Alaska - T minus ten days and counting
#1
Zen Master
Thread Starter
Alaska - T minus ten days and counting
July is here at last and that means I'm about ready to start the pre-tour bike packing dance.
This time we're heading to grizzly country for a ride across the Denali Highway and through Denali National Park itself. Two weeks of this gig is an organized tour which is self-supported but the daily cooking will be done on a rotational basis between the 14 tourers in our group. Another group of 14ish is heading out on the same route a week prior to us. With 28 total tourers I wouldn't be surprised to see a number of resulting journals.
Let me go ahead and introduce our *** Alaska Tour Journal *** which already has about 20 images and a bit of blathering put down by yours truly.
I'm not taking any comm gear along and really doubt we'll be stopping at all the internet cafes that dot the Alaskan countryside. Once we leave Anchorage we might not be heard from for a couple of weeks unless we contact our house sitters to pass something along. As long as my photo gear holds up I'll be uploading a slew of images once the deal is done.
We're not stopping once the organized tour ends. We intend to ride right into Denali National Park all the way to Wonder Lake and then back out again. That's probably our most daring feat planned with no bang stick. Just a can or two of bear enraging spray. We'll see how that goes and I promise to have the can of spray in one hand and a camera in the other.
This time we're heading to grizzly country for a ride across the Denali Highway and through Denali National Park itself. Two weeks of this gig is an organized tour which is self-supported but the daily cooking will be done on a rotational basis between the 14 tourers in our group. Another group of 14ish is heading out on the same route a week prior to us. With 28 total tourers I wouldn't be surprised to see a number of resulting journals.
Let me go ahead and introduce our *** Alaska Tour Journal *** which already has about 20 images and a bit of blathering put down by yours truly.
I'm not taking any comm gear along and really doubt we'll be stopping at all the internet cafes that dot the Alaskan countryside. Once we leave Anchorage we might not be heard from for a couple of weeks unless we contact our house sitters to pass something along. As long as my photo gear holds up I'll be uploading a slew of images once the deal is done.
We're not stopping once the organized tour ends. We intend to ride right into Denali National Park all the way to Wonder Lake and then back out again. That's probably our most daring feat planned with no bang stick. Just a can or two of bear enraging spray. We'll see how that goes and I promise to have the can of spray in one hand and a camera in the other.
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Ron - Tucson, AZ
Ron - Tucson, AZ
Last edited by Miles2go; 07-01-07 at 12:00 AM.
#2
totally louche
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don't use bacon for a pillow!
Seriously, have fun and be safe. 100 yard triangle for camping in bear country, kitchen-tent-foodbag.
bring a couple of bear cords, easier to string the trees.
but I'm sure you know all that stuff already.
Seriously, have fun and be safe. 100 yard triangle for camping in bear country, kitchen-tent-foodbag.
bring a couple of bear cords, easier to string the trees.
but I'm sure you know all that stuff already.
#3
Zen Master
Thread Starter
I haven't ironed out the food carrying system yet but do know the routine. We have a few days built into the front end of this tour before we depart from Anchorage. They have a good outdoor store in town, as well as an REI. After the bikes are loaded up I'll see if we have room to secure one of the hard anti-bear food canisters. If not, we'll go with the food bag approach. I'm pretty sure within Denali NP they have food storage at the campsites. Before we get there it will be interesting to see how this is managed by the 14 individuals that make up our touring party. Perhaps in this case a 100 yard rectangle is a better idea. Kitchen-Food-Tent-Everyone Else's Tent.
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Ron - Tucson, AZ
Ron - Tucson, AZ
#4
Dave the tourer
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I biked from Alaska twice, and on the first trip I did a very similar ride to yours and spent 3 days at Denali. In Denali you will find food storage buildings, kind of like a small trailer with shelves. In the backcountry you will be on your own. Denali NP will loan you a food canister though. I kept all of my food in a marine bag and then I strung it up a tree, several hundred yards from my camping site. It was still nerve wracking at night though (night is a relative term, it's really just dusk then sunrise a minute later). I turned a corner up in the Yukon Territory once and was an arm's length from a grizz. It was standing upright at the time (I learned later that that is usually not a good thing), fortunately it was on a downhill and I just kept rolling.
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The warm weather here is messing up my clothing selection. I keep forgetting how cool 40-65 can be. We went to a movie tonight and I wore a sweater - and the temp read 64! Have you decided what mix of clothes you will be bringing?
#6
Zen Master
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by fvalenti
The warm weather here is messing up my clothing selection. I keep forgetting how cool 40-65 can be. We went to a movie tonight and I wore a sweater - and the temp read 64! Have you decided what mix of clothes you will be bringing?
Hey Frank, are you and J getting excited?
It's in the high 90s through 100s in northern Utah right now. Being used to the high temps here is going to screw Nancy up a bit once we're in Alaska. She gets cold easy which is often the case with past victims of frostbite.
We'll be doing the typical layering thing regarding clothing selection but who knows what we're going to get in the weather lottery. I'm sure we'll be deficient in some regard. The only shoes we'll have along are Shimano sandals and when it turns cold and wet we just throw on Gore-Tex socks. We've done this forever and our feet have never been uncomfortable. Our tent will actually be better suited for cool/cold temps. It's one heavy SOB by bike touring standards. Our sleeping bags are of the 30 degree variety.
Thanks for relaying your experience David. I'm going to not worry about the bears that much and just go through the food separation routine. Hmmm, I guess I could go the extra mile and drag it behind me on a long tether(detachable). We'll see how I really do when it comes time to getting some sleep. Nancy will be out like a light.
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Ron - Tucson, AZ
Ron - Tucson, AZ
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Yes - we are certainly excited. A little jealous that we won’t have time to properly bike the park - we had to resort to a bus tour to stick within our vacation times. Seems ironic to bike all that way to then hop on a bus - but it is better then not seeing it at all.
I am a new convert to the sandals (mine are lake) and have found them to be great. I met a few others who, like you, throw on the Gore-Tex when the weather turns bad. I ordered a pair and will try the same.
See you soon!
I am a new convert to the sandals (mine are lake) and have found them to be great. I met a few others who, like you, throw on the Gore-Tex when the weather turns bad. I ordered a pair and will try the same.
See you soon!
#8
Zen Master
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by fvalenti
Yes - we are certainly excited. A little jealous that we won’t have time to properly bike the park - we had to resort to a bus tour to stick within our vacation times. Seems ironic to bike all that way to then hop on a bus - but it is better then not seeing it at all.
I am a new convert to the sandals (mine are lake) and have found them to be great. I met a few others who, like you, throw on the Gore-Tex when the weather turns bad. I ordered a pair and will try the same.
See you soon!
I am a new convert to the sandals (mine are lake) and have found them to be great. I met a few others who, like you, throw on the Gore-Tex when the weather turns bad. I ordered a pair and will try the same.
See you soon!
We'll see if you're still jealous of our ride into Denali NP after all's said and done. I keep hearing about bus riders that have to delay getting on or off the bus because of wildlife being nearby. The bus sounds pretty good if that kinda thing is the norm. If Nancy and I have "interactions" with the Park Road "locals" it might be us that becomes jealous of your mode of travel.
We're staying at a B&B for a few days prior to meeting up with everyone. I'll be putting the bikes together there and we've changed our plans, deciding to fly the bikes in with us.
Let's hope there's dinner and a few brews to share before leaving town.
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Ron - Tucson, AZ
Ron - Tucson, AZ
Last edited by Miles2go; 07-03-07 at 12:59 AM.
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just got back from a tour from fairbanks->anchorage via the richardson highway and the glen highway. be sure to chk the status of the wildfires......i thinkt hey have them pretty much contained. if you have any questions just ask.........as far as bears, well, call me lucky. i didnt see any and boy i should of. for one, i only stayed at state parks...more options for the bear lol....day two was really rainy so i went against my no cooking in camp and cook under my hammock. then i kicked over my pot and the food spilled all over the ground well i thought, tonights the night. well no bear luckily. day 7 a very nice fisherman i was chatting with in a town called glenn allen gave me a same day caught copper river red salmon. a WHOLE FILLET. it was a sight of beauty. i took it back to my camp and cooked it 20 ft away from my hammock. (didnt spill this on the ground) again no bear. foolish i know but im hear to tell ya about it.
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We will be at the hostel Friday night/Saturday am. Probably frantically looking for the REI to get a front rack. lol We are also flying the tandem - just getting it to the airport in the box on this end is a hassle. Thank goodness the back seat is "easily" removable in the Taurus.
have a safe trip - see you soon!
have a safe trip - see you soon!