Summit… at last from Ken Roberts on Vimeo.
1944. Or about quarter to eight in the evening. Ken and his trusty steed finally make it to the highest point on the Haines Road.
Caution: Clip contains some terrible humour, or at least what purports to be wit… You have been warned!
Peggy was from Carcross. Said I’d seen it on my map. Further east, on the road down to the Alaskan port of Skagway. Explained I’d planned to pass through, but instead had chosen to take a more direct route south to the coast. It had a desert, actual sand dunes, she added. I nodded. Said I’d heard this. Apologising for not visiting.
Wrapped up against the constant, chilling wind, only her face was visible. I studied it intently. Warm, welcoming smile. Kind eyes. She was working as a flagger, helping control traffic through the lengthy road works along the Haines Road. Long days as they sought to finish before winter, hampered by recent heavy rains.
A long commute, I enquired? No, she explained, they’d a small encampment a few miles further on. A few bunkhouses, some with their own trailers. A reputable employer, one of the best she’d worked for, that looked after its people. Decent meals, good accommodation.
Obliged to ride in one of the pilot cars escorting vehicles through the works, I’d met Peggy as I’d been dropped off at the end of one section. She’d helped me re-attach all the panniers to the bike. That’d have been generous enough, but she’d also given me quite a few cartons of apple juice she’d spare. As if to emphasise how much I’d appreciated this, I downed a couple in moments, eager for the revitalising natural sugars.
British Columbia beckons – Part Three – beyond the rainbow from Ken Roberts on Vimeo.
Ken encounters a rainbow. No gold at the end, besides he’d much prefer a warm bed… And still a long way to go to reach the ferry south from Haines…
Ominous sign on the Haines Road. Links Haines Junction in Canada’s Yukon to Haines in Alaska. One hundred and fifty miles of wilderness riding.
British Columbia beckons – Part Two – above the bearline from Ken Roberts on Vimeo.
Ken closes on the highest point of the Haines Road, the Chilkit Pass. And ponders the possibility of a bear line. Bit like a tree line but perhaps more ambiguous…
On the border between Canada’s Yukon and British Columbia Provinces.
British Columbia beckons – leaving the Yukon from Ken Roberts on Vimeo.
Ken crosses into British Columbia. First impressions, of the weather at least, aren’t good… And there’s still quite a way to go to reach the ferry south.
Million Dollar Falls from Ken Roberts on Vimeo.
Ken makes a brief lunch stop at Million Dollar Falls, along the Haines Road, towards Haines and his ferry south
Blitzkrieg into British Columbia from Ken Roberts on Vimeo.
Still no bears, but hordes of Germans.. Just like France, the Yukon and British Columbia being popular destinations. Direct flight from Frankfurt into Whitehorse, most likely the only international airport in the region.
I’d planned to take the ferry south from Skagway. Why, Rick had asked whilst I’d being staying in his cabin near Haines Junction? Haines was closer, and the next port of call for the ship. And I was a bit pressed for time. So I’d decided to take the Haines Road due south and ride for Haines. About one hundred and fifty miles. Day and a half to get there.
A steady climb out of Haines Junction. Flatter sections around Kathleen Lake, past Klukshu First Nation village. And then lengthy uphills, insidious rather than steep, past Million Dollars Falls. Over the southern boundary of the Yukon into Canada’s British Columbia Province.
Next the Chilkat Pass, highest point on the road at over three and a half thousand feet, on beyond the Three Guardsmen mastiff, its tallest peak more than six thousand feet. Then the descent to the US border and a return to Alaska. Fifty or so miles into Haines, a further five to the ferry terminal.
The plan was simplicity itself. Push as far as I could on the first day, as close to the US border as possible. Wild camp before I lost the light. Rise early. Into Alaska, find the roadhouse I’d been told about and refuel with a decent breakfast. Then press on to the ferry.
