[UPDATED] Leaving for Alaska and the Arctic Ocean... on an S2R

[eric]

Just sent Eric off from Mt Hood this morning, he's heading north again!

Thank you Jess and Jacob 


Reached Seattle last night and gonna hang around the area until Friday when I hop on the ferry to Haines, AK. I'm gonna leave the vast expanse of British Columbia for the return trip.

Every day so far has been nonstop go from early morning till nearly dark, so it'll be good to rest up for a little bit. Managed to hit up Redwood, Crater Lake, Mount Rainier, and Olympic National Parks, not a bad way to come up the coast!

The friends I'm staying with in the Seattle area have all been astonished by the amount of stuff I have to take off the Monster every night and carry into their apartments (two giant soft saddlebags, a 40 liter dry bag, a 30+ liter rack bag, a tank bag, and a 2 gallon gas container). But as I tell them, I'm bringing my home into your home, so of course it's a lot of stuff 

Here's a couple snaps I grabbed off my camera:


Northern California coast


Near Mount Rainier

Not sure when I'll get a chance again to upload pictures mid-trip, but if I do they'll be here along with the ones I put up: http://thesunhaswings.blogspot.com/2012/08/moments.html

Thanks for all the encouragement and advice guys. If there's specific to- and don't-do's regarding bear safety when camping, and also lodgings at Coldfoot and Deadhorse, that'd be most excellent.

[zooom]

... If there's specific to- and don't-do's regarding bear safety when camping ..... that'd be most excellent.

what caliber handgun do you have with you?...or perhaps a good 12 guage shotgun?

[sofadriver]

watch out for the locals up there!
http://news.yahoo.com/driver-swerves-avoid-moose-hits-bear-instead-123824946.html

[AfroStar]

I'm loving your this post.  Sounds like my kind of trip.  I look forward to do something similar one day.

Good luck to ya, and looking forward to your next post.

[ungeheuer]

...If there's specific to- and don't-do's regarding bear safety when camping...

what caliber handgun do you have with you?...or perhaps a good 12 guage shotgun?

And if no firearm?  What's next best?  Seriously.  I'm interested.....

[ManOrAstro-Man?]

I've brought my katana sword the last 2 times that I went camping. I have no firearms, so it really is the next best thing for me.

[1.21GW]

Reached Seattle last night and gonna hang around the area until Friday when I hop on the ferry to Haines, AK.

Just passed through Haines last week (on vacation in AK, but sadly sans bike).  I can't give any local advice since I was just a tourist but will say wow!  I'm not sure what we paid for that state, but whatever it was it was definitely worth it.

[TiNi]

can't wait to see more photos... you have a great eye 
i read a lot of grizzly bear safety articles before our trip to yellowstone in july
don't run from a griz unless you are certain you can reach safety before he reaches you

good luck and travel safe 

[DucatiCharlie]

Best of luck on your trip. It seems like it will prove to be an awesome adventure. I wish I had the freedom that you have to make such a journey. Your picture chronicles are great, I cant wait to see the new pictures! Ride safe. God bless!!!

[eric]

I am pleased to report that I've returned from Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay to Fairbanks after nearly 1000 grueling miles on the Dalton Hwy!! All my gear and bike is wet and/or covered in mud, and the very idea of sleeping on a bed feels like a palace, but it was worth the hardship. More than worth it.

Around midday yesterday I found myself crossing the Atigun Pass in a rainstorm 120 miles north of the Arctic Circle, after having started the day on the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Could hardly believe it wasn't a dream, even now.

But yes, it was sunny the two days heading north from Fairbanks and wet the two days heading back, so I have a great load of pictures of the landscape in different views that i'll upload as soon as I find a computer.

Tomorrow to Denali, then southern Alaska. Onwards!

[ungeheuer]

cant wait 

.........don't run from a griz unless you are certain you can reach safety before he reaches you.......

And??? 

[DucRS]

  How's the bike holding up?

[hunduc]

Tomorrow to Denali, then southern Alaska. Onwards!

Just be careful...

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/25/us/alaska-bear-attack/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

[eric]

I finally located a computer in a public library in Juneau. It's agonizingly slow but I managed to upload a few pictures, and here they are as promised:


On the road from Valdez


Between Valdez and Glennallen, AK


Abandoned Kennecott Copper Mine in Wrangell-St.Elias National Park


These three are all just from one day. Once I get home the rest will be ready, including the ones from the four days on the Dalton Highway. But home won't be for another three weeks though. I'll be taking the ferry from Juneau to Prince Rupert, BC, then heading to Jasper and Banff from there. Then I'll follow the Rockies down through Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado, and cut across the familiar deserts of the Southwest home.

Funny little story: Yesterday I rode from Beaver Creek, Yukon Territory to Haines, AK to catch the ferry to Juneau. It was about five hours, raining and the wind blowing hard and ferociously in gusts that threatened to make me swerve into the opposite lane. 40 miles from Haines my reserve light comes on. I'm already running late for the ferry so I thought I'd just ride conservatively and make it. At this point I'd only done 110 miles on the tank, and usually I can get to 140 or 150 before the reserve light (which goes on to show how bad the headwind was).

Wouldn't you know it, 30 miles later the little engine that could, couldn't anymore, and sputtered to a halt. I was 10 miles from town beside a creek swollen with rainwater. It was 4:40 already and I was supposed to check in at 4:30 for the 6:30 ferry. Even more retardedly, I left the spare 2-gallon fuel canister empty to save weight and because I didn't want to stow it separately on the ferry.

Making it seemed impossible at this point, and I resigned myself to just try to hitch a ride to town and at least get out of the rain. So I started to take the fuel canister off the back, and literally not ten seconds had passed before a red Prius appears from around the bend and stops and asks if I need help.

So before you know it, I was in the back seat of the Prius, no more than literally two minutes from the engine dying. The kind couple drove me to town to get gas AND back. And being locals, they drove the Prius around the wet twisty roads quite expertly fast. So I was delayed by only about 25 minutes, and by the time I got to the Haines ferry terminal the ferry was just (late) pulling into port.

The motorcycle gods were surely smiling on me that afternoon.

[wabill]

The "Fates" are with you.     I'm hoping that when you get home that you'll photo document the unloading process of you bike, with close ups, especially the front fender.