Day 46 (June 29). Top of the World Highway; Alaska

From: Dawson, YT

To: Tok, Alaska

Miles today: 187

Total miles: 10114

I cleared 10,000 miles on the trip today.  Also, I set foot in Alaska, my fiftieth and final state.

From Dawson, there is a small ferry across the Yukon River that takes you to the so-called “Top of the World Highway” (TOW from now on) that runs west to Alaska.  This is tourist season in Dawson, a tourist town (and a very nice one), and the line of RV’s waiting to cross on this tiny ferry stretched back dozens of vehicles. The ferry could carry maybe two at a time, and could only do about two round trips per hour.  Fortunately for me, after they cram all the big stuff on, they fill in the gaps with motorcycles, so I only had to wait about an hour.  I used this time to chat with the other riders (all on adventure bikes). One had taken a bad spill and damaged his bike. Another tried the Dempster but turned back at Eagle Plains after dealing with the road conditions. I am feeling better about doing the whole thing, albeit by riding very slowly, and not having any serious crashes. Gotta watch the ego in situations like this; the TOW is mostly unpaved, and hubris at this point could reverse my fortunes. 

The condition of the TOW from Dempster to the US-Canada border was “pretty good”; there was gravel, but not lots of it.  If the road had been strait I probably could have gone 50 mph. But it was not straight; it rode on one side or the other of a ridge line for the entire 65 miles to the border, constantly curving.  On curves, even a little gravel on the road can be a scary thing; especially when there is no shoulder and the drop-off is steep and far.  Others had talked about the great scenery on the TOW.  It was great, but my attention was focused intently on the next curve pretty much at all times.  I was thinking that it was OK to go slow here, because this would be my last major gravel road on this trip.  Amen.

Top of the World Highway: Sharp turns, gravel, and steep drop-offs.  Oh, and great views.

The views themselves were of rolling mountains, mostly, and reminded me of the Great Smokey Mountains in North Carolina rather than the Rockies.  Wave after wave of ridges, turning from shades of green to blue with distance.  Still, that final, very faint ridge did look a bit more jagged.  That one peak that is a bit higher than the rest – is that Denali?  I’ll find out soon.

Anyway, after a couple of hours, I made it to the border.  Somewhat to my amusement, the border crossing guard asked me if I was bringing in any guns from Canada!   I have to believe this is some sort of payback for Canadian policy.  He was very nice after that, and told me where to park to get a nice shot of my bike at the border crossing.

Yukon to Alaska border crossing.

The next ten miles were all paved, with beautifully smooth asphalt. It was still very twisty, and essentially one lane, but no gravel and much more pleasant to drive.  Then back to gravel, all the way to the town of Chicken, where I topped off my gas tank.  After that it was mostly paved.  A few hours later the TOW ended at the famous Alaska Highway, Route 2. From there it is a short jog to the town of Tok (pronounced like the first syllable of Tokyo), where I am now. Tomorrow I take a 200 mile jaunt up the Alaska Highway to Fairbanks. All asphalt; practically a half-day.