Discretionary Move

Home on the Range (note tent)

Coldfoot with a population of 13 year around residents is a busy place during the summer a
population of, perhaps, 10 times the year around residents.  The "Sourdough" gas station,
restaurant, bar and hotel is the focal point of the community.

Although the camping is free, it all works out in the end - the showers are $14 plus $5 per towel
(yesterdays T-shirt, works just fine).  The food and drinks are equally exorbitant (not the place
to languish away your time).

Christian (left) & Jon

Riding north from Coldfoot and hoping that the clear skies would hold on, while at the same time
doubting that Mother Nature would be so kind, I began once again my quest to reach Prudhoe Bay.

The further north I rode the more in doubt the situation became, but the rain was holding off for
the time being; and so, there was no point in stopping.

About 90 miles north of Coldfoot it began to rain, ever so lightly, but I knew it would take very
little rain to turn the Dalton into an "ice rink".

Sure enough, I began to feel my front tire get "squirrelly" and almost immediately pulled to the
side of the roadway - I just could not (I told myself) afford to lay my Harley down.

Soggy Buddies

I waited astride my Harley, kick-stand down, helmet off and hood of my rain suite over my head;
resting and even striving (to no avail) to sleep - what else was there to do?


Not wanting to give up and knowing that I had no business on the Dalton Highway (AKA - "The Haul Road") in the drizzling rain; I decided look for a spot along the side of the Dalton to pitch my tent.  It didn't look good; the river flowed barely forty feet from the highway and between it and the roadway was mostly a mixture of shale and rocks.


Nonetheless, I found a spot, and while erecting my tent a solo rider, traveling south on a Honda,
stopped to inquire as to my situation; and so doing informed me that he had laid down his
motorcycle, wiped out a running light and added "character marks" to the side of his bright red
Honda - I knew I had made the right decision.

I asked him if he had an extra bottle of water I could buy.  He gave me his last bottle and refused
any money, and quietly went on his way.

Even after seeing the results of trying to conquer the Dalton, I was beginning to question just
what I was doing; but, as the rain commenced once again, I returned to finish setting up the tent.

Comfortably laying in my tent and listing to the patter of rain and the bubbling of water from the
near by creek bed, I rested for perhaps an hour before realizing that the rain had stopped;
although it was clear that the sun had not made its presence known.  And so, I continued resting,
knowing that the brief repose from the rain was not enough to allow the Dalton to dry out; but my
guilt was getting the best of me, and I bailed out of the tent.  All the while knowing what to
expect, but hoping for some kind of a miracle that was not to be.

Scenery on the Slippery Dalton Highway

While standing on the roadside, anguishing over my dilemma, a truck bearing pipeline lettering
pulled up and handed me a Gatorade and a couple of snickers - another motorcycle rider had asked
him to give it to the "biker in the tent at the side of the road" (my Honda "friend" whose name I
never knew).

The driver asked if that was all of the food I had and handed me a couple of energy bars and
another water- more, kindness without question.

Sprinkling once again, I retired back to my meager abode; only to be alerted once more by the sound
of a motorcycle pulling off the highway.  The sprinkling was now a steady drizzle.

This time it was another Harley, also northbound, but accompanied by a Jeep with a lone driver.

Beauty in the Haze

The three of us conversed for a while, each of us offering his assessment of the situation and
coming to the same conclusion.  It wasn't worth the risk!

Jon on the Harley and Christian driving the Jeep were on separate journeys, but after bumping into
one another repeatedly they decided to go tandem.  Strangely, Jon from New Hampshire and Christian
from Missouri were both tattoo artists; a fact, that almost certainly brought them together.

At this point, we were about 35 miles from Atigun Pass and only an approximate 150 miles from
Prudhoe Bay.  There was so much "scuttlebutt" about the Dalton; some said that "once over Atigun
Pass you had it "made," and others claimed it mattered not - "it was all the same."

The Mountain & the  Pipeline

I thought that perhaps Christian could be talked into throwing together with his "compadres" and
the three of us going the distance to Prudhoe; but even with his Jeep - he had a fear of the Dalton
Highway and wasn't buying it; despite my persistence.  

Nonetheless, they agreed to wait for me to break camp and pack my gear; I was grateful to have some
accompaniment.

When we arrived back at Coldfoot it was after 2:00 AM and dark enough to tell that you had your
lights on.

Coldfoot stays open around the clock, selling gas, rooms, cold sandwiches and coffee.  At this

Overcast & Rain on the "Haul Road"

point, food was food and coffee - was the order of the day.  

Jon and Christian were still drinking coffee when I left the restaurant to set up the tent once
again.  When I awoke in the morning they had already departed (as planned) and I returned to
Fairbanks, pleased to have a day without event.

They say "Discretion is the better part of valor"; but that doesn't lessen my disappointment for
not making it to Prudhoe.

West to Alaska

Mount Robson

After arriving in Jasper around noon it was easy to see that one could get real comfortable in Jasper.  From this location there seemed to be an endless list of possible summer time things to do: from hiking and camping, canoeing, kayaking, whitewater rafting, fishing, bicycling or just     strolling around the small community and taking pictures.  Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), as the case may be, none of the above was on my agenda for the time being, and I needed to get out of Jasper before the day was done; I had a mission - West to Alaska!

Checking my map, it appeared that Prince George was within striking distance if I could finish my "look-over" of Jasper and get on the road by 2:00 PM at the latest.

The ride to Prince George was a pleasant, but other than the great view of the glacier topped Mount Robson (the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies), an unspectacular ride; given what I just ridden through, I was now somehow almost jaded by all of the beauty of British Columbia, and no longer so easily impressed (a feeling that thankfully did not last long).

It was about 8:30 PM when I arrived in Prince George, giving me plenty of time to find a campground and set up my tent before dark, or so I thought.

Prince George is an industrial city with a sizeable population of over 70,000 people; it known as, "the Northern capital of British Columbia."  With that kind of high praise one would think that finding a campground would be a breeze; but, that was not the case.

After riding on highway 16 from one side of the city to the other (getting lost in the process), and still finding nothing, a local directed me to what must be the only campground in Prince George; Sintich RV Park (south of the city on highway 97), is an excellent RV park.

Bear Glacier

Must have been too excellent!  I spent two days there just catching things up and planning the next move.

There are not always a lot of choices (the highway options are limited when going to Alaska), but from Prince George I could ride up the Alaskan Highway (highway 97) to Fort St. John or continue west on the Yellowhead Highway 16.

Highway 97 was safe, sure, secure and a route I had already traveled on during the snowmobile trip in February-March.  The Yellowhead would offer a new and (for me) un-traveled route; but represented more of a challenge when it connected to highway 37 (the Cassiar Highway) with some gravel and many unknowns - I headed west on the Yellowhead Highway 16.
    

Bear Glacier

Actually, the Yellowhead held one distinct advantage.  It would lead to the southern most highway entry into Alaska (via Stewart, British Columbia) at Hyder, Alaska; and this was the determining factor in selection the route.

It was after 2:00 PM before I departed. It was chilly (no, it was COLD!), and threatening clouds loomed overhead.  Things didn't look good.  The distance from Prince George to Stewart was 434 miles and Mapquest listed it as an 8 1/2 hour ride.  It was too far for me to make it with my late start, and I would have to find a campground en-route.

The threatening clouds began to release a few sprinkles but fortunately just as I was entering the town of McBride - I welcomed the opportunity to grab a coffee and suit up with rain gear.

Predictably after suiting up with rain gear the rain stopped and the sun came out.  I ditched my jacket and kept the pants and boot covers in place (it was easy to replace the jacket if needed and the other attire was still comfortable even with the sun out).

Old Empress Hotel

The Glacier View RV Park, a small campground west of Smithers worked out fine for the night; and the next morning while braking camp and preparing for whatever the day might bring, I struck up a conversation with the girl in the adjacent tent site.  We agreed that since we were both traveling alone and in the same direction, we might as well ride together (at least for a while).

Over breakfast I learned that in fact Lori-Ann Muenzer is a bit of a celebrity.  She informed me that six years ago she had a life changing experience.  Somewhat hesitant (curious, but not wanting to be probing into personal matters), I asked if she cared to share her experience - she responded positively.

I was amazed and impressed to learn that six years ago, at the age of 38, Lori-Ann won Canada's first ever (and to this day only) Olympic Gold Medal in cycling.

Stewart Museum

At an age when most women are enjoying the leisurely life of attending their grand children's sporting events, school band and a host of other activities, Lori- Ann was "beating the pants off" other competitors (some of whom, where perhaps half her age!)

Apparently not one to rest on her laurels, Lori-Ann has her own public speaking company, and is currently working on her degree in photography.

We rode together for the day and eventually connected with highway 37A south and passed through the beautiful Bear Glacier on the way to Stewart, British Columbia.

Stewart British Columbia

Highway 37A south is a short, but fabulously beautiful route which in terms of the glaciations even rivals the Columbia Icefields along the Icefields Parkway (the Bear Glacier's frozen river of ice was an amazing aquamarine color which is sadly lost in the small internet photo).

During its "heyday" it had a population of about 10,000, but today the population of Stewart is less than 500 years-around residents (the summertime population doubles).

In the years following the Klondike Gold Strike, Stewart was a center Canadian mining activity and the Canadian Pacific Railway.  Tucked into a large bay and surrounded by glacier topped mountains, it still has the look of an old Canadian mining town.

Lori-Ann Muenzer in Hyder 

Stewart's huge old Empress Hotel once served as housing for the employees of the Canadian Pacific Railway.  Built in 1908, it still appears - square and upright - as if it were in repairable condition; but (sadly) for what need?


In a similar way, the Stewart Museum serves as stately reminder of better times long past.

From Stewart, British Columbia to Hyder, Alaska is less than three miles; how "neat" it was, to get up in British Columbia, and ride to Alaska for BREAKFAST.

Hyder, Alaska is even smaller than Stewart with a population of only 85 (they must have been hiding when we were there).  Our breakfast was at the  Glacier Inn in Hyder.  It had the atmosphere of an old Western saloon; the "wall-paper" was what must be literally thousands of one dollar bills from nations around the globe, but predominately from the United States.  It seemed as if Wild Bill Hickok could have been dealt his "Dead-Mans Hand" right on this spot.

Glacier Inn in Hyder Alaska

Despite the fact that neither of us had a real travel agenda, we had separate missions and goals which required that we go our separate ways.

We had camped at the same campgrounds Stewart and rode together to as far north as Watson Lake, Yukon Territory before departing on our separate journeys.  Many thanks to Lori-Ann for a "putting-up with me" and Best of Luck with all of your future endeavors.