I swept the curtains aside this morning hoping for a glimpse
of sunshine, no joy, cloudy and raining again in Stewart, BC. We skipped
breakfast, left our baggage in the hotel room and rode the two kilometers
between Stewart, BC and Hyde, AK, crossing back into the United States, the southernmost
highway accessible town in Alaska. After coffe and a muffin we returned to Stewart and loaded up the bikes.
Today we were headed north on the Cassiar Highway toward
Watson Lake, some 403 miles away. The Cassiar is an alternative to the Alaska
Highway, albeit much more scenic—we recommend it. For the first 100 miles we
rode in the rain and low clouds until the weather finally began to improve.
Over the next 100 miles we had several roadside encounters with Black Bears,
some so close you could almost reach out and touch them. Sometimes we wondered
who was more startled, us of the bears. We counted 14 of them, not to mention two deer
and an adult Ram Dahl Sheep today.
The Cassiar is truly a great highway for motorcyclists,
hundreds of sweeping curves among dozens of Alpine lakes in varying shades of
emerald and jade.
At the 200 mile mark we pulled into Dease Lake for lunch and
gas. Idling across the parking lot from the gas station to the restaurant I
noticed an engine noise that I’m not familiar with, let the worrying begin, two
hundred miles from nowhere. It occurred
to me that it might be the cam chain tensioner, commonly known as the Doo-Hickey
among KLR fans. It’s the one most common
failure point in the KLR motor. I should have changed it before I left with an
after-market upgrade.
Having no alternative, I threw a leg over the saddle and
we rode another 175 miles to Watson Lake, Yukon Territory without incident. En
route, we meet some other adventure riders on their way to the Dust to Dawson
(D2D) event in Dawson City. Go ADVRiders!
Our plan was to ride the dirt Campbell Highway tomorrow
toward Dawson City; however, recent reports of heavy rain, several washouts and road
construction have caused us to reconsider our plans. So, tomorrow we are going
to head up the Alaska Highway to Whitehorse instead. Perhaps we can locate
someone to access my engine noise there. On a Sunday Father's Day? You're a dreamer Dude!Stay tuned, more adventures coming. Here are some picts from today’s ride:
1 comment:
What beautiful pictures Dad and as always, so eloquently described. You make it so easy to close my eyes and feel as if I'm there. So happy for you that the wildlife has come out to play for you and Lane to enjoy. We love reading your daily post, keep it coming! Happy Father's Day, Dad. I wish you were here so I could pamper you like a King today. You will have to accept a raincheck! Lots of love and ride safe! XOXO We miss you!
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