Friday, July 17, 2009

Veni, Vidi, Vici

Days 15 & 16
Sunday, July 12/Monday, July 13


Veni, Vidi, Vici

We came, we saw, we conquered.

We'd come down to it. This is the adventure. We started the day outside of Coldfoot Camp with 240 miles of dirt and gravel between us and the Arctic Ocean.

When I close my eyes and imagine what Alaska might look like, this is it. All that I could imagine and more. The scenery is beautiful to the point of distraction – a dangerous thing when negotiating potholes, gravel and washboard road. Small forests of hardy trees set against green and rocky mountains with braids of streams cutting through beds of river rock. I've seen bigger mountains and bigger trees for sure, but there's something about the rugged beauty of this wilderness that's breathtaking. Just knowing that this arctic world sees temperatures of 80 below and hurricane force winds makes every bit of life this land sustains seem that much more amazing.

We were looking for a bit of a challenge and today the road did not disappoint. Loose gravel, thick mud, washboard, ruts and potholes. Trucks passing us coming from the opposite direction leave us in a whiteout of dust. There are a couple of patches of asphalt mixed in for a few miles for reprieve, but don't get lulled into a comfort zone because lest you forget, this is the Dalton Highway. Most the way is work, but fun, as I concentrate on looking as far ahead as possible to miss the bigger of the potholes on a constant quest for the smoothest blue groove. Parts where the gravel is deeper the bike floats along, vague and disconcertingly – but you can't slow down and whatever you do, don't touch the front brake. The mud makes the back end fishtail, back and forth and back again. This is almost fun until I hit particularly deep part which causes the front end to weave as well. Careful not to chop the throttle I ever-so-gently ease off and regain composure.

We made it to Deadhorse and are sitting here as I start writing this, just 10 miles south of Deadhorse where we've found a pull-off by the side of the road to make camp. We are next to the river as it's making its last 20 mile push to the Arctic Ocean. As far as the eye can see is flat arctic tundra and a maze of stamped marshes. The only thing interrupting it is the Dalton Highway, from which we came. The ocean breeze is whipping the tent around, but the wind affords much needed relief from the usual onslaught of mosquitoes. Camp is set and we've laid out our tarp for a place to sit as we enjoy a cup of single malt scotch with our friend Detlif, a doctor from Germany on his KTM.

Up at 5:30 to break camp and make it back to Deadhorse for the tour to the Arctic Ocean – the end of the road and as far north as we can go. Deadhorse is a maze of temporary buildings perched atop pads of dirt and gravel built up just above the tundra. A self sustaining mess of oilfield equipment, vehicles covered in dirt and hardy people. Rough country, the oil companies only allow their employees to work for 6 weeks at a time before sending them home to recover – but they are paid well for their efforts.

The arctic ocean around Prudhoe Bay was not as exciting as I'd imagined. The only ice to be seen was crusts forming along the beach where the water washes up on rocky shores littered with wood that washes up from Canada. The oil companies take care to minimize impact to the wildlife in the area, and Caribou that have used the area as migrating territory for centuries still make their way along the shore seeming unalarmed by the presence of this strange city. Seeing Prudhoe Bay, the turning back point of our adventure, only served to illustrate that this has never been about the destination, but rather the journey. And even though we are only half way through, it's been an amazing journey so far.

On the way back we discover the road is ever changing, and the road we went up was not the same as the road we went down. Parts that were okay on the way up, were bad on the way down and vice versa. There is constant maintenance to the road as man and machine pit itself against the extreme elements. In one particular place on the way back down there was a huge grading tractor in the lane, smoothing mounds of thick muddy gravel along the road. To the left, the tractor left a ridge of this gritty muck about a foot and a half tall. To get around the tractor you either had to risk crossing the mound to the left of the tractor or chance the ditch along the small edge to it's right. James, in front of me, chose left. What I'm sure was an attempt to go over the mound became a fight for life to make it through the mud, legs flailing side to side, bike trying to buck him off, and fighting to regain control. Because James is the more experienced rider I'm more than happy to let him pick his way through first as I carefully watch his lines and consequent success, or failure. I knew better than to try to replicate James' attempt at conquering the ridge so I went to the right of the tractor – the driver blaring his horn at me in anger. I could have explained that he might have been spending the day peeling me out of the mud if I'd gone the other way, but decided it just to acknowledge him with a wave and move on by – at least I'm not in the mud.

As for the difficulty of the road, there are good patches and bad patches – even a little pavement. But I wouldn't want to spoil it for you, and I'll leave it to you to discover. Besides, only those that travel it should really get to know.

The ride back fills me with deep satisfaction. For me, I no longer have to wonder if I have the grit to do it. For both of us it's the completion of a fun challenge that many only dream of. There's certainly more to come, but even if this was the end of the journey, I could go home satisfied. But on we go.

From pics-day15-16

From pics-day15-16

From pics-day15-16

From pics-day15-16

From pics-day15-16

From pics-day15-16

From pics-day15-16

From pics-day15-16

From pics-day15-16

From pics-day15-16

From pics-day15-16

Glorious dirt – a badge of honor :)
From pics-day15-16

From pics-day15-16

From pics-day15-16

Lucy the dog is riding with her daddy from Deadhorse all the way down to Mexico. Apparently she didn't get the memo that in this part of the world dogs do the pulling....
From pics-day15-16

We camped next to the fire department's temporary heli base on the way back down at the Yukon River.
From pics-day15-16

From pics-day15-16

4 comments:

  1. Congrats you two. I knew you would make it!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. When I visited James when he was stationed in Kodiak, I too sensed the determination of nature to grow and bloom as fast as it could because soon the season would change and it would devour its own summer beauty with the elegance of the frigid cold.
    LIFE itself "has never been about the destination, but rather the journey" Shana, sweetie, you are so eloquent...I look forward to reading the blogs as much as I enjoy the pictures! James, I am proud of you for making the journey successfully, but you, Shana, you AMAZE me. As you said, he is a more experienced rider, his USCG training has made him a man's man, as much as his sheer will to succeed. But you, OMG, YOU DID IT! I don't know of another woman in the world who could be a more perfect life companion for my son! I love you both dearly!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am impressed by both of your "Fear not" attitude. You both know what could happen on the road but you go for it anyway. My buddies did this ride 2 years ago and said it was awesome but it wasn't easy between the bugs, road conditions, wildlife and the sheer remoteness you can't fathom until you've been there. I'm impressed that Shana has done so well on the trip but also my little mechanical protege, James, has managed so well to keep the bikes running. The Cassiar Highway is pretty remote as well so your not out of the woods by any stretch of the imagination but it's a great stretch of road as well...

    Pat

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, beautiful! Sounds like a very technical (and fun) ride too. Love all the pics and your description is just wonderful. I've enjoyed tagging along :) Stacey

    ReplyDelete