary trucks on the road, and some bumps, and if you are scared of heights or of driving on a road which, in places, drops off about 1,000 feet from the tiny shoulder, maybe you shouldn‘t make the trip. We found this vehicle at the top, which is well suited for the road. The owners were not willing to trade their rig for Mark and Adam’s motorcycles. Understandable, as this rig starts at a cool $660,000.

The glacier views were phenomenal--this is a MUST DO side trip if you ever have the pleasure of passing through Stewart, BC.

After enjoying the phenomenal views, we headed down the road to break down camp and head back on to the Cassair Highway. At the border crossing, I heard a loud pop and got a shot of steam around my legs--my radiator had failed! Oh no! My beloved Triumph! Fortunately, I travel with a team of very competent motorcycle mechanics, and they were able to patch things up. Here they are at work.

Disaster was averted. But, our get-home plan had changed a bit. We would continue our planned trip, but drop my motorcycle off in Kennewick, Washington, for repairs. This will mean that I will have to ride on the back of Mark’s bike for about 4 ½ hours home to Boise at the end of the trip. The remainder of the day went well, with me riding in front, watching my bike’s temperature carefully. The rest of the Cassair was gorgeous--it smelled like cedar and wildflowers as we rode through the forest.

We ended up camping at the Tyhee Lake Provincial Park for the night. Distance: 458 kilometers, including a beautiful trip to the Salmon Glacier, and a little time-out for things mechanical

Day 17: Tanzilla Creek to Stewart, BC

Another beautiful day! Filled with blue skies, bears, moose and glaciers! At our gas stop, we met Bailey and her master--she has her own custom seat on her Harley. She also owns some Doggles, but doesn’t like to wear them.

We turned down a little road to Stewart, BC, which packs a scenic punch.

Given the lovely weather, we elected to camp at the Ridley Creek campground, which is right in town. Mark was very helpful and obtained some firewood for the camp. Look at him go with the wheelbarrow!

The pork chops that Adam prepared on the grill were particularly good that evening. We all settled into our tents early, because we had big plans the following day! Distance: 383 kilometers Views: Fabulous

Day 16: Whitehorse, YT to Tanzilla Creek CG

Before we left Whitehorse, we had some business to attend to! We first had to fill up our gas tanks, and then visit the Yukon Transportation Museum. Here is an example of what we saw there--a road making "tundramobile". The guys were willing to trade their beloved motorcycles in for this beauty.

Our bikes were filthy from the Dempster. Next stop, the Blueberry Carwash. Porkchop's bike emerged a swan. He definitely won the competition for the cleanest bike. It must have been his artful application of the spot-free rinse.

The weather was wonderful on this day. We turned south on the Cassair Highway 37 and enjoyed some amazing views on this roller-coaster of a road.

This road is a lot of fun, but you really have to pay attention. This truck rolled off the road and had just been righted with the help of two large tow trucks when we arrived on the scene after a 9 hour nightmare for the tow truck drivers.

At the close of this most beautiful, scenic drive, we arrived at Tanzilla Creek CG, our home for the night. Distance: 669K Weather: Perfect! Scenery: Mind-blowing!

Day 14: Dawson City to Snag Creek CG

Our mission today: to ride the Top of the World Highway, which winds along a ridge and through the mountains over to Alaska from Yukon. Mark and I had been on this road a few years ago, but we couldn’t see a thing because there was so much smoke from forest fires. On this day, the views were great.

Of course, the day started out with a bear sighting about 1 mile up the road (we could have predicted this because of Mark’s earlier statement, “There aren’t any bears to worry about at this camp“). The road is a combination of dirt and abandoned attempts at paving. We crossed the border with no problem.

The guy working there spends his days off trying to strike it rich by panning for gold. A mandatory stop was Chicken, Alaska, which is more of a tourist trap now than anything else. They do make a good sandwich and reindeer sausage soup at the Chicken Gold Camp, so we enjoyed this before moving along. Even dogs participate in gold mining in beautiful Chicken.

At the end of the road, we hooked back up with the Alaska Highway and went into Tok for a fuel stop. Our stay in Alaska was short, as we crossed back into Yukon on our way south. Here, Adam and Loki enjoy a stop at the border.

Despite the abundance of daylight, we decided to call it a day at Snag Creek CG. This was a surprisingly good campground (as are most campgrounds in Yukon, complete with free firewood) and there weren’t any soapberries in sight, which put us at ease, as soapberries are a favorite bear food. Distance for the day: 309 miles

Day 15: Snag Creek CG to Whitehorse, YT

We hopped right back on the road headed south in the morning. This is one of my favorite stretches of road, but it has a lot of damage and frost heaves, so the going is bumpy. Kluane Lake comes into view with high snow covered peaks in the distance, and it is hard to stay on the road because the scenery is so stunning. I think I would ride all the way up here again just to be on this piece of road on a clear day. We passed a campground where we’d stayed back in 2009, but it was closed because of bear activity this time--good thing we’d camped up north! A mandatory stop on this stretch is in Haines Junction. There is a place called the Village Bakery in town, and if you elect to pass this by, well, your life just will not be as fulfilling as it might otherwise be. On Friday nights they still have a salmon bake and live music, just like they had a few years ago. Lunch here is great, and their baked goods are top-notch. Adam, yearning for his motherland, enjoyed a classic British dish, Shepherd’s Pie, and as a dessert, not related to his home country, a reindeer sausage cheese puff thing. With Mark needing a break to change his oil in Whitehorse, we returned to our favorite hippie hot-spot, the Robert Service Campground. I also think that the guys wanted to come back here because Whitehorse is the home of a place called “The Deli”, which carries sausages of all kinds--Adam bought enough meat products to last our team the rest of the trip on his way back through town. I think Adam and Mark would travel all the way up here to go to “The Deli” again to buy some reindeer sausage. At the campground, I went for another walk on the trails here, and toured their fish ladder. The Chinook salmon are making their way back this direction from the Bering Sea, and are currently passing through Dawson City, where we were a couple of days ago. Distance today: 426 kilometers Sausages consumed thus far (this is a trip total, and Mark and Adam are mainly responsible for the damage): in excess of 50 Individuals on team suffering from protein calorie malnutrition: none

Day 13: Eagle Plains to Dawson City

We awoke to sunny skies, anticipating that we’d leave early to get down the road. At breakfast, a Yukon road worker came in and announced that the road was now open, but that there was still water across the route in parts, and that motorcycles should not leave for at least 2 or 3 hours until things had dried up a bit, because there was about 8 inches of slippery, deep muck to get through. They sent the big rigs out first, to pound out a trail for cars, RVs and us. And thank goodness for them! We basically just had to keep in their wheel tracks perfectly, or face a certain crash if we got into the mud. After some fun splashes through water and getting to see where the road was washed out in several places, we made it back carnage-free to the paved road at the intersection to the road to Dawson City. This is an example of what happens when you build without taking permafrost into consideration.

We took a little ferry across to our campsite after enjoying a well-deserved ice cream cone!

Our campsite was right on the shores of the Yukon River.

Distance today: 272 miles General Team Sentiment: glad to be in a non-hostage situation off of the Dempster (but we'd all do it again in a heartbeat--one of the most beautiful wilderness roads we've traveled)!

Bonus Post: A Few of Porkchop's Favorite Things...

Adam has many favorite things, and so many, in fact, that he will have to start his own blog to record them all. Given the limitations of our current situation, I will share only a few with you now. First, as you recall, he loves liver and onions. This was a questionable entry into the essential “gear” category, but Adam insists that were it not for his several helpings of this dish, he would not be alive today.

He also loves his motorcycle for many reasons, but the unintentional clever designs really please him. For example, his cylinder heads serve not only as high-speed Easy Rider foot rests, but they also dry socks nicely. He has also discovered that the front fairing can be used as a perch for beer, coffee, sandwiches or liver and onions.

Sleeping well is important. Porkchop has discovered a very lightweight, portable cot made by ADV Designs outta San Francisco. Mark and I know for a fact that he is sleeping contentedly, because we can feel the earth shaking as he snores!

Fortunately, because Mark snores, too, the earth is kept in perfect harmony wherever we are.

Day 12: Eagle Plains to...Eagle Plains!

We lingered in the lounge for the evening, enjoying the company of a caribou and various other wildlife.

In the morning, we were able to appreciate how very lucky we had been the day prior. As we drank coffee, we heard the waitress announce, “The road is closed!” The route south had become impassable, too slippery to navigate and washed out in three places.

The campground where we had planned to camp, Engineer Creek, was flooded. Had it started raining 20 minutes later, we would have started down the road to spend a very wet and cold night on an exposed ridge in the middle of nowhere. The road was so slick that even vehicles of the 4-wheeled variety were having problems staying on track. We enjoyed our forced relaxation and everyone here was in the same boat, and we met some nice folks. This was also a blessing in disguise for Porkchop, who was able to have three servings of liver and onions over the course of our stop in Eagle Plains.

Miles traveled today: zero Team standing by for road opening...

Day 11: Inuvik to Eagle Plains

We spent a very comfortable, but brief, night at the hotel in Inuvik. We dried off, did laundry and waited to see what Mother Nature had in store for us. In the morning, the skies were sunny. After hitting the grocery store and the gas station, Mark and I stopped at the Visitor Center and Adam and Loki went on to another photo shoot opportunity at the famous Catholic Church in town.

At the Visitor Center, the weather forecast was posted. A high wind warning was in effect, with gusts up to 90 kph predicted, with a little rain in the mix, as well. With the roads dry at the time, we went for it. The road to the Mackenzie River ferry was great--it was hard to believe that it was the same road that we had been on the day before. We completed the distance in less that half the time it took us to go north. It did start to get pretty windy, but again, with the road surface dry, we kept going. The views were spectacular, and just as we entered the Richardson Mountains, the northernmost portion of the Rocky Mountains, we were fortunate enough to see an enormous herd of caribou. It was an amazing sight to see.

At the Arctic Circle stop, we regrouped. Adam, who is, among many other things, as you already know, an aspiring meteorologist, commented about the clouds, “this looks like it will all just blow over.” With a plan of camping in about 110 miles at Engineer Creek, we headed to Eagle Plains to refuel. It started to rain. It was socked in. This was not going to blow over. Adam’s hopes of being chief meteorologist on Baffin Island were dashed because of this poor forecast. Not to worry, folks! He has another job opportunity! Noting a helicopter at Eagle Plains, Adam has informed us that he is capable of flying one because he has flown one on a computer once. I am certain that he will be hired.

With the rain coming down in sheets, we filled our tanks with gas. As I went inside to pay, several road workers told me with conviction that we would be fools to go any further. I think one of them said to me, "you aren't going ANYWHERE! Go no further." So, this would be our home for the night.

Total miles for the day: 240 miles Really WISE decisions made for the day: one

Day 10: Fort McPherson CG to Inuvik

After a lovely evening at the campground outside of Fort McPherson, we awoke to quite a bit of rain. I walked down to the tourist information area and spoke with Robert, who sort of runs the show here, about the forecast--it was not good! Rain, rain, rain. Despite this upsetting forecast, I really enjoyed talking with him. He was born and raised here and had so many stories to tell. He is now 80, and in his youth he would run a dog sled to Dawson City, which took about 6-8 weeks, and he would trap and hunt caribou along the way. He is intensely proud of this country and his heritage. Knowing that we weren't going to ride in the current downpour, he was kind enough to give us some dry firewood and suggested we set up camp in the cooking shelter while we waited for the weather to change. The area was screened in, reducing the mosquito count to 1,000 per square meter. The bugs up here, I am convinced, could kill a grown man in 3 days. They also can make a Porkchop go crazy in 3 minutes. Here is a photo of me and Mark in the shelter, waiting for a break in the weather.

Late in the afternoon, we did get a little break in the weather and decided to make the final push for Inuvik. Shortly after pulling out on to the road, Adam had a mishap, crashing after getting onto a portion of the road that he described as being not unlike mashed potatoes! He and Mark were slipping and sliding and covered with mud by the time they got the bike upright. Everyone was still smiling.

We had just a little bit of dry road along the way, but for the most part things were quite muddy. The mighty Mackenzie River gets in the way of the route north, so we had to take a ferry to get to the other side.

We were called up to the bridge to visit with Joe, the captain, who hails from Newfoundland, to learn about how he made the ferry magic happen. He was clearly delusional after too much time in the Arctic, as he referred to me as "good looking". Here he is, busy at work.

After the ferry ride, the rain really started to come down. Fortunately, there was enough gravel on this portion of the road so that it stayed grippy enough to travel at slower speeds. The visibility was poor. After taking a few hours to travel 120 kilometers, we made it to Inuvik, the end of the Dempster Highway!

As we entered town, with every intention of camping at the Happy Valley Campground, complete with a laundromat and 24-hour security, it started to pour, so we decided to splurge and stay at a hotel instead. Our muddy gear and tired bodies appreciated the hot showers, laundry and comfy beds! Total distance today: 131 miles Distance from Boise to Inuvik: 3,321 miles Team membership: 4, and holding steady and happy!

Day 9: Tombstone CG to Fort McPherson

Overnight, the weather changed in our favor! We awoke to blue skies. This was the view from our campsite.

The road initially was in great shape, and we flew along, stopping frequently to check out the gorgeous views.

As we went along, the road conditions deteriorated somewhat, but we kept plugging away. They were doing some work on the road, and in these parts, at least for me, the going was tough, standing up on my foot pegs, sliding and trying not to crash! We stopped for lunch in Eagle Plains, a community which consists of a large building and a gas station. I was pretty tired at this point, after over 300 miles of dirt, but we pressed on to the Arctic Circle!

Back in Eagle Plains, we had met up with a motorcyclist going the opposite direction. He cautioned us that in about 90 miles, there was repair work being done, and there were huge rocks in the road. When we did get to this area, we were glad for the warning--there were parts of the road that were like riding in a dry river bed--i stood up and was in 1st and 2nd gear--no crashes to report! After 359 miles, I was the weak link in the team and I had to stop, so we camped at a little place outside of Fort McPherson, about 130 miles short of our goal of Inuvik. Distance today: 359 of dirt

Bonus post: our route so far

View Larger Map

Day 8: Robert Service CG/Whitehorse, YT to Tombstone Mountains CG on the Dempster Hwy

The rest of our evening at the the RSCG was great. Mark and I took a walk on the 5K nature trail at 11 pm. Here is the footbridge that crosses the Yukon River right across from our camp site.

And here is one of the famous paddle boats that ran along the Yukon River back in the day. The photo was taken at about 11:30 pm.

Fantastic Mr. Fox bid us farewell. He also made it quite clear that he wanted some of our breakfast.

Off we rode, our destination Dawson City. The riding was uneventful. In Dawson City, we checked on road conditions for the Dempster Highway, which would take us to the Arctic Circle and on up to Inuvik. Things looked ok and the road report was good, so we decided to get started that evening, and rode about 45 miles up the dirt road to the Tombstone Mountains. On our way, it started to rain a bit. The nature of this dirt road is such that if it is wet, it is as slick as ice. I had read about it being an impossible task to ride this road on a motorcycle in the rain. I learned how slippery it was as I walked around the campground and nearly took a spill on several occasions. As I got ready to fall asleep, I heard two not-so-old men snoring (Mark and Porkchop) and it began raining in earnest, pouring, in fact! Distance today: 649 kilometers

Bonus post: a few of my favorite things...

Adam, Mark and I are doing lots of gear reviews, and we thought we'd report on a few of our most favored items. Loki has agreed to help with some product modeling, in exchange for extra food portions at mealtime. First, I love my Alpinestars Scout waterproof boots. These things ARE waterproof, and very comfortable--we are losing the weather battle, but the boots take the sting out of it (sort of).

After a long day on the road, we make sure that our camp vibe is always good and someone is always dancing, with the help of the Altec Lansing inMotion portable ipod player/speakers, loaned to us by d-dub and JP! Thanks guys!

And finally, an unexpected entry in the essential gear competition...a vintage Boy Scouts of America Official Wool Jacket, donated to our cause by one of my personal heroes, Fleet. I initially brought this along so it could show itself at the Arctic Circle in the mandatory photo shoot, but it has turned out to be a daily essential, and without it, I would be, frankly, miserable! Thanks, Fleet!