Alaska-Canada Adventure Ride
Day 20 - Tok, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon (390 miles)
The days ride involved heading south down the Al-Can Highway all the way to Whitehorse. Being asphalt with only a few areas with road construction, it was a fairly fast ride. There are not much facilities between Tok and Haines Junction, so it is best to prepare accordingly.
The rain started coming down shortly after the border crossing back into the Yukon Territory of Canada. To take a temporary break from this, we stopped at a small cafe in Burwash Landing for lunch. After noticing some serious travel bicycles outside, I ended up striking a conversation with the two woman employees there from Spain that owned them. They apparently liked the rural and unspoiled location while also able to get a job here to sponsor a work visa in Canada. An interesting aspect of their story is that they first became acquainted with this location during a bicycle ride across the length of Canada a few years back.
Moving on, the ride through the Destruction Bay area with its low bridge that crosses the water was quite scenic, with the weather fluctuating between partial clearing skies, rain, and strong winds. The bay was given this name during the construction of the Al-Can highway after one of the regularly occurring storms destroyed some of the temporary buildings in the area. Given the stormy weather we also encountered through the ride here, I can understand.
With more rain, heavy at times after Haines Junction, we rolled into Whitehorse late that afternoon, finding a place to camp at the Robert Service Campground at the south end of town along the Yukon River. This campground is large, has showers, and fairly friendly for motorcycles, allowing you to ride up the pedestrian trails and park directly at your site (much to the annoyance of non-motorcyclists around you). There is also a nice walking trail that forms about a 4 ~ 5 mile loop across the Yukon River, up to Whitehorse on the other side, and then back to the campground. After dinner I decided to walk this, also visiting the dam and fish ladder just up river. During my brief visit, I was impressed with this larger town and the unspoiled personality that it imbues. One just needs to be prepared for its -40 degree winters!
Images (click to select the larger view at bottom)
All content and images are property of Stephen Fischer Photography, copyright 2019 - 2020. Last updated: 1/10/2020