Monday, July 14, 2014
Into the Wrangells
We are headed into Wrangell-St. Elias National Park! At 13.2 million acres, it's bigger than Switzerland, so we have a lot of options for where to go. More updates in a week or so.
Back to the Mountains, July 13-14, 2014
July 13
It rains all night and we sleep with the fly off under the pavilion. What a luxury! Unfortunately, it's still raining in the morning when we set off. Our ride takes us up and down steep hills and through lush forest. In the pouring rain we make slow progress. After almost four hours and only twenty miles, the weather gradually begins to improve. We have a long, beautiful descent into the Matanuska river valley, and a shoulder reappears on the road. Hooray! We stop at an overlook and eat lunch at a wonderful picnic table with a spectacular view of the Matanuska glacier. The glacier looks rather out of place glowing in the sunshine in the middle of a lush, green valley. After lunch, the afternoon gets better and better. We have sunny weather, no bugs, and a tailwind that gets stronger as the day goes on and literally pushes us up the hills.
Mid-afternoon we stop at the Grand View Lodge to share an amazing veggie burger and blueberry pie with vanilla ice cream. Here we meet a motorcyclist who is very impressed with our journey and tells us, "I love adventure, the more the better. Five minutes on the edge is better than a lifetime of boredom." Just down the road, we summit Eureka Pass, the highest point on the highway, and are rewarded with a spectacular view of the Wrangell Mountains, enormous and snowy. We camp in a large gravel area filled with trails and firepits that appears to be a playpark for ATVs. Our grassy spot is perfect.
July 14
We start our day with a wonderful downhill. The morning air is a bit chilly, but not uncomfortably so because the sun is out! In the perfect weather, we bike through a gentle valley with rolling hills of spruce forest. The trees on either side are occasionally broken up by a small, murky pond or blue lake. It's perfect habitat for moose and mosquitoes. Unfortunately, only the mosquitoes come to greet us. The few lodges or houses along the road are either for sale or look abandoned. We eat lunch on a dirt hill on a side of the road, 30 miles in. Nothing special. What's nice is that after lunch, the ride is mostly downhill, a runway straight to the enormous mountains in front of us. In Glennallen, a small town right outside Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, we stop at the IGA to buy some extra provisions. Eating an enormous bag of tortilla chips with salsa outside, we meet Toby and Ann, two touring cyclists from Switzerland. They are traveling from Anchorage to Skagway over the span of about four weeks. We share stories and end up camping with them in a small park just out of town.
It rains all night and we sleep with the fly off under the pavilion. What a luxury! Unfortunately, it's still raining in the morning when we set off. Our ride takes us up and down steep hills and through lush forest. In the pouring rain we make slow progress. After almost four hours and only twenty miles, the weather gradually begins to improve. We have a long, beautiful descent into the Matanuska river valley, and a shoulder reappears on the road. Hooray! We stop at an overlook and eat lunch at a wonderful picnic table with a spectacular view of the Matanuska glacier. The glacier looks rather out of place glowing in the sunshine in the middle of a lush, green valley. After lunch, the afternoon gets better and better. We have sunny weather, no bugs, and a tailwind that gets stronger as the day goes on and literally pushes us up the hills.
July 14
We start our day with a wonderful downhill. The morning air is a bit chilly, but not uncomfortably so because the sun is out! In the perfect weather, we bike through a gentle valley with rolling hills of spruce forest. The trees on either side are occasionally broken up by a small, murky pond or blue lake. It's perfect habitat for moose and mosquitoes. Unfortunately, only the mosquitoes come to greet us. The few lodges or houses along the road are either for sale or look abandoned. We eat lunch on a dirt hill on a side of the road, 30 miles in. Nothing special. What's nice is that after lunch, the ride is mostly downhill, a runway straight to the enormous mountains in front of us. In Glennallen, a small town right outside Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, we stop at the IGA to buy some extra provisions. Eating an enormous bag of tortilla chips with salsa outside, we meet Toby and Ann, two touring cyclists from Switzerland. They are traveling from Anchorage to Skagway over the span of about four weeks. We share stories and end up camping with them in a small park just out of town.
Our new friends: Toby and Ann
Fun fact: Wrangell Mountain, which we're right next to, is the largest active volcano in Alaska at over 14,000 feet! It can be seen smoking on clear days.
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Adios, Anchorage. July 8-12, 2014
Anchorage was great, but we were itching to get on the road again. Here are some highlights, good and bad, from our time there:
- We stayed with some wonderful people: our new friends Jeff and Sarah, who generously shared their lives with us, and Tam's friend from college, also named Sarah. Sarah and her roommates were incredibly accommodating, and we can't thank them enough for opening their doors to us.
- Tam got sick. She had some kind of bug or was maybe just really exhausted. Whatever it was, we stayed an extra day for her to recuperate.
- We made pancakes. Twice. There's not really much more to this, but they were soooo good! Having access to a kitchen was a rare treat.
The area we're in now, the Matanuska Valley, is known for its moderate weather and fertile soil. We couldn't have asked for better weather today: mid 70s, partly cloudy... it's hard to believe we're still in Alaska! Tonight we're camped at a campground right next to the large, silty Matanuska River. We scored a covered pavilion all to ourselves. I hope it rains while we're here, just so we can sit at the picnic table, dry and warm, and listen to it patter on the plexiglass roof.
Blueberry and chocolate chip awesome-ness, almost ready to be flipped
- Adventures! We explored the Chugach Mountains on a two hour run with Sarah and her friend Julie, who are both training for a 50-mile race. Our early morning run took us through a spectacular valley bordered by snow-dappled peaks, and gave us beautiful views of downtown Anchorage on the edge of a misty ocean. The joy and beauty of the run was long outlasted by the full body soreness endured afterwards. Running and biking do not use the same muscles.
We also went canoeing with Sarah and her friend Diana on the glacial-fed Eagle River. Fortunately we capsized before the Class III section and swam safely to shore, then we hiked back to the road, leaving the canoe to rescue the next day. Exciting!
 |
| With a useless, tiny boat we had, before we all piled into the canoe |
- We were able to finish a bunch of errands and projects, including things like my buying new rain pants (my old ones grew legs and walked away when we were in Fairbanks) and Tam sewing a new zipper onto one of her bags.
Tam's handiwork
The road out of Anchorage was more pleasant than we had anticipated, for the city is rife with bike paths. We made it to Eagle River yesterday, incidentally to the campground where we would have taken our canoes out had we made it there. On the way to the campground, we saw Manu and Katrien, the couple from Belgium who had helped Tam fix her bike weeks ago! They were coming into the city after spending a bunch of time in Fairbanks and Denali, and it was great to see them and hear about their adventures.
Today, we headed north on the Glenn Highway then branched east to Palmer. The shoulder's a bit thin at times, which makes for some sketchy riding, but overall it's not too bad.
Tam at a pullout on the Glenn Highway
Friday, July 11, 2014
So Actually, About Those Letters...
If you can forgive me and would still like to send us something (we would still like to receive it), the best bet is the next sizable town we will pass in the U.S.: Kalispell, Montana. It doesn't appear that we will be able to receive post in Canada, and we plan to be in Kalispell around 9/23. Don't worry, I called ahead. This is the address they gave me:
Tamara Perreault and Danny Walden
c/o General Delivery
350 N. Meridian Rd
Kalispell, MT 59901
As before, remember to put in a prominent spot "please hold for touring cyclists to pick up around 9/23" or something similar.
Again, sorry for the mistake and thanks to all who have sent us stuff!
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
The First Month By the Numbers, and Kindness
We've been traveling for a month, and what a month it's been! Here are some facts:
Miles biked: 942
National Parks experienced: 2
Flat tires: 0 (fingers crossed...)
Money spent: $607 (by Danny, including an expensive new saddle and rain pants)
Grizzly bears seen: 5
Total time spent watching TV/movies: 27 minutes
Stops for pancakes: 6
Bird species seen: 64
Miles biked: 942
National Parks experienced: 2
Flat tires: 0 (fingers crossed...)
Money spent: $607 (by Danny, including an expensive new saddle and rain pants)
Grizzly bears seen: 5
Total time spent watching TV/movies: 27 minutes
Stops for pancakes: 6
Bird species seen: 64
Holes in the tent: 6
I had thought, this being Alaska and all, that the most amazing part of this first segment would be the wilderness. The Arctic tundra, the Brooks Range, and Mt McKinley and the Alaska Range are pretty tough to beat. And the wilderness has been incredible, but most memorable and surprising has been the kindness we've experienced from people. Bike touring brings out a good side of humanity; people realize that you have what you need to survive, but not much more. Our friend Sarah, who is currently riding across the US, recently wrote about the kindness she has experienced along her tour, even after being consistently warned about the other people out there. Here are some of the "other" people we have met:
Andrew and Anna from Fairbanks, who took us into their home for a number of days, spent countless hours helping us repair our bikes and review maps, fed us all kinds of incredible food until we were full (not an easy thing to do), took us canoeing, and introduced us to the city. All while being busy grad students.
The manager of the Clear Sky Lodge (unfortunately never got her name) who made us hot chocolate even though it wasn't on the menu, let us use their grill to cook quesadillas, then refused to let us pay.
Al, who stopped in the pouring rain on a very rough stretch of road and offered to give us a lift, then loaded our bikes in the boat he was towing and dropped us off down the road.
John and Maureen from Anchorage, who shared their campfire and wine with us then drove many miles out of their way so we could spend July 4th in Talkeetna, where they gave us shower tokens, bought us dinner, showed us around the town, and then drove us back to the main road the next day.
Jeff and Sarah from Anchorage (John and Maureen's son and daughter-in-law, incidentally), who opened their home to us, took us out to dinner, and offered to let us stay as long as we liked.
Nancy, the campground host where we stopped one night, who offered us free firewood and her good water, then helped us pay the fee when we didn't have enough cash.
Karen, Brandon, Marco, Martin, and Chris, who gave us their extra backpacking food, shared their fantastic pizza dinner with us, and offered to let us stay with them if we pass through San Francisco.
Heidi, a Park Ranger from Wiseman, who spent many hours helping us plan our trip into Gates of the Arctic, invited us to stop by her place when we finished backpacking, and undercharged us by at least 50% on the things we bought at her store. A wonderful young lady working with Heidi gifted Tam a beautiful necklace, which Tam has not taken off since.
Ashley at Yukon River Camp, a very friendly waitress who gave us free pie and salads. (Randomly, she applied last spring to work at High Trails! I would hire her.)
These are simply the people who stuck out in my mind. So many more, like the bus driver who charged us for only one fare even though our bikes were taking up at least ten seats, have helped us out in small ways. I can't even express how much this incredible kindness and generosity, a side of humanity I've never experienced in this capacity, has added to this trip and to our lives.
I had thought, this being Alaska and all, that the most amazing part of this first segment would be the wilderness. The Arctic tundra, the Brooks Range, and Mt McKinley and the Alaska Range are pretty tough to beat. And the wilderness has been incredible, but most memorable and surprising has been the kindness we've experienced from people. Bike touring brings out a good side of humanity; people realize that you have what you need to survive, but not much more. Our friend Sarah, who is currently riding across the US, recently wrote about the kindness she has experienced along her tour, even after being consistently warned about the other people out there. Here are some of the "other" people we have met:
Andrew and Anna from Fairbanks, who took us into their home for a number of days, spent countless hours helping us repair our bikes and review maps, fed us all kinds of incredible food until we were full (not an easy thing to do), took us canoeing, and introduced us to the city. All while being busy grad students.
The manager of the Clear Sky Lodge (unfortunately never got her name) who made us hot chocolate even though it wasn't on the menu, let us use their grill to cook quesadillas, then refused to let us pay.
Al, who stopped in the pouring rain on a very rough stretch of road and offered to give us a lift, then loaded our bikes in the boat he was towing and dropped us off down the road.
John and Maureen from Anchorage, who shared their campfire and wine with us then drove many miles out of their way so we could spend July 4th in Talkeetna, where they gave us shower tokens, bought us dinner, showed us around the town, and then drove us back to the main road the next day.
Jeff and Sarah from Anchorage (John and Maureen's son and daughter-in-law, incidentally), who opened their home to us, took us out to dinner, and offered to let us stay as long as we liked.
Nancy, the campground host where we stopped one night, who offered us free firewood and her good water, then helped us pay the fee when we didn't have enough cash.
Karen, Brandon, Marco, Martin, and Chris, who gave us their extra backpacking food, shared their fantastic pizza dinner with us, and offered to let us stay with them if we pass through San Francisco.
Heidi, a Park Ranger from Wiseman, who spent many hours helping us plan our trip into Gates of the Arctic, invited us to stop by her place when we finished backpacking, and undercharged us by at least 50% on the things we bought at her store. A wonderful young lady working with Heidi gifted Tam a beautiful necklace, which Tam has not taken off since.
Ashley at Yukon River Camp, a very friendly waitress who gave us free pie and salads. (Randomly, she applied last spring to work at High Trails! I would hire her.)
These are simply the people who stuck out in my mind. So many more, like the bus driver who charged us for only one fare even though our bikes were taking up at least ten seats, have helped us out in small ways. I can't even express how much this incredible kindness and generosity, a side of humanity I've never experienced in this capacity, has added to this trip and to our lives.
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