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Fairbanks - Denali Park

28 June 2009

Today we set off.

After breakfast at our favorite restaurant, we hit the highway towards Anchorage.
Less than 3 kilometers later, the heavens opened their floodgates and left them open for about 5 hours. Endless uphill stretches followed for the first 70 kilometers.
In Skinny Dick's Bar, a typical Alaskan pub, we had a coffee and devoured a pizza. After 88 km, 1000 meters of climbing and a long search for a camp, we pitched our tents 10 m off the highway at a rest area just before Nenana at midnight.
Completely soaked and unnerved by mosquitoes, we just want to sleep. Ortwin thinks he saw a grizzly crossing the road 200 meters ahead of us. As the road was a bit hilly, he could only see its back.

The University of Fairbanks.

From here on, I take my 357 Mag with me again.

I never travel in Alaska without one ...

We are in bear country!

Ortwin was busy taking photos...

His first time in Alaska !

A really great rainy day...

Nevertheless, we have not forgotten how to laugh!

With my fully loaded trike and trailer, I am much slower than Ortwin with his MTB on the mountain...

Again and again it rained like buckets, and it was uphill all day, with trucks behind us ...

Welcome to Alaska Ortwin...

The trike is really very heavy on hills...

It's a pity the weather was so bad.

Some moose didn't survive the winter...

And finally the rain has come to an end, and now you can see the trucks better in the rearview mirror...
A big compliment to all the truck drivers in Alaska and the Yukon, the guys always gave us plenty of room!

The famous Skinny Dick's Bar.

Really rustic pub...

Thank goodness it was sunny again in the morning!

After the ascent, Ortwin takes over my trailer, so we are at least about the same speed...

June 29, 2009
In the morning, a camper van pulls up next to us while we are taking down the tent. Ötzi, a friend of mine who I met on the Yukon, recognized us as we drove past and stopped for a chat.
From today, Ortwin rides with the trailer in tow so that we can make better progress, because the trike with trailer is on average about 5 km/h slower than Detlef's MTB.
The weather is better today. After a few kilometers, we had a delicious breakfast in Nenana.
A really nice little place on the Tanana River. We met a couple from Texas with a Harley and a self-built trailer.
A little later we were overtaken by a biker, Fin from Scotland.
He was riding much faster than us (but with much less luggage). He stopped for a quick chat and hurriedly said goodbye to us.
We had a coffee at a bar and suddenly Fin appeared again. He had already set up camp on a side road off the highway and then discovered a pile of bear droppings and tracks!
He asked us if it would be OK to camp together...
We drove 55 km today.

At the Tanana River

The small village of Nenana.

In 1917, the supervisors of the Alaska Railroad made their first bet on when the ice on the Tanana River would break up. This gave rise to a national lottery that still exists today and has made Nenana famous far beyond Alaska.
For a stake of 2 dollars, you have to guess when the ice will break up. This is indicated by a tripod, which is connected to a clock via a rope and stops at the moment the pole breaks into the ice.
This tripod is set up in the middle of the river every year during "Tripod Days" (end of February/beginning of March).
The break-up date is (or has been) between April 20 (1940 and 1998) and May 20 (1964). You can participate in ¨Alaska's coldest lottery¨ - or should we say the coolest lottery - by buying a ticket for 2 dollars during the summer.
The lottery is open to everyone and tickets can also be ordered online.
The jackpot created from the tickets purchased (in 1917 it was 800 dollars, in recent years around 300,000 dollars) is paid out to the person(s) who predicted the date and time exactly or most accurately.

The right vehicle for the winter!

That would be the right supply truck for us...

The little Visitor Information Center.

We drive towards Anchorage.

The fast Scotsman Fin.

Beautiful camp away from the road

June 30, 2009
The night was quiet until 2 a.m., then the wind made the tents flap. We slept late and didn't set off until 12 o'clock. Fin set off at around 9am.
We started today's stage in sunshine and 25 degrees.
I have a cold and no energy. After 30 km we lay down in the blazing sun at a rest area, I was simply exhausted. There was no shade in sight.
We were both dreaming of an ice-cold Coke. Suddenly, a car pulled up next to us. K.J., who we knew from the Go North Hostel in Fairbanks, was on his way to Denali Park with his friend Marc.
We were greeted with ice-cold Alaskan beer, sushi, chicken and olives. Thus fortified, we drove on towards Healy and arranged to meet at the campground in Denali Park. There were a few more climbs on the way today.
Ortwin's bike is fully loaded and easier to ride with a trailer than my trike. A comparison of the heart rates proves this. Shortly after Healy, we saw a cow moose with two calves crossing the road. A little further on, we saw another cow moose with a calf beside the road.
Two miles before Denali Park, K.J. and Marc met us with a cold beer. They had made an extra trip to look for us on the highway and were amazed that we had come so far.
At the entrance to Denali Park we wanted an ice cream. However, at over 3 US dollars for a scoop of ice cream, we opted for pastries and coffee.
We quickly picked up a six-pack (beer) at the store to thank KJ & Marc and then headed to the campground, where K.J. and Marc were already waiting for us with steaks and ribs from the barbecue.

It can't get better than that...
We drove about 68km today.

Short coffee break at a lodge.

I would have loved to buy the store empty...

We are lying on the road, completely exhausted, and suddenly K.J & Mark come and provide us with cold beer and delicious food!

Finally arrived at the pass!

A moose and two calves cross the road right in front of us...

Untamed River...

Man is tiny in this nature !
(See bottom left of the picture ...)

K.J. & Mark already came to meet us!

( Thanks Guy's!!!!!!)

Quickly bought a six-pack of beer so that we also have something for KJ & Mark...

Welcome to Denali National Park.

When we arrived at the park K.J. & Mark already had the food ready...

K.J & Mark cooking.

K.J. always conjures up a cold beer !!!

July 1, 2009
K.J., Marc and Ortwin were on a 12 hours bus tour in Denali Park. I stayed in the tent and slept it off so that my cold would finally be cured, I hope...
I had already been to Denali Park over 15 times, so I saved myself the trip...
At noon, I drove to the Visitor Center, unfortunately they had no internet today, crap!
Nevertheless, I had enough to do with editing the pictures for the website.

This is how you see Mt. Denali when it is out of the clouds !
At 6,195 meters, Mount Denali (McKinley) in Alaska is the highest mountain in North America

The valet had difficulties with the internet connection, it was just enough to check our mail...

A river directly behind our campsite in the park.

Weiter mit: Denali Park - Denali HWY

Only those who risk going too far, will discover how far they can go!
Expedition in the USA, Alaska & Canada, Scandinavia with folding boat, motorboat, catamaran, motorcycle, off-road vehicle, bicycle ...