Spring 1997 - Cincinnati to Yukon
Journals - 28 June 1997
Day 89 - Poplar / Toad River, B.C.
28 June 1997 (cool; sunny and cloudy; mileage = 63.3) -- X - We woke up and
got up at a good time. We had junk for breakfast and lead the Swiss out of
camp. Right away we saw a stopped RV (uh oh). It was gawking at a moose and
subsequent calf. We rode up and up but it was not too bad of a grade. We
saw an elk with no antlers and a while later, another one. The scenery as
we ascended was magnificent. The Rocky Mountains were very awesome with
snow-covered peaks. There were steep cliffs around us often with
spectacular rock formations. The highway ran along mountain rivers as much
as possible. These were very large and fast and clear with stone banks.
Beautiful. Eventually, we reached Summit Lake. It was so easy that I didn't
realize it was the true crest (we misjudged the climb yesterday). But it
was and it is THE highest point on the Alaska Highway. We set up the stove
and had crystal-clear lake H2O coffee. We had sandwiches and lots of food.
HP and Susan showed up shortly and we all enjoyed the beautiful setting. We
were done 1st and left 1st. On the descent, there was a sign warning of
mountain sheep in the road. The cliffs and mountains were AWESOME and sure
enough, I spotted 2 mountain sheep (rams?) resting on a ledge. Further
down, we encountered an entire heard of goats IN THE ROAD! We rode through
and I noticed a cookie on the road. Some dumb-ass tourist was trying to
feed them. I picked it all up and threw it into a stream. The entire
descent was gorgeous with the snowcapped mountains everywhere. Toward the
end, the Swiss caught sight of us. But they didn't get to Toad River first.
We decided to go another 5 km and we again beat them! It's not a race, but
now I feel good about being able to ride like they do. Big-league touring
fun takes big-league riding. We had it today -- the riding and fun! The
campsite is nice and we ate a good meal of rice and pasta with fresh
tomatoes. Very good. We also had maple ice cream before dinner from the
lodge. Also good. We chatted with the Swiss for quite a bit, then shower
(yea!) and bed.
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