Not an XS ride report

[Pain]

Alaskan Highway, part 1

The Alaska Highway was built back in the 40s as a route to get American stuff to Alaska through Canada. It starts in the south at Dawson Creek, where there is a nice large sign (two, actually) for pictures, and runs north to a place called Delta junction where there are two gas stations and a campground. Well, and a decent place to eat, to be honest.

I had mixed feelings about Dawson Creek and the sign, so when a local told me the road sucked and I needed to ride through the Peace River Valley, I was immediately interested. When I found out the Peace River was going to be dammed, and the valley was going away forever, I decided I had my route.

The extra day in Prince George meant I had excellent weather as I headed north.

The river had some nice views too.


I passed through the town of Chetwynd, which was the last gas for a while and the lines were very long. Luck for me they were mostly big RV's and Semis, so I just filtered in to a free pump that was being blocked. Once the fueling was done I took a moment to look at Chetwynd's civic art.

There were these wooden cravings all over the place.


Back on the road, I entered the valley proper. I knew I was there because of all the “Save the Peace River Valley” signs.

I could see their point.


I camped near Charlie Lake, then got onto the ALCAN proper the next day. At my first fuel stop I met this guy -

Jeremy, from the Isle of Man. He shipped the bike to New York, and rode across Canada to Dawson Creek. I had seen his bike back in Banff, but hadn't thought about it much. Little did either of us know that we would be seeing each other all the way south. (I guess those VFR's aren't actually all that fast, since Curiosity could keep up).


I met these people and their totally awesome retro RV

I got a brief tour and learned the owner had 4 or 5, which he used to keep one running. He was with his wife and sister-in-law, and despite that seemed to be have a really good time. So much so that I met them again about 30 minutes out of town. He had forgotten to get gas and had run out. The mounties were already on the way with gas.

One thing about the ALCAN, it really is the only road. Since everyone travels at different speeds, sometimes you need people once, and sometimes you keep running into them over and over. These Rver's I did run into again, further north. The Mounties had brought 5 gallons of gas for their RV, which got them half way back to town. Another trip was needed. If there was a cost he didn't tell me.



That is Stone Mountain, where I was headed. The road went not quite over it, and I had heard there was camping at the top. This turned out to be less than perfect, since it was also cold at the top (it was August, and it wasn't supposed to be cold as far as I was concerned). I ended up passing on the mountain top view, and went down the far side to a place called Toad River.

No, there weren't any toads. It was a swallow place in the river that require boats to be pulled along with ropes from the shore. It seems the locals at the time had some spelling issues. At least, that is what the article in the menu of the lodge said.

Toad river was typical of a town on the ALCAN. There was somewhere to camp, gas, a small store, a couple of buildings. The larger ones had an airstrip. Since turning onto the road I had been on chipseal, tar with gravel pressed into it. I saw a couple of cars and trucks a day, and the distance between fuel stops was around 100-150 miles.

And it was all amazingly beautiful.



Back on the road and headed North and West, it was getting cooler, especially at night, but the days were still perfect.




I set my destination for the day as Watson Lake, which was only a short ride. I felt like I had been pushing myself and the bike too hard the last few days, partly stunned at how big Canada was. I could ride for hours and it seemed like I hadn't moved on the map at all, which can be a little depressing. So, the short day. Oh, and Watson Lake does have something else to attract attention -


I went to the visitor center to ask about camping and eating choices. While the ladies there were more than happy to suggest a campground, they wouldn't give any hints on where to eat. I was a little annoyed by this, but got over it when they gave me detailed fuel locations for the two routes north from Watson Lake. I had been thinking about the Robert Campbell Highway, but the fuel stop I had on my map had, in fact, closed. That meant I would be just about on fumes before reaching the next fuel stop unless I packed extra fuel.

At the campground they immediately directed to a restaurant which had excellent food. They were also able to tell me the places that sold gas cans, but as it turned out the smallest I could get was 3 gallons. That was more gas than I carried in my tank, and the can was so big there wasn't a good place to secure it on the bike. So I decided to stay on the ALCAN. Then I spend some time in the signpost forest.






In the morning I packed back up and got back on the road. Alaska was still far away.

[Pain]

Whitehorse, Dawson, and Top of the World

I left Watson Lake still heading north on the Alaskan Highway. There was road art of a sort

words on the side of the road.

The views were nice too.



When I got to Whitehorse I headed right to the visitor's center to ask about camping options.

There were only a couple, and they suggested Robert Service, which was more of a tent hostal than campground. And there was a housing shortage in Whitehorse when I was there, so the campground was almost full with long term residents. They had all the good campsites too.

The Whitehorse visitor center wasn't afraid to recommend somewhere to eat, and when I got there I ran into Jeremy (VFR, Isle of Man) again. He was in town looking for a new tire. I needed an oil change, but I was going to the Yamaha dealer, and he was planning on the Honda shop, so we had dinner than said we would see each other later.

The next morning I rode over to the Yamaha dealer and asked if I could do my own oil change, if I bought their oil and paid an environmental fee for disposing the old oil. The guys there just laughed, surprised I wasn't just going to dump the oil somewhere. I didn't think about it until later, but I have to hope they didn't just dump the oil somewhere themselves.

I did make a bit of a mess on the cement, which bothered me but no one else. Jeremy showed up, the Honda dealer didn't have a tire for his VFR (which really isn't their fault – how many VFR's are going to Alaska?). The Yamaha place did, and stopped other work in the shop to get his bike sorted. We also got coffee, cookies, little folding knives, and free internet. Nice place, if you are in the area and need something.



With the bike sorted I got lunch

then went to look at a paddlewheeler-turned-museum, the Klondike


It was the last paddlewheeler to work the Yukon river, and the biggest. I took the walking tour.





After dinner in the campground and another night sleep I was back on road. The Alaskan Highway kept heading to Fairbanks. That was the direction Jeremy was headed, but I wanted to go to Dawson City and the Top of the World Highway.

On the road north, the Klondike Highway, the weather turned against me. Cold and rain. I stopped in the city (store, hotel, gas station and a couple houses) of Carmaks for fuel and to warm up. There were a couple of fellow American's headed south after a speed run up the Dempster. They apparently did it in a day, which is impressive and didn't sound like much fun. Once I was ready to go, the bike was dead.

I decided this was the bike telling me to stop, so I got a room in the hotel, took a long hot shower, then poked around to try and figure out what happened with the bike. This didn't really work. After bump starting the bike ran fine, the right amount of power going to the battery, the battery seemed to be holding the charge. I had turned on my heated liner on the road to Carmaks, and thought something was wrong there, but it was still charging even with the liner turned all the way up.

With a mental shrug I spent some time online, eat an above average meal in the one restaurant, and went to sleep.

In the morning the bike needed to be bump started, but after running for a while it was fine again. And the weather was much nicer.



I can understand the charm of Dawson, with wooden sidewalks and dirt streets, fascades on some of the buildings, it does a much better job of capturing the feel of a rugged frontier town than the ones in the lower 48 like Dodge City. It was small too. There was no bridge over the river, so you had to take a ferry to cross, and all the tent-friendly camping was on the other side. So I was off to the boat.

At least it was free.
There were two camping options, private and public. The Private campground, a tent hostal, claimed wifi and hot showers for $2 more, so I went there. The wifi router was broken, and the hot showers were actually heat-the-water-yourself hot sponge baths. I was still tempted, but passed.

I did spend some time walking around Dawson. Unfortunately most of the stuff was closed. There was a museum still open and other odd sights to look at.

One hundred year old wall

Eventually I headed back across on the ferry and to my tent. The sun was setting very late, and I could still read outside at 1030pm. Still, falling asleep was easy enough.

The morning was chilly, but the sun was out and I was pretty sure it would warm up.

Top of the World Highway is entirely gravel, which is why Jeremy had passed on it. But the gravel is in excellent condition, at least on the Canadian side, and I made good time.


With lots of stops for pictures, of course.

I stopped for lunch in a small pull out

after after my spaghettios the bike was, again, dead. No idea why, again, and no convenient hill for bump starting. Still, I tried it a few times, then decided to flag down passersby until I got a jump.

A got a lot of people to stop, but no one actually had jumper cables. But eventually we all managed to get the bike running again with the help of some Australians, and I was back on the road, determined not to turn the bike off again until I got to Chicken, the night's destination.


Back in the USA. Cranky border guards ruined any joy and being 'home.'


One of Chicken's dozen or so buildings. If you get gas here, you get to camp for free. The pavement returned not long after Chicken, and it is a popular place to stop.

I camped with two other motorcyclists, and a bicyclist. The pedaler had a cracked rim, and was worried about how far he would have to go to get to Tok, the closest place he had a chance at a repair. It was only 70 miles or so, but that was pretty far for a bicycle.

In case you ever wonder why the place is called Chicken-

And the cafe had excellent food.

We made an earnest attempt to burn all the free firewood, then called it a night.

[Pain]

Fairbanks and Way Up North stuff

I left Chicken headed towards Fairbanks. The gravel road ended and the pavement (chipseal) returned.


Curiosity was a little dirty, but not too bad. Since it looked like it was going to rain I decided to immortalize the dirt with a couple of pictures.



The rain didn't appear for hours, but the skies remained overcast and it was chilly. Not the best riding weather, but I was in Alaska.

My plan was to get to Fairbanks, find a hotel for two nights, and try to ride up to the Arctic Circle without all my luggage. I got to town and went to the visitor center. There I found out all the hotels were full. Tour groups arrive in Fairbanks on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and they fill all the hotels on those days. After a while I asked about the University of Alaska Dorms, which I had heard allowed people to stay when school wasn't in session. I didn't know when school started, but a phone call found out there was one night left. Not ideal, but I took it and headed over. It was a dorm room, reminded me of college, and not really the good parts. But free internet and laundry, so I have to recommend it, if you are there at the right time.

With the first night's lodging secured I asked around about night number 2. All the hotels were open now, and I found the super 8 was more than happy to watch my luggage during the day.

With all that out of the way, I settled in to back up some pictures online and sleep.

In the morning I adjusted the valves in the dorm parking lot. Students could start moving in later in the day, so they were eager to get rid of me. I found the connection to my heated gear was worn and grounding to the frame. I figured this was the cause for the battery issues, and I even had a spare.

I checked out of the dorm and went to the Super 8. I checked in, sort of, and dumped my stuff, then went next door for breakfast. I had actually made something at the dorm, but couldn't resist when I saw the sign

After this I finally hit the road.

It had been raining the past few days, which is bad news for trying to get to the arctic circle, but Curiosity was light and even with road tires I was feeling pretty confident.

I actually rode into a cloud a few times, which was cool,

But eventually the pavement went away again and I was riding on mud. Worse, my spare gas can fell off and got a hole, which meant I was going to be pushing my max range again.


Finally I gave up and headed back to fairbanks. I was starting to get really concerned about hurting myself or the bike in a fall, and I had a long way to go. It didn't seem worth it for a picture of a sign.

I got back to Fairbanks and took a shower. My riding stuff, and Curiosity, was covered in mud. I brushed some of it off, but figured it added character. Even though I hadn't made it to the Arctic, it was still late in the day by the time I got back to the hotel and I ended up just making dinner.

The next morning was bright and sunny, mocking me a little I thought. The general plan was to ride to Denali National Park, but I had seen one of those little pamphlets in the hotel that I wanted to investigate- an auto museum. I didn't really expect much of anything, but the ride was going to be short and I thought it would be a fun way to kill an hour or so.


The building looks like a warehouse, and is in the parking lot of a hotel. It was even a little tricky to get too, despite the map on the pamphlet. But inside it was awesome.

Not the largest collection, but one of the staffers pointed out every car has been selected based on something unique about that particular model. There isn't the lines of gradual changes, but dramatic and amazing innovations, some of which caught on, and some that didn't.


A direct friction drive, for example.

A woman's car, with the driver in the back and the seats arranged so everyone faced each other...so it was easier to chat. This car, a 1912 Rauch and Lang, was electric as well. So the motor didn't have to be shouted over.

I took a couple of hundred pictures, and spent hours and hours there. If you are in Fairbanks I would highly recommend it...they only have one motorcycle but that isn't the point, it was like a shrine to mechanical movement.

But staying another night in Fairbanks wasn't going to work, so I got on the road heading south. I would be heading south for months, so I thought I better get used to it.




The day was warm and pleasant. It wasn't far until I reached Denali.

I got a campsite, but was told I had to park somewhere else (about a half hour walk from the camping area). I did think about putting Curiosity into the tent and hiding it there, but decided to be a good, law abiding sort and just unpacked it.

The walk back was actually nice.

[JerseyJon]

Next chapter?

Hey Pain,

I really like your photojournal. It's actually very inspiring. When do we get to see the next chapter?

[Pain]

Hey Pain,

I really like your photojournal. It's actually very inspiring. When do we get to see the next chapter?

Sorry, I am a little behind on the book I am writing about the trip, and some marketing stuff for the one that's already done. I am teaching myself this stuff as I go along so some days are better than others.

Next part will be up shortly

[Pain]

Denali and Anchorage

Denali was cold. I don't know it was altitude or the approaching winter, but I woke around 3am, curled up in the bottom of my sleeping bag. I was already in my thermals, so I added another pair of socks and tried to get back to sleep with poor results.

As dawn crept in I realized I could see it through hundreds of little holes in my sleeping bag. My bag was twenty years old, I used it when I was in boy scouts. But I don't recall ever being cold before. I had woke up chilled a few times, but this night was different. And my water froze.

I had wanted to be at the visitor's center around eight. You can't ride into the park, but have to take a bus. They leave on a schedule, and to get deep into the park you have to leave early. But I was defeated by the chill and didn't really stir from the depths of my bag until after ten. I wasn't sleeping, I just couldn't get warm. Even tea (with water from the restroom, since mine was still ice) didn't help. I did find some compatriots in my misery with others filling small pots and kettles from the sinks.

Once the sun had gotten some warmth into the day, and into me, I got up and walked over to the visitor center. There I found out the night had been below freezing, and the next night was going to be the same.

I spent some time in the visitor's center with Blue. He didn't complain about the cold at all.


I didn't know it yet, but this would be the only bull moose I saw the whole trip.

After a warm lunch I decided to wimp out and head for Anchorage. It wasn't far, and once there I could replace my sleeping bag. I hadn't much liked being cold. So I rode Curiosity back to my site and packed up, then hit the road heading south.



If any of you are looking for a new business venture up north (way up north) I found this -


An igloo hotel. I might have been tempted to stay there, if it had been open. At least it was getting warmer as I got closer to Anchorage.

Once in town I headed for the Harley Davidson dealer. They offer free camping for riders, and that includes showers and coffee. I passed on the coffee, but the shower was nice. Anchorage also has an REI (which shouldn't be a surprise), where I hoped to find a replacement sleeping bag.
After my tent was up I rode over to the REI and looked at what they had in stock. I intended to spend the night researching which bag I should be getting from the available models and getting one the next day. I was also tempted by smaller tents. The Nomad really was comfortable, but it was also huge. I mean, really huge.

After browsing for a while I headed for dinner. I had gotten a couple of suggestions on where to go, and one was right across the street from where I camped, so I went there. It had a standard up north décor.
[img]://xspain.smugmug.com/BigTrip-1/8-13-2011-Anchorage/i-3DSxhGn/0/M/IMG6372-M.jpg[/img]
In the morning I did an oil change with the help of the Harley Dealer

I wonder if this will make Curiosity louder? More of a rumble?

I adjusted the valves too, then headed out for some shopping. I had ridden past Alaska Leather on the way to REI, but it was closed then. Today it was open and I stopped to get a replacement strap for my seat pad, which had stopped be elastic a long time ago. After looking at my pad the ladies in the store immediately recommended a replacement. I guess they do wear out over time and miles.

Blue liked the new pad much better.

And, of course, he was a hit with the ladies.


After I pried him away we went to REI and got a Lost Ranger Big Agnes bag, which also meant a new sleeping bad, since Big Agnes designs their pads and bags as a unit. My old sleeping bag and air mattress I shipped home, and the compressor I had been using with the airmattress I gave to another rider camping at the Harley dealer who was blowing his up with his mouth.

With the shopping done I wandered around Anchorage for a while, eating lunch at Bear Tooth theatrepub and grill, another recommended spot. It wasn't cheap, but was good. I wasn't interested in either of the movies that were playing.

After lunch I wandered around Anchorages museum, which had an excellent Mammoth exhibit.


Blue says he is related to this guy so I needed to be nicer. I had my doubts.

After the museum I headed back to the campsite and made myself dinner. As the sun set I crawled into my new bag.

When I woke in the morning I was amazed at the difference. I hadn't felt so rested in the morning in weeks, and it opened my eyes to the fact I was probably always cold at night when I was sleeping and Denali was just worse. Even the rain in the morning didn't hurt my spirits.

I packed up my stuff and headed for my next location. Anchorage was nice, and free camping always good, but I was ready to get out of the city and head back into the woods. I was headed for the Kenai.

[trbig]

C'mon already, Pain!! You're killin' me! lol.

[Pain]

Its on today's Todo list. I am trying to finish another book, about this trip. The first draft was almost a complete write-off, so I am trying to get back on schedule.

[Pain]

Seward and the Kenai Peninsula

Seward and The Kenai

The Seward Highway runs south from Anchorage and onto the Kenai Peninsula. This area, despite being only a couple of hours from Anchorage (which, while small, is still a big place for Alaska), is a wilderness wonderland. It was the one place, other than Denali (and to be honest, more than Denali) that I wanted to go when I got to Alaska.


It was overcast and rainy when I left Anchorage, not the best riding weather but it was good to get on the road again. And I was excited to get out of the town, free camping or no.


Since the weather wasn't the best I didn't take a lot of pictures. My camera, just a Point and Shoot I bought for $150, was starting to act up in the rain. Maybe I needed to drop it less.

Once I got into the Kenai wilderness I stopped at a ranger station to ask about camping rules. This was Bear Country, and the salmon run was on. While I had bear spray, I wasn't completely happy with my food storage situation and didn't want to just wander off and get eatten.

I was directed to a couple of campgrounds that had food storage, and where there were bears to see. Hopefully from a safe distance. The first campground wasn't that great, just your standard sort of place. Then I went to the next one and found this site-

With this view-

That was my chair.

I set up the new hammock tent I also picked up in Achorage. So comfy, if you have trees. You can set it up on the ground if you don't have trees, but it is less comfy that way. And it is much smaller and lighter than the Nomad tent I had been using, though I never could bring myself to send that monster home.

With the camp up, some food cooked and the rest put away, I went for a walk. The camp hosts pointed me to a creek which went under a nearby road. They cautioned me not to just wander in the woods, since there was a mom with two cubs around. If I made enough noise I might be okay, or not. They did make sure I had bear spray before they would let me go anywhere.

I walked over to the creek-

Saw good signs-

They were counting the salmon run. Numbers were so-so, though I got the impression the counters just didn't want to comment in any real way.

I sat for about 40 minutes, waiting for bear sign. I did see some fish, working their way up stream, but then the sun was getting low and I had to hike back to my site. I stood up, shouldered my backpack, and turned around.

Then I got out my bear spray, took the safety off, got out my camera and took this picture without really looking at it. No zoom, the bear was actually closer than this seems, thanks to the wide angle action. Maybe 20 yards, and I saw a cub head into the woods before I got the picture. Then I started slowing walking away, trying not to make eye contact while still making sure she wasn't going to head my way.

A truck appeared on the road, roaring over a hill in the direction I was walking. Momma bear gave a head shake and walked into the woods. I took a deep breath and put away the spray.

The truck stopped and asked if I had seen a bear. I gave them the report and they said they were going to pass it on to the ranger. The bear movements are tracked this way I guess. I told the camp host anyway, who expressed some concern I had only seen one cub. I was concerned I had let them get that close. Stupid on my part, I guess.

The next day I left the camp site and roamed around Kenai a little on Curiosity.


[img][http://xspain.smugmug.com/BigTrip-1/8-13thru-15-2011-Seward/i-5P8XPm7/0/M/IMG6455-M.jpg[/img]

After the day riding I headed back to camp for dinner and sleep. I didn't see any other wildlife except a giant rabbit-

Bigger than most house cats I have known.

The first night sleep I had in the hammock was so-so, I am used to sleeping on my side or stomach, which just doesn't work in a hammock. The second night was much better, and I felt really good in the morning. It was time to start heading back south, mostly.

[Pain]

sorry

Update a little later than I wanted. These posts are from writing a full on book about the trip. I had to go back and re-do a huge chunk of the book (which is completely different from these posts. Well, not completely. Same trip), which meant I had to spend less time on these, and wasn't rereading my journal and blog from the time anyway.

I am going to try to keep updating at least once a week until everything lines up again. The book covering the first part of the trip (Pain, Curiosity and a Bear, vol 1, Going North) should be ready early May. That is the plan, anyway.

[Wildkat]

Loving the pics!

I'll bet Blue enjoyed his family reunion, even if he didn't get to stay for dinner with them.

[JerseyJon]

Pain, I love this diary. Sharing it with non-biker friends and family. Keep it coming. Please.

[Pain]

Pain, I love this diary. Sharing it with non-biker friends and family. Keep it coming. Please.

Glad you are enjoying it. I am working on a Facebook page for the book, which will have stuff like excerpts and maybe the chance at free copies (Okay, almost certainly the chance at free copies, if only .pdf). I'll share it when I get it up (the Facebook page, that is).

I like writing ride reports, sadly they don't keep gas in the tank. I am taking a weekend trip on my xs1100 (Suffering), entirely paid for by my writing, which makes me feel all grown up. I'll be broke (probably) when I get home, but that isn't until Monday

[Joab]

I am enjoying your musings more and more every time you post!

[Pain]

Out of Alaska

I packed up and headed back up the Seward Highway, this time gifted with clear skies and warm weather, so I could see how awesome the view was.


Once off the peninsula and through Anchorage again I headed for Tok, where I would be getting back on the Alaska Highway for a while (there are only a couple ways into and out of Alaska). I wasn't going to follow it all the way back south, instead ride along the Pacific Coast near Hyder.

But first I had to get out of Alaska, and it is a big place.

I stopped short of Tok near a place called Glennallen, and found somewhere to camp outside of town. Then I headed back into town to find somewhere to eat. It had cooled off again and was drizzling, not the best weather to sit alone in the woods and try to cook.
I met these people there -

The father and son had ridden up to Anchorage, where she had flown up to join them and ride back south. Her joining them had caused some need to repack, and they all had bought warmer clothes. I guess she was using the heated stuff now, but her feet still got cold. They bought me dinner, a very nice burger, inside. They were also going to press on further to Tok, where they already had a hotel reserved. It was late and getting dark, and Tok was still 4 hours away. I was impressed with they determination, but I guess it was too late for a refund.

I went back to my tent and listened to the rain against the sides for a while before falling asleep.

It was still overcast and cool in the morning, but I got back on the road (after hot tea) and headed on. The sky cleared again as the morning went on, and I passed through Tok with a stop for fuel. There was no sign of the two Harley's so I guessed they were far ahead of me now.

Crossing back into Canada was simple, easier than getting into the USA had been further north, and I started towards Haines Junction, where I was going to be turning off the Alaska Highway. I wasn't going to get that far, but should be able to cover most of the distance. Thinking about that met I went right through Beaver Creek without getting fuel, even though I was at half a tank (Breaking my half-a-tank rule). When I was clear of the buildings I realized it, but there was supposed to be another gas stop further along. Since I was in “make miles” mode mentally I pressed on.

I got to the small stop, just a campground, crepe restaurant (staffed and owned by some French Canadians) and motel. They had a on the high reporting gas was available, but there actually wasn't any. In fact, there hadn't been for a couple of years. I didn't really know how range I had left, but I was exactly in between two fuel locations, the next being Burwash Landing, about 50 miles up the road. That would be 200 miles on one tank of gas, possible. But it wasn't like I had a lot of choice, so I started on my way, keeping my speed down to stretch my range.

So I was 10 miles short of Burwash when Curiosity ran out of gas, sputtering to a stop on the side of the road.

For a while I wondering about pushing it the rest of the way, 10 miles is still pretty far. But then I remembered my MSR stove. The small gas can was almost full, and I added it to the tank. It wouldn't last, but it would take some of the miles off.

In fact, the bike died again just as I reached the gas station in Burwash Landing...which had closed for the day an hour earlier. Down the hill was a hotel that offered camping, and they assured me the gas station would open in the morning, and had gas. So I set up the hammock.

There were two other riders camping. One was from Israel, and had flown into Anchorage gotten a motorcycle license and bought a new KLR. He was going to ride as far south as he could on his vacation/trip of a lifetime, and had managed Anchorage to Burwash Landing in one day. He hoped to be in San Diego in five more, which sounded like no where near enough time, especially for a new rider. But I wished him luck, and explained how to set up his brand-new tent.

The other rider was on a GSA, he had a lot...I mean a whole bunch...of stuff strapped to it. I mention him in Going Small – He was the guy carrying a wood burning stove which he hadn't used. A nice enough guy, he was heading back from Valdez.

I slept well in the Hammock, I was getting used to it and it set up and tore down in half the time of the big tent. The KLR woke me up in the morning, before 7. He was already packed and getting ready to head out. I went back to sleep, waking again an hour or so later. The gas station loaned me a gas can, which I used to put enough fuel in Curiosity to get it to the pump for a fill up. Then it was time to get moving again.