It was early in the cold morning when I rolled out of the tent (literally) and began pulling things out of the bear box provided by the campground. Dave and Heather were already busy with breakfast and making plans for their ride south for the U.S. border. Fanda and Kaschka began making noises and I could hear Kim stirring in our tent as well. It was a bit grey and chilly as we each made our breakfast and prepared mentally for the day ahead. As we got the bikes loaded for the day, we all took a group photo and said our goodbyes before Dave and Heather took off in earnest for Whitehorse and further south.
The Hole in the Head Gang (courtesy of Heather)
At the road junction out of the campground we stopped to take a pic or two and sat longer than Kim’s battery liked. She’d been checking her messages and left the key on with her PIAA blasters and headlight on. F&K had pulled out and ridden on, assuming we were behind them but Kim’s bike just did the “click, click, click” song. I got on the bike and luckily had a slight downhill slope, finally getting it bump started in 3rd gear on the last few feet of slope.
We raced after Czech twins and found them sitting by the roadside waiting, as we’ve all done on this trip. It’s been really nice being with such a cool couple. The ride to Whitehorse was uneventful, save for the cold air and fresh snows on the mountains ahead.
The F&K team had a couch surfer set for their arrival, a guy they’d stayed with previously, and Kim had texted Mike, the rider we’d met at Bell 2 Lodge on our way up through the Yukon and BC. Mike had told us to contact him when we came through as he had a place for us to stay and luckily he was in town. Mike is an avid motorcyclist, a fervent animal rights activist and drives a fuel truck between his motorcycle trips. He is a really nice guy.
He met us on his bike and led us to his cabin home that was unoccupied at the time. He got the wood stove going and after a while of conversation headed off. We appreciated his hospitality and agreed to meet up later that evening.
Mike is well known in the region - both loved and hated - but so loves wildlife and animals it was touching to hear of his efforts to save animals...
After a fantastic Chinese dinner we hit the sack, exhausted.
*** No animals were harmed in the making of this report***
(Some animals were harmed in the making of the Chinese meal however)