Alaska-Canada Adventure Ride
Day 9 - Dawson City, Yukon to Eagle Plains, Yukon (256 miles)
Waking up to clear and unusually warm weather with smoky skies, we headed back to the junction of the Dempster Highway, and after topping off again,
we proceeded north. The plan was to reach Tuktoyaktuk at the Arctic Sea on the third day, with intermediate camps at Eagle Plains and Inuvik.
The Dempster quickly becomes dirt, with lot of it enabling fast riding when it is dry. Some sections can have a bit of washboard, but nothing the suspension on my motorcycle could not handle.
I was also struck on how scenic the first 100 miles of this road is. I kept thinking how it was such a shame that the sky was so hazy due to the tundra fires prevalent in the area, otherwise the photography here could be phenomenal. I have made a mental note that it would be good to visit this area again perhaps with a camper and some more comprehensive camera gear when the skies are more friendly and I would have more time to linger. Most of the others raced ahead, while I took my time to try to eke out some photography, including the capture of a moose family foraging in the water of a nearby lake (aptly named Two Moose Lake).
Reaching Eagle Plains in the middle of the afternoon, we did not experience any real tricky spots, enabling faster than expected travel. Given the dry weather, it was a good sign for hitting our goal to reach Tuktoyaktuk in another two days. After grabbing a campsite that was not much more than a relatively flat clearing on the edge of a gravel lot, I went to top off the gas on my bike. While pumping my gas I noticed a helicopter flying in for a landing. To my surprise it just came right on down, landing on the other side of the gas pumps about 40 feet away, kicking up enough dust that I had to turn away to avoid getting it in my eyes. I guess helicopters need to have a place to get gas too.
One other convenience at Eagle Plains is a free washing station for your motorcycle. Given the amount of mud that your bike can pick up on this road, it was nice help get that cleared off, along with the numerous large and strange looking bugs from the windscreen and headlamp that I don't seem to see down in the lower 48.
The rest of the day was spent chatting with some other riders also camped here with similar ambitions or returning from the ride up to Tuk. One guy had a crash in the mud that tore off one of his aluminum panniers, with it now attached in an ad-hoc manner with the help of a ratchet strap (Note to self: bring a ratchet strap on my next long distance adventure ride). Another interesting person we met on a R1200GS (Franc?) originally from Switzerland, who currently has sheep ranch in New Zealand, has been on a trek to ride around the world, one continent at a time (give or take), during breaks from his more ordinary life.
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