Day 26

June 24

Well sorry to not have communicated for a few days (actually I've lost count of days) but there are updates on FB for those that utilize that forum.  I want to say I stayed three nights in the Alaska Backpacker Inn and I did sleep three times in as many days but there are no nights here.  The 24 hours of light seems to give the body more energy...at least that is my experience.  Yesterday I left Anchorage heading for Homer about 250 miles south.  Again the scenery was beautiful and the temp changed several times along the way: from warm in Anchorage, to cool, to humid warm, to humid cool and finally to cold.

I am doing some sightseeing around Homer on foot today.  Homer is a fishing and tourist town...many boats and a large harbor.  There was one cruise ship docked in the harbor last evening.

In my earlier post I told of trouble with the bike.  Well I came to Anchorage to have it checked out and the problem was not a big deal but it did cause me to miss the Dust2Dawn event in Dawson...oh well, I couldn't be in Dawson so I was somewhere else...all is well.

Tomorrow I plan to travel to Seward, then back to Anchorage, then north to Denali N.P.  I will likely spend several days there then on to Fairbanks for the trip to the end of the road...Deadhorse, AK.  More shall be revealed...

Day 22

June 20

This day started about 36 hours ago. I stayed at Bear Creek Hostel in Haines, AK after sailing from Skagway. When I packed the bike and prepared to leave the hostel the morning of the 19th the bike would not idle. I tinkered with it and the bike would run right once but the next time it was started would not. After getting fuel I headed from Haines, AK to Haines Jct, YT...the bike ran fine but would not idle most of the time. At Haines Jct I had lunch then proceeded to Whitehorse where the plan was to spend the night then head to Dawson today, the 20^th, for the Dusk 2 Dawn event of adventure motorcyclist.  Upon arriving in Whitehorse with the bike still not idling properly it became obvious that trying to drive in traffic with this problem was just not safe. 

I went to McDonalds, got a coffee, and logged on to their Internet to look for Triumph dealerships in the area. The nearest was in Anchorage, AK with the next closest in Tacoma, WA. I called the dealer in Anchorage and the service manager said he would check it out when I brought it in...that is 700 miles away. What to do...???...go to D2D and hope it would heal itself or take off to Anchorage. I decided to have a BigMac meal and get the bike fixed. So after riding all day from Haines to Whitehorse I started for Anchorage at 5:00pm figuring I would go until I got tired and rest and continue to Anchorage after some sleep. Well, there’s not much traffic at night on the Al Can Hwy...cars and campers just pull over when they are tired and sleep.  I must have passed at least a hundred such travelers. At about 5 minutes after midnight I stopped and took some incredible pictures of the southwestern Yukon sky just a few miles from the Alaska line. Anyway I ended up driving all the way to Anchorage arriving about 10am this morning...a real IronButt adventure...it's 7:30pm Alaska time and I'm about ready to hit the sack. Oh yeah...the bike is fixed and the adventure continues tomorrow...more shall be revealed.

Day 20

June 18

I'm having coffee in a little coffee shop off Broadway in Skagway, AK. The ride down from Whitehorse was fabulous...I know I keep saying wondrous things about the scenery but it just is that beautiful. Of course it was raining when I got up at 5:00 am…it has not failed to rain at some point in the day since coming into Canada and it really makes no difference when you get up or lay down since it's light 24/7. I'm adjusted to it and really like it.

There were about 5,000 tourists from three cruise ships in harbor today in town. Seems I picked a good day because there is scheduled to be about 9,000 tomorrow.

At 7:30 pm Alaska time I have booked passage to Haines, AK and will stay there tonight...returning to Whitehorse tomorrow via Haines Jct. The mountains from Haines to Haines Jct are supposed to be some of the most spectacular in the Yukon.

I hope I can find a dry bed tonight in Haines because the tent is soaking wet as it was packed in the rain this morning. Oh well…more shall be revealed.

Day 19

June 17

I am staying around Whitehorse for the day and learning a little of it's history. Whitehorse was a resting place for the prospectors during the Klondike gold rush and was famous for the rapids in the Yukon River that claimed the lives of many would be miners. The prospectors either tried the rapids or portaged around them, in either case where the town of Whitehorse sits was a resting place for most everyone headed to Dawson from Skagway.

 Tomorrow I plan to ride to Skagway, AK to see where the miners coming from the west coast of the US disembarked and began the overland trek to the gold in Dawson. Wednesday my plan is to go to Dawson...spend several days there and via the Top of the World Hwy go into Alaska for real...more shall be revealed.

Day 18

June 16
 
 I am in Whitehorse, YT this morning. The weather is cold and raining...which seems to be the norm for spring in the far north. I am camped about 35km from the center of the city and am shopping for some wormer gloves and a hot shower. I plan to stay in the area for a few days....maybe dropping down to Skagway, AK for a day and then heading to Dawson, YT Wednesday for the "Dusk 2 Dawn" which is the 21st & 22nd. There should be between 250 and 300 like-minded adventure motorcycle travelers meeting for two days of fun and fellowship. There I hope to meet riders and team up for the real adventure of going to Deadhorse, AK. I have already met riders also headed to Dawson with the same goal as I have...GOING ALL THE WAY!!!  In all likelihood I will not leave Fairbanks for Deadhorse before July 1st....more shall be revealed.

Day 16

June 14

Stayed the night in Sewart, BC at the King Edward Hotel. Sewar is by isolated, but quite busy....lots of miners workin out of here and the restaurant is hopping with hungry workers.

Yesterday afternoon on the way into Stewart I passed a glacier (part of the reason of coming here) and had a close encounter with a large black bear....we just looked at each other and he just turned and walked in the bush.

Today I will go east back to the Cassier Hwy and continue north to Alaska.

Day 12

Michael leaving the hostel

The forecast for Lake Louise, AB was for rain.  I have had my fill of cold rain and snow so I am staying at Hostel International tonight also and will proceed up the parkway to Jasper in the morning.

Robert White from Columbus, MS

I drove to Banff today and looked around....this whole area is beautiful and is full of tourists.....I have met people from at least 10 different countries here at the hostel.  While in town I went to Safeway which could be the last real market I see until getting to Fairbanks, another 3,000 miles away.

 This afternoon I started culling some things that I have not used and that are taking up valuable space because I need to take on more food. I feel sure that there will be days ahead that I will not find anywhere serving prepared meals.