Chapter 14: June 20-27
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| Solid = paved. Yellow dots = gravel. Red = Al-Can. Blue = the route that I took. |
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There were (are) two ways to get to Alaska by road: the Alaska/Canada Highway ("Al-Can"), or the Stewart-Cassiar and Campbell-Klondike highways. They were both almost entirely gravel road then, but the Al-Can was more heavily traveled, especially by trucks, so I opted for the longer scenic route. That meant I had a little over 500 miles of pavement left before the real adventure began.
June 20, Friday: 62 miles (3927)
"MAIL! Yahoo! I knew there was a reason things were so screwed up yesterday. I got letters from Kate, Don, Dottie, the Lindvigs in North Dakota, and someone in Havre Montana, the latter two with newspaper clippings about my trip.
I met yet another biker who's going to Alaska, and it turns out he knows one of my friends at the Wilderness School! He's riding fast and hard, so I don't have to worry about catching up with him.
Rain set in late this afternoon. I dodged it for a while by waiting when it was in front of me and racing when it was behind me, but eventually it just poured, so I ducked into the gorgeous mossy woods to camp. It felt good to be riding again, making progress toward Alaska."
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| Moose Lake |
June 21, Saturday: 75 miles (3979)
"Leaving Jasper was definitely the start of another leg of the trip - I felt it even more today - it was pleasing to be out on the open road, feeling that every mile was bringing me that much nearer to Alaska.
I got a little more food in McBride, though I still had plenty, and found a pay phone, so I called Laura, because she starts her course tomorrow. We just had an easy conversation about her time there, and my trip. It really boosted my spirits.
It rained hard last night, sprinkled off and on today, and started raining again this evening."
June 22, Sunday: 78 miles (4057)
"Not a lot to say about the ride: 78 miles of woods, broken by one gas station/café. I thought about Laura a lot, and Kate too. Also thought about what I will do when I get to Alaska, and for the rest of my life. The thought of riding back down to the states occurred to me, as something to do if I don't like Alaska, or can't get a job. Money and weather might make that impossible, but it's a thought.
June 23, Monday: 61 miles (4118)
Lower energy today. It rained a lot last night, and the water found its way into the tent. It was still raining this morning and I seemed to need a couple of solid hours of just lying there thinking, daydreaming, and drifting in and out of sleep. When I did get up, I couldn't muster the motivation to cook potatoes, so I just had granola with powdered milk and protein powder.
When I finally got going, I took more breaks and ate more often than usual. I was planning to buy a new chain and freewheel in Prince George, but the bike shop was closed on Monday, so I just mailed letters, bought groceries, and treated myself to a DQ milkshake on the way out of town.
I got 3 more pounds of PB, 2 pounds of carrots, a loaf of bread, some apples and potatoes, honey, and cream cheese. On top of what I already had, it was quite a load, and I felt it going up the hill out of P. George.
I saw 2 coyotes and a glimpse of a moose. I had planned to camp at a rest area, but when I saw the bear-proof trash cans, and found bear poop in the woods, I decided to move on! So now I'm on a dirt road, a little off the highway. There are lots of moose tracks around, so maybe I'll see a moose. There are also lots of moose-quitoes around!
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| "Pre-nostalgia" again, seeing the road stretch out miles ahead of me. |
June 24, Tuesday: zero miles!
It rained all day, so I wrote 4 letters, read the Readers Digest I was given in Glacier, listened to my little tapes, and did other odds and ends. The letters were mostly newsy, but in the letter to Laura I wrestled with the fact that it makes me so happy to get a letter from her or talk with her on the phone, and how much that's at odds with the purpose of this trip, which is to let go of her.
June 25, Wednesday: 70 miles (4173)
"Somehow this just wasn't a very good day. I was irritable, and it felt like I was going at a snail's pace. First it was too cold, then it was too hot, then a spoke broke, then a fierce storm blew in and it rained... on and on. At one point I felt the urge to just quit - not that I was actually considering it, I was just in that bad a mood. But when the rain stopped and I got out from under the bridge and started riding again, I felt better, and made decent mileage."
"I heard today that there's a group of 5 bikers a few hours ahead of me. I assume it's the guys I met in Jasper. Sometimes I feel disappointed and frustrated and even resentful when I hear about so many other people doing it. I have met and/or heard about 17 other people besides me who are biking to Alaska right now. I just wish for once I could do something a zillion other people haven't already done. I know that's a childish or egotistical wish, but damn! I even started looking at old logging roads and trails through the bush, wishing I could take them, just so I wouldn't have a 17-man escort. Oh, well..."
June 26, Thursday: 85 miles (4258)
A bit better day. It did rain this afternoon, but I was near a gas station where I could wait it out under the roof.
I think a big part of the problem yesterday (and it's still a problem today) is that as the dirt road gets closer, I am more and more eager, but at the same time dreading it a little bit - fear of the unknown. That and the fact that I may have to go 115 miles out of my way for bike parts - a chain and gears - because I just couldn't wait in Prince George... that sure seems like a bad move, looking at it now. Anyway, I'm so preoccupied with what's ahead that I'm not living in the present... putting in miles to get somewhere, not to be where I am.
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| Hudson Bay Mountain, Kathlyn Glacier, near Smithers B.C. |
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| Rain showers came through every day. |
June 27, Friday: 81 miles (4339)
"Some good things happened today. One is that I got 4 letters in Smithers, when I was resigned to the idea that I would get none. Buzz (the woman now biking the West Coast) wrote, as did three WS friends, including good old reliable Edie, the sweetheart.
Then I found a bike shop! I agonized over the $11 Uniglide chain and $23 freewheels, and in the end just got a $4 chain to have as a spare. That means I won't have to go to Terrace and back, which makes the dirt road 115 miles closer... I'll get there tomorrow!
I've heard mixed reports about "the dirt road" - Highway 37, AKA The Stewart-Cassiar. Some have said it's horrible; trucks pulling 5 mile dust clouds behind them, others have said they're in the process of paving parts. I just want to hurry up and be there so I can see it for myself.
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