Bicycle Touring in the Yukon, Part 1

April 14, 8:27 PMBoise International Travel ExaminerNancy Sathre-Vogel

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Cycling the Alaska Highway in  the Yukon

 Editor's Note:  This is the third in an ongoing series of articles about my family's bike trip from Alaska to Argentina as my boys try to break the Guiness world record as the youngest people to cycle the Pan American Highway.

The Spell Of the Yukon

There’s the land. (Have you seen it?)

It’s the cussedest land that I know,

From the big, dizzy mountains that screen it

To the deep, deathlike valleys below.

Some say God was tired when He made it;

Some say it’s a fine land to shun;

Maybe; but there’s some as would trade it

For no land on earth – and I’m one.

                                          - Robert Service

Robert Service was right – this is the cussedest land I’ve seen.  After pedaling 1200 miles through Alaska and the Yukon, I can honestly say I finally understand the allure of the far north.  I “get” why people are so captivated with this area. 

Mountains extending to the heavens and valleys so deep they seem to descend to the depths of the earth…  Crystal clear, bright blue skies one minute and pouring rain the next…  Moose, bears and beavers…  It’s a life so foreign to the one I know and yet so appealing I can imagine the day I drop everything to move here.

It’s hard to believe it was a mere five weeks ago that my husband, John, and I stood in the shop of the Arctic Caribou Inn in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska on the shores of the ice-covered Arctic Ocean about to attempt a feat that had never been done – bike the Alaskan Dalton Highway with ten-year-old twins, and then continue on southward.  I surveyed the enormous pile of gear strewn about our feet and wondered, once again, if we had planned well enough.  Adequate rain gear?  Check.  Appropriate warm clothing?  Check.  Tent, sleeping bags, and stove?  Check, check, check.  Sufficient food?  Maybe check.

Originally called the Haul Road and built in the 1970’s to provide access to the oil pipeline and pump stations, the Dalton Highway is now open to the public.  The 414 miles of the Dalton, most of which are gravel, are traversed on a regular basis by many large trucks, a few RVs, some motorcycles, and an occasional bicycle.

Even for adult bicyclists in impeccable condition, the Dalton Highway is a major challenge.  We could expect a grand total of three restaurants between the Arctic Ocean and Fairbanks 500 miles away.  There were no grocery stores, health clinics, or bike stores.  Everything we would need had to be stashed, lashed, or buckled onto our bikes.  All food, all clothing, all bike parts, all everything needed to be carried with us.  Was it even possible for the kids to do it?  We were about to find out.

Read the rest of this article

Read the first article in the series  - Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, Where the Road Ends