Alaska-Canada Adventure Ride
Day 21 - Whitehorse, Yukon to Dease Lake, British Columbia (418 miles)
Another long day of riding, but all on the asphalt. We continued southeast on the Al-Can Highway back to Watson Lake, and then retrace the route we came up on, taking the Cassiar Highway (37) to Dease Lake.
Stopping at the Jade City rock shop again for a break in the ride and another coffee, I happened to strike up another conversation with a woman long distance cyclist. Being a native from Whitehorse, she was on a ride from Tuktoyaktuk to the southern tip of South America! To make the trip more manageable she was breaking it up in sections with a plan to complete it over a span of multiple years. Facinating! Suddenly the trip I was doing on my motorcycle seemed so puny in comparison.
By the time we reached Dease Lake, the rain was coming down pretty steady, and continued through the night. After gassing up at what is probably the worlds slowest gas station (have to wait in multiple lines, single cashier, no point-of-sale at the pump), we started searching for a camp site. We happened upon the Tanzilla River campground about 8 miles further south that were empty at the time. A nice location near a creek, spartan in faclities (no water tap and just a pit toilet), but has a tiny library of donated books in a weather-proof alcove.
Later, a couple riding two-up on a Goldwing with a single wheel trailer from Wisconsin pulled in to the campground, and we ended up striking up a conversation. These two were quite a pair, both looked like experienced outdoor types, hardened for long rides in tough weather and seemed nonchalant by the current conditions. The trailer setup that the guy home built was impressive, including its suspension with some parts he machined himself, enabling them to camp with conveniences normally expected when taking a car, but still having reasonable agility..
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All content and images are property of Stephen Fischer Photography, copyright 2019 - 2020. Last updated: 1/10/2020