Two Bob's Ohio to Prudhoe 2016 - Ram/Hawk, Husky, and Wing.

DYNOBOB

Adventurer
Teaser shots. :)

Dalton Hwy
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Myself and Dad (two Bobs)
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Homer
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Big dipper and aurora over the Yukon river, Dawson City
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McCarthy
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Kennecott mine
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Seward
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Valdez
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Top of the World Hwy
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Cassiar Hwy
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Icefields Pky
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DYNOBOB

Adventurer
Thank you!

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I've been planning this trip for many years. Scanning ride reports, building a waypoint file, and reading books (if you're considering this trip, I recommend "The Adventurous Motorcyclists Guide to Alaska" as it breaks down and describes the different highways [Dalton, Richardson, Denali, etc]). The research brought several conclusions:
1 - It's 10,000+ highway miles, I want to be on a comfortable bike.
2 - It covers 1500 miles of gravel roads as well (Dalton/Denali Hwys), I need to be on a bike I can handle comfortably.
3 - It's so friggin far just to get there (two hard weeks of travel there and back) and I don't want to skip anything major. Therefore, four weeks are necessary.
4 - This is going to be a camping trip to keep the cost for 30 nights as reasonable as possible.
5 - I put some feelers out for trip partners but no one can take that time off. This will likely be a solo trip.

While a big adventure bike would obviously fit the bill perfectly, I don't own one and wasn't going to add a bike to the collection just for this trip. A couple years ago I converted my cargo trailer to a bike hauler and decided this was the way to go. Slab it on the Wing, cruise the gravel on the Husky.

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However... I've been keeping Dad informed throughout the planning and when I decided in Jan that 2016 was the year, he committed to go. He's only ridden his FJR a few times in the last several years because of knee problems so we knew riding was out. He could follow in the jeep, but crawling in/out of a tent for a month would be tough. A used FWC Hawk camper had been on my radar for years but they're almost never for sale east of the Mississippi. Urgency now an issue, a great deal popped up on Craigslist and we made a 3 day run to Montana in Feb for a near perfect 2010 model. That was the last piece of the puzzle.

So we did it and had a great trip!!! Some stats and thoughts:
- Traveled for 30 days. Aug 18 to Sept 18, 2016.
- 11,853 miles on the truck.
- 7,500 combined miles on the bikes.
- Alaska is a long way away from Ohio.
- Three tire punctures on truck - thankfully no major mechanical failures, accidents, or illness.
- Rain on 5 of 30 days.
- Temps from 28f to 78f.
- Ate at restaurants only three times.
- Marked all the Walmarts on gps ahead of time.
- In Homer I hit 'home' on gps = 4360 miles.
- Alaska is a long way away from Ohio.
- 10 bear sightings, 1 black wolf, eagles, moose, elk, caribou, mountain goats, buffalo - lots of critters...
- Witnessed a stunning aurora borealis.
- Spent under $300 on lodging (campgrounds).
- Consumed ~1000 gallons of diesel fuel.
- Alaska is a long way away from Ohio.
- Keep in mind that this was a trip covering a lot of ground, not a photo outing. That being said, I'm pleased with what we brought back. I'll give the pics in a few installments.

So this is our route.
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This is my collection of waypoints. https://www.dropbox.com/s/fxrfhx4eg6ngam5/ALASKA WAYPOINTS - CLEANED UP.gpx?dl=0
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This is the rig.
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Made some steps for Dad (73/bad knees).
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And a storage box on the trailer.
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My strategy was to push hard miles the first few and last few days of the trip so we could slow down in the good stuff. We covered 2476 miles (to Banff/Lake Louise) non-stop the first 50hrs and 1800 the last 30hrs home. The rest of the trip we did 150-450 mile days, getting going around 10am and stopping at 7pm. The camper was key, we could stop and make lunch wherever we found ourselves and camp almost anywhere. Showers were every 2-3 days when we were at proper campgrounds. Thankfully the pace was never too much for Dad (or me) - it was a concern I had.

First installment of pics is getting to Waterfowl Campground north of Lake Louise. We left home at 8:30pm Friday and arrived at Waterfowl 8:30pm Sunday. I suspect that might be a record. :)

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Wildlife overpass near Banff
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Peyto Lake overlook.
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Icefields Parkway at the bottom.
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GHI

Adventurer
It is very inspiring to see this trip being done from your starting position. I might tackle it next summer departing from the Detroit metro area. I don't think I can do 50 hours of windshield time to cover those big miles though. Great pics.

Did you pick that time frame for ideal weather/bug/less tourist conditions or thats just how it worked out with being able to get away for a month?
 

DYNOBOB

Adventurer
Thanks folks!

It is very inspiring to see this trip being done from your starting position. I might tackle it next summer departing from the Detroit metro area. I don't think I can do 50 hours of windshield time to cover those big miles though. Great pics.

Did you pick that time frame for ideal weather/bug/less tourist conditions or thats just how it worked out with being able to get away for a month?

Yep. I've been planning this for 5yrs and all research showed less rain, bugs, and tourists compared to June/July. I'd rather ride in 40-60F temps anyday then deal with rain/bugs.

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DYNOBOB

Adventurer
Monday Aug 22. Lake Louise to Dawson Creek (Mile Zero of AK Hwy). 475 miles

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I intended to pull the Wing off the trailer and start riding the Icefields Pky today. However we awoke to rain and it's forecasted for most of today. So, decided to leave it on the trailer and cover as much ground as we could instead. The roads from Jasper to Dawson Creek are not the most remarkable anyway.

Overcast Icefields Pky...
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We stopped at Walmart in Grand Prairie for supplies at 7pm and decided to push on to Dawson Creek for the night. Fortunately, the rain stopped mid-afternoon and the forecast looks great going forward. 475 miles of two-lane with truck and trailer is a pretty good day.
 
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DYNOBOB

Adventurer
Tues Aug 23. Dawson Creek to Tetsa River Campground (near Toad River). 368 miles.

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Awoke to a beautiful day - time to unload the bike.

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After a visit to the carwash (bike was filthy after 3000 miles on trailer), we found the Mile Zero signs for requisite pics and got rolling.

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DYNOBOB

Adventurer
Wed Aug 24. Tetsa River CG to Yukon River Motel/Campground in Teslin. 397 miles.

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More blue skies this morning as we depart the campground. The scenery is improving a bunch today. The first 350 miles of the AK Hwy yesterday were pretty, but not so different than driving thru Tennessee (bigger spaces/straighter roads).

Tetsa was a nice, primitive campground with pit toilets only. In hindsight, I think we should have pushed 15 miles further to Toad River and had showers.

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Early in the day we're traveling thru the Stone Mountain area.

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DYNOBOB

Adventurer
Continued.


Yeah baby...that's a milestone!
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Today's cool stop is the Signpost Forest in Watson Lake. I came prepared... :)

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This is an ok campground/truck stop/restaurant with decent showers.
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I did a similar 30 day trip last August with a friend, and I'm enjoying reliving it through your adventure!! Great pics!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 

SmoothLC

Explorer
Wow - spectacular scenery and amazing photos. Gotta get this one on the bucket list. Thanks for sharing and looking forward to the rest of the trip.
 

DYNOBOB

Adventurer
Thur Aug 25. Teslin to Beavercreek. 387 miles.

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Today was an overcast affair.

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Between Whitehorse and Haines Junction we pulled over to make lunch and discovered the back window of the camper had shattered. Luckily, we had a piece of plexiglass and could drill holes to make a temporary window. A couple hours later we hit rain for the last 100 miles into Beavercreek.

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Destruction Bay on Kluane Lake has a desolate, other worldly feel to it. A constant plume of glacial silt is blowing across the road and into the bay from Slims Creek. They're not sure why, but Slims Creek is drying up, a shadow of it's former self.

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Just past Burwash Landing we hit rain and about 60 miles of road construction. When not behind a pilot car, traffic kept a nice 60+ mph pace, even on gravel. The Wing was rock solid.

Temps were dropping into the upper 40s F, time for the heated jacket.

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Arriving at Beavercreek, we opted to camp behind the gas station and have dinner next door at Buckshot Beatty's. The rain has slowed down and the sun is peaking thru. We're hoping for good weather tomorrow as we enter Alaska.

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