GRIZZLY PORTAGE

DAY 5, Sun. Aug. 30, 2015
Haines Junction Yukon - Million $ Falls Campground. Haines Hwy. 3.
85 km, 20.5/km/hr. 4 hours

    Well, I headed out of Haines Junction at a lazy morning hour. Stalling.  http://www.hainesjunctionyukon.com/
The Haines Road is a 240+km highway that links Haines Junction Yukon, through BC to Haines Alaska and parallels Kluane National Park. http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/yt/kluane/visit/1.aspx
It was windy and cold with some light rain. Mostly a tailwind, yay! So frigg'n rare, ha ha.
I was nervous for what lay ahead. Was my knee gonna blow up?, would the conditions turn unbearable? Would camping be safe during this Gizzly bear party time? Also, no Subway Sandwich shop for 350 km. What I did know however, was that there would be no turning back.
    After about 1.5 hours of seeing nobody, somethingt appeared over my vanishing point. I didn't understand at first, but eventually I could see that it was several groups of x country skiers out on a training session with roller skis. It was so unexpected. One of the group leaders yelled at me as he passed, "Have a good camp dude, ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Funny guy. It was cold, very windy and intermittent rain at the time. Camping weather for sure.
    I rolled onward and passed a placed called "Moe's" http://www.moesyukonranch.ca/
I saw it online and wondered about it before starting this trip. Riding by, I must admit that I felt like stopping and enjoying the shelter, but I knew that it would put me in a bad position for tomorrow's ride, so I rolled on.
    My destination was nearing. I started a long descent and as I rolled down, I noticed a vehicle coming my way. As we approached each other, she yelled out of her open window " There's a BIG GRIZZLY on the road 2 km back, eh!". I couldn't stop easily, so she backed up to elaborate. "He's on your side, so if you ride on the other side of the road..."  I thought, "Are you NUTS?!"
"I just don't want anybody to get hurt eh?!" ... No shit!
The nice native woman saw desperation in my eyes. She took all my gear and portaged me, Shirley, HWC and gear up the next hill about 4 km past the bear. Awesome girl.  She let me out on the peak of the next hill. I took a pic. She said,"Why did you do that?" I said, " What you are doing is so cool" She didn't get it. This was a normal day. Apparently she has helped my travellers on this road.
Haines Road Guardian Angel.
    I had to get my gear back together and loaded on Shirley which was challenging as I couldn't seem to stop shaking. The winds were howling and I was freezing. The descent was unpleasant and dangerous. There was a short winding dirt road into the park. I almost expected to see a grizzly every time I rounded a corner. Rattling my bear bell and blowing my whistle as I rode slowly...Dingaling aling tweeet tweeet!! OMG ha ha... Idiot Vancouverite!
    I spent the next 4 hours in a kitchen shelter trying to get warm. I used my dad's old hunting knife to cut the firewood. So glad I brought it on this trip I hum and hawed about bringing it. The wind was blowing my stuff around but I was feeling a bit better. A camper came by and offered his truck for warmth. Then he said that if I hear 3 blasts from an air horn, watch for bears. I thanked him for the help. Another guy came by to tell me that there was sleet on the pass to Haines Alaska. He wished me luck on my ride tomorrow but had a sad look on his face. "Thanks for the pep talk coach!" sigh
    The camp was pretty much empty and quite nice. If the circumstances were different I may have enjoyed it, but in this case I just wanted to see the morning. I was happy to find metal storage bins for food. I was prepared to tie off a bear bag or 2, but the trees were so small, not sure what I would've done.
Anyway I picked I site close to a kitchen shelter, wood and porta potty. Crashed early and wondered how the next day would play out...

Ding a ling a ling rattle rattle ding...sigh

Leaving H.J.


Kathleen Lake cottages. How lovely. Whens tea time?

Going forward, anybody here?... Nope 

....Skiers!, WTF?!

Kluane Nat. Park

Dezadeash Lk.

Good times

Moe's

Scenery

My Guardian angel

Shelter. I could use a beer or 30

"Die Wood!"

Toasting toes, cat and apparently a hunting knife

My site. Sorry for the mess

Yay for bear bins!!

The Junction

DAY 4, Saturday Aug 29 2015
Easy 30 km ride from Otter Falls Cutoff to Haines Junction Yukon

Got up @ 6am. Terrible sleep. Staggered over to the diner for some hot stale Joe and an interesting omelette. Actually, it was good. Anything that is hot and full of calories is good. I spent a great deal of time just staring out the window. The weather looked so so. I decided to pack up my wet tent and roll on. HWC wanted joe for the road. (7 sugars and 1 catnip.) They told us to get the Hell out. The woman that seemed like the owner was happy to see us leave. She probably prefers dealing with her standard trucker customer, not a city spandex freak and a toy cat. Ha ha. Right back at ya babe....YUKK!!

It's been lovely, and I hope to celebrate an important milestone of some sort here one day but until then, sadly, we must be going...

    Nice relaxing ride knowing that I was only going 30 km to Haines Junction and there was no wind or rain, YAY! Only downside is (I always seem to find one.) that my knee was Evil. Looks like "swollen knee syndrome." (S.K.S.) 
I passed "Pine Lake Campground" It's a nice little gov. site. I probably should've held on for the extra 20 km and stayed there last night. Oh well, whatever.
    Anyway, once in the village of Haines Junction, http://www.hainesjunctionyukon.com/ 
 I found some nice accommodation at the Alcan Motel. There was a "No Vacancy" sign out, but I decided to look anyway. Glad I did. Nice little place with a view of the quiet highway and snow capped mountains.  I spent most of the day just goofing around this tiny place. 
   I happened upon a cyclist that lives in H.J. He made a bee line straight for me wearing a huge smile. Unfortunately but not surprisingly I forgot his name. I think that it may be "Bob" (sorry dude if I'm wrong) Anyway, he was so excited about my trip and had so many good things to say about the area. He was riding a nice "Specialized" mnt. bike but spoke highly of the new Surly fat bike that he just got from Icycle Sport in Whitehorse. It's expensive and must be a dream to ride on snow and ice. The bike of choice in these parts for sure. So cool! It was such a pleasure talking to this former parks guy. He said that I was an inspiration. He got it wrong. With the medical hurdles that he was overcoming, I want him to know that HE is the inspiration to me. Ride on dude, thanks for the great chat! 

Super nice "Bob?" I Wish I had his jacket

    Despite all the good things "Bob" said about Kluane National Park" I wasn't feeling optimistic but was a bit more pumped for the 250 km ride into the wild. I thought that it would be a good idea to check out the weather and stuff for the region, so I went to the library for it's intergoogles. Of coarse it was closed for 3 days. The visitors info cen. doesn't have access either. Sigh. Oh well, riding blind I guess.
    Anyway, headed back to the motel after getting beer, pizza and ice. Beer and Pizza was for my gut and the ice was for my knee. I was nervous about the mornings ride. It would be a "No turning back" scenario. Was worried about my knee, weather and grizzlies... 
Beer helps. HWC had no helpful advice as usual. Pizza was amazingly good for such a tiny community. ..."burp." 

Thatta way

Getting settled

Wish I passed Otter Falls and stayed here. Pine Lake.

At "The Muffin" I don't get it either

Doctor cat: "We'll have to amputate"

Spot the Cat

Dezadeash Trail

Sketch of my encounter with super friendly "Bob" in Haines Junction Yukon

Alaska Highway road crew

DAY 3, Fri. Aug 28, 2015
Whitehorse - Otter Falls Cutoff. 123 km Alaska Hwy16.6 km avg., 7.5 hrs. headwind/rain

Started the morning with a huge breakfast at the motel restaurant. It was great except for the hard foreign body that I bit into. Possibly a ceramic fragment or stone. I don't know, but it got me a free $12.00 omelet. They were great about it. I will surely regret eating this much...
     I asked the staff to hold my bike box for when I return from my trip. They did just that.
I headed out 9 ish. knowing that my goal was more 7 ish. sigh. It was a crappy start. Wind, rain and an upset Gastrointestinal system. (yes I was right about the big breakfast) So, I felt terrible for much of the day. The road conditions were crap and the headwind was cool. Dammitt.
Hardly any traffic on this road. I felt quite alone for hours.
Unfortunately, my bicycle fitness was almost zero. I had only ridden a few times in the past 6 months. A very unusual year for me indeed. A pain in my knee was surfacing and I began a downward spiral into slow cadence syndrome. Up until this point in my life, I had never had any kind of knee pain, even through times of ultra marathon training.
Anyway, I pedalled on pathetically..
     I noticed a vehicle coming towards me in the Eastbound lane. It was slowing with the window down. We both stopped. He yelled out something to the effect of, "Do you need anything, water, food, tools?" I looked at my supply and noticed I was down 700 ml of water, so he topped me up. I couldn't think of anything else. I was dumbfounded. I guess you had to be there. A lonely desolate hwy. in the wilderness with very little traffic for hours and you happen upon an adventure tour vehicle fully stocked and a friendly Australian accented dude offering assistance. A similar situation happened to me years ago, riding back from Ironman Canada Penticton BC to Vancouver. These situations are priceless.
      Anyway, I failed in getting to Haines Junction as I decided to crash at Otter Falls Cutoff. A truck stop with a diner and a really pathetic campground. (I use the word campground loosely) I was toast from the relentless cold wind and the unexpected knee pain.
Setting up the tent involved some swearing as it was more like hang gliding. No, not SOME swearing, MUCH swearing.
     I paid for a hot shower. But got a cold one. My core temp was too low for this shit. After more swearing, the water seemed to warm up a bit. Anyway, I spent a lot of time in the diner as it was basically shelter. They had a TV mounted on an otherwise big empty wall. Continuous reality shows like "Highway Hell" or something like that. I just held my warm terrible coffee and stared blankly at the screen waiting for tomorrow...

Leaving Whitehorse... Finally!

Hey. Let's go for a bike ride. Yay!!

""Who ya gonna call?"

Crappy pic, but gotta include it. "Why is it so damn cold?" and no, that's not a fish finder on my helmet. It's a GPS locator. Actually it's a Grizzly Bear lure. Ya, that's it

We were sing'n "Highway to Hellll" The pic doesn't show how crappy the surface is. I'm not complaining. Just 7.5 hours of rough road with a headwind, knee pain and bowel discomfort. Isn't this the standard summer vacation? 

My road crew leaving... so cool!

Sketch of road crew encounter...

Lunch break: Alaska Highway near Haines Junction Yukon

Desperate times, desperate measures...

Not Starbucks

Bumming around town

Day 2, Thursday Aug. 27, 2015
Riverview Motel Whitehorse to Riverview Motel Whitehorse...

Staying in Whitehorse for a second night. I needed to stock up on things that couldn't join us on the Boeing 737 as well as a few extras. So, I did the Starbucks thing and the stroll in the rain as did every other tourist.(I shoulda went to "Baked", the local coffee shop hot spot. Dammitt)
Once retail woke up, (God. It seemed to take forever...ha ha) We headed straight to Coast Mountain Sports on Main St. I got some bear spray knowing that it won't leave the Yukon.  I also got some freeze dried food. "Why the hell didn't I get this at the North Van MEC where there's more selection and is more affordable?" Idiot!
Anyway, no intended "diss" to Coast Mnt. Whitehorse.
It is an awesome store!!http://www.cmsyukon.ca/

Of coarse I had to visit the local bike shop too. Icycle Sport, http://icyclesport.com/
With the weather being crappy and the forecast for the area looking glum, I thought I might get some pants. Maybe a rain shell to go over my tights or perhaps another long sleeve. They had some great options but I had a hard time buying something I already have. Just not with me, D'oh! So I got a second pair of really nice gloves and socks. Better than nothing. Oops, I meant to get a Icycle Sport water bottle. Rats!

The remainder of my day was spent bouncing around on foot while taking goofy pics. There are places that I wanted to visit by bike but didn't want to get Shirley and my bike gear wet. Sounds lame, but wanted a dry start for tomorrow's gloomy departure.
Not motivated at all...

Colourful buildings from the rear (The storefronts are on the other side)

Braces for an old timer

HWC marvels at the strength and beauty of these northern bio-machines

Extra stuff. The underwear is from Walmart. Why didn't I bring any?!

Crappy room but great for bike building and home exercising ha ha. Nice view of the Yukon River frontage too.

HWC Heads North!

DAY 1, Wed. Aug. 26, 2015

New Westminster BC. to River View Motel, Whitehorse YU.

Myself, Shirley, HWC along with all our junk (including kitchen sink) got a ride from my friend Tonya to YVR (Vancouver Airport). My flight with Air North blasted off at 11:00am. Unfortunately the oversized baggage staff had to cut open Shirley's cardboard sarcophagus for an inspection. I got a bit irate which brought a security automaton. Apparently the scanner is not big enough to handle bike boxes. What a pain in the ass. Had I known about this security protocol, I would have saved some packing tape. Luckily we were early...

Sketch 1: Grasshopper (one of my real cats) is seen here asking HWC (toy cat that becomes real when travelling) Why we are heading North. Shirley (my Surley Long Haul Trucker touring bike) is inside the bike box and is confused by HWC's "Sushi" response.

Sketch 2: Later that day, at YVR, we hit a bump in the road...

Air North are great to deal with. Nice friendly small airline but my flight sucked as I was sandwiched in the middle seat between two other guys. All the good seats were taken by the time I visited "online check in"..."D'oh!"

A little over two hours later, we touched down in the northern capital. We were greeted by cool temps, light rain and wind. Yay.

Got set up at home base and reassembled Shirley (she was very happy about that). It's a crappy motel but was cheap and my view of the Yukon River waterfront was cool. Unfortunately, the management prefers that bikes are to be kept in storage, not in the room. Absurd. I've been to over 30 motels across Canada and never had an issue keeping Shirley in the room. 
Bummed around town on foot in the rain. I already know the place a bit as I visited my sister Julie years ago. It was much colder and whiter then. Brrrr,  HWC ain't no Polalarcat!
Got local beers and terrible Dominos pizza while watching "Survivorman" and "Mantracker". Ha ha, how fitting...

Kizzmitt (my other real cat) assisted in packing the essentials back in North Vancouver.

The cat has landed.

The weather wasn't too bad to start off, but it didn't take long for the grey skies to invade. I got a taxi for the short $20.00 ride down to the town. This airport rests on top of an escarpment or at least a big hill overlooking the city. Kinda cool. The cab's windshield was full of cracks, turns out that's a Whitehorse thing.

Basecamp

Supporting the local economy

Work in Progress...

HWC, Shirley and I have returned from a new adventure!!...

    This excursion may be low on peddled kilometres, but is high on misery, oops I mean mistakes.
No that's not right either. Well actually it is, but let's "Smileyface" it up a bit,
     How about: "This trip was an adventure that was filled with problems, solutions, kind people and great memories!"... Ya that's it!
     I need to put my editor's hat on and go through a few photos before updating this blog.
Hopefully by Hallowe'en my update will be complete....

                                      BOOO!... MEOW!!...GGROOWWWLLL... SIGHHH...DO'H!

Kizzmitt: "I know that shite is going on, but damn these stuff sacks are too comfy!"

Ready to check in...
HWC: "Let's roll, I ain't no poser cat!"