With our fill of summertime southeast Alaska, we kicked the side stands up in the lush temperate beauty that had surrounded us for the best part of the whale season, the wonder of things both small and huge: the colour of a wildflower that brushed against me on the trail, or the grand sweep of […]
Yup. It’s been a while. Stark raving mad-as-a-box-of-frogs, the radio silence is o-v-e-r. “Delighted” is a weak term; I’m finally able to relieve the itchy feet as we hit the road again. From late summer last year right through to the onset of spring based in Alberta’s Narnia, this summer found us back in Southeast […]
Having far from satisfied our fix of Juneau in Southeast Alaska last summer, and fortuitously invited back—courtesy of a Fishhook Fatty hooking us up with a fellow biker—it didn’t take long to make preparations. Namely pack the panniers and head south to the ferry. But only made possible thanks to Ian and Kristina, who tirelessly […]
What had begun to feel like a protracted ice age—having spent half a year in a landscape leached of colour—followed the joyous onset of spring in Wasilla, Southcentral Alaska. Where the dominion of winter finally permits the release of snow and ice from her frozen prison. A new world about to mysteriously surface, bursting with […]
The thought of halting our trip was completely untenable. Coming up to three years in maintaining a steady momentum, why would we stop now? Yet staying a few nights over late summer at Nevil and Michelle’s place merged rapidly into a fortnight, which fused at equal speed into a few weeks, that somehow extended into […]
Where the city ends, Juneau Icefield begins—and keeps going and going. Undoubtedly, its centerpiece is Mendenhall Glacier. Like just about everything else in Southeast Alaska, it sits inside Tongass National Forest. Incredibly, a temperate rainforest no less, which in parts endures more than 16 feet of annual rainfall. No surprise that a fine drizzle falling on […]
Having learned it was “bubble net” season for a short spell sporadically through the summer months, and hoping to catch the tail end of it—no pun intended—I unearthed that such a phenomenon only occurs in Southeast Alaska by an elite few. Indeed, there was no time to lose in catching the ferry to the state […]
Regrouping with the Fishhook Fatties in Wasilla from coming down the Dalton, we jumped at joining them in celebrating Jade Laughlin’s birthday. Over a succulent hog roast (formerly known as Leona, hand reared by one of the younger Fishhook Fatties), and locally brewed beer: a refreshing Rhubarb Hefeweizen and Salted Caramel Red blend, which had […]
After perhaps the liveliest non-rallies I’ve experienced—Dust to Dawson—the road to Thompson’s Eagle’s Claw Campground in Tok beat backward under us. I rose the following morning muddy-eyed having burnt the candle down to a nub. Stepping out of Tok and leaving behind the fairytale of trees whose brindled bark reminded me of muscular animals overgrown […]
If you haven’t heard about Dust to Dawson (D2D), you’re in for a real treat. Come, just trace a line on the map to Dawson in Yukon, Canada, hop on your moto from wherever that might be in the month of June and start riding. You’ll doubtless encounter crews of other bikers doing the same, […]