Alaska 2012
 
 

Day 08

July 12

 
  
 
 
 

I get up early and do my walking again. Once again this time of morning I have it all to myself - for a while. There are several small ponds alongside the road and as I look up ahead, here comes a family of otters from the canal side to the pond side. Their movements across the road are sort of a loping gait to get to the water. It reminds of the herd of clowns as they emerge from one of those small cars. But once they dive into the water, they become sleek, rapidly moving animals once again. It takes a couple of trips up and back to cover my two miles, but they are long gone when I come back.

Today we will tackle the rest of the Cassiar on our way to Teslin. We wander back over to King Eddy's for breakfast, and the same lady that waited on us last night is here this morning. I ask her -

"Do you ever get any sleep?"

She just gives me a beautiful smile and keeps working. I don't go for the big breakfast that I had yesterday since I'm still pretty full from the halibut last night. But I still get my morning dose of pig meat and hen fruit. When we go outside, there are a couple of older HD riders. We strike up a conversation about where we've been and they are amazed at how far we've already ridden. We suggest they head up to Salmon Glacier, but even after showing them the pictures they just have no interest. I guess each to his own but it is definitely not something to miss if you are in Hyder. We get our beasts of burden loaded up and get about the business of getting there. Once again I am amazed at what kind of natural forces must have taken out this bridge.

 
  
 Highway 37A to Stewart/Hyder is more remote than most sections of the ALCAN so you have to really keep your eyes open for wildlife moving across the road. 
  
 Every now and then you come across what I would call a scrub bush section where the fir and pine trees have not taken over.  
  
 It's also known as the Glacier Highway and now we understand this sign a lot better and would agree completely with the name. 
  
 Soon it runs back into Highway 37, the Cassiar Highway. The mountains are little farther from the road and the foliage not nearly as dense. 
  
 

It's time for a break, so we avail ourselves of this rest stop. I tell Alain -

"Yep, I know what that little house is for - and it ain't got no flusher handles either."

 
  
 The roads are pretty much ours so we make great time while enjoying the views around us. 
  
 This is also a major timber producing area so frequently we see burn piles like this one. 
  
 And we continue to make good time - until we arrive here. The lady assures us it will be no more than thirty minutes so we cut off our bikes. And we sit .... and we sit ... and she tells us it will be thirty minutes ... and we sit... and we sit... and she tells us it will be thirty minutes. I'm beginning to wonder what kind of clock she is using. 
  
 Behind us, the traffic just keeps stacking up and stacking up. Finally after an hour and a half we get to continue on. It seems a tree had fallen across the road and they obviously must have had problems starting their chain saw. When we pass by the cut trees I figure it would be about fifteen minutes worth of work for me and my old Stihl saw. Not to mention all of the heavy equipment that could have easily pushed them out of the road.  
  
 But at least we are moving and get out ahead of the crowds pretty quickly. 
  
 

When we come to the next construction zone, I tell the flag lady about it. She says -

"That's illegal. They are not supposed to be able to hold traffic up for that long."

I just figure somebody was goofing off or something and fortunately this stop is not for long. I wave her a good-bye and we're back at it again.

 
  
 The farther north we go, the more interesting the scenery becomes ... 
  
 and the more different types of road surface we encounter. 
  
 

Since it's about time for a fuel and hydraulic break, we pull into the trading post at Kluachon. It reminds me a lot of the country store that I used to work in as a kid. They have a little bit of everything - sort of like a scaled down Wal-Mart. Hardware, groceries, some clothing, meat counter. It's a great stopping place with a nice view.

 
  
 But we still have a ways to go and the road stretches out in front of us. 
  
 And every now and then there's a few curves thrown in to keep us on our toes. 
  
 We come to a down hill section, and they have thoughtfully graveled it. Gravel on the level is not too bad, but gravel on a serious down hill with twisties is somewhat less than delightful. 
  
 We survive the test and are rewarded by this nice view of an island and a lake. 
  
 One of the things that I am learning about the roads up here is you never know if they are real gravel or chip and seal. This one first looks like gravel but turns out to be fresh chip and seal - just a slight step up. 
  
 And this one is old chip and seal - a further step up. 
  
 But at least we have some beautiful lakes and mountains to view. Aeroplane Lake is amazingly crystal clear with a beautiful blue color. 
  
 And every now and then we see some oncoming traffic. 
  
 By the time we arrive at the end of the Cassiar Highway, we are ready for another break. There's a nice little fuel and food store so we take advantage of it. 
  
 At this point, we actually turn onto the ALCAN highway. As we will soon find out ... 
  
 it has all sorts of pavement conditions on it. 
  
 Sometimes it twists and turns with good pavement ... 
  
 sometimes it rises and falls with the surrounding landscape ... 
  
 and some times it is rough and full of gravel and construction zones. The road has a lot of dips and bumps that can unsettle the suspension if you are not ready for it. 
  
 Except for the frequent construction zones, which can be several miles, it at least has some sort of pavement. 
  
 This particular section weaves back and forth across the British Columbia and Yukon border. It's Highway 1 in the Yukon and Highway 97 in BC. 
  
 Because of the hour and a half delay at the first construction zone, we pull into the Dawson Peaks Resort later than I intended. 
  
 

The restaurant is fixing to close, but the nice lady asks us as we check in -

"Are you needing to eat? We can hold the kitchen open for you."

"Yes, that would be wonderful" I tell her.

So they give us a menu and Alain and I figure out what we want. As we go down to our room and unload the bikes they are whipping up what we ordered. I come back to a big bowl of excellent chili and a ham and cheese sandwich. It's been a long day and I am past due for the nappy house. Since they don't have wifi in the room, I just sort a few things out and then I'm out like a light.