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Deane, Norm, and Kay's Motorcycle / RV Trip to Northern Canada and Alaska | |
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September 16, Beaver Creek to Whitehorse, YT - 288 Miles |
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Whew - What a day!! We missed going South by one day, and had quite a time riding in the snow. When we got up, the temperature was about 24o F, and there was about a half inch of snow in various places. So after breakfast, we shook snow off the covers of the motorcycles, put on our many layers of clothes and started out. The road had seen some traffic, but not much, and the temperature stayed at about 27o to 30o F for a long time. Of course we were concerned about riding on the road with the temperature lower than freezing, but we hoped that by riding in the tracks of other traffic we could avoid a fall, and that the roads were still warm enough that the snow didn't stick. Kay was following, to pick up the pieces if necessary. We rode about 150 miles on the snow covered road, with some places blown off but other places very slick. And yes, there were some people who thought we were crazy (including our very own motor home driver)!
Riding over bridges was very scary, and the signs saying "Bridge Ices Before Road" took on special significance. We rode over six bridges, the two longest being about 500 yards each and the worst one being absolutely a sheet of ice!! We developed a riding technique of stopping before the bridge, putting the motorcycle in first gear, just idling across the ice, and keeping both feet sliding over the ice to keep us upright. Wow - talk about the heart going pitty-pat! Kay had to cross these too, and she was very careful in driving the motor home and trailer across these. Then an interesting evaluation of the road surface crept in. We both were hoping for gravel portions of the road, rough surface finishing instead of smooth, and loose gravel where the roads were paved. In short, all the things that make little annoyances on roads in good weather, make for better traction in snowy weather!
After about 150 miles, conditions got better, and after riding on wet roads for a ways, we finally were riding on dry roads. About then the beauty of the scenery took hold. Retracing our route back down the Alaska Highway, where we had come up three weeks ago, the mountains had much more snow on them. We did arrive in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, safely and in one piece. The end of the tourist season is upon us, usually September 15th or before, so we are finding many services closed. Tomorrow we again continue down the Alaska Highway, hopefully with no snow! |
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