I'm writing this on Monday morning as I got in later last night and
forgot to write anything.
When I awoke in Ft. Nelson, I thought I'd go about 320 miles to Watson Lake.
It wasn't raining as I packed but it started as I started the ride.
The rain was clearly the theme for the day.
I don't think I've described the Alcan Highway yet. Imagine riding on
a two lane highway that is very much like remote interstate. The road
is usually pretty good, paved with asphalt. They usually warn you
with loose gravel spots that are repaired and, like everywhere,
they're doing repairs all summer. You can ride for 30 minutes at 100
km/h easily without seeing another car, sign or town. The worry is
animals. I'm constantly scanning for animals ahead. This morning is
worrying as I think animals come out in the rain more because their
scent is hidden and they can't see as far (predators don't see them as
well). The first one I saw was a bear about a good distance ahead of
me that ran back into the woods as I approached. The second animal was
an elk that also ran back into the woods as I approached. I then saw
a roadkill deer, roadkill elk, and a very sad thing. I saw a
motorhome stopped with a bear in front of them. I pulled alongside
and the bear lifted its head. It was obviously hurt. The man said
he'd broken the bears leg when he hit it and was waiting for
assistance. I then saw a bison herd alongside the road (its open
range).
Lastly, I stopped for a bear ambling alongside the road nd as I was
stopped for it, a wolf came out of the woods, loped about 1/2 mile
down the road and then went back into the woods. It was very dark and
obviously larger than the coyote I'd seen near Jasper.
One other thing I had to watch for today was rocks that slid down the
embankments with the rain. In Summit Lake, there were BOULDERS that
had come down and were in both lanes. I could get by on the
motorcycle, but I don't know how a RV was going to pass.
I rode for about two hours to Muncho Lake where I stopped for gas.
They had a decent restaurant and there were 4 other motorcyclists that
were going in the opposite direction from me there. They were from
Illinois and South Dakota and had ridden to Washington, taken the
ferry to Skagway, and were riding home. They actually warned me about
the bison herd and rain all the way to Watson Lake. When I got to WL,
it was about noon and still raining hard. I'd gotten up so early this
morning (time changes!) that my riding could be over by noon. I
decided to press on to Teslin (another 150 miles). Really, nothing
eventful happened in this ride. It was still raining consistently but
with my electric gear on, my body and hands were warm although my toes
were cold.
Ahhhhh, another thing about the Alaskan Highway is the bridge surface.
Its often metal grating which is VERY slippery for motorcyclists. I
focus on steady throttle and no quick adjustments. But arriving in
Teslin, there was a much longer bridge with little bumps every 15 m or
so. It was not much fun to cross that one as I felt the rear tire
slip several times.
I should also describe the towns along the Alcan. Most of them are
little, little things with about a dozen houses and a couple of
stores. Tourism is obviously important as there may be a motel with 5
rooms or so and a gas station. Its usually a gravel parking lot with
cement at the pumps. Teslin was similarly small but the motel was
newer and modern and it was still only 3 PM so onward I went. I
decided that Whitehorse was a great goal as I might get cellphone
service again so I went the last 140 miles to Whitehorse. The total
miles for the day was almost 600 and unfortunately, about 550 was in
the rain. I ended up NOT getting cellphone service in Whitehorse so
the final push was also unnecessary. But, I did find a Tim Horton's
for breakfast (similar to Dunkin Donuts) so it wasn't a total bust.
--
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Todd Ryan; Hudson, MA
Westborough HS Science Teacher
MSF RiderCoach
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