August 1
30 miles
3000 feet elevation gain
Before riding out of Tok, we stopped back at Fast Eddy’s for a proper breakfast. While we ate we read up a little bit on the history of the Taylor Highway and the community of Chicken, population 12. From here to Whitehorse we are traveling through Gold Rush territory, and there are still active mining claims in the area to this day. Over the course of this journey we’ve actually spoken to several Alaskans with gold claims in the area.
We didn’t get riding until 11am, about 3 hours later than usual for us, but we’re in no rush. The final 13 miles of the Alaska Highway were flat and easy and we arrived at Tetlin junction (where we head north toward the Top of the World Highway) before too long. Turning onto the Taylor Highway was an immediate change. While still paved, at least for the first 60 miles, the traffic is nothing in comparison. No more semis, and in fact we spent hours today without seeing cars. Riding immediately became more pleasant.
It also immediately started climbing, but we were expecting this. As we climbed out of the Tenana River Valley, the highway was lined with dark grey sand dunes, formed over 10,000 years ago when winds blew the sand from the Tenana to the base of the mountains. Unlike the glaciated, jagged Alaska Range, this area was never ice covered and the mountains are rolling. For me it was reminiscent of the Appalachian Mountains in that way.
We stopped for lunch after 20 miles and could hear a grouse moving around nearby. Eventually he poked his head out and looked at us. It was a Sharp-tailed Grouse. This is a new bird, we were expecting more Spruce Grouse or Willow Ptarmigans. There were also a few Black-capped Chickadees and Canada Jays. I looked for more Northern Hawk Owls, but finding them in the maze of burned spruce forest was practically impossible, even though I could hear one or two out there.
The climbs were slow, the descents were fast. From the top of each climb, you could see the next climb ahead. The sun can really cook you when it’s shining, but it’s very pleasant in the shade. The clouds offered some respite but overall it was a pretty warm day today and it looks like we’ve got more in our future. I’ll take this over the rain any day.
We both put the headphones in during the afternoon. My brother will be disappointed to learn that I listened to Marty Robbins Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs. Paul’s listening to a podcast called Nerd Poker. I downloaded the audiobook The Call of the Wild to listen to before we get to Dawson City and visit the Jack London Museum.
We found a campsite just off the road, it was the best we had seen all day, so we decided we should take it. There will be more ups and downs tomorrow so we want to get an early start to take advantage of the cooler morning weather.
