Fort Nelson, BC 1750 Miles from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska

The bikers arrived in Fort Nelson mid afternoon on Wednesday. They stopped for laundry and restocking food and water. They planned to bike a little farther before setting up camp. I will write some good stories about rain, mud, mountain goats, fishing and camping tomorrow morning. For now scroll down to view new photos and a map to Dawson Creek.

Photos from Alaska and the Yukon

Click the link for bigger photos and movies . http://picasaweb.google.com/Keithalc07/YukonTop100
view slide show.

Fort Nelson, BC to Dawson Creek, BC 281 Miles

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The Bikers arrived in Fort Nelson on Wednesday afternoon. After some stops for laundry , food and checking email they planned to bike a few miles past town maybe to Prophet River. I will write about their adventures .. later tonight.

News from Friends along the Alaskan Highway

We got a very welcome phone call from Lu and Charlie Taylor from Cincinnati who met up with Eric and Matthew a little west of Fort Nelson, BC. These very kind people said the bikers were doing "Fantastic" and they had talked with them this morning. The Taylors with their three children have been traveling the Alcan and earlier saw Matthew and Eric back in Coldfoot, Alaska . Today they met again and in the words of Lu "we loaded them up with protein, sandwiches and a bunch of food. They should have plenty of energy." After the Taylors left the bikers they drove 328 miles to near Dawson Creek before they got cell phone service and got a hold of us. We are grateful that they were kind enough to call and say nice things about our boys. Along the AT they call this "trail magic" I guess we could call this Alaska Highway magic.
The great news about this whole story is that just a few days ago MaryKay met three bicyclists on a cross country trip. They had camped out next to her workplace and were on their way west. Mary Kay thought of Eric and Matthew and just had to do something for these bikers. She gave them some folding $$ to buy lunch and then went to Walmart for groceries. She ended up driving out on the highway until she found them and loaded them up with some protein. As they graciously thanked her she said, " That's okay, maybe some kind person will do the same for my boys as they are biking many many miles." Sure enough it happened and we are glad for the kindness.
The Taylors also said the bright orange vests that Mary Kay bought for the boys are working great and they were able to spot the guys from "a mile away." That is comforting to know.

Some Stories from Amanda

Here are some stories that I heard on Saturday for the blog... Matthew was looking for a Yukon license plate and searched in a car dump for one. Out of about 50 cars, the first car he looked at had the plate he was looking for. Later, he found two more plates by the road - from Yukon and Manitoba, which he picked up for future trading. Now he's got a Canadian plate on his bike trailer, so I guess he'll try not to break too many speed limits. They passed by a mama bear and her two cubs. At first the cubs looked nervous, but the mama bear took a look at Matthew and Eric and decided they weren't any trouble, so the bears didn't run off. Maybe she recognized them as twins like her cubs.Hopefully the packages make it to the next stop in time. I've heard from Eleanor that the Canadian postal system is notoriously inefficient. Amanda

Watson Lake, Yukon

We got a call from Watson Lake as the bikers had pedaled extra hard to get to the post office before it closed at noon. They made it but the Canadian postal system is slower than promised and the mail for them had not arrived. The next plan is for Watson Lake to forward it to Dawson Creek which is a week away or 600 miles. The bikes have been doing fine with daily maintanence. This time the problem was Matthew's trailer It seems it started to make squeeking noises and the ball bearings were all worn out. The "agonizing squeek" lasted for about three days before it could be fixed in Watson Lake. Now where could he find a small wheel in the Yukon?? Well it so happens he found a kids bike out on a sidewalk and on sale for $ 5. The wheel was the perfect size and with a couple of washers it did the job as a replacement and should be good for many more miles on the Al-Can Highway.
The fisherman were especially dissapointed that the hoped for fishing gear did not arrive as they are finding good streams but their fishing line and lures are getting tangled up.
They spotted another black bear and even told Mary Kay about it this time. Watson Lake is home of the world famous sign post forest. They stopped there and had lunch. They have seen license plates from 43 states and talked to people from all over the place. People are curious about bicyclists pulling supplies in a trailer and biking for thousads of miles.

Watson Lake, Yukon to Fort Nelson, BC 319 Miles

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Whitehorse: on the Klondike Trail for Gold

For the past few days I have been reading Jack London's "The Call of the Wild" and getting a feel for the Yukon and the Klondike trail. I even wondered how Snickers would perform as a sled dog pulling prospectors up to the gold rush territory.

Yesterday Matthew and Eric arrived in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. Whitehorse is located at Mile 918 of the Alaska Highway and is the former terminus of the White Pass and Yukon Route Railway from Skagway, Alaska . At the head of navigation on the Yukon River, the city was an important supply and stage center during the Klondike Gold Rush. As I read about the sled dogs and the gold seekers I thought of Matthew and Eric in the wilds of the Yukon. Matthew claimed to see a "glint of gold" in a stream and nearby was a cabin that looked like it "could belong to a prospector." I thought of the movie "White Fang" another Jack London book.

A phone card in the Yukon was much cheaper than the USA card so we heard some good stories from both adventurers. The day before they had a "monster day of 120 miles" with a great tail wind of 25 mph. With limited traffic and good shoulders they can cruise pretty fast down the Alaskan Highway. Along the way they stopped to take a "day off"on Sunday. Some where in Kluane National Park they found a six thousand foot galcier with plenty of snow. It was about six or seven miles in so it wasn't really a day off as most of us see it. To make it extra special and to their liking, snow flurries appeared as they were hiking on the glacier. The highest mountain in Canada was not too far away but with no boots and climbing gear they stayed off the mountain tops.The weather in the Yukon hasn't been great with rain and cold in the high thirties at night and 50's in the day. The local people say this is the coldest Yukon summer in thirty five years.

Mary Kay was not supposed to hear about this so don't tell her. They finally got to see their first Grizzly Bear after almost two weeks and 1000 miles of bike riding. The bear was in the bushes making some grunting and hissing noises. As Eric snapped a photo, the big puffy "definitely a Grizzly Bear" spotted the the bikers and started running............ away from them "like a scared chicken." said Matthew.

We also heard more about just who the beaver at the trout pond scared. As Matthew flipped out a fly he heard a big splash and thought maybe Eric had thrown a rock. It turns out it was Not Eric but instead it was a big Beaver warning the fishermen and probably all his beaver buddies in the water.

After a long ride from Fairbanks the bikers found a nice hostel in downtown Whitehorse. It was called http://www.hide-on-jeckell.com/index.htm

Hide on Jeckell and had all the amenties including a welcome shower, laundry and comfortable beds along with a 10% discount for bikers. It was a welcome respite from the tent. Two big pizzas had "our names" on them and they were going to bake them in the kitchen oven at the hostel.

Grandpa Gilbertson will enjoy this story from Matthew. Matthew said, "I think I finally figured out what fly fishing is all about." He dropped in a hook with a dragon fly and none of the trout went go for it. Then he said,"I took out the fly that I found along the road. I put it on the line and hung it on top of the water. Within seconds a big eight inch trout nailed it! The problem was, he must have told his bigger buddies to be careful as we only caught a few smaller ones after that and then the beaver tried to scare us off. If I could cast the fly out more I could catch some big ones."

The next major destination is 275 miles east at Watson Lake, Yukon. We hope they make it to the post office on time to pick up some mail. They will cross briefly into British Columbia and return to Yukon.(See map below this post). You can click view larger map for more features . So far Eric and Matthew have ridden about 1100 miles.

Whitehorse, Yukon to Watson Lake, Yukon 275 Miles

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Photos from Alaska

http://picasaweb.google.com/Keithalc07/AlaskaTop100
We got a USB drive in the mail from Matthew and Eric. It has about 200 great photos from Alaska. I chose the top 100 and put them in a slide show click the link. Also click the arrow below to start a movie about camping in the midnight sun and mosquitoes.

Into the Yukon:160 Miles to the Capital In Whitehorse

A note from Amanda, Saturday July 19, 2008,
I heard from Matthew this evening, but his phone card ran out while we were talking because dialing from Canada immediately took off 100 minutes. He asked me to tell you that they made it to Destruction Bay at Kluane Lake in Yukon Territory. The day before yesterday they crossed into Canada from Alaska without any problem, and they expect to be in Whitehorse within a few days. Sounds like they've been getting some cold rain at 40 deg. F, so Matthew's sleeping bag is soaked. Other than that, Matthew was excited about the snow and glaciers he could see up in the moutains, but they weren't biking through snow (Matthew sighed) just rain. Other highlights from the road - they saw a big male moose from a distance and snapped a couple pictures before a tour bus pulled up and scared it off. They caught a few trout too (before a beaver tried to scare them off)((Did the beaver scare Eric and Matthew or the trout or both?? )))but they weren't much larger than a few inches. They're still on the hunt for a big ol' salmon! Sounds like they're really enjoying the scenery, but they've got some big mountains to climb and perhaps rain to endure before getting to their next destination. http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/city/pages/yk-16_metric_e.html#detailsf Thanks for sending the Watson Lake address. The day after, I sent Matthew a package with some of his Grandma Wright's fudge. Hopefully that'll cheer him up on a rainy day! Amanda

A Caution About Bicyling from Prudhoe Bay

A letter to Alaska from their Mom and the response from Alaska. Posted by their dad after Eric and Matthew completed biking 494 miles from Deadhorse to Fairbanks.

Hi, My sons are planning a bike trip from Prudhoe Bay down thru the US. What is the best inexpensive way to mail or get the bikes up to Prudhoe Bay and where should they be sent? Thank you,

A very,very,concerned mother. June 15, 2008 Hi Mary Kay, Your request for information about bicycling from Prudhoe Bay was shared with me by our 511 coordinator. I am the state Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator. Let me add to her response. http://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/prog/recreation/dalton_hwy.html Any trip along the Dalton Highway requires serious and detailed advance preparation. Your trip will start at Deadhorse, not Prudhoe Bay. The Deadhorse airport is at the entrance to the Prudhoe Bay oil fields. Note that the roads leading to Prudhoe Bay and the Arctic Ocean are closed to the public; you will NOT be able to bike to the Arctic Ocean at Prudhoe Bay. It is 240 miles from the start of the highway at Deadhorse to Coldfoot; in that stretch there are NO SERVICES: no gas stations, no lodges, no groceries, no human habitation. You must be completely self-sufficient with adequate food, spare parts, tools and the skills to use them. Water is available from streams or ponds if you have the proper water purification accessories. The actual distance from Deadhorse to Fairbanks (the first community of any size) is 494 miles. Most of the route is unpaved gravel roads with large cobbles. A skinny-tired bike would be hard-pressed; fat tire bikes are recommended. You will need to carry spare tires and tubes. Expect thick clouds of mosquitoes in the summer. Most of the traffic on the road consists of large freight trucks, many with long or wide loads. They travel fast and kick up dust and rocks. There are no medical services. There are steep grades, approaching 13%, on the highway (and, I’m told, the steepest uphill grades are found going southbound.) I suspect your best bet will be as Jill suggested, to check your bikes (boxed) as luggage. No matter which method you use, it will require you to assemble them on your arrival – and there are no bike shops at Deadhorse that can help. Now that I’ve given you the warnings, the trip can be an amazing adventure – if you are prepared for it. Below is some general information that may help plan the rest of trip. I can go on, but I’d better get this in the mail. Do e-mail or call me at (907) 465-6989 if you have any more questions. I hope you enjoy your bicycle tour of Alaska. I would be most interested to learn your impressions of the bicycling facilities along our roads and trails following your trip. Please feel free to drop me a note upon your return. Sincerely, Robert Laurie Alaska Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator

Greetings from Tok, Alaska

Tok ..say it like Toke. Eric called from here because it is about the very edge of ATT cell phone coverage. The guys had biked 67 miles so far today after biking 105 yesterday. They were glad to have a good tail wind as they were heading into Tok. Eric said they were cruising at near 20 MPH. In the morning there was a headwind. We don't really think about the wind a whole lot when riding in a big car. It looks like the next grocery store might be close to 400 miles away in Whitehorse so they stopped and loaded up. There are a few gas stations along the way that may have some snacks but nothing of any size until the capital city of Whitehorse. The next town, Beaver Creek, is 109 miles away. Last night they set up camp in the middle of the Tanana river on a sand bar. I will be watching the weather for Whitehorse and waiting for the next phone call. Thank you to Grandma Wright who says she prays each night for the safe travel of Eric and Matthew.

Whitehorse, Yukon Territory Weather

http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/tenday/CAXX0540?from=36hr_topnav_business

Tok, Alaska to Beaver Creek, Yukon 109 miles and then Whitehorse, Yukon 277 miles

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Highway Info on Al-Can Highway

Welcome to North Pole, Alaska

Just a few miles out of Fairbanks, a huge Santa Claus statue greeted Eric and Matthew as they biked through the town of North Pole, Alaska. Matthew called us to arrange a mail pickup in Watson Lake, Yukon. He hopes we send him some flies for fishing and new contact lenses. Amanda also has the address and may send some thing nice.. It is always great to have something to look forward to when biking so far from home. They were 65 miles past Fairbanks at the Delton Junction and planned to make an even hundred miles for the day before they set up camp.

Fairbanks to Tok, Alaska 204 Miles to next food pickup

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http://fairbanks-alaska.com/tok-junction-alaska.htm Information about Tok, Alaska

Over the Artic Circle to Fairbanks

I am busy watching the MITOC gallery as new photos are loaded tonight. Eric and Matthew went to the library to post the photos. Thanks guys!. Click here to view slide show

http://mitoc.mit.edu/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=120423

Sunday night the bikers called from the Front Street Bed and Breakfast in Fairbanks, Alaska. http://www.39bucks.com/ Up to this time they had biked nearly 500 miles in six days and according to the GPS the vertical ascent was over 30,000 ft. That means they were going up and down a lot as the altitude gained was only about 500 feet. Memorable stops along the way were a creek by Fox, AK where Matthew caught a 14 inch Artic Grayling on a dragonfly. The fish had gone for a horsefly Eric swatted but missed the hook. The dragonfly worked very well. Matthew used fish fileting techniques learned from Grandpa Gilbertson and the hungry bikers feasted on delicious fresh fish. It was truly caught in the midnight sun at 12 midnight.

The bed and breakfast was a welcome stop and a place with charecter with posters and Loons on the walls. The owner liked to tell tales of his days driving an 18 wheeler on the Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay.

The food of choice was a Chinese buffet and then baking some pizzas in the inn. And best of all there were no mosquitoes in Fairbanks. The next stop will be in Tok to get more groceries. Whitehorse in the Yukon is the next big town in sight in another 500 miles or so.

Fairbanks, Alska to White Horse ,Yukon Territory

Information about the Alaskan Highway
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Highway

Link to google map Fairbanks to White Horse, Yukon Territory

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=fairbanks,+alaska+to+whitehorse,+yukon&sll=70.30764,-148.6147&sspn=5.566863,23.642578&ie=UTF8&ll=62.211634,-137.471924&spn=1.920785,10.865479&t=p&z=7&lci=lmc:panoramio,lmc:wikipedia_en

Fairbanks, Alaska Weather

http://www.weather.com/weather/local/USAK0083?from=recentsearch

To the Yukon River 130 Miles from Fairbanks

We were waiting for a call and Matthew found a pay phone to relay the good news that both bikers are doing well and were ready to take a dip in the Yukon river to cool down and get refreshed after some very tough bike riding. The temps have been near 70. The road is often gravel and the slopes on the road are sometimes pitched at a 16% grade. That is twice what we normally see on any mountain roads. Matthew called them the "toughest hills ever" and there was even a headwind. It is not safe to get up the normal speed going down the steep grade because of the gravel so they take it easy.

The mosquito repellent is working pretty well against the "voracious mosquitoes. There has been some good wind to keep them away but there are trillions of the pests. Yesterday the guys spotted a herd of muskox. They have been with in sight of the Alaska pipeline all during their ride as the road follows it directly south. In the "Land of the Midnight Sun" it is difficult to find the best time to sleep. One night they got to bed at about 1:30 am and then slept in until 10:30. They are certainly tired enough to sleep after biking the steep climbs. Closer to Fairbanks there will be at least two hours of darkness from 3-5 am.

Surprisingly they have passed five bikers. Matthew said normal people take about 12 days to get to Fairbanks. I told him"you guys are not normal people." Also there are tourists in big buses who get out to take pictures and they have asked the guys to pose with their bikes a number of times. So far the animals seen are caribou, muskox and beaver. No bears yet and Mary Kay is glad of that. Matthew caught a small fish with his mosquito net and then put it on a hook in an attempt to catch a bigger fish. No luck yet. Groceries are slim but they found an $18.00 buffet in Coldfoot and loaded up. Ice cream was another treat. So far only one flat tire each. That is pretty good when riding on gravel. The 18 wheelers throw off a splash of water but they have been "very considerate."

We will expect a call from Fairbanks soon when there is cell service.

Post fixed and ready to pedal south

For $13 Matthew got a post and his seat welded to it. Eric said it is really cool and should do the job until they get to Fairbanks which is over 500 miles south. By 6:PM Alaska time, they were ready to get going on this big adventure. The good part that came out of the missing post was the guys sat outside the general store for 6 or 7 hours and got to talk to a bunch of local people who were happy to give advice and backed it up with gifts like three bottles of mosquito repellant. A few days earlier the 30,000 strong caribou herd passed close by Prudhoe. There may be a few lagging behind. Another bonus is Eric and Matthew will have their photos on the Prudhoe Bay post office wall. The post master takes photos of bicyclists who make it up this far north. They spotted a photo of one of their MIT classmates who biked from Prudhoe to Argentina on the Pan America highway. Eric mentioned a group from Japan who is also biking from here to Argentina. The plan is to bike a few miles in the 24 hour sun and then find a nice place to camp.

"We Made it To Prudhoe Bay"

Matthew called from downtown Prudhoe Bay, Alaska (population 47) at about 6:00 PM on Sunday. They got there just fine after an spectacular flight about directly over the top of 21,000 foot Mt. Denali . There are a "trillion mosquitoes" and they have already seen some Caribou. The carts arrived at the post office and it was unexpectly open on Sunday. They would already be biking south except for a minor setback. Matthew's bike box arrived in good shape but his seat post was nowhere to be found. It must have fallen out during a TSA inspection in Anchorage. We did a brief search for it here at home with no luck. The next step will be to get a local machinist to find a pipe for Matthew's bike and then they should be on their adventurous ways. I feel like something good will happen from this temporary delay. There will be no worry about it getting dark too early as the sun is up for 24 hours per day at this time of year. Matthew said the land is totally flat and the temp comfortable in the 50's. We will probably not hear from them for a few days as there is no cell phone service after 30 miles out of Deadhorse, AK.

Weather: Prudhoe Bay Alaska

http://www.weather.com/weather/local/USAK0197?from=recentsearch

Deadhorse to Coldfoot, Alaska

View Larger Map Click Link to get many more features. From Wikpedia Click links for Dalton Highway, Fairbanks and Prudhoe Bay. Coldfoot is a census-designated place located in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. The population was 13 at the 2000 census. Coldfoot is basically a truck stop on the Dalton Highway from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay. It has a restaurant, and a small number of overnight accommodations (converted pipeline construction camp quarters). Bus tours along the highway typically take two days, and passengers spend the night here. The BLM, USFWS, and NPS jointly staff a small visitor center during the summer. The Coldfoot truck stop was founded by Iditarod champion Dick Mackey who started his operation by selling hamburgers out of a converted school bus. Truckers helped build the existing truck stop and cafe. The town was originally a mining camp named "Slate Creek", and around 1900 got its present name when prospectors going up the nearby Koyukuk River would get "cold feet" and turn around. In 1902 Coldfoot had two roadhouses, two stores, seven saloons, and a gambling house. A post office operated from 1902 to 1912, then reopened in 1984.

Prudhoe Bay, AK to Fairbanks, AK - Google Maps

Prudhoe Bay, AK to Fairbanks, AK - Google Maps

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Maps

The Dalton Highway travels 414 miles through some of the most remote land accessable by road in Alaska. Paralleling the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System from Livengood, the Highway crosses the Yukon River, Arctic Circle, and Brooks Mountain Range on its way to Prudhoe Bay and the Arctic Ocean. Built to service the pipeline and oil facilities of the North Slope, the highway is now maintained by the state of Alaska,