Top of the World Highway

Post date: Jul 3, 2016 7:28:28 AM

First thing is first. Breakfast. Yelp says that a place called Burnt Toast is where to go in Whitehorse, but it doesn't open until 0900. Seems like an odd hour to open. Let's drive by and see. I can't wait to get out of this motel. Bingo! They opened at 0800. While eating I overhear something about it being Canada Day, 01 JUL. I suppose it's something like our Independence Day. Anyways, I'm glad they're open because I can feel the sides of my stomach touching.

After breakfast, the next order of business is the bike. It's filthy and in need of a bath. The windshield is covered in a film of dirt from the construction I passed through yesterday, not to mention everything else. I found a car wash on the north end of town and commenced. A half hour later I was on the road to Dawson City, YT via the Klondike Highway. Leaving town, a bald eagle flew low overhead. Cool!

The Klondike Highway has a good surface. One would imagine that this far north with snow, ice, frost heaves, and whatnot that the road would be in bad shape. For the most part, it's really good. The surface is chip seal but made with a lot bigger aggregate than you see in the lower 48. It's really rough as evident by the wear on my rear tire. Hrmm...

Some things that concerned me while riding this road is that there is no shoulder and no easement. The bush butts up against the side of the road, and if something steps out from the bush, it could get interesting. I'd have to dodge something living instead of other road hazards.

One cool thing about the trees is that there are large swaths of forest that are strictly white birch. Then, as if someone drew a line in the forest, and said this side is mine, that side is yours, the trees switch to entirely spruce. I've never seen anything like it. Interesting. There are also swaths where different trees are intermingled.

Construction was to be expected to fix some of the gaping potholes. Yep, there were dirt and gravel sections. Oh there's a gravel section now. The gravel looks deep. Better slow down. Whoa! There's a trashed BMW GS on the side of the road apparently abandoned. I stopped to inspect it.

The bike is up on the center stand. The frame is bent because the tires don't line up in the same track. By the looks of things, it went down on the left side. Handlebars are bent down into the tank. The left pannier is laying on the ground mangled. The other panniers are gone. It has good tires. The seat is missing exposing the battery. There's a heated gear cable attached to the battery. I press the button to turn it on, and it lights up. There's still a charge in the battery. This couldn't have happened that long ago. The key is still in the ignition. I turn it on and try to start the bike, but it won't turn over. I wonder what happened? The closest town is a about 50 miles away. If anyone knows the owner of this machine, I'm interested in the back story. Later, I saw two abandoned cars along the side of the road, one on its top.

Dawson City must be close because there are piles and piles an piles of tailings from gold mining operations. Just outside of town there is an active mining operation. Around the corner is Dawson City, bustling with tourists.

I take a quick loop around town. There are people everywhere - passers by, panhandling drifters, guests staying the several hotels in town. There are no paved streets. There's a concert going on in a gazebo in the park next to the mighty Yukon River. I locate the ferry to take me across the river to the Top of the World Highway and decide to get some food. It's taken me six hours to get here.

While stopped for gas, I met a couple from Germany. They had shipped their Unimog from Hanover and were touring the US and Canada for the next year. It cost 3,000 Euros to ship the Unimog, one way.

A place called Sourdough Joe's is known for thier fish and chips, so the waitress informs me. That quickly narrowed down the menu. Halibut fish and chips it is. It was pretty good, and the apple crisp for dessert was excellent - not too sweet, good chew on the oats. Yum.

The part for my windshield is supposed to arrive today at Thomson's Eagle's Claw Motorcycle Campground in Tok, AK. If I too arrive in Tok today, I can fix it and gain a half-day of activity somewhere. I head out on the Top of the World Highway.

I hopped on the ferry for a five minute ride to the other side. It's the only crossing to another road for over 300 miles. One of the boatmen tells me that they make 45 trips back and forth in an eight-hour shift. Zzzzz...

The first thing I see are signs stating that the border crossing is closed from 2100 to 0900, no exceptions. I hope that I have time to make it because the Top of the World Highway is mostly dirt, gravel, and very little pavement. There is visible rain ahead. This will be fun with street tires. The surface is pretty smooth though with limited potholes, and I made it with plenty of time to spare. There are some nice valleys to witness from up there, so I stopped a couple of times to gaze.

At the border crossing back into the good ole USA, one of the agents offered to take a picture of me next to a sign that they had made. I said that he should charge a nominal fee for said services, to which he replied that he doesn't take bribes. Hah! We chatted about road conditions in Alaska and the Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay. He advised me to get off-road tires before heading up. I'll probably heed his advice. I asked how far Tok was from that point. He said it's only about 89 miles, but it will take you three hours to get there. He was right.

The Taylor Highway, as it's known on the US side, is horrible. It's by far the worst road I have encountered. It's even worse than my mountain adventure in Montana! I could only manage about 25 mph for most of the road. It was dirt, of course, but packed full of potholes and chatter. It was super slippery! The bike is now really filthy... again.

Eventually, I made it to Tok, AK where I camped at Thomson's Eagle's Claw Motorcycle Campground. The part for the windshield didn't arrive as paid for and as expected. !@#$ !@#$. So, I sit here now, the next day, a Saturday, waiting for the Post Office employees to arrive so that I can hopefully fox my windshield. So much for a half-day of activity.

Long story short, the Post Master finds my package at 1500. The very last package of the day. It wasn't placed in the proper container marked Express. It takes 15 minutes to fix in my tent garage while it pours rain outside. The forecast calls for hail. Great! One of the screw holes that holds the windshield in place strips when I tighten the screw. It was only a matter of time since I can't tell you how many times I've had the windshield off. The goods news is that I don't need the part right now. The bad news is that it costs $125. I'll pick one up on my way through Vancouver.

Guess what else? Another headlight is out. This time it's the driver side. I can't win.

I packed up my wet camp and headed south. There's nothing to see because it's pouring rain. All the mountains and valleys are shrouded in fog and the haze of rain.

Before I came up here, someone told me, "You'll see better roads in Alaska than in Canada." Well, let me tell you that person doesn't know their ass from their elbow. They've never seen either of them. The Richardson Highway is pure shit all the way to Glennallen. I'm talking frost heaves that will throw you off of a bike. Puddles of water that will you could take a bath in. Broken pavement. Foot-deep potholes that will destroy a front wheel, bend the front forks, or worse yet, send you over the handlebars to your fate. It was not a fun ride.

Glennallen, AK has a Thai place! Tok Thai Food. Wait a minute?! I was just in Tok. They have a shop up there too, but I didn't see it. The laab needed more lemongrass, but the panang curry was excellent. I asked for Thai hot and am feeling the chili's work on my stomach now.

I attempt to Google nearby campgrounds, but guess what? Zero cell service in Alaska. Good thing I bought The Milepost. I had full-bar, 4G LTE signal throughout Canada, even in the most remote places, like the middle of Banff National Park. Think I had service in Yellowstone or Glacier National Parks in the lower 48? Hah! No. The USA could take a lesson from Canadian cellular providers. Cell service in Canada is near ubiquitous, at least in Alberta, British Columbia, and Yukon. Kudos to them.

Anyways, I found a room at Copper River Princess Lodge. It's been raining all day. My gear is wet, and I'm over it. Laundry is in the wash.

This is my view for the evening.