2008 Whitehorse

2008 Whitehorse

It seemed like an interesting adventure to ride to the Western Canada Hog Rally held in Whitehorse Yukon Territory July 10-13, 2008. Not knowing the road condition of the Alcan Highway, fuel availability, and hotel accommodations, I left on an early Saturday morning with camping gear, freeze dried food, and a lot of apprehension.

The ride took me up through Washington, crossing the Canadian border at Sumas, Washington and into British Columbia. Switching the GPS from miles to kilometers I was able to maintain a speed of approximately 100 kph. The scenery was great with large mountains surrounding the roads. I was able to make it to Williams Lake the first day. Leaving Williams Lake I headed up to Prince George but arrived too early for the HD dealership to open and rather than waste an hour or two, I headed through Chetwynd for Dawson Creek. Unfortunately, the road was being repaired and had about 20 miles of loose gravel slowing me to a crawl. I also was short on fuel and rode for about 35 miles with the gas alert on and by the time I found a gas station the gas gage was pegged. A lesson was not to pass a gas station up unless you know where the next one will be available.

Stopping at Dawson Creek for a photo of the start of the Alcan Highway, I then continued up towards Fort St John. Cross winds were gusting to 27 mph and it was a struggle to keep the bike upright and on the road. I stopped at Fort St John for the night to rest and get over the ride problems of that day. The next day the gusting winds had reduced to about 13 mph, so I headed north towards Fort Nelson.

The Alcan is a two lane paved road with the trees and brush cleared back from the road about 100 meters. It was easier to identify wildlife adjacent to the highway. Leaving Fort Nelson, I climbed into Summit Lake for the most spectacular riding I have done. It is what makes riding what it is. I dropped down off the mountain range, continuing through the Yukon Territory thinking to stop at Laird River, but as it was only mid-afternoon, I continued on towards Watkins Lake. About 40 miles East of Watkins Lake the engine began to oscillate and the exhaust grew loud. Stopping for the night at Watkins Lake I inspected the bike and found that the cross-over pipe had completely broken from the main exhaust pipe. Not much I could do about it being in the middle of the Yukon. I did have a chance to explore the Sign Post Forest though. Incredible! If you have ever wondered where your city signs have gone, they are displayed in the Sign Post Forest. Not having too much time to explore the forest, I did find signs from a number of local communities (Gresham, Gladstone, etc). I rode relatively slow to Whitehorse (about 400 miles) and headed for the HD dealership. It was late afternoon, but they had a spare cross-over pipe and support bracket and repaired it that day and under warranty. Found a hotel and called it a day.

I had arrived in Whitehorse a couple of days earlier than anticipated (3.5 days to Whitehorse) so I decided to ride over to Skagway Alaska to see what that was all about. The ride was around the Southern Lakes and through some great mountain passes. Past the Alaskan Border, I dropped down into Skagway and found a HD dealership outlet and they found me a place to stay overnight. Unfortunately, 5 cruise ships were in and the town was flooded with tourists, much too crowded for me. The next morning was raining and cold but I decided to ride back up through the mountains surrounding Skagway. The fog permitted about a 35 foot visibility, until I reached the Canadian border where the fog lifted to a beautiful day. The ride back to Whitehorse was again great.

Back in Whitehorse I headed over for registration for the rally. Met the Chief Engineer for HD at the rally. Canadians are purchasing more Harleys due to the favorable currency exchange. The next morning was a greeting from the Prime Minister of the Yukon (a Harley rider) and the Mayor of Whitehorse, along with some other dignitaries.

Wildlife on or near the roads is abundant. Saw lots of moose, black bear, Dahl sheep, buffalo, and caribou. Nearly hit a black bear and a moose. Watch out rounding curves and coming over tops of hills, they may be waiting.

Headed back along the Alcan through Watkins Lake and Summit Lake to Fort Nelson. The next day I headed down through Fort St John to Dawson Creek and headed into Alberta stopping at Grande Prairie. A relatively short ride down to Jasper in Jasper National Park (NP) where I found lots of tourists and high prices. The following day I rode down through Jasper NP to the Columbia Ice field. Rode down to the edge of the Athabasca glacier. Continued on to Lake Louise and down to Banff in the Banff NP. Banff was similar to Jasper filled with tourists and high prices. The following morning I rode over to Radium Hot Springs then down through Yahk and crossed the US Border into Idaho. Changed the GPS back to miles. Stopped to visit family in Sandpoint and Priest Lake, Idaho. Completed the journey riding through Spokane and Kennewick back home.

Rained every day and was cold in the mornings (used heating gear every day). Upside, no mosquitoes at all until I dropped down into Jasper where it was warmer. People claimed that it was the longest winter and the coldest summer they can remember. Riding in Oregon in the rain and cold was good practice for this ride. The scenery on this ride made it all worth it. It was an epic journey and one I will remember for a long time.