7 August 2009
I left Seward in one of the heaviest downpours I have ever ridden through but at least I was dry underneath all the layers of waterproofing including my boots! Billy Connolly once said, “There is no such thing as bad weather; just inappropriate clothing” and I think he’s quite right although I doubt he’s ridden the Seward road in the same conditions as me!
I headed out along what is apparently one of the most beautiful roads in Alaska but couldn’t see too far in front of my bike let alone the mountains in the distance. It eased off a little and by the time I reached the Ice Cream Shop it was down to drizzle. I resisted another ice cream and went for breakfast instead. Wanting to keep going I looked at the map and decided that I would stop at a small place called Willow.
Outside it was drying up and I looked forward to the second-half of the ride being a dry run. I needed to stop in Wasilla, north of Anchorage, for fuel and texted Rob to say that I was going to head to Talkeetna and was he anywhere nearby for a beer on the way though. He was supposed to be up at his gold claim that day so I wasn’t holding out any hope but thought it would be nice to try. He texted back saying that he was at his mum’s house and I would be passing the door on the way to Talkeetna and did I want to call in? An hour later I rolled into the driveway looking like a really gnarly biker who had been at a rally for a month and I probably smelled that way too!! I met Sam and Eric, Rob’s sister and brother-in-law and their two sweet little girls. Donna was so welcoming and let me have a shower so I could freshen up from the 220 mile ride and supper was put on to cook.
They insisted I stay with them and that night Sam, Eric, Rob and I sat up and played cards all night. We drank lots of beer and had a really great, fun night. They taught me a card game (which I still have no idea what it was called!) and Rob and I thrashed Sam and Eric – sorry guys, beginners luck on my part!!
The next morning, after purchasing a 24 hour licence for me, we went fishing! The rivers are quite silty in this area as they are created from the glacier melt but once you get far enough down river it is prime salmon fishing country. However, I didn’t catch anything so it was just as well no-one was relying on me for supper! |
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That night Rob and I headed for the bar in Talkeetna and had a great night of chatting, dancing and laughing – he had lived in the town for 7 years a while ago so knew several people in the small town from back then.
I took a sightseeing flight from Talkeetna up to Mount McKinley which is the highest peak in North America at 20,320 feet and sits in the Denali Park – Alaska has a staggering 39 mountain ranges. During the last ice age the ice covered this area to a depth of 4,000 feet and it has created the most amazing landscape with deep gorges and jagged peaks. There is world class rock climbing here and the place fills up with climbers during summer.
| It was quite cloudy so I didn’t get up to the mountain but did fly over several glaciers. The biggest was the Ruth glacier which sits in the deepest gorge in the world at 6,000 feet and is filled with 3,800 foot depth of ice moving at 1 meter per day! The glacier looks very dirty as a large amount of rock debris is mixed into the ice, it doesn't have that lovely blue colour of other glaciers but still is very impressive. |  |
A few days later I did catch a dog salmon which, much to my newly found competitive streak, I was pleased to note was bigger than everyone else's fish! It was just magical to be standing on a river bank with golden and bald eagles wheeling overhead, a beaver swimming along towing a large branch behind him for dinner and a grizzly bear wandering along in the distance – far enough away in the distance mum!! I had a brilliant time and ended up staying a week with these kind and wonderful people – another huge thank you to them all.
These guys were just wandering about by the side of the road! A mother moose and her two large calves. |
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Go on... admit it... you've never seen such a lovely and frankly HUGE fish in your life!! |
I rode on to Denali Park and took a long bus trip into the park. I was really hoping to see bears and wolves but the most I saw was a rather sad looking caribou! Still the scenery was spectacular and I did get to see Mount McKinley during a break in the clouds which is rare apparently! I took far too many pictures of the landscape and only one of the sad caribou. Denali Park was the vision of a ‘gentleman hunter’ from Vermont by the name of Charles Sheldon. He realised how beautiful the area was and wanted to preserve it for the future - the park was created in 1917. It was extended in 1980 and now covers 6 million acres with the initial 2 million acre core designated as ‘federal wilderness’ meaning neither the land nor animals can be managed in any way.
The weather seemed like it was going to start closing in so I decided to head off again the next morning. I had intended to stay in Fairbanks but the smoke from the forest fires was intense and very acrid, I got totally lost in the town and managed to completely confuse myself – which normally wouldn’t be that hard but I do have GPS! – so rode on 10 miles to a one street kinda place called North Pole where the main street is called Santa Claus Drive! They take the whole Christmas folklore thing to a new extreme!! Fortunately I only stayed for breakfast and resisted any signs pointing to grottos and elves. I stopped to stare at the incredible Alaskan oil pipeline, which runs for a little over 800 miles from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez but totally forgot to get out my camera and take a picture! I ended up riding 360 miles and that night saw me in a tiny place called Tok (pronounced Toke)...
Join me next time for how Tok got its name and the Top of the World Highway!