Arctic Circle Trip - Days: 12 - 15

Hola friends,

Thought I'd just update y'all how the rest of the trip went - not as thrilling as the Dempster part I'm afraid... Anyway:

We sadly left Dawson City with the feeling that it was somewhere we'd never return to. We stayed at the Bunkhouse again. By the way, I have a surefire way to find the cheapest hotel in town:

After Dawson City we went to Whitehorse. Got absolutely drenched in a sudden and intense rain storm. Our rain gear which was really intended for occasional use was not up to the task - especially since it had been called into use every day of the trip so far. Wanted to camp, but again we felt like camping in pouring rain in soaking clothes would be not worth how much we saved on a hotel. So Days Inn it was.

The most exciting part of the journey was over. The anticipation of riding the Dempster had made the kilometres fly by at the beginning of the trip. At this point, we both were feeling like we just wanted to get home. We reworked the schedule that night to try to cut out a day of riding - this would allow us to get back on the originally planned date since we had spent a whole extra night in the NWT waiting for the ferry. We decided if we could make it to Liard Hotsprings campsite, we would be on track. 

The riding the next day was mostly dry with only a short shower or two. We had been backtracking up until Watson Lake, but now we were on new road. The Alaska Highway, instead of the Cassiar we had taken on our way north, There were many prominent signs warning of bison on the road. We heeded the warning, but were not prepared for the sheer number of free roaming bison we ended up seeing. Unfortunately my Cardo Scalarider Q3 had decided to stop charging so once that died we were limited to brake light flashing and pointing to indicate bison. I've since ordered a new shiny set of Sena units. At times, we rode through the middle of herds of bison lining the road. We were reminded of our friend from Dawson, Enrique, who told us about the bison on the road and how he chased one on his r1200gs until it stopped and stared him down at which point he decided to leave it alone.

When we made it to Liard Hotsprings provincial campground we were dismayed to find the campground full and the "overflow" campground to be an uninspiring gravel parking lot across the highway. Despite this, the price for camping in overflow was still $26 - no cheaper than camping in the real campground. We decided to press on further south. The bikes needed fuel but nothing was open. We passed campground after campground - all full. We did see a caribou at one point, which was neat. We made it to the southern tip of Muncho lake where we found a closed gas station/motel. There were people inside the small diner so dad tapped on the window and was greeted by a provincial park operator. She told us we were free to camp anywhere outside the provincial park - or she could sell us a camping permit for $20 to camp at Macdonald Campsite on Muncho lake. Foolishly we decided to make for the edge of the provincial park and try our luck with roadside camping. We'd barely set off again when I realized from the GPS that the edge of the park was a bit further than comfortable with the amount of fuel we had left. We turned back and tracked down our park operator again. I imagine she was a bit annoyed, but she sold us a camping permit and directed us back north a few kms to get back to MacDonald campsite. It was dark by the time we arrived. Finally after being in the land of the midnight sun, we got to use the headlamps we'd packed all the way from Calgary to set up our tent and campstove for a dinner of Kraft Dinner Mac n' Cheese,

A man named Rick from one campsite over came by to chat and invited us for coffee in the morning. Sure enough, as we packed up the next day Rick wandered over and informed us the coffee was almost done. He had made it on a campfire using a nifty peculator machine. He was an interesting chap - a real outdoorsman with a jetboat (see photo). He lived in Fort Nelson and often went on long hunting trips into the woods in the surrounding areas. We had our coffee and chatted with him and his buddy for a while then got back on the bikes to go find breakfast and gasoline.

Where we ended up was the Northern Rockies Lodge which had gas and a breakfast buffet. The breakfast buffet was basic but cost $18 per head for some reason. I nearly made myself sick trying to consume $18 worth of bacon, coffee and french toast. It was all good - but not $18 good.

Stopped in Toad River was the next stop for a quick bathroom break (remember, I had drank about 4 cups of coffee already trying to recoup the money spent on breakfast). There was a lot of chipseal road construction - some of the worst we had encountered yet. We did spot the first moose of the trip. It was just a baby and the mother must have been hiding in the trees as she never made an appearance.

At some point a bug hit me in the neck and managed to bite me twice. It surprised me and it hurt quite a bit. We stopped for a photo, as you do.

The goal was Grande Prairie AB. We did not make it. The roads after Toad River were industrial and dull with big trucks in big hurries. Nighfall and our growling stomachs made us stop in Dawson Creek. Plus, we kept getting rained on. 700kms in a day seemed like a lot. The Boston Royal Pizza at the local BP seemed extra delicious. 

We crashed (not literally) at a Super 8 for the night and managed an early start the next day after a complimentary breakfast (during which one or two muffins and apples were pocketed for later).

On our way out I hit an unmarked fresh tar snake which sent the bike into a terrifying near-tankslapper. I instinctively raised myself out of the seat and the front wheel stopped swerving. Just what I needed in the morning - a shot of adrenaline right to the heart. With the loose gravel and road construction, it seems the roads in northern BC are trying to kill you.

The rest of the way home was fairly uneventful. It was a 900km day so my butt was getting sore as we got back into Calgary in the pouring rain (of course). Suddenly we were back on our own little street riding side by side as we came down the boulevard. Horns were honked and engines were revved despite it being about 9pm. 

And then it was over. Home safe and sound. Now where to go next year?