July 6
42 miles
Last night it was so hot in the tent around 9 pm, we thought we would not even use the quilt. However, it did get cold around midnight. We got up early again this morning and started riding by 630. It’s much nicer riding in the cool early mornings than the hot afternoons. Because the sun never sets, the hottest time of day is in the evening, and doesn’t start to cool until after 10pm. It’s weird getting used to.
We passed 100 miles early this morning! Soon after that, we saw a huge herd of Muskox in the distance and two right by the road.
We did 20 miles before lunch, but stopping for breaks is not very enjoyable due to the incessant mosquitos. Although we are still in the tundra, the plants are getting more shrubby. This is nice for us because it provides at least a little bit of shade.
In the heat of the afternoon, we came upon road work. Crews spray the road with calcium chloride and water, which makes some terrible mud until it dries and gardens the road. We had to walk the bikes a couple times, and I got some grit in my chain that caused it to drop. In a lovely bit of fate, at literally the moment the mud ended, there was a hard bristle brush laying on the side of the road, so we used it to clean our tires of the thick caked mud before riding again.
There was a lot more climbing today, and even more tomorrow, so we targeted 40 miles for the day and we stopped to camp before 5. I was tired.
On the CDT we used to jokingly pray to “breezus” for some wind, and we got that and a tiny splash of rain which provided a very brief respite from the mosquitos while we ate dinner. Continuing the unfortunate litter trend, every fire pit we’ve passed has had trash in it and tonight’s camp was no exception. Sad to see in such a remote place. We have some absolutely beautiful views of the Brooks Range at our campsite.
New life birds: Common Redpoll, Yellow Wagtail