August 5 - 14, 2013
Two Red VFRs and two handsome men venture forth to Alaska in search of grizzly bears, salmon, glaciers and friendship.
4287 kilometres
Dozens of Diet Pepsi and Coke Zeros Consumed
Weird fuelling issue with one bike
Smoking hot weather even by Canadian standards
One rider - self-employed, one rider - 'lazy' teacher on summer break
After chatting with potential riding partners the choice was clear (and he was the only one who would volunteer to come along) - DigitallyHip aka David.
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Day 1 - Calgary to Grand Forks, BC
Travel Time – 8:30-6:30
Low Temp: 12 degrees – outside of Longview in the torrential rain
High Temp: 30 degrees – Grand Forks, BC
Distance: 711 kilometres
Pretty successful first day on the bike. The weather was the only element that made riding a bit more challenging today.
It was cool and damp this morning when I got the gear loaded and ready to go. Said our goodbyes and Niko closed the garage door for me. And off I went!
The highways were quite busy with traffic returning from the long weekend, especially traffic moving West to East. The traffic returning to Calgary was bumper to bumper all the way to Creston.
So far my body is cooperating with the demands of longer riding days - in spite of recent diagnosis of MS or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (I always wanted to be a syndrome). Some aches and pains, and my right hand is not appreciating the grip required for throttle controls – keeps going numb and tingly. This is odd since it is usually my left hand that has the issues.
Met several opportunities to get wet on the way and encountered rain in Longview (epic), Creston, Salmo and sprinkles just outside of Christina lake.
I felt like Daniel in the Karate Kid doing his wax-on and wax-off routine. I put on and took off my rain gear about 7 times today since it was too warm for most of the day to continue wearing it.
Traffic from Creston to Grand Forks was a breeze and the highway was mostly vacant. A couple relatively high passes to cool things off a bit.
The only unexpected part of the day was missing the turn off into town at Castlegar and not refuelling.Needless to say that when I made it to Christina lake my tank was as close to empty as you can get (about 0.4 litres of fuell remaining).
A quick jaunt about town and Grand Forks is quite quiet since the weekend rousers have left to go back after the weekenend.
Depending on weather tomorrow I’ll be sneaking across the border which is about 10 minutes away and heading through Northern Washington and the Cascades Highway enroute to Vancouver. If the weather is uncooperative I’ll just head straight across to Vancouver.
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Day 2 - Grand Forks, BC through Cascades Highway, Washington to Vancouver, BC
Travel Time: 8:00am-6:30pm
Low Temp: 14 Celcius (Morning outside of Danville, WA)
High Temp: 30 Celcius (Winthrop, WA)
Distance: 579 kilometres
Great day for riding and scenery. Crossing the border at Danville was a piece of cake. It’s a small border crossing and there were only two vehicles. I was through in a matter of minutes.
The first fifty miles were wide open with long sweeping curves and no traffic at all. It was quite a relaxing start to the day.
Quick stops in Tonasket, Twisp and a few off bike walks in the North Cascades. The highways were quite free of people and traffic which makes traveling much more enjoyable.
Twisp always make me think of the old Flinstones bit about dancing “Bedrock – Twist, Twist”. The brain goes odd places when inside of a helmet for an entire day. Haha.
Lunch in Winthrop. Some of the small towns around Calgary that are becoming ghost towns could learn a lot from this idea. They’ve turned Winthrop into a facade of an old west town. Great little shops and places to eat and hang out. I had some lunch at the same restaurant Fiona and I stopped at last time – Three Fingered Jacks. Good pub food and air conditioning because the weather was starting to really cook.
I took a few of the less traveled roads leading to the Sumas border. Most traffic seems to stick to the I-% and insanity of the freeway. The #9 from Sedro-Wooley to Sumas was a pleasant surprise as it was a fun road to ride and free of traffic.
A quick stop at the Sumas border. Luckily they move through the line ups very quickly because sitting on a bike that is over a hundred degrees in 30+ degree heat is enough to melt even the most patient.
Vancouver seems so much bigger than when I lived here in the 90s. First of all the #1 Trans Canada is a bona fide freeway now. The sheer number of vehicles traveling on the road is simply amazing. I followed the GPS from the border all the way intto Vancouver proper. When I got ‘downtown’ I went by memory and successfully found my hotel and the side parking lot. Right in the thick of things. Should make for good exploring over the next couple of days.
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Day 3 and 4 Rest Days and Hanging in my Old Second Town of Vancouver, BC (more personal / less riding focussed - read my blog if you're interested)
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Day 5 - Vancouver to Prince George via Sea to Sky Highway
Travel Time: 7:30 – 9:00pm
Low Temp: 16 Celcius (Vancouver)
High Temp: 34 Celcius (Lillooet)
Distance: 761 kilometres
The weather reports were positive for the day so I set off at 7:20 in the Vancouver rush hour traffic. To be honest, it was really quite easy to get out of the downtown core. The traffic is well planned and I zipped over to West Vancouver in only about 20 minutes. Not sure why my GPS always wants to route through side streets and make multiple turns through cities. Frequently, and this time, I just ignored it and followed the signs out successfully.
I met up with my riding mate David who will be joining me for the next 4 days on the trek to Hyder. He’s a down to earth guy and will be an enjoyable riding partner for what is going to be very long riding days just to get there.
We stopped in Squamish for a bite to eat at the Sunflower Bakery and Cafe. Wow! The food was absolutely delicious. Squamish is certainly a quaint little town that would warrant some exploration on a future journey.
The journey northward on highway 99 was smooth sailing. The repairs and changes the government have made on the highway for safety and drivability have made a huge difference. Odd that the speed limit is only 90km/h the whole way. Seems like it was designed for much quicker traffic movement.
There had been some concern about the safety and quality of the road near Pemberton.
After a quick rest and fuel up in Pemberton we headed up the road towards the Duffy Lake Road. There had been recent reports of disastrous wrecks and motorcycle wipeouts on the road because of the ‘tar snakes’. Sounds like a mythical creature but it is just tar used to fill up cracks in the road to prevent further damage. On a motorcycle they can be very scary because the tar liquifies and becomes very very slick in the heat. While there were a few butt clenching moments it generally wasn’t as bad as advertised.
The views through the mountain pass and over to Lillooet are quite scenic and the ride gains considerable altitude. As we descended through the pass on the other side it began to get incredibly hot – time for a lunch break. Stopped at a little mom and pop in Lillooet which had marginal food and service.
When we started off again I was surprised to find that something odd was going on with my bike. It wouldn’t accelerate properly and made it tough to get into the ‘meat’ of the power band. Great – just like my trip in the US when my bike broke down. Needless to say there were a few expletives yelled and somewhat of a temper tantrum. Turns out the bike is rideable but is completely neutered for power. I can only get into the 3-4,000 RPM range which is about 30% lower than a normal cruising range. Gah!
At first I was concerned that things would get worse but… they didn’t. The bike kept running – no electrical issues, no smells of unburned gasoline, no mechanical noises. Plus the fuel economy was fine. We pushed ahead and hoped for the best. It’s very stressful to be that far out and realize that at any moment things may break down completely. Luckily for me they never did.
We forged on through the heat past the Mountain Houses. 70, 100, 120 Mile House and all the small towns along the way. Bike still running. Still using normal, or even less fuel than normal.
Both David and I are dealing with health issues so we are forced to stop every hour or so for a rest. This starts to add up over the course of the day and we realized that we would arrive at Prince George in the dark. Hour after hour, kilometre after kilometre, we gradually edged towards our destination for the day.
We made it to Prince George and got set up in our hotel – The Economy Inn. Pleasant, clean and reasonably priced.
We went looking for food and a few drinks. Downtown Prince George is a ghost town at night. We found one restaurant that was open – Shooters and had a few pops and some chow before calling it a day.
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Day 6 - Prince George, BC to Hyder, AK
Travel Time: 8:45am – 8:45pm
Low Temp: 9 celcius (Bear Glacier – cool breezes)
High Temp: 24 celcius (Smithers – Lunchtime)
Distance: 703 kilometres
So far on the trip the luck with the weather has held. Getting up and getting ready to go the temperature was 16 celcius and sunny. The weather held all the way through the day and only tapered off a bit when we were near one of the big glaciers and heading down in elevation towards the ocean and Hyder.
Tim Horton’s was the breakfast of choice this morning. A few pastries to get the day started right – the breakfast of champions. We decided that we’d have a real breakfast or lunch along the way instead and try to get moving.
Inside the Tim Horton’s was a 20something with some sort of boom box contraption strapped to his back. He literally was blasting tunes on his back wherever he would go, including right inside the Tim Horton’s. He didn’t even turn it down to order. How strange. Honestly, watching him it was like he couldn’t even here it. Adults of the future be afraid, be very afraid….
The ride went by without incident. Still experiencing the issues with my bike but no other warning signs – fuel economy has been in the mid 40s to 50s. So I’m stumped. However, the bike is completely gutless for passing – it’s like riding my KLR with 30 horsepower.
We had our lunch stop in Smithers which is on edge of the mountains again and quite scenic. Nothing spectacular for lunch but by Smithers we had accomplished the majority of the day’s ride.
Once again frequent stops added quite a bit of time to the day. While we should have arrived around 4:30 or 5:00pm the breaks were needed along the way. The numbness in my hands is particularly troublesome. It comes and goes but when it sends the sharp pains up to my elbows it’s time to get off the bike, and so we did.
We passed Meziadin Junction and headed west towards Hyder just before the light began to fade out. Hyder is in a fjord so the sun goes down early and it was beginning to get dark on our approach. A quick stop for some photos at the Bear Glacier on the way in (we’ll get more on the way out in better light) and we arrived at Hyder at 8:30.
The Sealaska Inn didn’t seem to have kitchen staff this time. Not sure if they aren’t serving food but we were told that the Glacier Inn serves food until 8:45. Yikes! 8:45. I suggested we just run over in our riding gear. Alas, we did not and missed the boat for dinner. The owner was nice enough to offer the dessert menu, so I had a gigantic piece of carrot cake and a few beer – again, the meal of champions. My partner got a bit snippy with the owner at first but I quietly reminded him that it was the only place open early for breakfast and apparently it’s now the only real restaurant in this little town.
We sidled back over to our hotel and had a few drinks at the bar with the owner and a colourful character that had obviously spent quite a large portion of the day leaning against the bar. With that ended our first day and we would venture up to the Salmon Glacier and go to the Fish Creek Wildlife Viewing area tomorrow.
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Day 7 - Hyder, AK/Stewart, BC - Wildlife and Glacier Viewing
Travel Time: Back and forth most of the day – about 55 kilometres
Low Temp: 8 celcius (sunrise – what a beautiful sunrise)
High Temp: 24 celcius (mid-afternoon)
The goal of this trip was to tackle some unfinished business from my last trip to Alaska – see some bears eating Salmon. Really, that is it. I saw plenty of wildlife and bears last time but I really wanted to see it as part of the natural salmon run.
I was able to catch the sunrise coming into the fjord this morning. It’s quite a beautiful place and it’s part of the Misty Fiords (Fjords) Park – every day the valley is lined with a wispy light fog. The plants and surroundings are laden with dew and the colours just jump when the sun comes over the mountains. Hopefully I’ve captured at least part of that feeling with the photos below.
We got up earlyish, actually David was up well before my lazy ass, and got breakfast. David snuck over to the Glacier Inn early and I rolled over about 8:30am. The food was a breakfast like you’d get if your grandma made it for you – good, simple, homemade food.
It’s an interesting little place because the shell of the building is from the turn of the last century and the decor and finishings are easily 40 years old. The coolest part of the building is that every single surface of every single wall is covered with paper money. Yes, money! The deal is that people like to drink and gamble up here and often run out of cash (and or luck) at the end of their travels. You are to mark a bill with a felt pen and staple it to the wall so that if you ever are out of money or down on your luck you can return, peel the money from the wall, and have at least one drink – and hopefully, your luck with change. Quite remarkable wall paper.
After breakfast, David was in full riding gear. I decided to ride to the viewing area (about 5 kilometres) in shorts and a t-shirt. I normally advocate “All the Gear All the Time” but I figured that with no other cars on the road, a speed limit of 20 miles per hour, and little chance of issues with the road that I’d just go ‘naked’ – so to speak. I understand why people don’t wear gear, it’s a pretty neat feeling. This was one of the few times ever that I’ve done this and won’t be a habit. I paid a little bit because it was actually quite cool and crisp outside.
Arrived at the Fish Creek Viewing Area and there are a zillion Salmon spawning. Thought this would be a good sign. We stood and waited. Waited and stood. No luck. We spotted a wolf walking the creek in the distance and stealing some fish but nothing that we could photograph. We’d have to come back later.
Up to the Salmon Glacier. Last time I rode my dual purpose bike and going up the road was a piece of cake. Well, with a sport bike and the condition of the road it was quite a challenging ride. So much more of the bumps are absorbed by the rider and potholes and washboard are not a forté of street bikes. Ouch!
We spent about 45 minutes up at the viewing point at the summit of the road. This is such and amazing place and such supernatural beauty. Both times I’ve been here I’ve been completely gobsmacked at the immensity and scale of the place. Imagining how this valley was once filled top to bottom with ice is beyond reason – at least mine. The glacier hangs up and over the mountain range and the portion that is visible is many kilometres long (about 10-15 in my estimate).
Apparently up the road 8 more kilometres is the Granduc mine. It’s been closed since the 1980s but is still mostly intact. This will have to wait for another time and a more appropriate bike as the 30 kilometres to get back to town is going to be as much as my humble body can take.
A quick stop at the Wildlife Viewing Area and… NO BEARS! Foiled again. Still lots of fish. Still lots of tourists and photographers. No wildlife. I was beginning to get discouraged.
Had a good chat with a fellow who was from just outside of Calgary. A professional photographer that had just finished about 8,000 kilometres of driving and taking photos. He’s a freelancer so selling photos is his game – must be tough to make a living that way. Genuinely nice guy, helpful about photography, and doing what he loves – can’t get much better than that.
We decided to sneak back to Stewart for lunch which means crossing the border back into Canada. The town is only 3 kilometres away from Hyder but requires a passport for re-entry. No issues with the crossing – quick and easy.
We had lunch at the Bitter Creek Restaurant on the main drag in Stewart. The food was by far the best of the trip. I’ve included photos below because it was absolutely relish! Fresh fish, creative salad and a dessert that one of the ladies working their just whipped up for us. I asked if I could have the rest of the pan it was so tasty.
Back to the hotel to crash for a while and chill. The pounding on the road was quite a bit for my body. I’m already very sore most of the time and this felt like I’d been in a world heavyweight boxing match.
David texted that we should go up to the wildlife viewing area one more time just to see. At 5:45. Well, in retrospect I understand why he was a bit peeved when we met. He had his watch still on BC time. Even though this is a sliver of Alaska it is still another hour different in time. So I think he thought I was late. Doh!
When we arrived at the Viewing Area there was commotion and drama – a good sign. I literally got off my bike, took off my helmet and gloves, then walked about 50 feet to the deck to have a look. BEAR! Finally. It was literally right below me – about 6-8 feet down and 10 feet in front. I snapped photo after photo but got only one good one. What a big daddy or mommy this bear was! Gigantic. What a magnificent creature. The sad part of the story is, according to the Parks volunteer, they have become habituated to humans because of the viewing platform and of the 20 bears that frequented the area only 5-6 remain. They’ve had to move or put down the others. A cruel irony of conservation – attracting interest may also jeopardize the very creatures you are trying to raise awareness of.
After a quick spin back to the Inn we called it a day and prepared for our long journey back to Prince George. A great day all round!
It’s beautifully quiet at night here. Being that it is a ghost town there is no road traffic or noise at all. It’s quite refreshing!
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Day 8 - Hyder, AK back to Prince George, BC
Travel Time: 7:00am-8:00pm
Low Temp: 8 celcius (Hyder,AK)
High Temp: Stella First Nations Reserve (Gas Stop 30 celcius)
Distance: 703 kilometres
I awoke to rap tap tapping on my door. Who goes there at this ungodly hour? It’s only a few minutes after 6:00am. Turns out that David had indeed not set his watch back another hour and was still on BC time. He thought we were late getting out on the road. Haha.
The bonus of David’s timezone blunder was that he witnessed a black bear cruising the parking lot right outside of my door at the inn. Apparently this is a pretty common occurrence. It’s their land, man! We are all just passing through their territory. David said he wasn’t the least bit concerned about his presence at that the bear continued to mill around, sniff and then headed off back from when he/she came. Glad he was up early to capture this with a few photos.
We were indeed off by 7:00am and well rested for a long slog of a ride back to Prince George.
We made a stop at the Bear Glacier again to capture some photos in much better morning light. Another incredible sight that is just a short distance from the side of the highway. The weather was absolutely perfect. Cool, crisp and not a cloud in the sky – perfect!
We chatted about how the ‘way back’ always seems shorter than the ‘way there’. Familiarity maybe? But it really did go by much quicker right through to Kitwanga for gas and an early lunch. David was struggling more with the monotony of the ride, as from this point on there’s not a lot to look at but tree-lined highway. We stopped frequently.
I put in some fuel injector cleaner which seems to have helped somewhat. Still not entirely sure if this is a fuel issue or something not connected properly. At least now I have a bit more ‘zip’ and can cruise along at a much better clip than the previous days. Fuel economy seems to still be doing well so I am confounded as to what the issue may be.
Quick stops in Smithers, Fraser Lake, Stella First Nations reserve for gas, pee and rests. We have been doing 700-800 kilometre days the whole way so it’s starting to take a bit of a toll on our bodies.
The pump girl in Stella was reluctant to fill my gas on the bike. I asked her jokingly why she’s standing there then and that she better earn her keep. She finally did start filling but was worried about ‘wrecking’ my bike. Again, I retorted that any spilled gas on my gear would be tantamount to death! It took about five minutes to fill since she was being so ‘careful’ – obviously paid by the hour. Haha. She did a great job and her boss even came out to congratulate her.
We narrowly skirted some nastiness with the weather and some hideous thunderstorms. One or two short sections were wet and one under construction was particularly hair-raising. They had removed the highway and base layer to dirt and it had obviously been very rainy. Mucky, thick and snotty mud and street bikes don’t mix well. A few buttpuckering moments for each of us but we made it successfully through and completed the last few kilometres back to Prince George.
We thought that Friday’s in PG were quiet. Well, Mondays are something else. I joked about not even having to look before crossing the street as there wasn’t a soul around. The only place open again was Shooters and there were four other people inside. Ouch! That’s a tough way to make money. Good conversation with David and some grub before we wandered back to the hotel (Economy Inn again – very nice owner). We said our goodbyes as David was going to be heading back to Bowen Island and I back towards Calgary – our paths diverge from this point after several days of being glued together.
The plan was to break up the ride home and stop part way through. Jasper is ridiculously expensive and I really can’t justify $200/night for a room as a stopover. So… I think I’ll plow through in one day and just get home.
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Day 9 - Prince George to Our Homes - Calgary and Bowen Island
Final Day
Travel Time: 10:00am-8:00pm
High Temp: 28 celcius (McBride, BC)
Low Temp: 9 celcius (Bow Summit – Icefields Parkway)
Distance: 804 kilometres to the door of my garage! Whew!
The last days of a journey like this are always odd. Part of me doesn’t want it to end because I really love exploring. The other part is tired from all the riding and glad to get home and see family.
The bike is still performing weirdly but I actually got one of my best fuel economy readings yet – 52 mpg. Insanely good. A little more power but still not like it should. I must say I’m glad that the bike didn’t leave my high and dry and made it the whole way. It is surprisingly good on gas for a bigger sport tourer. And it has been much more comfortable than the KLR was last time on these long stretches.
Nothing particularly eventful to report. I blasted right through to McBride for gas. It was insanely expensive $1.52/litre – now that’s price gouging!
Quick stops along the way to rest and recharge but otherwise I pretty much just rode the whole day.
I considered looking for rooms in Jasper but it was a complete gongshow and a zillion tourists. I also thought about stopping at Bow Lake and staying at Num Ti Jah Lodge for a night but decided I’d leave that for another adventure.
I feel fortunate to live close to the Columbia Icefields Parkway – I never get tired of that road. It is still one of the most incredibly beautiful places I’ve visited (and I’d say on Earth). It’s a nice way to cap off these adventures on the way home.
Rolled into Calgary and my garage just before it started to get dark. Turned off the bike and thought – that’s all folks! Another great motorcycle journey.
I’ll complete a summary of distances, costs, etc. tomorrow.
I really enjoyed my trip this time and I am quite sure that Hyder is a place that I’ll visit again.
P.S. David successfully made it home in record time as well. Early ferry and a quick ride home. :)
If you haven't seen Highway 93 - aka The Icefields Parkway - at some time in your life you should. I've been north to south in North America many times and it is still one of the most scenic places I've been. Here's a link to some old photos of mine - Icefields Parkway.