|
A few photos from our Flathead Lake, Montana to Yukon Arctic Circle trip taken August 2008. Jimmy Cash was my riding companion. The trip took about 11 days and about 5,000 miles. I was riding a BMW R1200GSA and Jimmy was riding a KTM 990.
Our goal was to ride the entire notorious Dempster Highway to Inuvik NWT but by the time we reached Eagle Plains (about 250 miles up the Dempster and then the Arctic Circle (about 25 miles further) it was about 32F with light snow falling around us in the distance. The uncertain weather and given that I had been experiencing some tire problems, we elected to end our journey at that point...about 200 miles short. The Dempster Highway is NOT for highway touring motorcycles. Some have made it, others wish they hadn't tried. Good equipment and good on/off road tires are a must. When I do this trip again, I will be using offroad tires. The road is very challenging when it is wet and there are sections where a flintly rock was used in the road construction...very sharp!
We camped 7 of 10 nights out...in developed camping areas...eateries and gasoline were plentiful. Even though we carried a small amount of extra fuel, we did not really need it. I would still recommend carrying extra fuel though because you never know....and you might run onto someone who needs it. Our wives and friends enjoyed tracking our progress on the internet because we were using a SPOT satellite GPS tracker. Nice to know you could get a message out in an emergency...very spotty cell phone coverage.
If anyone is interested in making this trip. I will be happy to share our route maps and any information that I have. tony@montanaliving.net
|
