Arrived at the Alaska border, a real frontier outpost high on a hill, ( this road is not even open in the winter ) and the US immigration guy asks me where I’m from. Oh, Nova Scotia .... well, do I know the Rankins ? Yes, worked on some of their music videos. His wife is from New Brunswick. She likes their music. He says "Well, have a nice trip but be real careful for the next 106 miles . . . . it’s all dirt " , (and motorhomes). It will take about 3 hours he adds. So, you leave Top of the World and fall off the edge of the world, or so it seems. Not a goat track, more like a chicken track in places. God help you if it’s raining. In fact, the first town you come to is Chicken, Alaska… population 17.

I noticed in Alaska that the airports are all well maintained, even in tiny towns, but the dirt roads take second place. Maybe that’s because one in eleven people have a pilot’s license, or so I once read years ago. Plodded along, noticed the absence of bikes for the first time on this trip. Dirt in Alaska seems to scare off ninety percent of the riders from what I saw. What do they say ? . . . when the going gets tough, the tough get weird. Stopped at a river to shave in a pool by an abandoned dredge the size of a small ferryboat.

************************* Lots of people stopping to check it out, only man made diversion for fifty miles I reckon. Hit some nicer gravel sections that ran straight for miles, would allow up to 100 to 110 kph. Came down mile after winding mile out of the mountains into Tok after about three and a half hours. Back on pavement. This stretch was probably the highlight of my trip, don’t pass it up if you’re on a bike and the weather is half-decent. Went north to Delta and camped, did a load of wash. 550 kms today, slow maybe but good ones.

Day 16 : North to Fairbanks, small city of about 35,000 Went to 3 bike stores snooping, even found a Ural dealer with new sidecar rigs from Russia in his showroom. He had city map on wall with all the dealers marked so it was no problem to get around and see them all. Seemed like a real friendly town. Went shopping, bought a very sharp locking blade knife on sale, it was either that or pepper spray and the can was too big for my gear. Wanted something for bears as a backup in the tent, at least this way I could cut an exit in a hurry if I had to. My swiss army knife didn’t inspire me for hand to hand combat somehow with its nice folding blade . . . ow ! Went outside and the rain started ( was to last 3 days). Decided to head south and hope for better conditions. Drove down hwy 3 towards Anchorage. Spent a very wet night in a hotel near Denali state park (Mt McKinley). $ 58 US, my most expensive so far. Low clouds and drizzle, tourists (on a huge scale) had not seen the mountain in weeks. 400 kms, a light day.

Day 17 : Temps as low as 8 deg C, occasional rain. I’m really using the electric vest now. Running silk long underwear under sweater, vest, leather jacket and rainsuit. Feels good. Drove to Anchorage down a very nice paved hwy between the mountains. Met four guys in a restaurant on Goldwings from Florida and Wisconsin, mostly late forties and older. One fellow was pretty amazing, he was an amputee from the left elbow down. I didn’t get to see him riding or look at the bike modifications, but I know for a fact he did not use an artificial arm. Also saw lots of other beemers between Fairbanks and Anchorage…. Swiss, German and even Spanish guys, mostly on F650’s or GS 1000 and 1100’s. The six Spaniards had shipped their machines to Spokane and driven up to Alaska.

Got to Anchorage, was tired of having wet, cold hands so I went straight to the REI outdoor equipment store to find the solution I thought might be there. Got the last pair of goretex overmitt shells for mountain climbing , $ 69. These were not the normal mitts, but had five finger design which I wanted. Now I could wear my leather Kevlar gloves underneath, or my thick aquacell ski gloves for more warmth. ( I had already decided that aquacell must stand for ‘absorbs water’ , but the beating they got for hours in the rain would have killed any glove that wasn’t a goretex type ). Went to another hotel for the night ( my fourth and last on the trip ), cause I wasn’t up for the rain/tent combination. Spent $ 80 US for a room , ouch ( the exchange rate was approaching 150 % ). Slow day, 400 kms.

Day 18 : Woke up, looked at the rain and decided to head south for Seward on the Kenai peninsula, a very popular tourist area. Figured the weather couldn’t be worse down there , and in fact it improved. Made a detour to the Anchorage airport, mindblowing collection of dozens of floatplanes, plus parking lots with at least a thousand light aircraft, mostly supercubs with tundra tires for landing on gravel bars in the rivers. Stopped to see hundreds of locals fishing salmon in a river just outside of town. Sunny at Seward , looked at cruise ships, ate smoked salmon called ‘squaw candy’, and backtracked north until turnoff to Homer. Ran through rain squalls and sunshine all afternoon. Got to Homer 9pm , a small fishing village at the end of the road. It looks like the end of the world, small community on the very tip of a flat beachrock peninsula. You can feel Russia just over the horizon somewhere. Tented on beach for $3. Life is easy in Homer. 600 kms today.

Day 19 : Woke up to see a volcano all by itself out to sea, inactive and height about 4000 feet. Neat sight in the pink dawn sky. Not much to do in Homer, so I headed north. This was my psychological ‘ turn around point ’ , where I felt I was no longer outbound but on my way back home to Nova Scotia. Had just turned exactly 10,000 kms. Drove to Anchorage in occasional drizzle, then became sunny and on to Slanajust west of Tok. Don’t blink, you’ll miss it. Found a friendly older pioneer type lady driving a bulldozer at her new campground, carving out some more RV spots. I was the first and only customer by the look of it. Tented. $ 12, no bathrooms or water hooked up yet. Generator running in shed to power the ranch , reminded me of the gennies all over Australia powering the outback towns. Thumpa thumpa thumpa . . . Nice sound to fall asleep to. .800 kms today.

Day 20 : Some of the best scenery on the trip today. Wrangell Mtn range to the south with brilliant white snowfields and glacier rivers.

Went past one of Alaska’s active volcanoes, hidden in it’s own steam cloud and overcast. (Can’t remember the name of this peak). Drove east to Tok then south to Haines Junction. Some stretches of dirt construction but none longer than 5 miles. Nothing my streetbike couldn’t handle. Met Jim from Detroit on a Honda VFR, overloaded with a huge hockey gear bag on the back, must have been at least 150 lbs. He was doing about 95 mph when he went by me the first time. Met him further down the road taking a break. He was coming from Prudhoe Bay, the end of the dirt road in Alaska, heading for the ferry at Haines to Washington state. Did the dirt road with a Swiss guy on a GS1100 BMW in the rain, unbelievable. He said his bike was pretty heavy, had dropped it about six times, mostly trying to park it. The 4 man tent and two sleeping bags were definitely overkill he had decided. Seemed to be having a good time though, so we ran together for half an hour until I stopped for more pictures. Kluane Lake was amazing, huge and covered in a sea mist. Destruction Bay one of the most desolate spots I have seen , no wonder it got it’s name. Got to Haines Jct about 9pm, tented $ 10. 600 kms today.

Day 21 : Met two guys on beemers last night at a restaurant, one was a fisherman on a R90S going home to Homer, the other in his forties with a pony tail riding a fast K1200RS.
They had just road raced from Whitehorse, 90 miles south.
Chris, the older guy was really pumped up, looked at me and said " One hour from Whitehorse…. SMOKIN’ ! ! "
He was from New Hampshire, had come west in nine days.
I asked him … “ Get any speeding tickets on the way ? "
“ Ya, two "
“How much did that cost you ?"
” $ 480 ! "
“ That’s a lot of money Chris !”
" No man... Listen, it’s a bargain .... two days at the racetrack back home costs me five hundred bucks,
I’ve been speeding for TEN DAYS and I’m still TWENTY BUCKS AHEAD . . . . . . . . SMOKIN ' ! ! !

Headed south to see Haines and the mountain scenery on the way, nice ride down a wide valley with a few extremely long straight stretches, almost no traffic.

Opened the bike up on one of them to see what the top speed was closer to sea level, with luggage. Reached about 205 before I backed off. It would go higher with less weight I figure. Apparently I passed Jim somewhere along the road . He was camped behind a rock and saw me go by, he had a very cold night at a higher altitude than me. Met him later in Haines ferry terminal. Got to Haines in drizzle and found an early ferry going to Skagway, one hour up the coast. Hopped on for about $28 US. This gave me the afternoon to really explore Skagway, unlike my previous visit at 4am.

It also put me 100 miles closer to Whitehorse than backtracking from Haines through Haines Junction. Weather got better, and Skagway had 3 huge cruise ships in port. What a zoo, 3000 tourists. Helicopters were taking off 3 at a time flying in formation one behind the other down the fiord to the Chilkoot trail, then back 15 minutes later for the next load of passengers. They don’t mine gold anymore in Alaska, they mine tourists, and the supply will never run out by the look of it. Did some shopping on the main street, presents for my family. Detoured down dirt road 5 miles to Dyea, the original trailhead for the Chilkoot pass , then on to Whitehorse. Spent the night at Paul’s house again.

Day 22 : The outlook was for rain, so I decided to take advantage of the dry weather while I could and head down the Alaska highway. Paul told me that it was about 300 miles each to Watson Lake, on to Fort Nelson and finally Dawson Creek on the north edge of the prairies. Made it to Watson Lake early afternoon and had lunch by the famous signpost forest park they have built with signs from towns all over the world. Farther south I stopped at upper Liard hot springs for a well earned bath, you walk in ten minutes to a big pool of sulphur smells and 100 degree water that runs out over a waterfall. Met a British couple driving an old Honda CX500 from South America, they were going around the world. It was their second CX, they had bought it in Mexico. I guess the Alaska highway was quite tame for them after the mountain roads of Chile and Peru. I managed to get as far as Stone Mountain by dark, and pitched my tent by the side of a river among half a dozen big RV’s. I was the only bike or tent. 800 kms today and halfway to the Peace River valley.

Day 23 : Dodging rain showers, bought breakfast in Fort Nelson food store but had to run south before I could eat, big wall of rain coming from the north at about 30 mph. Took about 100 miles to really get out into the sun again, had a meal finally. Stopped at Dawson Creek to square up my gear and went into the swimming pool to use the phone. Nice big shower in the men’s washroom, so back out to the bike for my soap. Got clean, had a shave and put on some fresh clothes. My plan was now to turn east and head across the top of the prairies. I was counting on cooler weather up there and less traffic. Took hwy 49 to Spirit River, High Prairie and on to Lesser Slave Lake.

Tented after dark on south shore, watched the forest fires burning twenty miles away across the water on the north side, pink and yellow glow lighting up the night sky, quite a sight. They had been going for two weeks the lady at the campground told me. 1000 kms today, smokin’ !.

Day 24 : Nice and sunny, went through Lac la Biche and Cold Lake on hwy 55 into Saskatchewan. Roads were straight and fast, not much traffic. Turned south at Meadow Lake to Glaslyn then east again on hwy 3 to Prince Albert. Found a picnic area with nice grass on the prairie after dark and put up the tent about 10pm. Good sleep. 1000 kms today.

Day 25 : East through Tisdale ( big sign proclaims it the ‘ Land of Rape and Honey ’ ), and on to Crooked River into Manitoba near Mafeking. This is the end of my easterly run from Dawson Creek, now head south past Dauphin to Ochre River then along the shore of Lake Manitoba to Portage la Prairie. Tent in a campground for $12. 800 kms today.

Day 26 : Bypass Winnipeg again due south towards North Dakota on hwy 13 to Winkler. Met a lady on a Harley gassing up, she was heading back to BC from Thunder Bay. There was a white stallion painted on her blue tank, galloping towards you through some water. Nice work, took a picture of that.

Turned east at Winkler and ran through farmland to border crossing near the southeast corner of Manitoba by Lake of the Woods. Enter Minnesota and go through International Falls to Duluth. Follow the road, not paying much attention, when suddenly it ends at a marina by a lake. First time I was somewhere I hadn’t planned to be. Backtracked to last town ten miles and got back on hwy 53 to Duluth. Stopped for a swim and soap down at Pelican Lake about 4pm, it was 28 degrees. Nice break. Hit Duluth just on dark, skirted the city into Wisconsin. Pulled off the main street at Poplar to put on my silk long johns and electric vest, found a local museum on a back street dedicated to Richard Bong, America’s ace of aces, the airman who downed 40 planes during the Pacific campaign. Unfortunately, his P 38 Lightning was no longer outside on a tall pedestal, but off in storage waiting for his bigger museum in Superior. Drove another hour and tented at a state park up in the hills above Lake Superior. 900 kms today.

Day 27 : Finished driving the south shore of Lake Superior today. By 3pm it was 30 degrees so I stopped at a very long beach and had a swim in the clear water. Lots of people sunbathing, it was a scorcher. Got to Sault St. Marie by supper, looked into the Canadian Bush Pilot museum on the waterfront. Got halfway to Sudbury by 11pm, tented at a campground past Blind River. $10 800 kms today

Day 28 : Woke up to rain clouds, got my tent stowed just before a downpour. Hid out in the shower building for twenty minutes until I could pack the bike. Headed to Sudbury in showers. Had lunch in North Bay, got to Ottawa about supper. A real bed at another friend’s house for a change.
600 kms , pretty easy day.

Day 29 : Overcast, no rain, southeast towards Montreal, then turn off south to Cornwall area so I could cross the St Lawrence west of the big city and stay on secondary roads. Nice countryside to Cowansville area. Stopped at a Yamaha shop in Bedford, a small town . Met Pascal, a racer who owned the store. Very nice guy to deal with, took the bike into the shop after hours and we installed a new front Battlax tire for a lot less than I would pay back home. This was a good time to do it, there was already 22,000 kms on the old one, my longest tire yet. I was overdue for an oil change , dug out my spare filter and made the leap to synthetic oil, Motul 3100 4T. Pascal uses it in his race and street bikes, and sells hundreds of liters to his customers and racers. There was 10,000 kms on the old oil in 24 days, I was definitely pushing my luck. Rode down into Vermont and New Hampshire late, dodge 2 moose and a fox, too close for comfort on the big guys. Entered Dix Notch state park, no campgrounds. Went up a dirt road to tent about 1am. 500 kms today, feel like a tourist for a change, lazy pace.

Day 30 : Aug 19th. Last day on the road. Up at 7am, park ranger in a 4wd showed up about twenty minutes later when I’m half packed. Nice guy, mid thirties, just laughs and says.. “Well I guess you’ve done a bit of this before if you went to Alaska and back”. We yarn a while about smugglers and his job. He is from Ashland Wisc, which I came through two days earlier. Talk for half an hour, then down hwy 26 to Rumford and east on hwy 2 towards Bangor, heading for the ferry out of Bar Harbour, Maine. Meet an interesting couple in the ferry parking lot, driving a Honda Goldwing 1500 trike pulling a trailer.

Jack and Zoe Cox are from Oklahoma and have been married 55 years, Dick flew B25’s and P38’s during the war. His wife says they got the 2 wheeler converted to a trike last year. Dick tells me he did it partly because she was having trouble keeping the 2 wheeler up by herself when she drove ( 800 lbs ! ) . Now Zoe drives whenever Jack wants a rest, she says it's as easy as a car. They had already done the Cabot Trail in Cape Breton a few years ago on two wheels. It was great to meet two people who still liked to bike, no matter what age. As a Florida BMW rider in her seventies said to a friend of mine once, “ If it hurts as much to stay home as it does being on the road, you may as well be on the road . “

Boarded the ferry about 4pm, the new FastCat turbine powered catamaran from Tasmania, fastest ferry in North America.

It runs on 2 hulls at 90 kph, has four 9500 hp jet turbine engines running waterjet nozzles like an overpowered seadoo. Great trip, very calm seas. Room for 200 cars, it is 300 ft long. I park my bike away from the cars and strap it down in 4 directions in case the water gets rough. At these speeds it wouldn’t take much swell to really bounce around.

We do the six hour trip in two and a half hours. Get off in Yarmouth at 8pm and head straight for home, a three hour run. It is only the second time on this trip I have done any serious night riding , there were too many animals up north to make it worthwhile, and you don’t see much scenery running at night.

As I pull into my driveway the odometer is turning 35,400 kms. Not bad for 28 days, 19,000 kms or an average of about 700 kms per day. ( about 12,000 miles ) I crossed the border ten times between the States and Canada, and never spent more than a couple of minutes doing it. Only had four nights in hotels, five with friends, two on the ferry, and eighteen tenting. Spent about $ 500 on gas, $ 500 on ferries and $ 300 on hotels. It has been a great trip, the memories will stay with me for a long time. Some of the best people you meet on bikes are on the longer trips, they have the same kind of road fever for the long haul and new sights every day. It is a great way to see any country. It has been over thirty years since I started riding motorcycles, and now I have finally taken one to the Yukon and Alaska. If you have the time to do it, I can't think of a better place to go. Maybe I’ll even try for Inuvik and Prudhoe Bay next time !

TREE
email: pmtree@hotmail.com
( any comments welcome ..... )

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. . . Touring the Trans Labrador Highway 1999 . . .

. . HIMALAYAS 2000 - riding motorcycles to 18,000 ft . .