Fact of life for anyone on a motorcycle road trip: you’re stopping at gas stations two-three times a day to fuel up machine and body. Range on my 1200gs is about 210 miles, depending on speed and conditions. Brady was able to squeeze out a full 240 miles between Coldfoot and Deadhorse on his F650. I pushed the range limits of my tank a few times…

And then I made an oopsie: I didn’t top off my tank at the Cassiar/ALCAN junction, thinking I would fill up at Swift River, completly forgetting my notes that the stop had been converted to a maintenance center and had no public services. We discussed U-turning back to top off, and decided to go a conservative 50mph hoping I could land in Teslin on fumes. I made it to 9 miles out before running out of gas. While Brady scooted ahead for juice and container, I grabbed a few shots.

The Klondike Highway out of Whitehorse weaved through dusty construction and short turns. We camped in Twin Lakes campground despite the bear warning…

Video: short snip of the Klondike leading up to Dawson City…

 

We landed in Dawson City amid overcast skies, and established camp at Gold Creek RV Park, which is the only campground downtown. A little pricey for a 15x15ft plot of gravel, such is the way for most everything far north in the Yukon, and we needed to catch up on showers, laundry, and connections back home.

At this point in the trip, we had been fairly lucky with the weather – mostly dry skies with just a few hours of rain on day 2, and we were hearing from riders coming from the north that they were zipping through steady downpours. As the clouds darkened over Dawson, a steady drizzle kicked in and would continue off and on through the next day. While we were prepared for rain conditions, let’s be blunt…camping in the rain dampens the spirit and makes your tent smell. And we were hoping for great conditions for the Top of the World Highway.

Alas, it was not meant to be as you’ll see in the video, which tracks from the Dawson ferry up to the border crossing at Poker Creek.

Top of the World Highway from craig kerwien on Vimeo.

Road conditions were slippery on the US side and along the descent into Chicken – we saw not one but TWO RVs half off the road, right wheels in the gutter, left wheels in the air. The area had received significant rain in prior weeks, and the road had just reopened due to flooding. We lunched in Chicken under a torrential downpour, and then the skies turned blue along the way to Tok and into Delta Junction where we were greeted by the Alaska Air Force…

The University of Alaska in Fairbanks serves as the unofficial staging & recovery center for riders heading to and fro Deadhorse and the Arctic Circle. School is out for summer, and the college rents out dorm rooms at inexpensive rates cheaper than a motel or B&B. Rooms come with access to free shower and laundry, and you mingle with the summer students. (more details here if interested)

While futzing around and chatting in the parking lot, we hooked up with 3 solo riders to form a caravan for the ride up to Deadhorse…
• James – a long distance rider from London touring the NA continent on a 1200GSA
• Rich – retired Air Force mechanic from Oklahoma on a Concourse
• Jun – retired Mazda mechanic from San Francisco on a Kawasaki

Connecting with other riders was a real highlight of the trip, not only for the camaraderie, there’s also safety in numbers and all that. We’re were well aware that the Dalton could be hazardous, depending on conditions, and that a number of accidents had occurred already this season.

All of us were checking the weather regularly, rain was consistent in all forecasts. Then we heard from a returning rider that road conditions were in good shape, so we packed up, made hotel reservations in Deadhorse, and headed north.

Good news for you ride report fans, we took the ‘smell the roses’ approach up and down the Dalton, which meant overnight stays at Coldfoot in each direction. No up-and-back 500 mile days for us, we preferred to dawdle and be eaten by carnivorous mosquitos along the side of the road while we paused for photos and breaks. We timed our trip to perfectly align with the skeeter mating season so we could join their block party.

“Hey, bartender! Bloody Mary, O-positive. ” — A Bug’s Life
 

And they loved my O-positive blood. Two thumbs up for the bug hat net from Outdoors Research. No issues, of course, while bike was in motion, the fun would start about 20 seconds after a stop, and the swarm would begin.

Back to more practical matters: the ride experience on the Dalton has direct relationship with the weather. During our four days up and back, the weather pattern was typically sunny mornings with afternoon thunderstorms in the mountains. Conditions were managable, and we kept it slow in the slick wet stuff, of which there was plenty.

Here’s a quick 3 minute video showing up highlights on the way up…

A few roadie insights along the way up…

• My 1200GS needed an extra 1.5 gallons to make the 250-ish miles between Coldfoot and Deadhorse. Brady made it on a single tank on his F650.
• Road conditions during the construction segments tended to have the worst conditions…slippery, deep muddy gunk or gravel, and typically surrounded by trunks bigger than us.
• My GPS mount rattled off just past Atigun Pass, as the bikes were bouncing off large gravel stones and giving everyone a good vibration shake down. This was the beginning of the end for the GPS on this trip.
• Coldfoot has an awesome all-you-can-eat buffet, as well as bar. It’s also the last stop for any alcohol going north, as it’s not allowed at all in Deadhorse. Handy to know if the skies are wet and you’re not looking forward to camping & eating in the rain.
• After hearing so many horror stories about road conditions, we were surprised to see spanking new blacktop pavement around the Coldfoot area, it’s like an oasis for the tires, and soon disappears without rhyme or reason