Memorial Day Ride - 2017 Part 4

The First 400 Mile Day

Since I am already awake, I shower and take my time putting my stuff together for the long day ahead of us.  On this trip, we have planned two long days of 400 plus miles.  For me anyway, 400 miles is kind of the outside limit to the endurance of my backside riding a motorcycle in a single day.  It's one thing in a car and an entirely different thing on a bike.

Part of the reasoning to the long segment is there really isn't a lot of places that make sense to stop in between for the night and too long of segments are better than too short because of the additional days it would make.  We plan to arrive in Whitehorse in time for dinner tonight.

When you are in Tok, hopefully it is in time for a meal.  The place to eat that meal is "Fast Eddies".  It is consistently a great place to eat.  For some reason it is a surprise to find such a nice place to eat in a far flung place like Tok.  Pastor Jason recommends the "Musher's Omelet" which has just about everything you can think of inside of a three egg omelet.  The four of us thunder up to Fast Eddies and remove our helmets, leaving them with the shields closed, and the openings down just in case it begins to rain while we are inside.

Our breakfast is predictably excellent and I polish off everything except a little bit of hash browns.  Since we fueled up the night before, we are ready to head east and south toward Whitehorse.  Our first point is to pass Canadian customs at the border which is not far from Beaver Creek where we will once again top off our fuel.  From there we plan a lunch stop in Destruction Bay, along side the beautiful Lake Kluane.  From there we plan on fueling in Haines Jct. before taking on the last 120 miles to Whitehorse.  

This is where we bid farewell to Milt.  He returns home the way we came alone.  We pray he makes it in better weather than what we faced yesterday.  He has to get home in time to do some counseling that evening.  What a great pastor.  

Milt heads home and we head on to the border.  The weather is better by far than the day before.  It isn't what you would call warm, but it isn't wet.  It is a little puzzling why the weather hasn't warmed as much as we would like but since we have no control over that we are thankful for the extra layers Tim brought to us.  

The best adjective to describe travel through this portion of the Yukon is long.  It is very long.  There are long distances with not much in between.  The official speed limit is 90 km or 55 mph if you speak American.  You simply could not get anywhere if you obeyed the speed limit.  You would be weeks and months trying to get through the Yukon at 90 km.  So, we travel 70 mph.  This is the least acceptable speed that will actually get you somewhere in the same season of the year.  

From Tok we pass the turn to the community of Northway which is often the coldest inhabited location in the state.  -75 degrees is not unheard of here.  Even today in late May it is still cool.  We pass the US customs which we don't have to check in with since we are entering Canada and not the US.  The Canadian customs is 20 miles further at Beaver Creek.  Before long we are there.

We pass through with a minimum of questions.  I guess you don't look too menacing on a motorcycle and you can't be carrying too much contraband with so little capacity.  They release us and we putt into Beaver Creek looking for a gas pump that dispenses premium fuel.  

I am excited.  I finally get to pull out my little bag with Canadian coins that I have literally saved for years and years on the idea that I would one day spend them on a trip like this.  I chuckle to myself as it looks like I have broken the piggy bank as I spill my coins on the counter to count out $12.80 Canadian to the person behind the counter.  It is like getting a tank of fuel for free.  I have about $70 saved in Loonies, 2 dollar Loonies and too many quarters, dimes and nickels to count.  I did have one paper Canadian dollar bill which I hand to the girl at the counter.  She takes it and carefully examines it like it is something rare.  I ask her, "is it old?".  She slowly shakes her head and says, "oh ya!" not taking her eyes off of the bill.  I never thought to check it for a date. It had probably spent most of its life tucked away in a drawer in the US and in my coin bag for most of its life.   I feel like someone who has released a captive animal back into the wild.  

Everyone is ready so we take off down the typically rough Canadian paved road.  I hope my tires which were close to new when I left Kenai two days ago will hold up for the entire trip.  As we pass out of Beaver Creek the next stop about 85 miles away is Burwash Landing at the north end of Lake Kluane.  I notice that the willows alongside the road still have not yet budded.  It is still too cool for them.  Kluane is the heart of the Yukon Territory.  It is big, empty wilderness.  There is a kind of sameness to it but beautiful nonetheless.  We pass Burwash Landing eager to go the 15 extra miles to Destruction Bay and stop for lunch.   Burwash Landing boasts a Historical Museum of the Kluane Wilderness which I would love to stop and visit, but we've got 400 miles to make today.

I think about the slightly strange names you encounter routinely through Canada.  Slims, Burwash, Jasper, Fraser, Simon, and Kluane (clue-on-ee) for that matter.  They have a uniquely Canadian feel to them when they are grouped together, eh? 

We pull up to the Mt. Logan Inn alongside the highway.  They have a gas station, a convenience store, restaurant and hotel that is very handy.  We doff our gear and walk on stiff legs into the restaurant.  In the entrance is a display of the history of the area.  I love these kind of things.  I check them out and read the little captions under the pictures.  Sitting on a shelf is nugget of copper.  By nugget I mean something about the size of a small watermelon and yes, it is just sitting there so you can pick it up.  I do and find it surprisingly heavy.  Many hands must have touched this as the shiny copper pokes out here and there from the otherwise greenish surface.  

The waitress is friendly and brings our drinks quickly.  I simply drain my iced tea immediately and long for more.  I am a little surprised how dehydrated I am.  I keep pestering the nice waitress for more tea and drain my glass quickly each time she fills it.  She must think I am strange.  The best looking thing on the menu?  Bacon cheeseburger.  It is good.  And yes, it is regular bacon, not "Canadian Bacon" that we put on our pizza.  I wash it down with yet more tea.  I think I am going to regret drinking so much tea not long after we get on the road but I can't help myself.  

We finish our lunch and feel a little reluctant to go back out to that cool air outside.  From the restaurant, we can see the ice is still on Lake Kluane.  A nice local man tells us that it is late coming off the lake this year.  He also tells us that up high in the mountains the main source of water, a glacier river that fills the lake has changed course over the years (due to climate change) and is no longer filling the lake.  As a result, the lake levels are lowering.  The stark evidence of this is the lower end of the lake that is now exposed silt and dry.  This is subject to the frequent winds whipping across this plain and stirring up clouds of silty dust.  

Wade asks if we should fuel up here.  I look at my range estimator and say, "Nah, I have more than plenty to get me all the way to Haines Jct."  Jack says the same.  Wade's bike doesn't have the same kind of estimator so he figures he is OK too.  We start up our bikes and head for Haines Jct. 80 miles away. 

Southeast of Destruction Bay, the country changes a bit to a dryer landscape, the sun comes out bringing surprisingly little heat.  Wade is in the lead as we wear away the miles toward Haines Jct.  We sense we are getting close to Haines Jct. when we see a school bus warning sign.  Wade suddenly pulls to the side of the road and stops.  We stop as well and look to Wade for an explanation.  He is out of fuel, or almost.  His low fuel warning light came on some time back and he wonders what to do.  I have an empty fuel bottle in my saddle bag and tell him that if he does run out, I will go ahead and fill my bottle and bring him enough to get to Haines Jct.  We agree that is what we will do.  In about 15 minutes more of riding we pull right up to the junction at Haines Jct.  We made it.  Wade is visibly relieved to not be stuck on the side of the road.  I don't think he is going to use us for a gage of range from this point on.  

Once again, I pull out my little Canadian coin stash and count out the coins out to pay for my fuel.  I'm enjoying this.  The Filipino lady behind the counter is also amused by the random pile of coins I pour out and it gives us the excuse to talk.  There are many Filipino people in the Yukon Territory I will find out.  They have been very friendly and helpful to tourists like us.  We take a break and snack on stuff from our bikes and sip from our water bottles.  It finally feels a little warmer.  I change out from my heavy gloves to my favorite thin leather gloves and lose a layer under my jacket.  It feels like a good time to stop for the day but we have 120 miles left to go to get to Whitehorse.  

It is more sunny and warm as we near the largest city in the Yukon Territory.  There is so much development that I don't remember.  Whitehorse has grown since I was here last, maybe 12 years ago and especially since 1967 when my family spent the night at the Travel Lodge.  Back then the few streets were all gravel, everything was dusty, dirty and very basic.  Not so now!  The city is bright, modern and nicely appointed with parks, pleasing architecture and historical displays.  You can tell it is the seat of government in the Yukon.  

We quickly find Bethany Church where we have arranged to stay for the night.

Associate Pastor Robert Young greets us in the parking lot as we pull up.  An excited group of people are emerging from the church building which was a wedding party practicing for a wedding the next day.  Pastor Robert is so excited about his church, so much going on and he proudly leads us on a tour of the facility explaining their history along the way.  They are currently building additional worship space and it is at the halfway stage.  They are currently prepping for their annual Camp Yukon outreach which has touched the lives of thousands in Whitehorse over the years.  It's a great church and they have something going on every day, all day.  One of the communities the church has a significant relationship with is the Filipino community.  Pastor Robert tells us there are many Filipino people in the Yukon and the church sees many from Whitehorse in their ministries.

We are shown to our rooms where we pack our stuff up some stairs and set up for the night.  We decide to go to dinner with Pastor Robert.  He drives us in the church van to a nice place in the downtown.  Once again I am having to work at being attentive with the long 400 mile run and not sleeping the night before, I am struggling a bit.  I order the lasagna which is maybe the best I have ever eaten.  Pastor Robert is so proud of his church and shares about the many miracles they have experienced and are excited for the future.  

With my belly full of warm food I am ready to see if I can sleep tonight.  Pastor Robert takes us the long way back to the church showing us around town.  We part for the night and it isn't long until I am on my cot and finding sleep.