Alaska!

Final Canada day

If all goes well, I’ll be in Alaska today!  My 50^th state.  If I make it to Alaska it will be the result of much riding on my own to visit so many places and see so many things.  I’m awfully excited.

Yukon has the worst roads

I had said I was worried to ride out of the Pine Lake campground, but Brian had told me he would get it out for me if I couldn’t.  So, I was brave enough to try it.  I already figured I would be dropping Kymani down for a nap at some point during this trip, it might as well be when there is someone kind to help me get her back up.  It turns out, I didn’t need Brian though.  I just rode up the road like it was no big deal, and it wasn’t.  That definitely wasn’t the hardest riding I would do today.

I rode the very short distance to Haines Junction and took a right toward Tok, Alaska.  I rode across and around Kluane Lake.  It was incredibly windy here and there were signs all over to watch for sheep.  I watched, but I didn’t see any.  Shortly I came to Burwash Landing and my decent road ran out.  Oh boy did it!  At first it was gravel breaks and potholes big enough to swallow Kymani.  The gravel breaks are where the asphalt road is gone and it is a patch of gravel for you to ride on.  Sometimes the gravel is deep and loose, sometimes very small, sometimes big, but always disruptive and you’d better slow down if you don’t want your steel horse to buck you right off.  The gravel breaks got bigger and soon there was only gravel, washboard, and potholes.  I have never ridden a bike on such rough roads.  I even had to stand up for a lot of it.

There was also construction happening along this stretch, with pilot cars to follow through some of the dust and dirt and gravel.  At least in Yukon, they ask the motorcycles to come to the front of the line so you aren’t behind everyone else.  That part of their construction is nice.  The rest, not so much.

Bear on the road

While following a pilot car in some of this construction, I saw a big grizzly eating grasses right on the side of the road.  We passed him maybe 5 feet away.  I SO wanted to stop and take a photo, but there were a bunch of trucks and trailers and motorhomes and such behind me and the pilot car didn’t stop, so I didn’t dare.  He or she was beautiful.

While on this long stretch of terrible road, I hit a pothole so big and harsh, it felt like it had broken my back and knocked the wind out of me.  Now I was worried about a bent rim.  Kymani never alerted me to any loss of tire pressure, so it seemed like I was okay, but I definitely checked those rims out carefully at my next gas stop!  They were fine.  The road certainly gave us a beating, but eventually, I reached the customs entry into Alaska!

Alaska

I could not have been happier to both finally be making it to Alaska after 10 days of hard riding, and to be off those horrible Yukon roads.  When that customs officer asked me to remove my helmet, I couldn’t get it off fast enough.  Unfortunately, the road construction continued into Alaska, but I knew these roads couldn’t be as bad as the ones I had just ridden over.

The first views of Alaska!

In the wait for the Alaska pilot car, I got to take off my jacket and put on a bit of sunscreen and chat a bit to the other motorcyclists waiting there.  They were 2 groups, one of 2 and one of 3, all surprised that I was alone.  Soon though, the construction flagger told us the pilot car was coming, so we all threw our gear back on and climbed on our bikes.  I WAS IN ALASKA!!!

   

A lake on the way to my campground.

Still a ways

I still had nearly 100 more miles from the border to my first campsite, just outside of the tiny town of Tok.  It’s on the Alcan Highway and it’s really the first place you come to once you hit Alaska by the Alcan.  I felt pretty lucky because being a disabled veteran, I got to camp for free at all Alaska State campgrounds.  I felt like it was only fair at Tok River State Campground though, because there was not water available and that was not mentioned anywhere.  There was a pump, but the handle had been removed and the pump was wrapped in black plastic.  I couldn’t get water from the very silty river without clogging up my filter.  Good thing I’d brought a couple of extra liters with me!

The morning view of the Tok River

Another change of plans

After looking at the map and looking at my mileages, I decided against trying to get to Kendesnii campground in Wrangell-St Elias National Park and just head straight down near McCarthy, AK.  Today had been almost 300 miles and I was tired and sore, especially after the beating Kymani and I had taken today.  I could ride a bit over 200 miles and set myself up nicely to get to McCarthy and the Kennecott Historic Mine.  Today had been mostly sunny, so I was really looking forward to the good weather I’d find in Alaska after all the rain in Canada.

Resupply

Also tomorrow, I would be hitting the post office in Tok to pick up my first resupply box!  Because I can only carry so much, and because I have found it is sometimes quite difficult to find vegan food on the road, I make all my meals at home and dehydrate them.  Then I load up the bear can (in bear country) with as much food as I can carry and mail myself boxes along the way.  I started with 11 days of food when I left California and I would be picking up a box on the 11^th day.  Because the weather sometimes kept me in my tent, I didn’t eat all the food I had originally brought, but I was definitely ready to get that box!