Thought I'd throw this out here in case anyone else is planning on going North next year. I'm going to Inuvik, NWT & Alaska next summer. Maybe fly from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk too!
I'm leaving the 1st part of June & will be wiggling my way to Dust 2 Dawson on the 18th & 19th. I'll probably do some more off road exploring on the way through BC & will be going up (& back) through Hyder & the Cassier. Camping the majority of the time. I'll be going to Fairbanks & Denali & possibly Anchorage. I've been to Stewart but not Homer.
Anyone interested, or have suggestions (for even part of the trip) lets talk. I've attached a tentative route.
OMG.....that would be so cool. My wife said she's jealous, and she doesn't even ride. Wacked & GB, are there bugs up there?
I'm having trouble getting the link to work. Anyone else or is it just me.
That would be a fantastic trip! Unfortunately I can't get that much time off work. But, I do have friends in Fairbanks and Glen Allen so maybe I could leave my bike there, fly home and come back later to ride home??
Even before I read your response Dave, I said to myself, "Not sure if he knows that the bug problem he encountered on the GDR would PALE in comparison the bugs in Alaska." It is well known that the 3 Places in US with the worst Mosquito problems are, The Florida Keys, The Maine Allagash Wilderness and Alaska. It can be Very, very bad.
Sleddog, what bike are you planning on taking?
I cant open that file type either. I would love to do this trip, and have researched it a bit. The. Keep us informed as details work out...... You never know how things go. I would try to get to Fairbanks and Denali too.
The reasons I threw this out now is to get some interest sparked. I'm not looking for riders to commit. I letting you know I'm going & if you want to tag along fine. If you want to ride a portion that's good too. If you start thinking about it, you'll see it's doable. Maybe not all of it but....You'll see way more than if you stay home. From Rapid City to Hyder, AK it is about 2000 miles...easy to do in 2 weeks. I've been to Hyder 5 times & each time was F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S! Don't wait until you can do "The trip of a lifetime" you can't see it all in one trip anyway, so why try. Two years ago my brother & I took our small bikes through BC on all dirt & gravel to Hyder. Then on up to Watson Lake in the Yukon & back down the Alaskan Hiway, & home, in two weeks.
How about a "Ride Share"....can't do the entire trip? Maybe you ride up & fly home, someone else fly up & ride back.......I'm sure something could be worked out. Others have done it that way.
I'm planning to ride the wee Strom & have been prepping the bike. Shakedown is a trip to Mexico next month.....
I tried to attach a gpx file for those having trouble opening the route but, it's too big for attachments.
Sleddog - email me the file and I'll put up a dropbox link.
I'll PM you my email address.
Quote from: Hank on October 17, 2014, 10:03:23 AM
Sleddog - email me the file and I'll put up a dropbox link.
I'll PM you my email address.
Done. Thank you Hank
See if this link works:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/c46p1u3efjht7ms/AAANJyZnFkbLaQiMGqfbIfhja?dl=0
Shhhhhhhhhh........
GB, don't tell Dave about those little bastard "White Socks". You know how much he appreciates a couple of Mosquitos in the neighborhood ;)
Wacked
He could bring his Joseph Merrick headbag with him for protection.
Well, the time is getting closer....Departure date is June 1st. I've got an "Off Pavement" route planned from home to Quesnel, BC
If anyone would like to join in on any part of the ride...even a day or two; give me a shout.
Here is a screenshot of the map. Green = the route up.....Yellow = the route back. Other colors are things to possibly check out or places I've ridden before.
(http://sleddog.smugmug.com/Other/2015-Online-Photos/i-sJGJzVF/0/L/Inuvik-L.jpg)
Jack that looks like a lot of fun.
Looking at the portion of the route from US to Prince George, this is perhaps the fastest but least scenic way to go. This route hits probably the most boring ride in British Columbia. My suggestion would be go north out of Bonner's Ferry Idaho to Creston, to Revelstok, through Golden to the Columbia Ice Fields, to Jasper, and then to Prince George. Coming into Prince George from the South is like driving across eastern Colorado. Carry some 5 hour energy drink to stay awake. There is a section Litton to Lillyloot (two L towns) that follows I think it is called Fraser Valley that I will do again, best ride in that area. Sorry for not taking time to look at a map to verify the spellings. I've got 2017 marked off for my 5th ride to Alaska for those interested.
Thanks HP, I've been to Alaska several times. Each time a different way. The last two have been off pavement. Just going a different way this ride. If you look close at the green line from home, all the way through BC, you'll see it is all off pavement. Take a look east of Kamloops ....That green line is a few miles west of Revelstoke & is gravel/FSR all the way to Terrace.
Kettle Valley Railway, Fraser Valley, Gang Ranch all off pavement. If you haven't done that you're don't know what you're missing!
The yellow line is a quick way home, for reference, not necessarily the way I'll do it.
Man we better get together and go over maps. Maybe the next Saturday breakfast.
I moved to Alaska and been up here for about 2 years now. Left my bikes down in SD and other then a couple 100 miles I rode in Thailand and Cambodia last winter I haven't put any miles on a bike, to busy with work. Got a new position at work that offers a little more time off so I decided to trade my street triple in for a new tiger XCx in Omaha. I fly back in 2 weeks and then going to ride the tiger up here. The plan is to go from Mitchell SD down to Denver and back up through the Rockies, yellowstone NP, Banff NP and kinda wing it to big lake AK where I can park it for a work hitch and come back to ride all the way up to prudhoe bay and back down to big lake. I will have about 2 months of time off to do this so it won't be at a break neck pace just kinda enjoy the ride and sights. A coworker of mine road her KLX from anchorage to New Mexico and gave me a map of some cool rides and stops. Kinda winging the whole trip so we will see how it goes but I will try to post some pics along the way... if I can figure out how. Any of you need a place to store a bike up here or crash I got friends through the whole state that would be more then more then happy to accommodate!
Sounds like a great trip!!
A couple months of wandering is a great way to enjoy the adventure!