In search of sun

It’s under the clouds, but with enthusiasm we hit the road again. Unfortunately, the rain seems to follow us. It will take us 2 days from Denali National Park to reach Fairbanks, the second largest city in Alaska after Anchorage. We don’t stick around and actually decide to leave the next day, as we want to find the sun as quickly as possible. However, Fairbanks marks a big transition: we change direction. From now on, every kilometer will be traveled south. Fairbanks will be the northernmost point we will reach during this trip. It is a symbol. To mark the occasion, we make a small detour to retrieve our “Arctic Circle Certificate” (yes sir!) before cycling towards Canada.

9 August 2019. We have been on the road for 3 hours, facing rain after rain. We overpass a car parked on the side of the road. At first, we think that they have a flat tire or a breakdown of some kind, but we’re wrong. A father and his two sons are gathered around a dead moose. It lies on the pavement in a pool of blood. The father tells us that someone hit him with a car in the morning, cut his throat and left. The body of the animal is still warm, the collision had just occurred. In Alaska, nothing gets wasted, and all food is precious. We are witnessing a rather surreal scene, the youngest child holds the moose’s leg in the air, while his father empties the animal’s bowels. When we leave, the father hands us a piece of steak as a gift. Probably the freshest meat we’d ever had. On the menu tonight: cowboy style moose filet mignon. We will have to wait two more days for the rain to finally stop.

Progressively, the sea of clouds disappears, letting us discover the Alaska we’d come to seek. The first rays of sun dazzle us, we rejoice. It also brings back the warmth, what a pleasure! Our nomadic life is so dependent on the weather, and we take the opportunity to reduce the pace a little. Once again, we are crossing large areas of “nothing”, but this time we can finally enjoy it. Big lunch breaks and posh bivouacs. We even take a break in a small campground with hot showers, and spend the evening with Sven & Carina and Linden, Jake & Mabel (3 boondogglers), other cyclists we met on the road. Wonderful evening. We are back on the road, and even if it is only for a few days, we are crossing our first border: Yukon province in Canada.

August 13, 2019. Huge blow. We wake up under torrents of water. The rain caught us again. With the consent of the owner, we slept behind a small motel. This very welcoming guy invites us to have a hot coffee and even to enjoy a hot shower before one of the rooms gets cleaned. We check the forecast and the predictions are not good. We will move along with the rain. 4 days of rain with nothing to shelter on the road. We are a bit confused, but mostly demoralized. What can we do? Cycle in the rain AGAIN? Wait a few days here? Hitchhike for 350km and outpace this rainy cloud? The decision has been taken, we will hitchhike. Against all odds, we wait barely 30 minutes on the side of the road. It’s Bryan and his dog Burton who accept us aboard their camper. The scenery shoots past like an action. It’s pretty demoralizing, we both feel like we are skipping a step. These kilometers: we wanted to cycle them. But the ambience in the camper is warm and festive, we have a great time together. Once arrived in Haines Junction we celebrate the sun over a beer.

We undertake the most hilly section of our journey so far. 250 kilometers of mountains to cross to reach Haines, at the edge of the sea. 140 kilometers of ups & downs, and 2000 meters of elevation gain are awaiting us. The calves are solicited, small tray, slow speed. However, the elevations are not too important, we are moving at good pace. Around us, mountains, glaciers, lakes or rivers. It’s quite a show! Behind each butt, a new landscape is emerging.

After a beautiful night by the river, we attack the last part of the climb to reach the highest point at 1170m (it’s not the Alps, right :D). We reach it for our lunch break, with a magnificent view of the glaciers. And whoever says climb, says descent. And not least: 110 kilometers downhill to reach the ocean. What a treat.

We reach Haines on August 17th. Our main goal was to try to hitchhike on a boat to Juneau but despite our repeated requests at the harbour, as well as a message broadcasted on the local radio, we are not at all in the right season for this destination. We are therefore resolved to take the ferry to get to Juneau.

Contrary to what one might think, Anchorage, the largest city in the state is not the capital city. Instead, the capital is Juneau, a small town of 32 500 inhabitants, accessible only by boat or plane. We spend 3 days there, princely hosted by Karla in our own apartment that she lets available to cyclists. We take advantage of our last moments in Alaska by a last hike to the Mendenhall Glacier. It’s both so beautiful and so depressing. We realize the impact of global warming on nature. All along the way, kernes indicate the glacier’s expanse according to the years. Unsurprisingly, the closer we get, the more the decrease “per year” increases. We walk a few steps on this glacier, aware that in a few years it will certainly be gone. We talked a lot about the issue with the people we met in Alaska. All tell us the same thing: Alaska is changing. Glaciers retreat, each year the number of salmon that goes up the rivers decreases. They die of a heart attack before reaching their destination because the water of the rivers is now too hot. Soon it will be impossible to fish for food. Sad report. This is the first time that we have met people directly impacted by climate change. End of the walk. After a last pizza with Karla around all these topics, we leave Juneau, again with a ferry.

This time we board for 36 hours of sailing to Prince Rupert in Canada. A major step awaits us there:the crossing of the rockies …. We cannot wait!


 

Fun facts

  • Day record: 118km.
  • First unusual bivouac: in a church
  • In the upper category: we were overpassed by a camper that was pulling…a helicopter.
  • We encounter our first bears, a mother bear and her cub, but also a grizzly bear from far, a huge mass that was initially confused with a cow 😮