Black Dog

 Background
In an effort to further test the products we carry as well as some new products we are bringing in, Kurt & Martha Forget of Black Dog Cycle Works are headed north to Alaska for a 3 week, 6,000 motorcycle road trip. Riding from our base in Sandpoint, Idaho, the journey will take us through British Columbia, the Yukon, hopefully with a brief run up to the Arctic Circle, over the "Top of the World Highway, then onto Fairbank, Anchorage and Homer. The return trip will include a short ferry ride through the Inland Passage of Alaska from Haines, AK to Prince Rupert, BC. The 1,400 mile ride from Prince Rupert to Sandpoint will include stops in Lillooet, Kamloops & Kelowna to meet up with some customers and dealers along the way.

We are looking forward to this epic trip, which will be Martha's first time to Alaska. Kurt did the Alcan 5000 in 2006 which was his first ride to Alaska. 4000 miles in 9 days from Seattle to Anchorage with a third of it on dirt made for an amazing (albeit fast) experience. The ride home wasn't much slower. The pace of this trip should be a bit more leisurely with more opportunities to enjoy the surroundings as well as take some long overdue time off!

The following is a list of the new products we are testing during our trip:

- Rigid Industries LED lights
- Enduristan Sandstorm Tank bag
- BDCW skid plate for the R1200GS / GSA
- A990 Crash bar bags for KTM 950/990 Adventure
- A1200 Crash bar bags for BMW R1200GS Adventure
- FP Levers
- Hepco Becker travel zip waterproof duffle
- Hepco Becker Xplorer hard pannniers and top case
- Redverz (formerly Nomad) Expedition Motorcycle tent
- Clearshot lens cleaner
- Scala G4 headset communicators
- VHolder HD Helmet Cam 
 

Our trusty steeds for the trip:
 

 

Getting a late start, as usual. Our planned departure time of 7:00 a.m. quickly became 8:15 a.m. Oh well, this is supposed to be a vacation – better to start it late than never!

Here is the Black Dog seeing us off on our journey.

After gassing up at our corner gas station, we quickly headed north on 95 towards the Canadian border, which is only 45 miles away. We breezed through customs at Eastport – no, we don’t have any items for personal protection, felony convictions, DUI arrests, etc. we were allowed to pass. Amazing how much more selective Canada is compared to the U.S. as to who is allowed in their beautiful country . . .






 

We headed north to Fairmont Springs for an early lunch at the Farside Pub for some good grub. We had stopped there on my way to Banff two years ago and the food didn’t disappoint. We also stopped to get some required supplies. No way are we camping in Canada and Alaska without a couple of these handy. Canada only allows bear spray that they have approved so we had to wait to get over the border to purchase some. If you get caught at the border bringing in a US version - expect some serious delays and hassles. Much to my surprise it was actually cheaper in Canada as well.




The day is quickly warming up. We decided to take the Route 1 cut-over from Golden to the Icefields Parkway / Jasper. BIG MISTAKE. We sat for 1-1/2 hours baking in the sun in a construction zone. A few motorcycles wandered up the shoulder. After we moved about 3 miles in over an hour, we decided to go for it. After a few dirty looks from soccer moms in mini vans, people letting their rat dogs get some “exercise” and one off-road excursion around a camper that was blocking the shoulder, we were through with no explanation as to the backup. Very frustrating to say the least. After all that, I was expecting to at least see a few cars that got mangled by a bulldozer.

  

Onto 93 north to Jasper. I have to say the highway between Banff and Jasper is one of THE most scenic roads I have ever been on. Just breathtaking mountains that are incredibly dramatic. EVERYONE should ride this road – it is just unbelievable!! We blew past Bow Lake, realized our mistake and banged a quick U-turn. Again, amazing scenery. The image of a gorgeous lake with mountains and glaciers in the background is difficult to describe in words. We vowed to “stop and smell the roses” during this trip and not pass up opportunities to enjoy our surroundings. 




The Num-Ti-Jah Lodge was very cool and rustic overlooking a lake that seemed very similar to Lake Louise, but without the huge crowds. We saw the “Backroads” bicycle tour van outside and knew it would be pricey. I had to ask - $325 a night but they were full. We thanked them for their time and said we had a date with our tent for the evening.

 

To be honest, we deliberated whether to bring a smaller tent with us or the new Nomad (now Redverz) Expedition tent we recently acquired. We love to camp, but I assumed the reality of pounding out miles all day on the bike and less then dependable weather would send us searching for hotel rooms more often than not. We set the Nomad up at home as a “test run” and figured it would be worth the extra weight. (DEFINITELY the right call on the tent –more on that later).

 
We pushed onward to “The Crossing” which was the only gas / food option available to us at this point. Our general plan was to have our main, heavier meal at lunch with a lighter dinner at camp. Maybe grab a sandwich or cheese and crackers along the way to have something simple. The food options at “The Crossing” were extremely poor, but we made due. Grabbed a sandwich, filled up the tanks and continued north. We came across the first campground about 10 miles down the road, which was the Rampart Creek Campground. WOW – great spot. Let me just say the Canadians know how to put together a public campground. Huge spaces with tons of privacy, steps from a gorgeous river. Water was available as well as outhouses but no showers, which was fine for this stop. Inexpensive too at $16 for the site.  A bit strange:  they wanted another $8 for a “fire permit” which included your firewood. This was the only campground where we experienced this phenomenon – all the other campgrounds included firewood for free with no “permit” required.

 

We quickly set up the tent and were thankful for the extra space the “garage” afforded us for changing and to keep our gear dry from the morning dew. Plus, it was great to be able to stand up in the tent. Our home away from home is very cozy. After setting up our sleeping accommodations, we cracked a bottle of 2003 A. Rafanelli Zinfindel to celebrate our first night on the road. Bear Spray and a ka-bar knife handy, we retired to bed while it was still light out at 10PM.

 

     



 

 

We awoke and took our chairs down by the river to enjoy our coffee. We tried the new instant coffee packs from Starbucks and they are excellent as well as take up very little room. The huge mountains that surrounded us were simply breathtaking. Very serene with absolutely no one around. While we feel much of the planet is just too crowded – this is not one of those places. Some excellent “gourmet oatmeal” for breakfast as we leisurely packed up camp. This is supposed to be a bit of a vacation after all – which I have to keep reminding myself. Much to our surprise, we were able to fit everything back on the bikes fairly easily, which is always a crapshoot the first time you unpack everything.

 

The ride north to Jasper continued to amaze us with some of the most incredibly beautiful scenery I have EVER seen. Something that EVERYONE should see at some point in their lives. My advice is make the opportunity happen – you won’t regret it. Ice fields, glaciers, incredible rivers, big horn sheep and elk were all sights we enjoyed – just incredible.

 Lunch in Jasper at Earl’s was very enjoyable. We scored a great spot at on the patio overlooking the town. After some fuel and provisioning, we headed north to Route 40 which was a cut through to Grand Prairie. Fast roads in good condition were somewhat scenic, but felt like we were on them forever to get to our destination. It was very hot during the day which really zapped our energy as we pushed through to the Saskatoon Island Campground. Another awesome camping spot near a lake. The huge size of the campsites in Canada continue to impress us with lots of privacy. Cheese, crackers, a little wine and Goslings Rum and a cigar by the campfire was a great end to a great day!

We found out today that the Cassiar Highway is currently closed due to forest fires and that there is some concern over the Watson Lake interchange which could have a drastic effect on our route. We also confirmed that Route 4 which goes north from Watson Lake is gravel for several hundred miles, which is not looking like a good option since we have the bikes so heavily loaded. Also, the “Top of the World Highway” is closed due to landslides caused by heavy rains. We will have to keep an eye on this as well as our plan is to go north out of Whitehorse to Dawson, then over the Top of the World Highway to Tok. If this highway is closed, we will have to pass on Dawson altogether as well as our potential run to the Arctic Circle we were still considering.