August 18, 2021
Over the past six days of riding approximately 2100 miles through Canada and Alaska, we have seen around 50 fully loaded motorcycles heading south. The total number of motorcycles heading north, including us: One. Not a single other motorcycle going towards Alaska besides us. This says a lot about either:
A. How late in the season we are.
B. How dumb we are.
C. All of the above.
Diana quickly surmised (and probably accurately) that now is the right time for people riding the “Gringo Trail” to begin their trek south (the usual route from Alaska to South America via the west coast of the US and the Inter-American/Pan-American Highway). This might well explain a lot of the southbound two wheeled traffic we’ve seen.
As for an explanation of the single motorcycle heading north, you can look at weather.com for Prudhoe Bay, Alaska and get a pretty good indication.
Traveling from Alaska down the Alcan years ago I left Fairbanks in October with 18″ of snow and the further south we went it was like traveling the season in reverse. The fall was evident with turning leaves after Whitehorse. Its still a awesome place. .
We’re keeping our fingers crossed that the weather treats us well over the next few weeks and let’s us leave before it gets too cold and wet. As you well know, the weather here can change fast, and we’re already experiencing differences daily. That’s Alaska!
A bit cold for tents. Ha!
Don’t forget get the obligatory photo at Santa Claus House in North Pole AK.