How is it possible that we have never been to northern BC and the Yukon! This land is massive and spectacular. We followed the Gold Rush trail thru 100 mile, Burns Lake, and Dease Lake. The highlight has been the ride into Stewart, BC with the valley dripping in green and dotted with dozens of waterfalls streaming down the steep sides. The Bear glacier comes down to meet you at the bottom of WINDY hill. We visited Hyder, Alaska at mile zero then headed north to the Yukon. We were lucky with timing and met up with Deb Hewson as we passed through Marsh lake going in opposite directions. Stay tuned for the next Fishy post!

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__________________
Sara

Those who say something is impossible should not hinder those who are achieving it!





www.worldwideride.ca

HU RR Finding Freedom...World Wide Ride

We set out from Whitehorse on a three- hour tour………well we drove 90 minutes with a stop at Jake’s Crossing for lunch and a bear encounter. Trolling on the Teslin River for the “big one”, Daniel landed an almost 20 pound trout. We headed for the shore where our master guide/chef Uncle Bruce whipped us up a 5 star meal over an open fire. With the stunning Midnight sun still shining, we had time for some target practice. Leaving the comfort and hospitality of Whitehorse behind we headed north to the frontier town of Dawson City.

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__________________
Sara

Those who say something is impossible should not hinder those who are achieving it!





www.worldwideride.ca

HU RR Finding Freedom...World Wide Ride

Dawson city did not disappoint! We loved this friendly gold rush town. The buildings are as colorfully painted as the characters that live here. This place is very biker friendly. We toured the engineering marvel the Dredge #4, panned for gold, and ate Canada Day hotdogs. We stayed at the hostel across the river and used the free ferry to commute. Sara led a historic walking tour of the old town. We met up with fellow travelers Miquel (retracing the path of the great Spanish explorers) and Alicia (Attempting to be the first Spanish woman to circumnavigate the globe by motorbike). Now we are off to conquer the mighty Dempster.

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__________________
Sara

Those who say something is impossible should not hinder those who are achieving it!





www.worldwideride.ca

HU RR Finding Freedom...World Wide Ride

The Mighty Dempster

Sara: It was all smiles and sunshine as we started out from the mile zero sign up to Tombstone. We had an amazing view from the campsite. We hiked up the Klondike river trail to see the ice still on the river. There will be no photos from the day up to Eagle Plains because it poured rain all day. The riding was challenging at best. The mud was 4 inches thick for several hours and was like trying to drive in peanut butter. Thank goodness for our rain over suits!

Daniel: A little note about Sara is in order here. Wow was the mud bad. Like hardcore for the big guy bad. Like OMG we may not make it and why are we doing this stupid Dempster highway bad. Okay with this in mind picture tiny Sara on a very big machine, loaded to the max and weighing over five hundred pounds. Wow what a trooper. My wife is officially a hardcore adventure rider forged out of the mud of the Dempster at its very worst.

Sara: Eagle Plains “lodge” is quite the place as some of you will know. The locals say being stuck here is like being stuck in a dentists chair. The sun was finally out though and shining almost 24 hours a day. The first big landmark of the trip was crossing the Arctic circle . 50 km further north we entered the NWT. We included a photo of the “good mud”. We had 2 ferry crossings. Finally we arrived in Inuvik! We checked into the Arctic Chalets and the owner Olaf gave us his truck to get to the North Mart before it closed. There was so much mud on the bikes that both fans were so clogged they were not working. Thanks again to Olaf and his power washer. We toured the town sights, including the igloo church, the visitor’s center, and the Jak’s tower look-out. We went to the cloud 9 at the airport for musk-ox chili and dipped our toes in the Mackenzie River at the east channel. We had dinner at the Mackenzie Hotel. We set off early to get on the road while the sun was still shining. Stopping for a snack we took in the glory of the vista. Having travelled over 900 kilometers so far on the Dempster we had only happened upon six small rabbits. Disappointing to say the least. Just when we thought the northern highway was not going to reveal its wild inhabitants wow did we get treated to an arctic spectacle. Fifty kilometers north of the Arctic Circle in the gleaming sun and green tundra we happened upon a massive herd of Caribou. This day was adventure riding at its very best.

Dempster Humor

1 km = 1.6 Dempster kms
hitting the pavement in Inuvik = your first kiss

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__________________
Sara

Those who say something is impossible should not hinder those who are achieving it!





www.worldwideride.ca

HU RR Finding Freedom...World Wide Ride

Done with THE DEMPSTER, we were over The Top of The World! We had a well-deserved spa treatment at the Chena Hot Springs. This 90 km side trek provided 90% of the wildlife we saw in Alaska. There was no more stopping for photos after the 7 th moose. Denali National Park was a bit too “Disneyland” like for us, but our riverside tent cabin at the Grizzly Bear Resort did not disappoint. Arriving at Talkeeetna Air taxi at 104 pm to enquire about “flightseeing”. They said be ready at 1:15!!! We were so lucky as it was an amazing sunny flight with breathtaking views of Denali just before the clouds rolled in. The landing on the glacier was surreal. The town of Talkeetna is full of charm and lots of colorful locals.

During a 700 km ride to Valdez, there was 100 km with gusting wind blowing us sideways and 100 km in the pouring rain. That did not diminish the spectacular trip there over the high mountain plateau. What a gem this place is. We had an incredible day on the Lu Lu Belle seeing sea otters, seals, sea lions, puffins, Dall’s porpoise, and Humpback whales. The highlight was the masses of ice flow and the huge icebergs. A whole week in Alaska and we did not see a bear of ANY color. Thanks to advice from Anja and Torsten we found the Eagle’s rest motorcycle campground in Tok.

We had incredible hospitality from Cecile, Doug, Paulie, and Kelly at Kluane B&B! Rabbit (Snowshoe hare) is delicious. What an amazing wilderness setting with all the comforts of home. The museum at Burwash Landing has the “largest gold pan in the world” and an incredible natural history display. We ran into the crazy Spaniards again there too. The new visitor’s centre in Haines junction is WOW! We stopped there also for the “Village Bakery” and a photo op at “the Muffin”.

On the way to Haines, Alaska we finally saw a small brown bear. The drive there is also over a high pass and then meanders along the Chilkoot River. Haines is a very quaint town with a charming old Seward Fort area. After 3 weeks in remote wilderness areas finally a Grizzly….on the beach 2 km from the ferry dock. The trip from Haines to Skagway is just 15 miles, but takes 4 hours including the pre-boarding checks, security, 1 hour cruise time, and complex loading and unloading of huge motor homes thru the side of the ship. They actually drive in and turn around inside and exit thru the same door. This town is tourist central with 4 huge cruise ships docked in the harbor. Now back to civilization for a few days of R&R in Whitehorse.

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__________________
Sara

Those who say something is impossible should not hinder those who are achieving it!





www.worldwideride.ca

HU RR Finding Freedom...World Wide Ride

Daniel did a major bike cleaning and maintenance and changed the oil. We were then ready to head south from Whitehorse. We stopped at Watson Lake for the obligatory photo at the sign Forrest. Liard Hot spring was nice, but the mozzies were voracious. Thanks Barbara for the bug jacket. Muncho Lake Provincial Park is teaming with wildlife. We saw moose and lots of Bison. The mile zero sign is in Dawson Creek, BC. There will be no photos from the day we road to Jasper since it poured for 7 hours. Luckily it cleared up that evening and we had some nice views of the mountains. The Elk here just walk thru town. We toured the sights at Maligne Canyon, Athabaska Falls, and the Columbia Ice fields. We hiked up onto the glacier and had lunch. Camped by the Bow River we were lulled to sleep by the rushing water. The route south thru Kananaskis and Peter Lougheed Provincial Park is incredible. Here we saw Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep and mountain goats. Our first UNESCO world heritage site was Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. Thanks so much to Stan and Shelly Davey for the 5 star hospitality at the Broken Rail Ranch! We headed for Montana at Chief Mountain. We were sitting in the sun at our campsite when ash began raining down on us. There was a huge brush fire near by requiring a visit from the St Mary volunteer fire department. The next day we were lucky to have a sunny day and a totally unimpeded ride on the Road To The Sun. We were disappointed to learn that bikers are not welcome at the National Bison Range. They told us bikes are not allowed because they have unpaved roads……do they know about the Dempster?

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__________________
Sara

Those who say something is impossible should not hinder those who are achieving it!





www.worldwideride.ca

HU RR Finding Freedom...World Wide Ride

Have just read your full posting ,the photo's are great,I worked in canada many years ago and have visited a few of the places you have visited.will follow your trip with interest.Noel