The ultimate measure of a person is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
Tok -> Takhini Hot Springs (509 miles)
I woke up around 5:30am, quickly packed my gear, and headed for Chicken via the Top of the World Highway. I had a long ride ahead of me and I wanted to spend a few hours in Dawson City. I had planned it so that at the end I would be rewarded with a dip in some hot springs to sooth my sore butt.
The morning was pretty cold and I ended up having to stop half way to warm up my hands on my tailpipes. Along the way I saw my first bear cross the road and then a few miles before I reached Chicken I saw a pack of 4 wolf pups walking in the gravel.
I needed to refuel in Chicken before I head to Dawson City otherwise I would never make it. Unfortunately, Chicken is a small town and has only one gas station that has to be attended by a human. I got there around 7:30am but the store didn’t open until 8am. I spent my time walking around the grounds and checking out their antiques. This place felt like it was stuck in a decade way in the past.
I refueled as soon as I could and got back onto there road, which by this time had turned into gravel. It was gravel until about 10 miles before the border and turned into perfectly paved road. After that, it would be gravel for 70 miles.
Along the way I passed an RV and then after a few miles I noticed that my battery light came on. I quickly pulled over and accidentally let my bike kick off. My bike was dead.
I waited for a few minutes for the R.V. to roll up and flagged him down. Luckily the driver, also named John, had jumper cables and gave me a kick start. Like most of this trip has been for me, when it rains it pours. I have a screw that secures the battery cover. Well, as I was trying to put it back on I dropped the screw and we spent the next 15 minutes searching for it. Finally, John decided to go look for a bungie cable to secure it, but just as he’s going to his R.V. I found the screw stuck behind my pipe cover. I planned to keep my bike running the rest of the way until I hit Dawson City.
There’s a reason why they call it the Top of the World Highway. For one, the border crossing there is the highest in elevation in North America.
Also, when you’re riding along the mountain tops you literally feel like your riding on top of the world.
The ride really wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. For the most part, there wasn’t all that much loose gravel and practically no potholes. I made it to the ferry with plenty of gas to spare, but when I got my bike on the boat they made me turn off the engine. I practically pleaded with them that if I turned it off it wouldn’t start again, but they said I either had to get off or turn off my engine. I turned it off and when we got to the other side, sure enough my bike was dead.
I ended up having to roll my bike off the ferry and go search for someone with jumper cables. I figured I wouldn’t have to look too long since there was a line up of trucks waiting for the ferry, but after asking around with no luck I was getting a bit worried. One guy thought he might have some, but his truck gave off the impression he was a hoarder and probably wouldn’t be able to find them anytime soon.
I started walking along the nearby houses trying to see if anyone was home and found two ladies sitting on their porch. Luckily they had jumper cables but weren’t willing to come kickstart my bike. They were too worried it would ruin their husband’s car. I took the cables, found the hoarder in line, and quickly kickstarted my bike while the ferry was pulling up to unload more cars. Luckily, there was an auto parts store in town that had one battery in stock that fit my bike.
I had wasted so much time that I really didn’t have much of a chance to explore Dawson City. It seemed like a neat little town, but after grabbing a quick bite to eat and snapping a few photos I was back on the road.
The ride from Dawson City to Takhini Hot Springs wasn’t all that eventful. In the beginning you can see a bunch of tailings from old mining operations, but other than that there really wasn’t much to see. I started to hit road construction not too long into my ride down and somehow timed every section at the worst time. I was always the first vehicle there and had to wait 20 minutes for the pilot car to show up. I easily rode more gravel this day than any other day this trip.
Towards the end of the day I started to get caught in some showers and I found out the hard way my gloves weren’t as waterproof as I had once thought. By the time I got to Takhini Hot Springs they were pretty damp. Luckily, I had the hot springs to rejuvenate me after a long days ride.
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