Kim and I awoke to the warmth of the wood stove, though with a bit of dry sinuses as the hot water kettle steaming on top had not lasted the night. We were to meet Fanda and Kaschka sometime in the morning before heading for the Continental Divide Lodge in the Yukon Territory.
Since F&K have a non-working cell phone we have to rely on getting messages through FaceBook from them, and since we don’t always have cell or wifi available and we don’t know if they do at their host’s home, things can be sketchy. Our last communication had been to give them our location in the neighborhood but as the time slipped away and they hadn’t appeared we began to wonder. As we waited with loaded bikes well past our meet time, we assumed they had had an issue, so we got on the bikes to hit the last place we’d parted, a McDonald’s where we’d gotten wifi previously.
Just as we donned our gear to leave, they rolled up with big cheery smiles and greetings. They needed to hit a Walmart, since Kaschka’s sleeping pad had sprung a leak and they were going to look for another. We trekked over to Wally World and they went in while we raided the grocery store adjacent.
When we came out, F&K were engaged in conversation with a well dressed man who was excited to be talking with them. As we got closer I could hear them conversing in Czech and laughing. Turns out the man was from the Czech Republic as well and was happy to see some compadres.
The bikes were loaded and we squeezed in as much food as we could, dumping the packaging and combining things in the eternal quest to fit things on the bikes. It was grey and chilly as we topped off with gas and left Whitehorse in the grey and cold. My mind wandered to thoughts of Mexico, and Kim and I laughed at the thought of staying in a small village and eating street food south of the border somewhere... which was still a helllllll of a long ways away...
The sun finally burned through and illuminated the beautiful countryside as we neared Johnson’s Crossing and the bridge over the Teslin River. About 20 miles or so beyond the crossing, we blew past a van parked on the roadside with a couple standing nearby. As many of you know when you’re in the groove of making miles and in the flow you tend to be an observer and it takes a moment to connect thoughts. Kim and I simultaneously said, “Wow we need to stop and check on them” and slowed quickly, watching for trucks as we did a U turn on the Alcan and rode back. F&K saw us and followed a couple of minutes behind.
As I pulled up to the bearded guy and asked if they were okay, he responded in broken English trying to describe a problem under the van. As I repositioned the bike to park and get off, Fanda pulled in on his bike and the man looked stunned and then turned to me speaking something in a foreign language. Fanda laughed and they began speaking in Czech to each other. He'd seen the Czech license plate and it was like a family reunion of slapping palms and laughing. Turns out the couple were from the Czech Republic as well and had been traveling in the U.S. and Canada for a while.
They crawled under the van and diagnosed two broken U-joint bearings before coming out with the broken pieces. We asked if they needed us to give them a ride or take them to the nearest phone, etc., but finally we decided that Fanda would take a broken bearing back to Johnson’s Crossing about 18 mies back to see if he could locate anything, and I would take the other to Teslin about 17 miles the other away and do the same.
Kim and Kaschka stayed with them as we split as fast as we could to scavenge parts. The agreement was for Fanda to call me from Kim’s phone and let me know what he’d found and vice versa. I rolled in to Teslin and went into a small store to see if there was a garage or mechanic in the little settlement. The clerk told me to find the junk yard a ways down the road which I did. I banged on the closed door to no avail and then wandered through the pile of cars and trucks to see if I could spot a similar van. I waited and waited, debating just grabbing my tools and trying to pull a u-joint and see if I got lucky. Then I thought about the owner with his angry junkyard dog and decided I’d better wait.
As I got back on the bike to leave I saw a shaggy man with a 6-pack of beer walking up the road and acknowledging me. I got back off the bike as he walked into the lot staring at me a bit warily. I explained the situation and he told me he’d gone for beer because he had to rebuild a transmission and needed some calming force to help him through the tedious complexity. He was agreeable to helping find a couple of bearings but as we poked around the shop, similar to a hoarder’s heaven, I began to have serious doubts.
Opening a grubby cabinet door and reaching under some paper he pulled out a single bearing matching the broken one perfectly. All we needed was one more. Another 15 minutes of digging produced nothing but a complete rusty unit which he then disassembled, destroying the needle bearings and then discovering it wasn’t the same size after all.
Next we hit the junkyard looking for an F-350 to scavenge and finally found a burned and rolled one, of course being complete EXCEPT for the rear end. I finally gave up, paid him for his work and took the lone bearing with me. I raced back in the hopes Fanda may have produced at least one on his end, figuring it was a lost cause but one never knew.
My fears were founded as everyone’s excited and hopeful faces fell when I produced only one bearing. Fanda hadn’t found anything. The couple thanked us profusely for trying and began preparing to hitchhike back to Whitehorse to find the parts. We wished them good luck and travels and sped on for Teslin, where we took a break for coffee and to peruse the little museum before crossing the long, metal grate bridge we’d come across in the rain a few weeks before.
Kim was a bit nervous after her memories of the crossing and the rising wind didn’t ease her mind. Sure enough when we got going for the bridge the damn wind came up in heavy gusts and we were blown around in addition to the usual "tire wandering tango" the grates produce. When we finally were across I started laughing at the chance that each crossing would be weirder than usual due to inclement weather. The Iron Butterfly didn’t think it was funny and told me so.
From Teslin our goal for the night was to meet someone F&K had been contacted by at the Continental Divide Lodge and we hoped to get a tent spot there for the night. At a beautiful lake, Fanda slowed and turned in, The Iron Butterfly and I following and wondering what was up. When we pulled in there was a beautiful view of the lake and some hunters setting up camp for the night. They had bagged a caribou the day before and were finishing up the butchering as we arrived.
We talked with them a bit and then Fanda told us that he and Kaschka had camped there in the same spot on the way north. More importantly, it was the spot where he had dropped to one knee and proposed to Kaschka a few weeks earlier. Despite the current bloody caribou head, it was indeed a beautiful place to have proposed to his love. We stayed as long as we could before feeling the need to beat the fading light to the Continental Divide Lodge.
When we finally arrived, a young guy walked over and introduced himself to us. Jacob was from the Czech Republic (What the heck? 3 different Czech encounters in one day!) and was in process of traveling around the globe on his older Africa Twin. He’d found F&K on the internet and when he realized they were in Alaska he’d contacted them and asked them to come by.
Turns out Jacob had stopped in for gas a month or two earlier and walked out with a job, staying and working to earn some money for his trip. He introduced us to the owner, who made us a deal to stay in his RV for the night since it was getting very cold now. We jumped at the chance to have a warm spot and then ate a home cooked dinner in the little cafe. Events had turned such that Jacob’s job was ending just as we were coming through and this was his final night there.
A big bash was planned for the evening for his going away party and we sat around a roaring fire hearing stories from the locals as the night waned away. The next morning brought hot showers and repacking gear for the road. Today was to be a sad day, as Fanda and Kaschka would continue on the Alcan for Dawson Creek and then Alberta, joined by Jacob as they all wanted to ride together.
Our route was to take the Cassiar Highway south again for Vancouver and the lower 48, having enjoyed the beauty of that road immensely. Since Dave and Heather were no longer going to be able to meet us in Terrace, we weren’t sure which route we’d take home.
As we packed up, an older Swiss couple driving one of the European expedition campers came over to visit. As we talked with them, Kaschka came out to Kim and I and handed us each a tortilla wrap filled with goodness for breakfast. She had been finishing up some of their food to lighten the load and had made us breakfast burritos. As I looked down before biting into it, I saw peanut butter oozing from the end and then disturbingly saw a kernel or two of canned corn mixed in the PB. She was staring at me so I took a big bite, only to discover that as well as peanut butter and canned corn, there was tuna fish and chopped up hot dogs in the mix. My mind shouted “HURL!”… but amazingly my refined palate said “Hmmm not bad”. Again my mind shouted “HURL!!!”, but my mouth continued eating, overruling my mind as usual.
I looked at Kim, who wore a fake smile but I could tell had spotted the tuna, peanut butter, corn and hot dog mixture well before me. Amazingly she bit into it and then said “Wow that’s good.” Kaschka was happy and then started speaking in a form of German the Swiss use, to the woman. She broke into a big smile and they conversed while Kim and I struggled emotionally with what we’d just eaten.
We were invited into the Swiss expedition camper and then they wanted to take pictures of us as we got ready to leave. Kaschka brought out another peanutbuttercorntunahotdog burrito for us, having used the last of their extra food and I struggled emotionally again for a few moments... Hurl? Ask for another? Decisions, decisions...
We all rolled out together heading east on Highway 1 for Watson Lake and the upcoming parting of ways, but we saw a gas stop at the junction of 37 and the Alcan and pulled in. We said our goodbyes and did our huggies, getting a final shot before they took off for Watson Lake. Kim and I hung around the gas station a bit, getting ready for the long trek south and feeling a bit sad for the leaving of Alaska, the Yukon, and some of the best memories one could ever have.
Kim played with the station owner’s dog while I conversed with him about our trip. He told us over and over to get south as soon as possible because the snow was a day behind and there had already been snow ahead. He also warned us that some gas stations would be closing soon since tourist season was over.
It was with sadness that we turned south for the long ride on 37, the Cassiar, having been told by an RV’er that it was the most beautiful he’d ever seen it in 20 years of fall driving. Indeed the brilliant yellow colors and shimmering leaves against the mountainous backdrop took the mind away, but the silence in our headsets betrayed the sadness in leaving. After a lifetime of hearing about Alaska, frankly a place I never expected to see, I can only say that it is a repository of some of the greatest moments and memories of my life. To the south lay more adventures and ultimately more civilization, but my heart and soul had been captured as no where else.
Our goal for the afternoon was to camp at Bell 2 Lodge, one of the few gas stops on the way and still far enough south to make us feel like we’d made some progress that day. Bell 2 Lodge was where we’d met our friend Mike from the Yukon, who’d told us on his ride down he’d counted 14 bears along the road. That same day another couple had told us they’d counted 19 along the same road.
Kim was miffed at the lack of animals we’d seen on the trip and as the darkness was falling we were talking about it when suddenly, to my left I saw a moose and two calves running away from the road in a clearing. Another couple of miles down the road a black bear sat in a roadside clearing, probably hearing Kim’s shout of excitement and turning away. Not much further down the road sat another black bear on the roadside and as we slowed to watch him a car came around from behind us and stopped next to him, blocking our view and frightening him away. A bit further we were rewarded with yet another bear sitting on the roadside and this time we had a few moments to watch him waddle along, until we finally had to get moving and he ran into the brush.
It turns out we were just a couple miles from the lodge and had finally seen some wildlife. It was sort of a fitting goodbye to the area. We decided to get a room rather than tent camp as it had gotten very dark and cold and we were needing some real rest.