Chicken - Eagle - Dawson City

7/24/07
It was a clear sky when I awoke at 5:30 AM. I knew the Chicken Café didn't open until 7 AM so I was going to just have my coffee and wait for them to open. The skies then grew dark in about 10 minutes time so I knew that I had to tear down camp wet. I got it all put away as the café was opening. I went in, had a sandwich and got on the road by 8 AM.
In the café they told me the road to Eagle had LOTS of construction but I decided to go there anyway. I had quite a bit of extra time because Ruth and I figured out that if I start the 4 Corners on Monday, July 30, she would be able to ride the end of it with me. Even if I get to the lower 48 early, I'll just putz around Washington until Monday AM to start the 4C ride.
I gassed up at Chicken and chatted with the gas station owner about the road to Eagle. He told me to be careful; that because of the rain, the shoulders were soft and they had to pull a car out last night that slipped into a ditch. I also met a couple that lives in their RV full time. They've been doing this for 2 years and they were heading to Eagle today. Good, there is someone else on the road with me.
It started raining on me almost as soon as I left. I rode to where the road splits (either Eagle or Canada and Dawson City) and headed north. It was nearly exactly like the start Ruth and I had on the Dalton Hwy, foggy, wet, gravel, and cold. What little scenery I could see I knew was great but I could only see about 100 yds ahead of me.
I came around a bend and saw movement in the road. As I neared, I saw it was 6 caribou. I tried to get close but they were very skittish and ran every time I approached. They finally climbed a very steep embankment to get into the woods and elude me.
It was 100 miles from Chicken to Eagle and I'd gone about 60 of it in 1.5 hours but then I hit the construction area. I had to wait about 20 minutes for a pilot vehicle and that truck drove too slow for me to easily maintain momentum. It was hard following him the 16 or so miles through the construction but finally he let me go on.
Eight miles from Eagle I saw more motion in the road. This time it was a lone gray wolf. I quickly stopped but it also darted away. No one wanted their photos taken today.
Eagle is fairly small but it had electricity and indoor plumbing, something Chicken didn't have. I rode through the downtown and found the National Park Visitor Center for the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Park and went inside. I got my Passport book stamped and asked if they had a video about the park. They were thrilled to get it out and start it up for me. I watched the movie and then returned to the main lobby. There I met the couple from Chicken again and another person who wanted to know about my trip. We all chatted for a bit and then I packed up and left. I got gas before leaving and headed back the only road to Eagle (65 miles back the way I came).
When I got to the construction zone, there was one VW camper there and they told me it would be about 0.5 hour until the pilot car showed up. At least the drizzle had ended although it was still cloudy. I ate an apple that I'd bought in Eagle. That time passed and then the pilot vehicle showed up but the driver didn't want to leave yet because of some trucks that were coming so we waited another 25 minutes for the trucks to come and turn around. At that time, they got word that a tour bus was about 8 miles away and they wanted to wait for it. Another 20 minutes passed. I'd now been waiting for over an hour and 15 minutes to cross this construction. They pilot vehicle took off. He was driving about 15 mph, WAY too slow for me maintain balance in mud easily. I slipped numerous times and one time, I was in thick mud and was riding sideways trying to maintain momentum.
As we exited the construction zone, I saw the lead vehicle for the tour bus reach over and give something to the flagperson. I assume they tipped them for waiting for them on the other end. I guess you've got to buy your way through Alaska construction zones...
As soon as I could, I passed the VW and then rode about 40-45 the rest of the way out. The weather cleared shortly after leaving the construction and the skies even became blue. I did see two more caribou on the road also; a doe and her calf.

If you're keeping track, I've now ridden 165 miles of gravel so far today. I turned toward Dawson City and the "Top of the World Hwy". It was still a gravel road to the border but the sky was blue and I was riding the tops of mountains. There were deep valleys all around me.
At the border, the guard told me he'd seen over 300 caribou in the last day because they're getting ready to migrate. In Canada, the road switched to paved for awhile and I was cruising at 70 kph along the tops of mountains. What an awesome ride!!! The road then became gravel with paved areas so I'd estimate that all together today, I rode over 200 miles of gravel, most of it wet, slippery and gooey. It was all over the bike.
As I approached Dawson, I found a Yukon Territory government campground for $12 (for awhile, all prices will be in Canadian $) so I set up camp to let me stuff dry while I got a bit to eat.
Around the bend from the campground is the Yukon River. They don't have a bridge going over it, I had to take a ferry. I found a restaurant named Sourdough Joe's and stopped. There was a Ural w/ a sidecar there and the guy and I chatted for awhile. He'd just finished eating and I'd just ordered so it was perfect timing. Another guy on a BMW dakar came up and we all talked about our trips. They told me where a power washer was in town so I could get some of the stuff off the bike and I did this right after dinner. I then got back on the ferry and returned to my campsite. The tent was dry so I cleaned the bike's chain, lubed it up well, and then sat down to write this blog. I'm quite tired after all the gravel and mud today so I'm hitting the hay soon. It was a good day but I really with Ruth was still with me....