Day 17 – Monday July 16th (135 miles, Fairbanks, AK to 3 miles north of Yukon River Camp, Dalton Highway):
After leaving the hotel this morning, I headed over to REI to pick up a new sleeping pad because the one I have been using is old and not very effective. As I was packing up my bike at REI and about to leave, Yun (guy I met a few days ago that is riding to Chile) pulled into the parking lot! We spoke for a few minutes and he mentioned that he would be riding up the Dalton Highway to Deadhorse, so he stopped at REI to pick up some last minute items.
My plan for the day was to take it easy and then begin working my way towards Denali National Park. However, after I left REI and went to grab some lunch and gas before heading to Denali, Yun texted me and asked if I wanted to join him on the ride up to Deadhorse. I loved the idea of riding to Deadhorse, but being on a cruiser motorcycle with street tires gave me reservations of making the trip. I thought about it for a few minutes, checked the weather for the next few days (partly cloudy but not much expected rain), and then told Yun I would join him! I was a little nervous about making the trip, mostly because I had heard stories of how bad the road is and I was concerned about whether or not my bike could actually make it on the road, but overall I was so excited to be doing this.
Yun and I headed over to Walmart so I could pick up a small gas can and some other supplies and then started making our way north around 3pm. We weren’t expecting to ride far today since it was so late in the day that we go started. Leaving Fairbanks, the road was paved for the first hour and a half of our ride. Around Livengood, the road then turns into dirt/gravel with potholes and rough spots. Yun and I stopped at the Dalton Highway sign to take a few pictures when one of the locals stopped to talk with us. He told me that I shouldn’t do the ride to Deadhorse with the type of bike I had, but if I did, to be careful as they have had motorcyclists die on the highway from hitting potholes and going down.
Thankfully Yun was fine riding at a slower pace for me since I had no prior experience riding off-road (besides riding to Salmon Glacier) and because I didnt have the proper bike for a trip like this. We crossed the Yukon River and arrived at the Yukon River Camp around 7:30pm and filled up our gas tanks and got some dinner. Its amazing to me that people live up here year round! During the winter, It gets as low as negative 40 degrees, if not lower, and is dark almost all day long.
Once we finished dinner, we rode a short 3 miles north to the BLM campsite, where we would stay for the night. This was surprisingly a nice, flat campsite, with potable water. We both pitched our tents and headed to bed around 11:30pm, trying to get as much sleep as possible before the long, tough day tomorrow. The goal is to reach Deadhorse by the days end!
Yun’s bike and my bike at the beginning of Dalton Highway
Excited to be on the Dalton Highway! Had a little rain in the beginning.
Setting up camp at the BLM campground 3 miles north of Yukon River Camp
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