Whitehorse YT to Beaver Creek, YT
Today we left our motel in Whitehorse YT and headed north with the goal of reaching the US / Canadian border at Beaver Creek, YT.
A pretty simple (read easy) plan you’d think….. only 279 miles. As it turned out the Yukon Highway Dept had other plans in store for us…. but …..wait….. I’m getting ahead of myself.
Our second goal for the day was to visit Kluane National Park. Kluane NP is a beautiful mountain range that separates the Canadian plains we are riding in from the southeast coast of Alaska. Our route takes us parallel to these mountains and north to the border.
The visitor center at Kluane National Park
Some of the better gravel we rode today. Miles and miles of it!
Kluane Lake
When you see one of these... You better be paying attention!
Today’s roads turned out to be a disaster! More than 200 miles were dirt, gravel, washboard or simply non-existent! Speeds were reduced at times to less than 20 miles per hour due to the dust and deep squirrelly gravel. I talked to one unhappy RV'er who had to stop and clean up his camper after he shook everything out of his galley cabinets onto the floor, including the shelves, doing 10 mph.
We have also learned the true meaning of Hoyt Knoth's term "whoop-tee-doo's". Frost heaves have torn up the road beyond belief. Canada simply plants a flag beside the spot and leaves it up to you to neogiate it. The heave may run across the road or it may run with the road. You won't know which until you're in it. I once commented to Ted I could see the undercarriage of his Wing on one of his bounces.
We have also learned the true meaning of Hoyt Knoth's term "whoop-tee-doo's". Frost heaves have torn up the road beyond belief. Canada simply plants a flag beside the spot and leaves it up to you to neogiate it. The heave may run across the road or it may run with the road. You won't know which until you're in it. I once commented to Ted I could see the undercarriage of his Wing on one of his bounces.
Suffice it to say you won't want to hit a frost heave at any speed.
Our motel in Beaver Creek was a three room affair above a general store and pub. Aside from not having Internet or a phone in the room it wasn't half bad. You could easily have slept 6 in the room and the bed was the best of the trip to date.
We finally ended the day in Beaver Creek, YT, the most westerly community in Canada. Tomorrow we cross back into Alaska on our way to Fairbanks. Oddly enough, most people don't realize just how big Canada is or how long it takes to cross it. We will finally reach Alaska after 13 days riding, the majority of which will have been done in Canada.
For Don U:
So far we have not resorted to road kill. (as I sit here eating strawberry pie... LOL)
Our normal day consists of eating the contentinal breakfast in most hotels before we leave for the day. Sometime around mid to late morning we stop for a break and we may or may not eat something. Generally we stop to eat just before we go to the motel, perfering to have everything done when we get there. We've eaten our share of burgers and sandwiches but we've also had steak one night and a great pasta meal in Ft Nelson. We've also managed to buy snacks for the evening so we won't be deprived... LOL
I once thought I would lose weight on this trip but that's not happening.
"Pay no attention to what the critics say; no statue has ever been erected to a critic." ~Jean Sibelius~
Mike,
ReplyDeleteForget about the weight, HAVE FUN! I know you are! Today sounds like my kind of riding, aren't you glad you are on the V-Strom! Remember, accelerating HARD brings the rear end back up under you! Have fun buddy, YOU'RE THE MAN!
Kevin