The next morning was a sad one, both for Ronetta’s camera incident and the fact that we were saying goodbye to her, she now as much a family member as a friend.
Ronetta produced bags of goodies and groceries from her trunk, stuffing our panniers and pockets with jerky, chips, food and anything else she could. She insisted I take an Alpaca blanket she’d brought and though I argued with her I lost, stuffing it into my ballooning duffle bag.
It was bitter cold and I dreaded another day of inhaling cold air with my cough and cold, but we needed to push south as the snows were right on our heels. Each day we were hearing of snow ahead of us and behind us, with warnings from gas station attendants, on-lookers and just about everyone to get south now or get trapped.
Kaschka had been telling us all she was ready to get to Mexico and do absolutely nothing for a couple of weeks in a warm and sunny place, free of responsibility. I was in complete agreement and as we’d talked around the campfire about it on a cold evening a couple of nights before, the Mexican Mañana Bug had bitten me in earnest. I imagined us in Real De Catorce or San Miguel, sunglasses and shorts on, lounging and dozing on some rooftop overlooking the town.
"Responsibility? On a trip where you’ve left all responsibility behind?" I hear you ask yourself. Yes, lemme splain… Fanda and Kaschka had worked very hard for 5 years in the Czech Republic saving and planning their trip. As Fanda explained, the wages are very low there and they worked to get sponsor's help. The sponsorship route does require regular articles and updates, which Kaschka handles as they travel. For them, it adds responsibility and some pressure. For me, it’s just trying to write, download images and videos, edit and output and then try to find internet that works. It’s hours and hours of time, and that time only comes after days of riding and camping. Your “rest” time doesn’t really exist since you are busy trying to catch up after days of camping. The stress level is not like having a job, but it’s there even if self-induced. Other low grade stresses relate to the work of camping, planning, hoping to find a place 250 miles ahead as the day gets late, the constant awareness required when in bear territory, keeping up with bike maintenance in less than perfect conditions, watching your budget take hits, the physical aspect of riding heavy bikes in inclement weather for days, and the list goes on.
All of these can slowly accumulate to a point of low-grade fatigue and you find yourself just wanting to lay around somewhere a few days doing nothing. That’s hard to do when a hotel is costing you money or you are in someone’s home and feeling like a burden to them. F&K have been successfully couch surfing most of their trip including Russia and Mongolia, but sleeping on the floor and the host having 4 am work hours isn’t the easiest either.
None of what I’ve just said should be taken as complaint, sniveling or whining, as I wouldn’t trade this for the world (well, maybe) but I’m sharing as much reality for you guys as I can. You can run along for many days but you will hit a wall of fatigue occasionally. My choice to add the burden of doing a ride report and blog adds to this, but it’s who I am and what I love. I do it so that when life changes and I can no longer live freely, I can look back and read and remember what true living was. Having a plan and doing hotels would be the best way to minimize fatigue and maximize one’s time on the net for updating, but then we’d lose all the incredible camping experiences we’ve had. Besides, we ain’t rich baby...
Now where the hell was I? Oh yeah… ride report The plan was to make Haines Junction that day and then Whitehorse the next day. As we raced on in the cold temps and sunshine, we blew past a roadside pull-out and saw two GS’s parked there, only to realize it was, in fact, Dave and Heather! We all screeched to a stop and made the U turn back to see them.
It was a real surprise for all of us and we started laughing. Since we’d been in Tok longer than expected we assumed they’d gone on from McCarthy already and were long gone. We all joined up again for Haines Junction and Whitehorse. I can say it’s been a lot of fun riding along with both couples and we’ve all enjoyed the time together after being solo for much of the trip.
We rolled along until we needed a stop for coffee, but Dave and Heather had already had their butt break and wanted to keep going so we decided to reconnect at the Canadian Border Crossing a few miles ahead.
The weather was cold and grey, and the green mountains we’d passed when heading north now had fresh snow on top, obviously only a day or two old and drawing a near straight line across the mountains.
The national pastime of Alaskan summers
Kaschka and Fanda had been under some pressure as to their U.S. visas and were feeling the need to get into the U.S. as soon as possible to be able to get to Mexico if need be. They had come under a special program which allowed travelers from the Czech Republic to visit the U.S. for 90 days with no visa. Having shipped their bike from Asia to San Francisco, the clock had started ticking on arrival but they had then left the U.S. and gone into Canada then Alaska. They were unsure as to whether leaving the U.S. had qualified them to return again for an additional 90 days upon re-entry or if the clock was still running. No one, including the Czech Government, could answer the question and Kaschka was very worried they wouldn’t have any time left in the U.S. when they got back to the lower 48.
When we passed the U.S. Border Inspection station a few miles before the Canadian border, I told F&K to go on ahead and we’d ask for them. Kim and I pulled over and waited at the guard window a while until a frazzled officer finally came over. I explained their situation to him and he said that the language was written so that if a “significant” amount of time had passed with F&K out of the country it was possible to get another 90 days, however the interpretation of “significant” was entirely up to the individual officer at the border. Not much help but at least it was more than we’d known before.
When we finally made it to the Canadian crossing, the wait was short and the officer friendly, which was sort of a surprise. Pulled over to the side in the inspection area we saw Dave and Heather’s bikes parked. We pulled in next to them and waited, watching a Canadian officer spreading a grizzly bear skin on a table next to us. We hopped off to look at it and saw the pickup truck it had been removed from ahead, the two occupants standing next to it. The officer was nice and interested in both our bikes and trip and told us we could look at the bear skin. He held it up with the head and paws which were massive. Apparently the two guys were taking it back for their son who’d killed the bear and was a few hours behind them. He’d failed to give the drivers some paperwork and they were all waiting for his arrival.
Kim texted Dave to let him know we were outside. He responded not to come in, as they were being questioned about Heather’s new bike. Heather is Canadian, Dave is a US citizen and the bike was in her name with Alaska plates and they wouldn’t be allowed in. Dave said it was intense and we should move on quickly... and definitely not come in.
We took off for Haines Junction, worried for them and what they might have to do. Dave had originally considered putting the bike in his name as he has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Canada, however he felt that would cause serious issues in the other countries they were heading to in their worldwide trek.
It was cold and late when we hit Haines Junction. F&K wanted to see if we could find another RV to split rather than camp due to the cold. Kim texted Dave and Heather to find out their status and we started Googling motels in the town. Shortly after, Kim got a text from Dave that they were just rolling into Haines Junction! We were stunned, and sure enough they rolled in behind us. It turned out that the customs officer had agreed to give them 6 days to get the bike out of Canada, after a lengthy investigation of their story. The original bill of sale was attached to Heather’s old bike at the Fairbanks dealership where it was to be shipped back to Washington and they were finally able to prove purchase by showing an online bank statement of money transfer to the dealer. The officer believed them and bent the rules a bit to let them in, but at least they weren't refused entry.
However, that changed our plans to meet them in Terrace, BC and ride dirt to Vancouver. Now they had to race through Canada as fast as possible and get out, or have the new bike seized. We were all shocked at the results, as well as how fast they’d ridden to catch us that night.
No accommodations were found that were reasonable, despite the fact tourist season was over, so we headed for Pine Lake Campground a few miles away for a very cold night of camping.