Monday 09 July 2007

After an enjoyable night inside, we started the day by taking a walk up to the RV park which is the only place in town that you can get your laundry done. Washing duly stuffed into the machine, we took a walk around town to explore this interesting looking place.

There is a very real rustic, frontier look and feel to Dawson City, it's buildings all of the same period and much like they have been ever since the place was founded. Wooden planking for footpaths and dirt roads adding to the feel of the place and it is becoming very crowded with tourists - like us.

Typical street in Dawson City

Typical Hotel

Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall (Casino) and Can Can Girl Show

The SS Keno high and dry and now a tourist point of interest.

Ruby's place. Boarding House come Brothel

Dawson City has a real character about it, it feels friendly and pleasant and it would be nice to spend some time here to get inside that character for a while.

So after a brief walk around town it was time to do some food shopping before heading back to the room to sort it all out and to enjoy some lunch and a snooze.

Tuesday 10 July 2007

Wanting to do some trike maintenance etc but not wanting to pay for another night in town, we decided to leave Dawson City and ride the couple of kilometres out to Bonanza where there is a couple of campgrounds. On the way we rode through the back streets of Dawson to do some more exploring. Many of the homes here are log cabins or in the same style as the town.

We also found the cabin of the Klondike's Bard, Robert Service, who wrote many poems and stories about life in this part of the world, including the famous - Cremation of Sam McGee which you can find on the Internet or in written form in bookshops. The cabin became a virtual shrine after his departure in 1912 and has been maintained by various interest groups since.

Inside the fence there are rows of seating which face the cabin and a solitary chair under an umbrella. These are obviously used to entertain people with readings from Robert Service's works. It would have been great to have sat in the stand and listened to a recital of The Cremation of Sam McGee, but it was not to be.

Noting the ashes being shot out of the canon in Chicken, the opening line to the Creamation of Sam McGee seems rather appropriate - "There are strange things are done under the midnight sun By the men who moil for gold..."

Wednesday 11 July 2007

Up early this morning despite not getting to sleep early because of noisy campers, we seemed to get nowhere fast, everything seemed to be going wrong or making travel difficult. Joanne's bike computer stopped working so we stopped to replace the battery, then the mounting bracket on mine decided to snap so I carried it until I could figure out a way to fix it, eventually conducting temporary repairs with two cable ties. For some reason toilet breaks were way too frequent , the road was a general 1-2% gradual uphill just to add to the fun and there was a strong hint of rain in the air. Seems like we should have stayed in bed and tried again tomorrow, but we wanted to get moving because everyday we don't move forward is another day the closes in the good weather window.

The road was winding its way through a valley, passing the Dawson Airport and the many log cabin homes in their bush setting. According to our information at 20km's out from Dawson there was supposed to be a bakery, but by the time we had ridden that distance and passed through the small hamlet of Henderson Corner, there was no bakery to be found, which was a pity as we were both looking forward to something sweet and sickly to eat.

The road wound its way alongside the Klondike River providing us with some pleasant views of the river, the river stone banks and islands often covered wiith uprooted trees or dislodged branches. We eventually arrived at the turnoff to Inuvik, and Mile 0 of the Dempster Highway where the Klondike River Lodge, Motel, Takeaway, restaurant and fuel stop is located. The Dempster Highway is Canada's Dalton equivalent, going all the way to Inuvik and the Arctic Ocean. With threatening skies we decided on a deluxe burger for lunch which we enjoyed over a chat with a couple from New Zealand.

Lunch over and with rain falling we got a photo of the Dempster Highway Mile 0 sign before heading off. It wasn't long before we were climbing and amongst the roadworks again. Struggling over the gravel and cursing the rain, we climbed the 7 kilometre hill before coming to a rest area overlooking the Tintina Trench, a geological vault that according to the signs, was located around the current postition of Dawson City some 8 million years ago. The lookout has some toilets and bear proof litter barrels and at the time of stopping was about the best place to be to get out of the rain, as long as nobody wanted to use the toilet, which all the passengerson the tour buses that stop for a look at the view, seem to want to do.

We elected to put the tent up and get out of the cold, and had just done so when we heard a bike bear bell, then the unmistakable Japanese accent of Hiro asking if we remembered him. Getting out of the tent we began to enjoy a chat with Hiro when this blackvehicle turned up, it was Rob, the Canadian Customs Official from the Top of the World Highway, so we all excitedly began chatting about what had happened to us since we last saw each other. It was a great re-union.

Rob eventually left and Hiro was asking lots of questions about cycling, recumbents, Australia and we were trying to provide answers. Before long an RV turned up and when the levelling struts went down, we knew we had campany for the night. Hiro was asking lots of questions about the trikes and took one for a ride. He was sold! So with chatting to the RV driver and Hiro, we had a great way to pass the time of day. Then the sun and blue sky came out, lifting our spirits and allowing us to dry some clothes ready for tomorrow.

Hiro decided to stay the night with us and the RV, so we eventually stole ourselves away and into the tent to finish our journals and to get some sleep ready for another interesting and hopefully dry, day on the road.

Today's Stats

From: Dawson City (Bonanza)

To: Tintina Lookout

Ride Time:
5 hrs 2 mins

Distance:
56.80 km's

Av Speed:
11.2 km/h

Max Speed:
25  km/h

Max Altitude:
768 m

Av Climb: 2 %

Max Climb: 8 %

Weather: 9-15 Deg C. Overcast then rain.

Camp Location:

N: 63:56'39.0"

W: 138:27'21.2"

Thursday 12 July 2007

Campsites in roadside turnouts can be a problem with traffic noise, especially those with toilets, but the one we camped in last night was not too bad, and we were tired enough to enjoy a good sleep. Hiro was up early but went back to bed and was still there when we left at 7.40 am.

With fog in the valleys behind us resembling lakes we commenced the days ride, Immediately uphill and still among the roadworks we continued riding through the gravel for another 10 km before the smoothness of the sealed road re-appeared. Undulating, reasonably scenic with the hills off in the background, the tree lined roadwound its way through the countryside and the traffic continued to be mainly RV's.

We noticed a large increase in bear scat on the side of the road today so presumed that there is a large bear population in the area, incentive enough to keep on riding.

We had been told that there was three lots of roadworks and we eventually came to the second set, the sign telling us there was 6 km of it but in reality there was around 8. The tanker had been busy dropping water on the road and the grader was busy moving the wet soil around to form some semblence of a road. Thankful to have finished the second set we climbed to the top of a hill and enjoyed lunch, finishing as Hiro turned up.

Lunch and chat over, all three of us headed off to cover some more distance, Hiro making better progress and disappearing off into the distance leaving us envious of his apparent speed. We continued on and eventually found Hiro sitting under a tree with the biggest peanut butter sandwhich I have seen. We stopped for a bit and enjoyed a bite to eat before continuing on, eventually finding the third lot of roadworks, something we really didn't want to do today.

"The roadworks go for 10 km and you will need to go in the pilot car through the construction site" said the man holding the stop sign, and so we did. The pilot car transported Joanne, her trike, my trailer and me to the other end which was about 5 kilometres not 10, and after unloading I returned in the pilot car to pick up my trike back at the start of the roadworks where the stop-go man was on guard. On arrival I found that Hiro had caught up so he and I came through on the pilot car, Joanne ensuring she got our photo as we turned up. Unloaded and back on the road we climbed and descended for about 5 kilometres before we eventually, and in a very tired state, arrived at the Moose Creek Campground where the three of us set up camp and cooked a meal in the shelter. It had been a longer day than we expected, but it had been a good one, cycling for over 93 kilometres and being transported for around 5.

Today's Stats

From: Tintina Lookout

To: Moose Creek Campground

Ride Time:
7 hrs 24 mins

Distance:
93.96  km's

Av Speed:
12.6 km/h

Max Speed:
54  km/h

Max Altitude:
814  m

Av Climb: 2 %

Max Climb: 13 %

Weather: 9-21 Deg C. Overcast.

Camp Location:

N: 63:30'21.8"

W: 137:01'40.5

Friday 13 July 2007

Friday the 13th - unlucky for some, but not for us. Sometime after midnight the heavens opened and boy, did they open! The rain, thunder and lightening was intense and as we rolled over and back to sleep, we anticipated a very wet start in the morning. We awoke however, to clear blue sky, no rain but a very wet ground, tent and equipment. The nearby picnic shelter was bathed in sunlight so we moved all our gear up there and draped it all over the place to dry. Hiro brought his stuff up and then made the comment that it looked like a flea market, which made us all laugh.

We enjoyed a leisurly breakfast before packing our semi wet gear up as the fog rolled in. Leaving the campground we crossed Moose Creek and came to Moose Creek Lodge where we stopped to inspect their wares and to buy some cake for morning tea from their bakery. A few hills to contend with in the fog and we arrived at the swollen Stewart River, flowing fast and making agurgling sound along the bankas the water sped past and through the overhanging bushes.

Before long we were descening into Stewart Crossing, its iron framed bridge spanning the Stewart River and leading us to a small settlement consisting mainly of a service station, food outlet and a Yukon Roads Department facility. Stopping for a look in the odd shaped tourist information centre allowed us to rest our tired legs, still stiff from yesterdays long ride.

Uphill out of the crossing and riding through the forested land once more, trees having been cleared from the side of the road providing us with a nice pine smell to ride through. With not much to look at it was a fairly uninteresting ride, bear scat on the side of the road more frequent along the way now. Stopping for lunch in a gravel pit we spread everything out in the hope that the now brilliant sun would dry it all out, and it did.

Riding after lunch was a fair struggle and by the time we had climbed a long hill we had had enough. Almost as if on order, there appeared a gravel pit near the top of the hill. The gate keeping vehicles out but tall enough for us to ride underneath allowing us to have the whole area to ourselves. Checking for recent bear activity and finding no sign of any, and a nice flat spot near the huge pile of gravel confirmed to us that this would be tonights camp. Our early knock off also allowing us to rest our legs some more, especially as both of us are feeling the pinch for some reason.

Today's Stats

From: Moose Creek Campground

To: Gravel Pit

Ride Time:
4 hrs 41 mins

Distance:
52.35  km's

Av Speed:
12.6 km/h

Max Speed:
56.5  km/h

Max Altitude:
811  m

Av Climb: 2 %

Max Climb: 8 %

Weather: 9-25 Deg C. Foggy then Sunny before Overcast afternoon.

Camp Location:

N: 63:10'26.0"

W: 136:30'51.6"

Saturday 14 July 2007

Gravel pits might not be the most scenic campgrounds, but they seem to be great spots to stop, probably because nobody except us wants to camp in them. The rain fell again last night and the clouds overhead darkened the sky and the inside of the tent, meaning that we slept somewhat better because it was not as light. Waking to an overcast day we packed up and hit the road, for some reason eagerly anticipating our arrival at Pelly Crossing. Less than a kilometre up the road a luxury RV was parked in a gravel turnout, it's push outs on all sides in place and awnings over every window.

Scenic was not exactly the word for the road today but it was reasonably flat and even had some downhills for us to enjoy. Parts of the road had been built up and saved us riding a roller coaster had the road followed the lay of the land. The other good thing about the buit up bits was that it meant we were level with the top of the trees giving us an interesting sort of birds eye view of the hills behind and the trees in the foreground.

After just over 40 kilometres we crested a hill and began the descent into Pelly Crossing, stopping along the way to take photographs from the lookout. Coasting down into town we stopped at the Selkirk Indian Interpretive Centre where we viewed the artifacts and, stories and exhibits before heading next door to the general store. Obtaining a few supplies and debating wether or not to stay or ride on we asked about accomodation in the town. We were told about the free campground opposite the store and down by the river so decided to check it out.

We found the campground in need of some lawn mowing but quite nice and well set out. The campground has toilets dotted all over the place, tables and fire pits at each site and three largish shelters, one of which we took over to keep out of the weather that was building up around us. A short walk over the road saw us enjoy a shower for $1 each, and we were also able to give our clothes a badly needed wash.

Today's Stats

From: Gravel Pit

To: Pelly Crossing Campground

Ride Time:
3 hrs 12 mins

Distance:
46.12  km's

Av Speed:
14.30 km/h

Max Speed:
47.50  km/h

Max Altitude:
849  m

Av Climb: 1 %

Max Climb: 7 %

Weather: 9-21 Deg C. Overcast then Sunny.

Camp Location:

N: 62:49'33.5 "

W: 136:34'50.0"

Sunday 15 July 2007

Being a Saturday night, many of the locals were out enjoying themselves until the wee hours of the morning, we on theother handwere total wowsers and went to bed in preparation for todays ride. Packing up in the dry this morning was teriffic despite the weather forecast being for more rain. Leaving the campground we noticed the reason traffic going across the bridge was slowing down to a crawl - someone was sleeping on the footpath in the middle of the bridge.

Out of town and typically uphill. On the way up the hill we spied what we thought were strawberry runners along the side of the road. Stopping to check we found that there was native strawberry bushes with minture fruit on them the size of a garden pea, so we picked some and did a taste test - yep, their were strawberrys!

Not wanting to leave them to the bears we devoured as many as we could find and then did the same each time we stopped for a break or a rest on a hill. The little red berrys were very sweet and extremely delicious, so naturally we ate as many as we could, when we could.

The road climbed and was fairly good to ride on,passing an assortment of vegetation and a number of lakes along the way. Descending down a nice curved hill we eventually arrived at a place called Minto and it's so-called Resort. There is nothing at Minto, it appears to be just a locality, but there is a road leading off to a resort. Well, on arrival the resort turned out to be an old RV camground which was closed and nothing like what we know or even imagine a resort to be. Following the sign and after riding down a narrow track through the bush we arrived at a log cabin and the launching place for a boat tour down the Yukon River to historic Fort Selkirk. At $125 per person we were glad that we had arrived at 11am and the tour had left at 10! So with no resort in sight we rode back out to the main road and continued on.

Not long after we were back on the main road I experienced a sinking feeling as the shock cord underneath me, and holding the seat together, gave way- hardly surprising as it is the original fit and after supporting my backside for more that 30,000km it had finally had enough. Joining the two broken cords to make one we re-strung the seat and continued on.

The road was taking us along side of the river and between two ranges, both almost devoid of trees and fairly steep but making for pleasant viewing as we ride. Riding along at a good clip meant that we were making good progress and creeping ever closer to Carmacks, our next piece of civilisation. Halfway up a long hill we arrived at a small turnout with outhouses, bear proof litter barrels and a magnificent view over the Yukon River. The mercury had begun to climb so this was an opportune place to stop for a rest and enjoy a drink. Rest and drink over we departed as a couple of RV's pulled. COntinuing on to the top of the hill we were able to stop, walk into the bush and enjoy a magnicifent view over the river and where we had just come from.

By now it was getting close to time to find a camp site, so after covering a few more kilometres and passing a woman out collecting wildstrawberrys (that's not fair!), we spied a gravel pit and after the usual bear activity check, took up residence. Strawberrys were growing on the side of the road into the pit so after the woman picking strawberrys had come and left, we went over and enjoyed some more of the delicious little red berries, just to aid our Vitamin C levels.

Not long after we had returned to the tent a vehicle pulled up and a man and his dog got out. Coming over for a chat, Simon explained that he usually stops here to let his dog have a break from the trip as he travels from Whitehorse to Dawson City. Born and raised in Dawson, Simon told us how he lives in Whitehorse during the winter and in Dawson during the summer. Apprarently he now buys gold for a company, but used to have his own business and somewhere in there he used to fly fishermen in and out of hard to get to places in his plane - hardly surprising because flying is a major way of getting around up here and the statistics show that 60% of the population have a pilots license. His descriptions of some of the people he has met were very descriptive and interesting. Before long Simon departed and we got on with the rest of our day, journals, cooking, setting up and preparing for overnight weather.

Today's Stats

From: Pelly Crossing Campground

To: Gravel Pit

Ride Time:
5 hrs 48 mins

Distance:
76.82 km's

Av Speed:
13.20 km/h

Max Speed:
57.50 km/h

Max Altitude:
673 m

Av Climb: 2 %

Max Climb: 6 %

Weather: 9-29 Deg C. Overcast then hot and sunny.

Camp Location:

N: 62:19'28.3"

W: 136:19'58.7"

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