Haines, alaska

3rd July
Distance travelled. 520km from Beaver Creek
Today was one of contrasts. We left Beaver Creek in drizzling rain with a temp of around 5 deg C. The first two hours the road was badly broken and the going rough. At Haines Junction we were pretty tired but still had 250 km to go to Haines. From there the road started out with 8 km of road being remade but passable but after that the road was as good as it gets in the North. By this time we were still in the Yukon and our first stop was Kathleen lake surrounded by tall mountains and medium size trees. A great spot to camp if the weather was warmer.

Kathleen Lake just outside Haines Junction

As we rode south we passed into British Columbia and the scenery was superb as we gained height to make the pass at 1070m. The temp dropped to 4 deg C but the rain had stopped earlier so we could enjoy the snow capped mountains.

A Black Bear foraging on the the side of the road

A Cinnamon Black Bear and cub

My bike at 1070m

We dropped into Alaska and passed through Customs with no problem.
About this time I noticed an unfamiliar noise noise coming from the lower end of the bike and nursed it into Haines. The noise got worse and by the time we arrived at our Motel, Captains Choice, I was sure that my easy ride had come to an end. I will check further tomorrow and decide what to do. We are booked on the ferry to Juneau on the 5th and will stay overnight ther before reboarding another ferry to Prince Rupert. At PR I will see if I can find someone to make a repair, if not I will probably get the bike on the ferry to Port Hardy and try and make it down the Island. Will keep you posted on progress.