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Miscellaneous Ramblings From My 13,500 Mile North American Tour

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For the sake of this email, I would like to consider all Alaskan’s and Canadian’s as one people - everything equally applies to both parties. From that perspective I would like to say that everyone I met on my tour was extremely friendly and very helpful. I mean exceedingly so. In Yellowknife 3 teenage girls at the hotel said good morning to me from 25’ away. I thanked them, and then followed up with the fact this would never happen in NY. We spoke for a bit, and they told me I should move to Yellowknife right away to be with nicer people. Very nice young ladies. I don’t know what is in Egg McMuffins in Yellowknife, but it was pretty good.

The Thelon –

Mapquest says 4 days from NY to Yellowknife. We’ve got forest fires, rockslides and bison to deal with, so I allow 5.5 days. Got there in 4. Bison everywhere, but no accidents.

Frost heaves – Ok, I am used to frost heaves that are apparently in the playskool category. I surely thought the van would s snap in half. Waiting to crash to the bottom of one I actually had picked my feet up off the floor. Serious stuff, seriously.

Wherever I was in North Dakota I slept in a small town under a water tower. Customs the next morning had a rather perplexed agent asking where I was going to be for 6 weeks. Told her I had a canoe trip and after that I didn’t know. Explained I had read multiple times camping spots are everywhere in northern Canada and to just go. This is true, and since I was boondocking no plan needed. She quizzed me several different ways and asked some key questions that were repeated to me every time I crossed back and forth between Alaska. Things like, “so what did you do for a living” seemed very important. Onward.

6 weeks and 13,500 miles in a Chrysler Pacifica. Damp socks for mildew detail. I placed 5 milk crates in the back, loaded gear in them and around them, and put a 6 x 4 sheet plywood sheet over the crates. Perfect sleeping quarters.

Left Rochester, drove to Yellowknife. Did the Thelon. Pretty incredible, and all that I had hoped. Driving home took a right and followed the Alaskan Hwy to Tok (Toke) then headed to Anchorage. So much of this journey was driving through the exact same geography I have in NY, and I wanted to get to mountains. In fact, it looks exactly like driving through Michigan’s UP. I drove 400 km’s across scrub brush and burned areas, but I was quickly ahead of schedule to get to Alaska. Again, allowing for unforeseen circumstances, I had allowed 5 days to get to Anchorage but made it in three. Found a campground and had 3 days till Chick arrived. Nice enough town. Very nice people. This city has the longest dang traffic lights in the universe, but nobody complains. No horns, no screams, nothing. I was there for one day and my blood pressure was dropping.

My grandfather drove the Alaskan HWY in the 50’s and I always intended to do the same. WOW. Seen plenty of mountains but the north bound was fantastic. So much, I changed my route to drive it again on the return. I told Chick she HAD to see this, so we are planning a driving vacation for next year.

Turns out Alaska can turn the fishing season on and off at will. I was going to fish for silver (coho’s in the Great Lakes), but they closed the season the day before I was to go.

We drove down to Seward for three days to do the fiords tour, and then to the Kenai River.

I LOVED driving at the Seward Hwy. Stunning scenery, a nice smooth road and a pretty nice groove at 70. I actually drove it repeatedly while in Anchorage, wishing I had my toy car.

What’s with the number of Mustangs in Anchorage?

A Dose of Reality –

Not a lot of homeless in Anchorage that I saw, but that’s the Iceberg principle. Again, they were all very nice. While driving to get morning coffee I saw a person lying on the sidewalk at about 6 am, and it’s getting cold up there now. I ordered McDonalds coffee, 2 Egg McMuffin meals and 2 breakfast burrito’s for him. I drove back and went up the guy. My car idling close by and he never flinched. I walked up and addressed him loudly. He stirred, and I explained what I was doing. He thanked me (very polite!) and passed back out on the ground. There but for…….

Went to Fairbanks for three days. Enjoyed the Chena Hot Springs. I found the hottest spot in that pool, and I am talking insurance claims by snowflakes. Overall, I enjoyed the springs very much. I wish they would scoop out some sitting spots on the rocks, but thats just me b*tching.

The “you’ve got to be kidding me” part. I rented this van in winter because the cost nearly doubled by spring. $3800 bucks and unlimited mileage. Told them I was going to Alaska and to make sure I had a spare. And then I didn’t double check. Had a blow out right on Denali Hwy, all alone with very sparse traffic. inReach does monitor texts so as I let Chick know what occurred they let me know there was a tow company, and they had a number for it. This place was closed, but Chick found a number, called it, 6 hours later a flatbed showed up at mile marker 71. Drive me back to Cantwell where a great guy stayed up late to help me out. He patched me up and I left his shop at 10:10 pm. Tow bill - $1,400.

Driving through Denali I was surprised by the number of travel trailers in the backcountry, and I pointed this out to my wrecker driver Brian. They are everywhere. Brian explained these were not hikers/campers, but moose and bear hunters. He said you can go hiking there right now – not illegal – but with thousands of hunters stirring up moose and bear activity with 240 gr bullets try very hard to find something else to do.

Also drove the Cassiar and the Icefields HWY’s. I have read that this is one of the most beautiful areas in the world and I have to say I agree. These were even more stunning than the first one. Amazing, and neither image’s online nor my pic’s do it justice. I actually stopped taking pic’s for this reason. Can’t explain how stunning this place is.

Regarding the Cassiar – way too much trash on the road. Didn’t see it anywhere else. Assuming it is tourists but either way, come on people. The most beautiful area in the world and you throw trash out the window? Other parkways were very clean.

The “This guy isn’t from here” moment. Coming around a corner on the Cassiar I had 2 dogs, one deceased in the road and the other sporting a severed leash and was rather wildly running around the dead dog barking furiously. I stopped and walked back to the dogs. The barking dog was not letting me get any closer. Then a jeep pulled up and the first thing the driver asked me was if I had hit that dog with my car. I said no, and he told me to get back in my car right now. I must have hesitated because he told me a bear could still be very close by. It looked like the guts were scooped right out of the dog. He said there was nothing that I, or he and I could do. It just happens up there, but he also said everybody knows who owns which dogs so the owners would be notified. Ruined my day till about noon. Icefields Parkway made me forget.

I have a beef with the Canadian municipalities and their use of black/orange barrels and markers in construction zones. White/orange show up much better. And please increase the size of your residential street signs.

I love how the local radio stations are posted on a sign outside of town in Canada. This was key since I couldn’t even get a sat radio station. I drove in silence for days. Annoying at first, it turns out being alone with your thoughts and nothing else for an extended period of time actually has some very unforeseen benefits.



Currency –

I am close enough to Canada that the POP’s calculate the exchange, and you can pay with American money. Not way north. It was a par situation, so I used VISA so as to take advantage of the exchange. I had planned on living out of my cooler as I travelled. Worked well until I got further north. Then there were no longer ice machines so once my ice was gone, I couldn’t resupply. I asked the shop owner about this, and he stated no ice company would make a huge delivery loop. Used to be they would drop by once in a while but no more.

Don’t get me started on those gas stations in the north. If you can find it.

I have heard there are states where yellow lines are just suggestions for passing/not passing. Unsure about AK but a whole bunch of people pass whenever they feel like it.

All of this got put together as a result of those pesky test results I got a while back. It was time for my next test, but I arranged with the Dr. to put it off until I got back – didn’t want to be haunted while out there. I go in for the next test this week, and even if the numbers come out on the wrong side, I will be forever grateful I was able to take this trip.

On my return I drove across the Canadian plains to Michigan’s UP, a little town called Republic, to stop by my mother’s grave for the first time since the funeral. I actually laid down next to her grave and told her all about the trip. (wasn’t worried about partially laying on the next grave since it was my grandparents). Told her many other things as well. Laughed, cried and hugged her tombstone. Many, many things happened on this trip, most of which had nothing to do with canoeing. Compartmentalization, catharsis, rationalization, realization of things big and small, the impact continues to unfold. I will be eternally grateful the sat radio I ordered was not activated. I get that some of this occurs on our solo trips, but this was different because it was 785 km drive with no sweepers to break your train of thought. Day after day. Wouldn’t trade this for the world, just wish I’d done it years ago.
 
That sounds like a great trip!

How was your fishing on the Thelon?

Good luck with your tests.

Alan
 
Wonderful narrative, KO, on so many different levels.

Did you bring a canoe or rent one somewhere?
 
Wonderful narrative, KO, on so many different levels.

Did you bring a canoe or rent one somewhere?

We used the Ally 16.5 ft "folding" canoes on the Thelon trip supplied by the outfitter. Creepy little devices these are. The undulating boat snakes over and around rocks and all, but it's very sticky on rocks and had amazingly horrible seats. Upside is we were able to get 5 boats and all of our gear into 1 of Tindi's twin engine numbers, but the 2 hr plus ride left little room for stretching out.
 
Wow, wasn't aware the Cowboy Junkies were still touring. Saw them the last time they were in Thunder Bay. I've always been a huge fan, hope they put on a good show!
 
Great taste in music Mem!

Another fan - you don't come across too many folks who are familiar. They played a tiny theater in a small town an hour from Rochester.

For those unfamiliar these guys are from Toronto and for about 40 years have produced some of the most depressing music you have ever heard. Had a great little ditty about Alzheimer's right at the top of the show. Great musicians. They now have 19 albums. They do plenty of covers as well, and it was their version of Neil Young's Helpless, where a willowy Margo Timmons captured my attention with her amazing voice some years ago. Following that, many years later they covered Neil's Powderfinger in a rendition that I put on par with the original.

I have put the links for these two songs below. Even if you are not a Neil Young fan check them out. Great stuff. Other original songs that had some notoriety are Common Disaster and Cheap is How I Feel. Get much beyond those and keep the Kleenex handy. My wife and daughter identify with their versions of these two songs below more then with Neil's - Helpless can bring either one to tears.


 
It was their cover of Lou Reeds Sweet Jane that originally propelled them to local fame as I'm sure you know. It is music of a particular era of my life, and I ha ent really listened to it for a few years, but will rectify that next week probably.
 
Just wondering, Keeled Over, if you’re going to post a trip report on your Thelon River adventure. Hope so.
Hi Michael,

Thank you for your question but I do not intend to put one together. I haven't even downloaded the pic's off my camera yet. Strangely enough I am not reflecting on the trip very much right now. It was everything I had hoped for, so nothing bad, just busy making plans for future trips. I expect to slow down a bit, but I still have 3 canoe trips planned and a whole bunch of lake trolling to do before the steelhead hit the streams. Hopefully I can get caught up mid winter, and I'll post a few good pic's, but they never come close to capturing what you are actually seeing. I am strongly considering making another road trip through eastern Canada next year - it was a ton of fun.
 
Had a few more items pop into my head from the trip - may have mentioned some in another thread - sorry!

I adopted a technique used by the sailing set for long passages – I never turned the van off while in the outback. Even stopping for gas I didn’t shut it off. This Chrysler Pacifica was great. VERY comfortable seats for my back, mileage in the low 30’s due to a 9 speed tranny, and it never hickuped. Ran flawlessly.

I need moose knowledge. In MI and NY I see moose with a body like a cow. Way up north they had big chests and all, but they had this sexy little rear end that just angled towards the ground. Looked out of place. I looked online and I know there are different types, but nothing looked quite the same. What’s up with these guys?

I grew up in whitetail country and am used to their shenanigan’s. Two moose just APPEARED near the end of a guard rail. As I scrambled to a stop one moose walked around the guardrail while the other just stepped over it and walked by looking at me.

I can now confirm I saw my first fisher cat. I have heard that friendly meow they have and it can be a bit unsettling the first time or two, but I can finally cross this one off.

The roads were a surprise. I assumed the gravel would be worse, and I’m sure in the spring they are, but I drove thousands of kilometers on gravel with no issue. The paved roads were worse, and by that I mean frost heaves. Big frost heaves. Unsure as to what is used for skid plates on a Pacifica but it works.

I found, very consistently, that with this car loaded the way it was if I kept it right at 60 mph (what, 90 kilometers?) I could handle the vast majority of frost heaves – over that was not good.

Was told repeatedly to refill when I reached ½ tank, which I did. Only once was I concerned. As I was a bit below ½ tank at one point I was searching for petrol when a station showed up. This one was normally open, but not today I was told. Rolling further I came across another, but this one was out of gas, and these “lodges” can be quite a distance apart. The mileage of the Pacifica made it a non-issue, but in my truck I would have extra gas.

Speaking of lodges, they don’t seem to be a fan of stealing their wi-fi. I didn’t do this, and some strongly worded signs warned against it. Others would charge you. Google maps is the goal, but I had three different paper maps with me so I was always pretty comfortable, plus often times there was only one road showing on the map so hard to get lost. You can however sometimes nab a signal by driving by lodges close to the road.

This one had not occurred to me. One gentleman I was talking to as I was considering the route through Chicken and all, really pushed insect repellant almost as much as gas. He explained that if you break down in summer you can’t just sit there in a car with windows up and no AC, so you better have a bunch of repellant because it could be a while till help arrived.

I had 2 coolers, large and small, but one medium would be better. Individual bottles were a hassle in the van, so I kept a few Diet Cokes cold and drank car-temp water out of gallon jugs.

I don’t even think I could lock the door with the keys inside, but for that reason and the possibility of losing a fob I kept one in a small pouch I wear around my inside my shirt.

Often times I would put in long hours driving. I drove from Yellowknife to Watson Lake in one 17 hour shot - including about 400 km of gravel. I do not recommend this. I would often roll into a campsite in Canada quite late. I did not want to disturb other campers by driving around looking for a site, so I would arrive, fill out the envelope, throw a $20.00 in but leave the site # blank. I was always the first guy out in the morning so it was quite stealthy and I am sure leaving the site # blank is not uncommon.

Most people know you can sleep in SOME Walmart lots – same with Cabela’s. If you are ever in a bind for a spot go to any medium sized grocery store. They always have people doing nite stock and there will be a collection of cars off to one side of the lot. I park close to these cars but not to close. Nobody had ever questioned me on this and in the morning you are woken up early when the stock guys leave.

Over in Alaska I found out that the season for a fishery are not static dates on a calendar year over year. I was looking for silvers (coho in the Great Lakes) but the season was shut down the day after I got there. I’m guessing the run was slow, but unsure.

Still a bit pissed of by the size of the Alaska STATE fair, but I needed a 15 min walk so be it. Palmer, where it was held struck me as very nice little town – assuming a bedroom community of Anchorage?

Going back to a thread from some time ago there was a discussion of power blocks, and recped maintained he liked Ankers. I take his advice as gospel (same applies to many others on here, I'm not playing favorites - don't get mad heh heh) I got 2, one 20 and one 40, and while I had my car for my phone, my camera, inReach, and JBL speaker depended on the blocks. I used them for a month and a half. The 20 was drained but the 40m still had a 75% charge. This after several charges provided to my trip mates. After Wabakimi my brother switched to these as well.

I used a planner to build this trip and had every bit of info in it, reservations, tours, etc. and I highly recommend this. The reason surfaced when a border officer asked me where I had been the last day and I couldn’t answer him. Told him I drove through the Icefields Parkway yesterday morning, and by just driving till your tired – Canada has a million places to park right on the roads – I could not tell him where I slept. This did result in another step closer to my car. I asked him if I could grab my planner – he said yes – and I opened it and handed it to him. He flipped thought it quickly -10 seconds – handed it back and said “you’ve been everywhere”, and sent me on my way.

This is about all for now. If any other saliant points pop up I'll update.
 
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