Here is a rundown of our ride planning for Alaska and Canada …
A new year is upon us and the days are already going by too fast, so it’s time we got our act together and started to solidify our itinerary. After the usual trawling through ADVRider, Horizons Unlimited, the Mile Post, along with a few other sites I have finally put together a pretty Initial Itinerary for Alaska and Canada.
Leaving Australia and flying to Vancouver in the last week of May to catch up with friends and family before we write down to Bellingham, just across the border in the United States we will catch the ferry up through the inside passage to Anchorage. After a couple days of preparation in Anchorage will head up towards the Denali National Park along the George Parks Highway, however to make things a little more interesting along the way, we will turn off the park’s highway and head east east onto that the mostly gravel Denali Highway before heading north again up through Fairbanks and all the way up the Dalton Highway (Haul Road) to Deadhorse (Prudhoe Bay). Prudhoe Bay is as close as you can get to the Arctic Ocean by road and is a mecca for motorcycle travellers. It is here that will officially start our trip down all the way down to Ushuaia, Argentina, where we will be as close as we can get my road to Antarctica.
Planning a trip through such a vast country using maps and website can only get you so far. Seeking the advice of Alaskan riders on ADVRider will I’ve been overwhelmed with friendly advice and offers to catch up along the way. Apart from the riding and the awe-inspiring scenery that I am coming to expect, one of the real highlights I am looking forward to is though Dust to Dawson (D2D) gathering on the summer solstice in the middle of the Yukon. To date around 90 riders from Alaska, Canada and the rest of the United States are planning to meet in this remote town to celebrate the longest day of the year. I’m that glad that this event fits in with our itinerary as not only will it be great to meet other riders, it will also take is down to more great roads – the Top of the World Highway and the Klondike Highway.
As continued to head south we will follow the Cassier Highway into British Columbia and then head down towards Jasper and Banff along the Icefields Parkway. I’m sure that this wonderful places in the trip before this but I’m really looking forward to this part as Jasper was one of the first towns that I saw my first trip to Canada and in my opinion is in one of the most beautiful spots in the world. We’ll also have to make a stop in Banff just that I can reminisce about when I was studying in Vancouver and spent a month sleeping on my mate’s couch and snowboarding every day while he had to work! Leaving Banff we will then say goodbye to the Canucks and enter the United States into northern Montana.
That’s about as far as I’ve got so far, so stay tuned for more.