A Quick Jaunt to the Arctic Circle

"I just drove up to the Arctic Circle and back today."

...one of those phrases I don't expect I'll ever be able to say again.

After Nick and I made a two-day trip out of the run to Prudhoe Bay and back, we learned that the bike shop had discovered that the cause of the previously-discovered fork leak was that the fork was bent. Problematic because it required a part to be ordered...requiring more time. At this point, we're expecting to be able to leave Fairbanks on Tuesday or Wednesday.

To make the best of this time, I'm organizing the video and photos I've already shot, catching up with the KCJF and Great Kansas City Circus Show websites.

But first...I took the day yesterday to have my own private adventure. Having done so much planning and thinking about the Dalton Highway, it was a shame that the V-Strom didn't get to experience it on our run up to Prudhoe Bay. So I elected to make my own run up the Dalton...not all the way to Prudhoe Bay this time; just to the Arctic Circle.

I initially planned on being on the road by 7, but have been even less punctual than usual these days; I've had a hard to going to sleep with all the evening (and night) daylight. After taking my time getting around in the morning, though, I was finally on the road shortly after 9 a.m.

I found the erratic undulations in the highway much easier to handle on the motorcycle...less bone-jarring due to a much lighter vehicle. Potholes, too, were much more easily avoided since I only had a single track of wheels to worry about and an entire lane to weave in. Still, this is a road that demands a driver's constant attention.

Down the hill to the left...in the trees...there's a car...

Going was pretty quick up the Elliott Highway, though I stopped a couple times to shoot footage of me zipping by. From the AirBnB to the start of the Dalton Highway is about 83 miles:

The Dalton Highway, on the other hand...

...I now have a greater appreciation for the warnings about it (though still hold to the conclusion/motto: be prepared, but not scared). There was a bit of rain yesterday; and on top of that, the road crews were drenching the highway in a couple locations. (The practice seems to be: 1) pick up water from local stream; 2) saturate road surface to soften it; 3) run grader over surface to properly grade it.) They had been wetting them on our previous run, but not as much as this time. A little moisture didn't cause much problem, but I found that the drenched sections were slicker than I expected...loose, wet clay consistency. The first such section I came to, I slowed way down to 10 mph to pass through it. By the time I was on my return trip, though, I had gained some confidence and felt comfortable around 30 or so in many such sections. Definitely important to slow down before getting into the downhill-and-drenched sections, though.

The unmistakeable highlight of the trip, though, were the grizzlies! I'm really disappointed that I didn't get photo evidence, but I will certainly never forget the image of two large grizzly bears running toward me down the Dalton Highway. Heading north, I had just come over a rise in the road and spotted them in the distance jogging happily south on the highway. When I later measured the distance using GPS and memory, I estimated it at about 4/10ths of a mile between us. I immediately stopped. Had they not been running in my direction, or had I been in a car, I might have taken a few moments to whip out a camera and snap a photo. However, recognizing that I probably looked pretty similar to a delicious caribou there on my motorcycle, I opted to turn around and point south before taking any other actions.

This is *not* a photo of the bears I saw, but rather a photo from https://www.nps.gov/articles/aps-v6-i2-c15.htm.
My bears were much larger and darker brown. Each pretty fully occupied an entire lane of the road.

A pick-up came along about that time. The driver rolled down his window and said, "wow, never seen that up this far."

Not sure exactly what he meant since grizzlies are sighted so often up here, I just said, "bears?"

He replied, "yeah." He then took on a tone of alarm and said, "and they're headed this way," quickly following by rolling up his windows and looking as if he wanted to back up and turn around.

I got out of his way by driving a bit farther south. But then he just sat there for a bit, then proceeded northward, slowly at first, but speeding up before long.

The bears had passed below a rise, so were out of my line of sight. I'd been betting on the truck scaring them off the road, though, and since it had made it well beyond their locations, I turned to the north again and eased up to where I could see beyond the rise. Indeed, the road was clear again.

Not knowing a whole lot about bear psychology, but having heard that black bears can be frightened off, but not grizzlies, I tried to come up with a best course of action in case one bounded out of the woods at me. I'd heard they're surprisingly agile...and when I'd last seen them they were galloping at a pretty impressive pace.

I took my own pace easy and kept my eyes peeled until I made it past where I had seen them, then took advantage of the packed dirt to pick up some speed. I was glad I hadn't come across them while still on the drenched section of road...and couldn't help but have a bit of dread knowing they were headed that way...as I would also soon be.

Looking back on the exchange with the pick-up truck driver, I have a sneaking suspicion that he was having a bit of fun at the expense of the out-of-towner. Hilaaaaarious.

When I got to the Arctic Circle sign, the couple I'd spoken with briefly at the Yukon River Camp (gas stop) was already there and waved a friendly hello. They wanted to take a picture of me and the bike in front of the sign, and I happily obliged. Shortly thereafter, a van showed up with two more couples and a tour guide. We all got some photos together. I asked if anyone else had seen the bears; no one had.

I chatted with the guide later about grizzlies and best practices. He said this time of year, they're only interested in eating greens...got to get the digestive system back in order and the butt plugs out after all that hibernating. Despite what I'd heard about grizzlies not scaring, he said if I'd would've revved the engine a bit and waved my arms, they likely would've cleared off the road. They've generally got little interest in humans unless they feel snuck up on or are defending the cubs, according to him. Useful info, as Nick and I still have many miles to cover in bear country.

Fortunately/unfortunately, I didn't see the bears again on the return trip. I did, however, see another moose (first two were a couple days ago on the way to Prudhoe Bay) shortly before I got back to the AirBnB we're staying at. Nick and I had met at Chatanika Lodge north of Fox on the Steese Highway. He then headed to the airport to swap rental cars and I returned to the AirBnB via the back roads. There was a young moose that I had to slow down for as he crossed the road just around the corner from where we're staying.

My Alaskan animal checklist is replete! (More on that in another post.)