Hark! What light through yonder window breaks?

We're in our room in Anchorage, and look outside the window to see something we've not seen for a few days:

Sun.

Since we left Tok, it's been rather gray and gloomy. There's been some rain, but thankfully it's not really been when we've been riding. The worst it's been was on the ride through Thompson Pass into Valdez.

I cannot begin to tell you how much that sucked. Cold. Wet. Misty. And then foggy. Pea soup foggy, so bad that my visor misted up. I lost Keith's taillights in the fog, and had to pull over. The reptile brain started a minor (ok, ok, major) freak out, but the rest of my brain had no time for it. I turned on the four ways, and headed down. It felt like forever until it cleared up enough for me to see Keith up ahead. From there it was an easy descent past a lovely waterfall into Valdez and a warm shower.


Soooo tired of being cold. Right after the warm shower, we headed to a local outfitters and bought long underwear and wool socks. Now I still get cold, but it takes longer.

We stayed in Valdez two nights, giving us the day to go on a cruise around Prince William Sound. Even the gray chill of the day could not take away from how gorgeous that spot is. Captain Amanda got us in quite close to the terminal moraine of the Columbia Glacier...it's quite a feeling to be going that slow among ice chunks that big, feeling them thump against the side of the boat as it edged it's way closer. The blue of the ice is quite startling, and the sound of the ice popping is like hearing the snap crackle pop of your morning cereal.


After the glacier, the cruise took us around an island where Stellar sea lions congregate and puffins nest. A pair of humpback whales, a cow and her calf, surfaced a few times and gave us a show. A quartet of Dalls porpoises played with the boat, racing out along the bow, crisscrossing and surfacing.

A pretty damn good day.

I was a bit nervous leaving through the pass the next morning (Monday, I think, the days are running together), having decided i don't like fog AT ALL, but it wasn't too bad. It was a pretty uneventful run to Anchorage...cold, grey, gloomy but with amazing scenery.

We stopped for lunch at a cafe in Glenallen that had some pretty funny tee shirts:

Alaskan Men: the odds are good but the goods are odd.

Alaskan Highway Survivor. Out Drive. Out Bump. Out Spend.

Out bump indeed. Frost heaves and thaw bulbs do some pretty interesting things to asphalt, let me tell you. And out spend...good lord, we'll be paying for this trip longer than we anticipated. It's weird though; it's a place where a grilled cheese sandwich will set you back eight bucks (!) and yet my specialized hair product is two thirds the cost compared to home.

File it under life mystery.

Anchorage is bigger than we expected, and we took an extra day here to explore a bit. Today we went to the Ulu Factory and picked up one to take home, then we went to see the guys at AK Rider Motorcycle Tours for a bit. They have tours planned for next year that look intriguing...two weeks in Peru or India sound pretty damn interesting.

The highlight for the day was a visit to Ravens Brew Coffee. Keith called them in the morning, and even though we were informed that they were not retail, Nate, the Alaskan district manager, told us to come on down for a tour. He took about an hour out of his day and not only made us a killer cup of joe, but showed us around the roastery and loaded us up with coffee and swag. He's our new best friend *grin.

I am now the very proud owner of a Deadmans Reach Coffee tee shirt. The tag line is “served in bed, wakes the dead”. Oh so appropriate.

Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny, and we're off to Delta Junction to Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway. There will be a small stop at a musk ox farm in Palmer so I can buy a ball of what will likely be the most expensive yarn I will ever knit with, but after having felt how soft qiviut is, I have to have some. I have no idea what I'll make with it. Yet.

Route Maps:
Day 14: Tok, AK - Valdez, AK
Day 16: Valdez, AK - Anchorage, AK

What day IS it?

I must apologize for the confusion with the dates and tour "days".
We don't get internet access every day and sometimes it's 2 or 3 days until we post.
By that time there is the usual confusion about what was seen where and when.
The fact is that I don't wear my watch because , who cares what day it is?
So we will try to keep the posts in consecutive order of time but the dates may be a bit off.
Today, we are still in Valdez and have booked a tour by boat to see the Prince Rupert Sound.
I want to see what all the fuss is about concerning these bits of ice falling into the water...:)

Valdez...Is that you Juan?

The morning of August 2 and is sunny and mostly clear!
Joy of joys....SUNSHINE!
We have heard that this is the oldest and wettest summer in decades so we feel quite privileged to see the sun.
The breakfast of Belgian waffles sets our mood as we head out of Tok.
The road is unusually flat, smooth and straight and we bask in the comfort of the warm sunshine.
I can even see my own shadow!
One must enjoy what one can get as ,off in the distance the mountains coax us along, and we know that with mountains comes change.
Change in temperature, change in the view, change in the weather and change in the road surface.
There will be 2 passes to negotiate before landing in Valdez, terminus of the Alaskan oil pipeline.
The route to the first pass takes us passed Mount Drum.
This is a 12,000' high, snow covered peak that really says "No,no...I'm a mountain. The rest are just hills"
Can't wait to see Danali!
The first pass is , again, one of the gentle passages through the mountains and doesn't offer much drama.
That's OK by me!
However, the next pass is somewhat different.
The steady up hill climb leads us ,once again, into a cold, wet and deeply overcast world.
No sweat!
Done it before.
Cakewalk!
Ahhh...no...not this time.
Just as we top the pass and I realize that the snow is beside me, not above me, the clouds consume us in a thick blanket of gray.
It's very difficult to see the lines on the road and Kat's headlight is swallowed up by the gloom.
I have no idea what's ahead but the road is now on a fairly sharp downgrade and stopping is probably a bad idea.
Taking it easy but keeping a reasonable pace,I pick my way down through the fog hoping Kat can see my brake lights.
Not so smart now are we?
Finally, as expected, the fog starts to clear as I come into lower altitude and I safely pull off onto the verge.
Kat is nowhere to be seen!
The thought of turning back up into the pass is not comforting but...ahhh...here she comes now.
All good!
Seems that not only the fog was causing problems but her face shield had fogged up as well compounding the problem.
The rest of the way was a clear if not dry ride through a beautiful canyon with the "Bridal veil Falls" was our reward.
So here we are in Valdez and no Juan in sight.

All roads lead to Tok.

August 1...
The morning finds the weather the same...gray after day!
In an unusual turn of events we have actually called ahead to Valdez and booked accommodations and a boat tour.
The 800+ km distance will be covered in a casual 2 days.
Tok will be the half way stop.
We make a short stop off the highway at a place called Silver City.
At one time, this community housed workers for a local silver mine around beginning of the 1900's.
Now, all that is left are a group of tumbled down log cabins,animal shelters and utility shed.
These guys must have been one tough bunch.
The only heat to bee seen was the stove in the cook house and no other stoves could be seen in the other dwellings.
I guess yo ate well, worked hard and hoped you didn't get sick.
The Alaska Highway around the lake was under construction but didn't pose any difficulty as it was hard packed dirt.
An uneventful hour or so found us having a soup and sandwich at a gas station/cafe.
We struck up a conversation with a Belgian couple who had their camper shipped to Baltimore and were part way through a year long tour of North America starting at the east coast of Canada and continuing down through the "lower 48" and back to where they started.
Some trip!
He did say the road ahead was a bit rough but how bad could it be?
Riiiiiigt!
Later, along the route, a sign announcing..."construction next 47 miles" made it clear.
Peachey...
If we thought the last construction zone was a challenge, this one was the test.
The road surface was gone and replaced by a thick ,wet mat of mud that provided the most challenging bike control I have ever experienced.
The convoy of pickups, trailers and cars slipped, slided and pushed it's way through the muck.
Only the tracks of the preceding vehicle left a small , negotiable right of way but to stray even a few inches would result in a mud fest.
Constant concentration and tweaking and jinking the bike was required to keep it upright.
I watched Kat's headlight in my mirror and was distressed to see it veer off the track!
Thoughts of running back through the mud were quickly dismissed as the light began to move closer.
While Kat had been captured by the ankle deep mud, she had maintained control of the bike and kept it upright despite the added weight of the gear.
A testament to the skill she has acquired over the thousands of km's of travel.
Dinner time found is in Tok and we managed to get the last Cabin at the Burnt Paw Resort.
Very nice!

How big is it?

Rolling out of Haines finds us on a nice gently curving streach of 2 lane along the side of the Chillkat river flood plane.
It's a scenic and uneventful trip with the usual overcast skies but absent of rain.
Kat has voiced some reticence about the upcoming pass through the mountains but instead of the awesome grandure and tension,of the trip into Skagway, we are treated to a gentle and effortless climb to the top.
As usual, the altitude provides some very low cloud cover and the smooth roadway crests the top of he pass and heads down into ...a wall of gray!
Fog, or clouds, thick enough to require us to slow down obscure the mountains for the next few km's.
But soon enough, the air is clear again and we descend into a place that can only be described as BIG wilderness.
And I mean BIG!
The road lifts, drops and winds it's way through the valley offering glimpses of your future as it cures around mountains way,way off in the distance.
This is a vast and empty place and while the view is stunning, the overcast sky and low clouds lead to to ponder just how small a spec you are in this world.
The front of your mind is saying "cooooool" while the back is saying "bike don't fail me now".
Most certainly a cell phone call to CAA is not an option.
This terrain is akin to the grand Canyon or Monument Valley in it's scope.
There are few words that can do justice as a descriptor.
Even a picture can't capture the feel of this vastness.
The road leads on and on while the flora slowly changes from low scrub to Boreal forest.
I'm sure the mountains are watching us with some amusement as we forge along.
The bears certainly are...:)

We finally arrived at Haines Junction and check into the kluane Park Inn.
Sounds better than it is but we have all we need for an nights rest.
Even after not covering a lot of distance,a stay overnight here was in order to ponder the significance of life.
OK...well... to get some sleep anyway!
At this time I should mention his "midnight sun" thing.
It's hard to assess the time of day as the sun never really gets up high in the sky but rather swings around through the day at what we would consider 9am azimuth.
Even at 11pm, there is still enough light out to read a book!

Skagway..or..."What's in your wallet?"

Skagway is a neat little town wedged between the mountains with a rugged pass out to the north and port to the south.
In times passed the adventurous prospectors would arrive by ship and after spending their cash on over priced goods and services , would head out and up the mountain pass to their fortunes...or not.
These days, the cruise ships, sometimes 3 deep, unload their "adventurous" passengers who head into town and, well, spend their cash on overpriced goods and services!
Up to 3000 walking wallets every day!

The 1 hour ferry ride to Haines is uneventful but does provide a different view of the rugged terrain and a chance to let someone else do the driving for a while...:)
A short ride along the coast brings us to Haines where we fuel up and check tires and such.
I stopped our exit from town at a NAPA auto parts store in search of some oil for Kats bike.
Not an emergency issue but it was a touch lower than I like.
Buddy there says he doesn't have motorcycle oil but says if I go to the "Pioneer" there is an AMSOIL dealer.
Turns out the Pioneer is the local bar and a guy named Bob Fowler is dealing AMSOIL from the side door.
So I walk in to this dark, old, seedy building and slide up to the bar and say,
"I'm here to see Bob Fowler"
"Is that so?"
The barkeep hustles away to the back room and a second later Bob appears.
"What can I do for you?"
"I need a quart of your best"
He sizes me up and walks away.Moments later he hands me a quart of the very oil I'm running in both bikes.
"What do I owe you?"
"It's on the house"
High fives to Big Bob Fowler from Haines AK for helping a brotha out...:)
I thanks him very much and we are on our way to the Chillkat Mountain Pass.

Greetings from Tok, Alaska

This is our cabin for the night. So pretty and quiet, and comes with a home made belgian waffle breakfast in the morning.

It's been a very long few days, with much to report. However, I am so very tired right now that a short post is all I'm up to.

Some truly amazing roads. The weather gods have declined to favour us with their grace, and so most of the time is spent riding in brutal windchill (12 degrees at 100 kmh = brrrr) and sometimes rain.

But I'm happy as hell. The ride has been challenging, and while I haven't permanently eradicated some of my fears (i.e. heights), I've at least been able to overcome them long enough to avoid doing something stupid.

We're off to Valdez, AK, tomorrow for a few nights, and hopefully I'll be able to get some of the stuff out of my head and onto the blog. In the meantime, I've uploaded some more pictures to Flickr (no editing other than resizing), and have updated the route maps on MapMyRide:

Day 9: Telkwa, BC - Stewart, BC
Day 10: Stewart, BC - Dease River Crossing, BC
Day 11: Dease River Crossing, BC - Skagway, AK
Day 12: Skagway, AK - Haines Junction, YK
Day 13: Haines Junction YK to Tok, AK