Seattle to Alaska - Part 3
by Colleen First
Day 9 – 240 miles
Deadhorse gets approximately 7” of rain a year, which is
less than Phoenix, AZ. Because Doug and I are special, they got about 1/3rd of
their annual rainfall the night that we were there. We got up early because we
had paid a bit extra to take the Official Tour that not only tells you all about
oil production on the North Slope, but it also allows you access to the Arctic
Ocean. Doug and I were quite surprised to find out in Fairbanks that the average
person is not allowed access to the ocean but must first register for a permit
or submit their personal information for inclusion in a tour such as the one we
were to take at least 24 hours in advance. Who knew?
The tour was ok; essentially a great long self-promotional
piece about the oil companies that are doing the drilling in the Arctic and how
they’re not really damaging anything and put everything back the way they found
it when they’re done. Whatever. I want to see the ocean.
It was cold and windy – not a good combination. Doug and I
took pictures of each other and we watched a few hardy (stupid?) people join the
Polar Bear club by completely submersing themselves in the 34 degree water. Not
for me.
After the tour was over we returned to our cozy ATCO room,
packed up our gear and bought some sandwiches to have later at the lodge in
Wiseman (we made arrangements to stay there again, despite not having the cash
required by the owners – they were kind enough to take us on our word that we’d
mail them a money order from Fairbanks, which we did as soon as we got back). We
packed up the bikes under mostly cloudy skies, with rain visible in the
not-so-distant distance. It looked like a cold ride out of town. The tour guide
had said that it was 42 degrees, but with the wind there was a wind chill of 21.
Brrrrr.
The wind was a constant source of distraction, blowing in
fairly steady from the same direction, but always cold. I also knew that a good
headwind would seriously cut down our fuel mileage and cause fatigue that much
sooner. About 100 miles out of town it started to rain. Ahhh – heated grips are
a godsend! I had hoped that as we headed inland (and south) that it would warm
up slightly, even if the wind didn’t diminish. However I was dismayed to find
that while wind did drop slightly, so did the temperatures. It began to snow!
Doug and I found ourselves struggling along at freezing temperatures on a wet
muddy road and snow-covered visors, with no where to go but forward. The snow
tortured us for 40 miles while we slogged through the mud and potholes that
appeared out of nowhere. Semis blew past us, the drivers sitting comfortably in
their heated rigs. Once again, I questioned my sanity. I began to wonder if my
heated grips were working any more, as I couldn’t feel my fingers very well. The
inside of my visor was fogged, but I couldn’t open it because then my glasses
would get covered. I was constantly wiping snow off my visor just so I could see
Doug’s taillight. Sigh. What else would one expect in the Arctic in August than
snow?
During a brief stop at the side of the road I suggested to
Doug that we ask at the next pump house if we could stand around in a warm room
for a bit, just to thaw out. There are pump houses along the pipeline at fairly
distant intervals (I’m guessing about every 60 miles or so?), but it didn’t take
us long to find out that these are highly secured places, and I think that only
upon threat of immediate death would they let you inside. Doug and I did not
qualify.
We got back on our bikes and trudged southward. The snow
was beginning to stick to the ground and the elevation level on the nearby hills
showed that we were reaching the snowline. Never daunted, the construction crew
was still hard at work at Atigun Pass and we crawled over it again at 10 mph. I
had the promise of warmer weather on the other side of the Pass in my head, so
we kept going through the snow and rain. As we crested the Pass Doug motioned to
his bike – it was overheating badly. Mine was running hot as well but I assumed
that it was from the slow uphill climb that we were doing. It turned out that we
had traveled through so much mud that it had clogged the radiator fins and they
were no longer effective. We stopped by a mountain stream and poured water over
the radiators of both bikes until enough was cleared off to get us safely back
to the Lodge. Upon our return to Wiseman Doug also discovered that his radiator
fan switch was broken, one of the reasons his bike overheated so much more than
mine. We hoped that we could fix it tomorrow when we got back in to Fairbanks.
The weather cleared up 40 miles before Wiseman and we had
an almost enjoyable ride back to the Lodge, although a hot shower had never felt
so good! And conveniently, the ham and cheese sandwiches we had purchased in
Deadhorse to eat cold grilled up nicely with the butter I had stuck in my pocket
from the morning’s bagel. That, in addition with hot instant soup and hot
chocolate made for a most appreciated meal. Yum!
Day 10 – 260 miles
The next morning was bright and sunny, like nothing had
happened the day before. We got fueled up in Coldfoot and then made a quick trip
down a fairly smooth and fast haul road. We had taken pictures on the way north,
so now it was just a quick jog back in to Fairbanks, where we hoped to get
Doug’s switch fixed and new tires on our bikes.
We took a celebratory break at the end of the Dalton
Highway, snapped some pictures and had a snack. Then we finished the trip in to
Fairbanks of the now-wonderful Elliot Highway. This road was full of full little
twisties and dips and really kept me on my toes – and leaned over, the way a
bike should be!
Upon our return to the B&B we found that our reserved room
wasn’t even on the property, but at another location. I was perturbed and said
that I had specifically requested a room here, in this building, as this is
where our gear is. The owner then tried to put us in a much more expensive room,
but we weren’t having any of that. He finally relented (and I could see that it
pained him to do so) and gave us the more expensive room at the originally
agreed-upon rate. Bah! I’ve never been so disappointed at a B&B then I was here.
Day 11 – 280 miles
We had purchased tires at the local Kawasaki dealership
before the trip to the Arctic but weren’t sure if we would need them replaced
immediately after the trip to Deadhorse or if we could make it to another town
and have it done there. One look at my rear tire said that we should do it now.
We took the new tires back to the dealership and while they did the change that
morning for us, it seemed to take them an exceptionally long time, not to
mention their outrageous prices (it seems that everything in Fairbanks is
outrageously expensive). They did indeed have the switch that Doug needed, but
they were asking $100 for it. Doug and I decided that we could rig something up
ourselves and wait until we could find a more reasonably priced part later.
Needless to say, we got a late start out of Fairbanks and decided not to head
south to Denali but instead to head directly home and have a small cushion of
time (which we needed, it turned out)
We did take advantage of our “extra time” by exploring
some off-road sights that had piqued our interest earlier in the trip. While I
had wanted to make it across the Yukon border before we stopped for the night it
looked like it wasn’t going to happen. Instead we camped along the side of the
road at a rest stop, about 20 miles from the border. It was a pleasant spot and
fairly quiet.
Day 12 – 330 miles
The morning was beautiful. We had no problems crossing
back into the Yukon and stopped at Beaver Creek for a hot breakfast. We called
ahead to Whitehorse and made reservations for the evening. The ride was very
pleasant, with wide open skies and views that just don’t stop. We had a brown
bear cross the road directly in front of us – I’m still waiting to see if the
pictures turned out from the disposable camera.
We ran in to some construction on the way to Whitehorse
and without the rains that we had previously the dust was thick! There are land
yachts (RVs) everywhere and they choked us with the dust they caused. Doug’s
bike overheated again as we trudged through an exceptionally long and arduous
section of construction. We had to do something about this or his bike would be
toast when we get to the warmer climes of southern BC. We arrived in Whitehorse
and immediately went to the Kawasaki dealership that doesn’t stock anything. Its
no surprise that they don’t have a radiator fan switch, but the guy confirms
what Doug and I had been thinking: bypass the thermo switch and put in a manual
switch. We thank him and walk across the street to Canadian Tire (“Not just
tires!”) and locate a switch, wire, some connectors and other fun electrical
stuff. We haul our purchases to the bikes, find our hotel and head for dinner.
Got to have priorities. After dinner we headed to the warm, dry and well-lit
parking area that our bikes are in (this is a happy thing) and after a short bit
of confusion we spliced in some wire, zip tie a switch to Doug’s handlebar and
voila! We have a manual fan switch!
...to be continued...
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