Day 4 - Kitwanga, BC to Williams Lake, BC

Kitwanga, BC to Williams Lake, BC - Sorry, but this is the only thing of significance for today. Sorry British Columbia but it was just highway and lots of traffic. And most of it was going fast. I hit Prince George near rush hour so it was crazy crowded. This morning was cool enough to require a liner but the day ended up hot. Maybe that's why there are no pictures, if I stopped, I was hot...

Tomorrow, the hot weather gear comes out and maybe more pictures...

Posted with Blogsy

Day 3 - Cassiar Highway

Today was the Cassiar Highway. Last nights weather continued and it was blue skies this morning and it held for the whole day. The last time I had travelled on the Cassiar, it was still about 1/3 gravel. This is not the case today and the only gravel was the repaired sections from the washout last month.

The northern part of the road was narrow two lane chip seal with no lane markings. There was very little traffic in either direction. I think I saw more bicycles and motorcycles than RVs or trucks.

 

Lots of mountains, lakes along most of the road. I was really tempted to head into Stewart-Hyder but decided not to add 80 more miles to this trip.

 

The southern end of the road was starting to look more like civilization with lane markings and much more traffic. And the last 70 miles from the Hyder turnoff to Kitwanga was starting to feel like Fairbanks with a lot of vehicles passing me up.

 

The Cassiar campground at Kitwnaga is pretty nice. They have a nice grassy area for tent camping and, besides me, there are two other riders on a couple of well outfitted GS's. Plus there's free wi-fi!

Not too many picture opportunities. I saw 3 black bear today crossing the road but didn't feel inclined to stop, pull off my gloves, dig out the camera all the while hoping they stay put. On the first day, I saw three moose, two black bear and two small grizzlys. And lastly, today I saw a fox running along the road.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Day 1 and 2 - Fairbanks, AK to Junction 37

Day 1 - Fairbanks to Destruction Bay, YT -- My rain gear got a thorough workout as it rained almost continuously for the entire day. No issues at all crossing the border and since it was raining in Beaver Creek, I didn't bother looking for a campsite there. I kind of hoped that it'll clear up further down the road. It didn't. I camped at Cottonwood campground right on the shore of Kluane Lake. If it wasn't for the rain and wind it would've been a nice camp. The half cover for the bike was nice to have as I could store my riding gear under it instead of in the tent. By the next morning, the rain had stopped and the wind had dried the tent. No pictures of anything.

Day 2 - Destruction Bay to Junction 37 -- it started out pretty cold but at least it wasn't raining. By noon I was in Whitehorse, YT, where George F is attending the Ténéré rally but I knew that he was headed to Skagway, AK, to attend the fourth of July festivities so I tried to leave a message for him. The motel clerk could find his room so I just headed down the road. I am at the north end of The Cassiar Hwy at a campground called Nugget City. We have stayed here many times in the past and I was looking forward to dinner at the restaurant. Nice vegetable stir fry over rice. Way better than the freeze dried dinner I had yesterday. Tomorrow I head down the Cassiar Highway. I talked to some other riders at a rest stop and they said that it was beautiful and the road was in good condition. Only about a dozen gravel sections today with two of them about five miles long.

At the next campsite is a bicyclist riding south. He flew to Anchorage with his bike and is headed for Vancouver Island. He mentioned that the ferry from Prince Rupert to Vancouver Island really cuts out a lot of miles. Probably not since I am ahead of schedule. In the restaurant, I met two older couples from New Zealand who are on their way to Prudhoe Bay to start their trek down to Tierra Del Fuego two up on BMW R1200GS's. Pretty ambitious for anyone. I hope I have that much energy when I'm their age...

 

Posted with Blogsy

One More Day!

Only one more day before leaving on my road trip. I modified my itinerary slightly to go through Corvallis but it is only a guideline. It just sort of depends on how things go. The SPOT map on the right under the heading "Where Am I?" should show my current location. I plan to continue posting throughout the trip but it is dependent on the availability of Internet access along the way.



View Larger Map

Tentative Schedule:

• July 3, 2012 - Fairbanks, AK (A, X) to Beaver Creek, YT (B) - 312 miles
• July 4, 2012 - Beaver Creek, YT (B) to Whitehorse, YT (C) - 277 miles
• July 5, 2012 - Whitehorse, YT (C) to Dease Lake, BC (D) - 372 miles
• July 6, 2012 - Dease Lake, YT (D) to Kitwanga BC (E) - 301 miles
• July 7, 2012 - Kitwanga, BC (E) to Prince George, BC (F) - 302 miles
• July 8, 2012 - Prince George, BC (F) to Kamloops, BC (G) - 327 miles
• July 9, 2012 - Kamloops, BC (G) to Wenatchee, WA (H) - 321 miles
• July 10, 2012 - Wenatchee, WA (H) to Corvallis, OR (I) - 371 miles
• July 11, 2012 - Corvallis, OR (I) to Medford, OR (J) - 210 miles
• July 12, 2012 - Rest
• July 13, 2012 - Medford, OR (J) to Stockton, CA (K) - 355 miles
• July 14, 2012 - Stockton, CA (K) to Santa Cruz, CA (L) - 107 miles
• July 15, 2012 - Family Reunion
• July 16, 2012 - Family Reunion
• July 17, 2012 - Family Reunion
• July 18, 2012 - Santa Cruz, CA (L) to Susanville, CA (M) - 336 miles
• July 19, 2012 - Susanville, CA (M) to Burns, OR (N) - 296 miles
• July 20, 2012 - Burns, OR (N) to Baker City, OR (O) - 150 miles
• July 21, 2012 - IMBC 2012, Baker City, OR (O) to Joseph, OR (P) - 114 miles
• July 22, 2012 - IMBC 2012
• July 23, 2012 - Joseph, OR (P) to Creston, BC (Q) - 320 miles
• July 24, 2012 - Creston, BC (Q) to Jasper, AB (R) - 379 miles
• July 25, 2012 - Jasper, AB (R) to Dawson Creek, BC (S) - 324 miles
• July 26, 2012 - Dawson Creek, BC (S) to Fort Nelson, BC (T) - 282 miles
• July 27, 2012 - Fort Nelson, BC (T) to Watson Lake, BC (U) - 319 miles
• July 28, 2012 - Watson Lake, BC (U) to Haines Junction, YT (V) - 367 miles
• July 29, 2012 - Haines Junction, YT (V) to Tok, AK (W) - 290 miles
• July 30, 2012 - Tok, AK (W) to Fairbanks, AK (A,X) - 200 miles