Day 3 Ride to Dawson: Agony and Intrigue
Day 3 started very early as our agenda was to ride 850 km (530 miles) from Stewart, BC to the Liard Hot Springs, BC. We were up at 5 and left for Hyder, Alaska at 6.
We rode into Hyder and took in the placid harbor complete with low hanging clouds over the peaks and serene bay. It really makes for some epic photography moments even if all you’ve got is an iPhone X to work with.
The Canadian border guards were friendlier than usual (probably because they don’t get a lot of visitors so early in the AM) and even helped save Greg from nearly dropping his bike. I think we were both fairly tired from riding so much yesterday in the rain and cold, then staying up late before starting out early today.
This was clearly a harbinger of things to come…
The ride from Hyder north was very wet and miserable. Low hanging cloud cover obscured pretty much everything interesting to see and the temperature was only 3 or 4 degrees Celsius (just above freezing). Constant rain pounded down and both of us were feeling a little sick of trying to find a safe path down the slick roads with our visors continually drenched in water.
I was so grateful to have the heated grips and excellent wind protection from the windshield and fairing on the Ninja. Kawasaki designed this bike brilliantly for touring! This trip proved that without any question based on my ability to travel long distances comfortably even in inclement weather.
Without that and the high-quality riding gear I got from Joe Rocket Canada, Revzilla and MotoNation I definitely would have had to stop and warm up many times all the way north. Maybe even shut down for the day several times earlier than wanted to dry out. Quality riding gear makes all the difference.
We rolled into a remote lodge/fueling station on the Cassiar highway near Dease Lake to fuel up and that’s where things really went south for me.
I dropped my brand new and much-beloved motorcycle while putting gas in it.
Even typing those words now makes me feel nauseated. The ground around the pumps was old and dilapidated asphalt with large amounts of 2-inch deep mud on it, creating an extremely uneven ground to park a bike on.
I tried my best to catch it as gravity finally had its way with my Ninja companion. I even caught it with both hands as it leaned over, but my gloves and the bike were slick from all the rain, feeling like they were both coated in bacon fat. I felt my grip failing and decided to try and set it down easy at least. As it slowly went all the way over I rode it out as a counterweight as long as I could and let it touch down with a heart-wrenching “whunk” sound.
Denial of what just happened arrived early, then fear of what might have broken off the bike since the coolant overflow tank is located on that side. I jumped over it and I lifted it back upright for a look. “Luckily” all that resulted were some very UGLY scratches on what’s sure to be very expensive fairing to replace.
We rode on and I honestly wanted to puke every 10 minutes. I knew this could happen, riding a bike like this out where only adventure bikes dare to roam and it had. For someone like myself who often has anxiety issues, it was almost too much. My confidence took a big hit and my ego too.
We stopped in Dease Lake for lunch and more gas then headed onward.
I decided to put on some music using my SENA 30K unit to distract me from the pity party I was mired in and voice commanded SENA to comply:
Me: Hello SENA.
SENA: Say a command.
Me: Play music.
SENA: Limp Bizkit Give Me Something To Break starts playing.
Me: That’s not funny, you know.
Luckily I had other songs more soothing to listen to and I started to cheer up as the weather Gods took mercy on us and the rain finally stopped! Bright sunshine appeared and warmed us up. Finally, we could fully enjoy the scenery.
Lower Gnat Lake was a beautiful spot to take a break despite the unfortunate name bestowed upon it.
The Cassiar Highway didn’t disappoint my need for the motorcycle-worthy terrain. It weaved and turned dramatically almost non stop and opened up into huge valleys with streams and lakes everywhere.
We stopped in Jade City and saw a camera crew shooting footage for the TV show. I went in and bought a few pieces of jade souvenirs for my wife and the kids and came to find out that I left my only credit card back at the Dease Lake gas station 1.5 hrs behind us! Looks like I’ll be using cash the rest of the trip. I was feeling very frustrated and distracted now and needed to snap out of it.
There’s no going back…. only forward. After a soothing and supportive bear hug, I was ready to strike out again.
From there the Cassiar tested me by suddenly and without warning turning into gravel from time to time. In one particular really tight switchback I had to crawl through it in first gear to avoid losing traction. The Ninja didn’t hold the careless drop against me and was a precision instrument as always. It found traction where it shouldn’t have and I never even spun a tire once thanks to the traction control.
Even at this early point, I know this is the bike of the year. It’s so insanely good at everything.
We finally reached the junction of the Cassiar and the Alaska Highways! I entered the Yukon Territory for the first time (briefly). I’ll be back. Marking this spot is the bizarre Sign Post Forest. The name is explanation enough as to what it entails, I suppose.
We saw our first Bison on the Alaska Highway! I’ve never seen them in the wild before, but they were everywhere around the Watson Lake area of the Alaska Highway!
Add to that 8 bears along the road. This area is lousy with them.
The Liard Hot Springs was our next stop and I was keen to try out my new camping gear and take a warm soak in the sulfur and mineral-rich baths.
Let me tell you if you’re ever in this neck of the woods you have to stop and dip in this hot spring. After such a crappy day infused with all that rain and cold LIard was exactly what I needed. It’s a natural setting spring, clean and surrounded by trees full of birds. The warm temperature of the area creates a unique climate suitable for unusual plantlife to grow nearby.
The steam off the water was beautiful at night and I was tempted to drape myself out on a ledge half in the water and spend the night instead of going back to my tent. We stayed in the water until after midnight then retired to our site for a brief campfire and much-needed sleep.
Tomorrow will be another high mile day as we push on to Whitehorse and the Yukon Territory!
