Day 13 – June 16th, 2014 – Fairbanks, AK to Happy Valley, AK ~410 miles
The day didn’t get off to a good start. We were supposed to meet up with Mike, who was also staying at the University. We figured that we would get a 6am start and see if the weather gods would be nice, in an attempt to get to Prudhoe Bay in one day. Only problem was, I somehow managed to lose my keys, and I didn’t find them until about 6:45am. I don’t even want to admit where I actually ended up finding them.
So we didn’t get on the road until 7am, with the plan to stop at the Hilltop to top off our tanks. Bui and I had been using Sena headsets to stay in touch, which enabled me to let him know when I wanted to stop to take a photo. He’d continue on, and I’d eventually catch up. So when I saw this beauty, I pulled over to check it out, thinking that I would catch up with Bui and Mike a few miles down the road.
The LeTourneau Overland Train is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. Though LeTourneau made a few models, this is the VC-22 Sno-Freighter, built for Alaska Freight Lines to carry equipment to the Distant Early Warning Line (radar stations designed to detect Soviet bombers during the Cold War). It was a single locomotive with six trailers that was able to haul 150 tons, cross 4-feet deep rivers, and work in temps as low as -68 degrees F. Oh, and the whole thing was 274 feet long! Unfortunately for LeTourneau, Sikorsky developed the Skycrane helicopter (the crazy one that looks like a guppy) and the Army considered Overland Trains obsolete before they really got started. If I had a billion dollars I’d somehow find a way to bring this back to life. Now it just sits on the side of the road only a few miles north of Fairbanks.
An example of the Sikorsky, carrying 2 Hueys!
The reason that I figured I’d be able to catch up with the other two riders is because that morning, Bui and I had been told that the Hilltop was 90 miles north. Turns out it’s actually NINE miles north, so I blew right by it without even thinking about it. In fact, I was riding aggressively because I spent so much time admiring the Sno-Freighter that I was determined to catch up with Bui and Mike, thinking they were way ahead of me. 90 miles go by…and I’ve arrived at the start of the Dalton. Hmmmmmm.
Normally I’d be excited by the prospect of this much dirt, but I was too concerned that I had screwed up and lost the other two riders to be happy.
Got to this sign and I decided to stop for a moment and try to think about what had happened. Just a few moments later, I saw the first motorcycle I had seen in hours. I can’t believe I forgot his name, but it was a really nice guy who was currently on a solo scouting trip for Ayres Adventures. He took this photo, and then I explained my situation. He started laughing when I mentioned the Hilltop, then said something along the lines of “Oh, buddy. You done fucked up.” I start worrying about how this will get resolved, as I don’t have enough gas to get back to Fairbanks, but I decide to start riding back very slowly.
Thankfully, I saw Bui coming up the road about 20 minutes later. Unfortunately, he didn’t have Mike with him. Apparently, Mike and Bui saw me blow by them at the Hilltop, but because I was going quick, they couldn’t catch up. I’m told that Mike was frustrated with how the morning was shaping up (can’t say I blame him), so he decided to turn back. I still feel horrible about it, because we still ended up going to the top and back in 2 days, so his schedule wouldn’t have been affected. Anyway, Mike – if you’re somehow reading this, I fucked up and I’m sorry.
Bui and I surged on ahead after getting this picture…if I remember correctly it was about 10:15am, and the rain was starting to pick up. Getting to Prudhoe Bay by the end of the day wasn’t looking likely if rain was going to be a major factor.
A few snaps of Bui on the road.
We caught up with the neon Arai F800GS guy at a construction stop.
At Yukon Camp, I saw a sign that I never expected to see on a bathroom door. They were indeed…rustic.
Bui, the adventurer.
Even with the Optimus cans, I didn’t think I’d have enough fuel range to get to Coldfoot. So, I came prepared with some extra Aquafina cans.
Soldiering on.
Just a couple of hours in and the bike is already getting filthy.
Despite that, Baby Jack is still staying somewhat clean. Sort of.
As you all probably know, the Haul Road was created to serve the pipeline – which means that often times, both forms of transport run right alongside each other. It was opened to the public in 1994, and travelers have been enjoying it since.
At the Arctic Circle.
We’re right here, and heading further north!
Right as we were about to leave, a lady ran out of a modified Econoline and threw down a red carpet. When I looked back at the van, I saw a bunch of tourists who were all packed in like sardines, apparently about to get the red carpet treatment.
At one point, these boots used to be black.
Hello, Coldfoot.
Coldfoot is about 55 miles north of the Arctic Circle, and is a former gold mining community. The name came from the initial settlers who tried to set up shop here. After a few months, they got terrified of the weather/elements, got “cold feet”, and bailed.
I liked the quaint messaging system at Coldfoot.
Coldfoot’s Post Office
They even have internet – although you’ve gotta pay to play. I had to get some internet to book a Arctic Ocean shuttle tour for the next morning, so $4.95 it was.
We met this wonderful couple from Southern California who flew their bicycles up to Deadhorse and were biking down to Tierra del Fuego. We met a surprising amount of people doing the same trip over the 2 days we were north of Fairbanks.
Someone had a solid checklist of what to do every time they started up their GS.
Leaving Coldfoot. Better be stocked up on gas!
A religious charity was raising money by riding a horse from the top of Alaska all the way down to the bottom of Argentina. Unfortunately, they were pissing off a lot of truckers thanks to the RV they were using to run interference.
The highest point on the Dalton is Atigun Pass. Baby Jack is starting to look pretty poor.
Bui and I waited for a few semis to slowly make their way up the hill so that we could avoid the giant dust trails they kick up. Other countries force semis to have mudguards, but for some reason the US apparently doesn’t require it.
Looking back north from Atigun Pass.
At the top of Atigun Pass, I sit back to let Bui get a head start. I loved taking shots of Bui as a tiny dot in a vast landscape.
The road crews have deemed construction zones to be too dangerous for bicycles. So riders are forced to throw their bikes in the back and sit in the cab for any sections of construction. Thankfully, they let motorcycles head up to the front of any pilot car line so that we don’t have to suck the dust from semis.
Just a week before we got to the Haul Road, a tanker flipped on the road and spilled about 10,000 gallons of fuel. They were able to recover about 75% of the spill, but they had to clean up the rest.
Quick stop in Ice Cut…
…because, as expected, I needed to tap into my fuel bottle/Aquafina reserves.
Following the pipeline on the Haul Road.
After a day’s worth of 40-50 degree temperature, and knowing that we’d be hitting the low 30s at the top, we were stunned to encounter 72 degrees worth of heat in Happy Valley.
Though we were still 90 miles short of our original destination, we decided it was worth it to try and camp in a much more comfortable environment instead of spending an insane amount to reserve a cubicle sized room in Prudhoe Bay. We’d just have to wake up early and cover the remaining distance before our scheduled tour. The only concern was that we had booked an afternoon tour, so we were hoping that we could sweet talk the security guard who runs the tour into moving us up into the morning tour.
Interestingly enough, we saw a few people already with a camp set up, so Bui went over to ask if there was a protocol for camping off the Haul Road.
Turns out it was a 2-week exchange class from University of Alaska – Fairbanks. Students from all over the world, including France, the Netherlands, Mexico, and Korea get together to explore the Haul Road and the hyperlocal biology. It made for great conversation, because everyone had a different perspective – and frankly anyone that goes out of their way to spend time up here is clearly a little crazy. 😀
They invited us to set up shop next to them and enjoy some of the extra dinner they had made.
The student from Korea was the only one who wasn’t a true “scientist”. Instead, he’s a filmmaker/producer who works for a Korean television station. He was filming a documentary of the class to be aired on Korean TV some time in August. As you might expect, he took an interest to the two strange motorcyclists, and so he started interviewing both of us.
The interviewer took a particular liking to Bui, and they even spent some quality time discussing the BMWs and why Triumph Explorer’s are a waste of time. Ok, I might have made that last part up.
If you haven’t figured out by now, I’m not very good with camping. Here’s yet more photographic proof, as my tent fell over in the middle of the interview.
He took some more detail shots of both bikes, before noticing Baby Jack and coming back to ask me, “Uh, so why do you have a…doll with you?”
Mosquitoes, the bane of my existence.
Heading to bed around 10:30pm with ample sunlight.
This photo pretty much sums it up. I randomly woke up at about 2am and was so blown away by how bright it was that I had to take a picture. With that said, I wasn’t inspired enough to get out of the tent and risk more mosquito bites, so I stayed ‘inside’. Went back to sleep so I could get a little bit more rest before heading to Prudhoe Bay.
Go to Day 14, Part 1
June 17th, 2014 – Happy Valley, AK to Prudhoe Bay, AK ~90 miles
Go back to Day 12
June 15th, 2014 – Anchorage, AK to Fairbanks, AK ~360 miles