The Rise Up Ride: Day 109-111, Beyond Denali
Date: August 9-11 2021
Start Location: Wonder Lake Campground, Denali National Park
End Location: North Pole, Alaska
Things and people get more interesting at the edges of existence. The most fascinating characters seem to self-select and gather at the tops of mountains, in tents pitched on the helicopter deck of a coastal ferry, and in this case at the end of a difficult dirt road deep in the wilderness of Alaska. After an overachieving day Sunday rolling 50 kilos of bike and gear to the Wonder Lake Campground, I spent the next day with my feet up, first in my tent waiting for the rain to pass and then drying everything out watching the weather clear, revealing the splendor of Denali. Vera returned from hiking and we cooked up a big dinner of wild rice, Alaskan reindeer sausage and sharp cheddar cheese before she took off to camp in her Backcountry Unit along the road.
The Camper Buses left early with new friends from the night before and dropped off others. Each vehicle has space for two bikes, perched on the front, and I organized space for mine to travel the four hours back to Riley Creek the next morning with its rider comfortably inside, actually looking forward to seeing critters along the way. Hey bear, Hey Hey bear … while I'm safe inside a bus, now you can play on the road.
Rising early, I struck my tent, packed my panniers and caught the 6:30 am bus. After returning to several bars of LTE, electricity, and roads and rails leading off in several directions, I had decisions to make. Should I head back towards the coast, cycling the Denali Highway east to the Richardson Highway through Glenallen and south to Valdez. Now that the border with Canada is open, perhaps I'll dash down the Alaska Highway from Fairbanks to Haines Junction and either turn left towards Atlin or right to Haines. It came down to a "coin toss" when I asked someone at the terminal if the once-a-day train was heading north or south. "It better be going to Fairbanks at 4:00 because I have a ticket on it," she replied. I pedaled over to the station and booked a seat and a shipping bin for my bike. I was going to be heading the Alaska Highway (the Alcan) to Canada at last.
Pepper, the bestest WarmShowers host, offered to fetch me at the station since the ride to her home in North Pole near Fairbanks would get me there late and she had her first day of in-person school year training today. She teaches seventh grade, rides bikes, and has two of the best dogs, a shepherd called "Sage" and the most expressive, loveable blue-eyed Husky named, "Sven" who bonded with me immediately. (Pepper writes that after I left, Sven is still searching for me in her house.)
WarmShowers hosts are always so generous. I'm always eager to find a way to thank them, by doing tasks or cooking a meal. She volunteered that she had some caribou that she could thaw but that it was a bit gamey. Well I know what to do with three or four pounds of unusual meat, so I pedaled into North Pole to get the necessary fixings and cooked up a big pot of Kimo's Caribou Texas Chili. Yes, it was that good. I containered the leftovers so Pepper can bring the leftovers to school for lunch.
Tomorrow I'll ride towards Delta Junction in two long days. While Canada is open, getting the needed COVID-19 test may prove more difficult in this sparsely populated part of Alaska.
